Burnout is a state of chronic stress that can take root in your personal and professional life, leading to physical and emotional exhaustion, detachment, overwhelming feelings of negativity, perceived professional inefficacy, and other changes in your mood and behavior. Chronic stress feeds on the brightest of lights, causing them to grow progressively dimmer until they’re burnt out. 

The good news is that burnout can be overcome with positive changes to your lifestyle alongside a holistic restoration of your spirit, mind, and body. Once burnout is successfully identified, a treatment plan can be created and you can begin taking the right steps to shine brighter than ever before. 

Identifying Burnout

While burnout has significant effects on your career, friendships, and relationships, it can be difficult to identify. Burnout often affects people who are high-achievers taking on heavy workloads. When you’re extremely committed to your work, it can be easy to neglect the warning signs of this serious concern. Successfully identifying burnout requires an honest assessment of the root causes that have led to this chronic interpersonal and emotional stress. Some key signs that you may be experiencing burnout include any of the following behaviors and feelings:

• Withdrawal from family and friends
• Irritability and aggression
• Intense negativity 
• Loss of enjoyment
• Detachment from work 
• Reinforced effort with little outcomes
• Lack of productivity
• Declining performance

In addition to the spiritual and mental toll that burnout can have, there can also be significant effects on your physical health. Physical symptoms of burnout can include:

• An inability to concentrate
• Insomnia
• Fatigue
• Gastrointestinal problems

Burnout can often resemble other serious conditions, including chronic fatigue and depression, so it’s important to not (self-) diagnose burnout hastily. Burnout tends to apply dominantly to professional life; however, as we now more than ever have very blended work and personal lives, you may notice these symptoms in other areas. We recommend contacting a member of our team to first uncover the roots of these symptoms and develop a holistic plan to rediscover complete health. 

How to Overcome Burnout

Caring for your spirit, restoring a healthy mindset, and refueling your body will help you not only reduce the level of stress in your life, but also empower you to manage and cope with stress in healthier ways when you do encounter it. Stress resiliency is one of our five pillars of health and is a large part of your overall wellness.

• Say “no” more so that you can say “yes” to your health. Avoid any new commitments that may spread you out thinly. Focus on overcoming burnout and ensure that you’re only engaging in the healthy activities and fulfilling work that will help you do so.  

• Redefining and refocusing your purpose. By clarifying your meaning and purpose, you can help combat the tendencies that led you to burnout. Understanding what is important to you can help you prioritize the right work and delegate the rest. Rather than bearing overwhelming stress to do everything, do what develops and fulfills your purpose.

• Disengage from work at the end of the day. You may be tempted to bring work home with you; however, establishing healthy boundaries can actually be the best decision for both your health and work performance. Not only will you benefit from the work-life balance personally, but the added time to restore your eager mindset and gain perspective can also serve you professionally. 

• Reprioritize your need for sleep. Your spirit, mind, and body all require restorative sleep to replenish and heal on a daily basis. Try limiting your caffeine and alcohol intake for deep, restorative sleep. Did you know that caffeine has a half-life of about 5-6 hours and a quarter-life of about 10-12 hours? So, if you have a cup of coffee at 2 p.m. to keep yourself working longer, you could have about 25% of that caffeine keeping you awake at midnight. 

• Eat a balanced diet. A balanced, well-rounded diet will equip your body to fully support your spirit and mind along this journey to overcome burnout. Our team at Faithfully Guided will work with you to develop a personalized nutrition plan aligned with your wellness goals. 

• Engage in regular exercise. Movement is a powerful tool for developing a healthy spirit, mind, and body. Exercise can help you relieve anxiety, stress, depression, and many other harmful cognitive states while also giving you the physical fortitude to move through your day with less bodily stress. 

• Try new stress resiliency techniques. Engaging in new forms of stress management can provide you with a powerful toolkit to overcome burnout and keep it at bay in the future. From brewing a cup of tea to participating in yoga practices, meditation, and breathing exercises, you can try new techniques to discover the best method to deal with any unavoidable stresses that continue to come your way. 

• Reach out for help. Recovering from burnout does not have to be an individual journey. Although you may have drifted apart during your burnout, your friends and family remain a valuable community that can support you throughout this period of growth. Furthermore, speaking to your employer or manager about improving workflow and delegation can also be a successful way to alleviate workplace stress. You can also reach out to our team for personal support, faith-based counseling, and individualized treatment plans.

Compassion for Yourself and Those Around You

While burnout is especially common among people heavily committed to their work, no one is immune to developing burnout and feeling as though the spiritual, mental, and physical toll of work has zapped the vitality out of life. When dealing with burnout, it’s important to treat yourself with kindness and practice healthy self-care.

When either reflecting upon yourself or speaking to others who are sharing their experiences and feelings with you, lead those conversations with compassion. Listen carefully to yourself and those around you, validating any feelings rather than dismissing concerns. When confronted with negative feelings, a foundation of understanding can be the best starting point for healthy growth. 

Find Burnout Relief with Faithfully Guided Health Center

Finding motivation, rediscovering your purpose, making lifestyle changes, and diving deeper into mindfulness can be difficult to do alone. Our team at Faithfully Guided Health Center is here to completely support you during your recovery from burnout. 

If you think you may be suffering from burnout, contact our team for guided, individualized assistance in identifying the root cause of your concerns and developing and implementing a targeted treatment plan that will have you shining brightly once again.