How to avoid suffering a burnout!

Burnout can be defined as a physical and mental breakdown caused by excess stress. This exhaustion can generally occur due to a lack of sleep (as a result of overworking), motivation and reward system.

It can also happen when we feel that our work isn’t rewarding or satisfying us on a personal level, making it feel like an uphill battle.

When our working environment is based on fears and “emergency situations”, we can end up burning out. In addition, our state of health can also be the cause of this syndrome.

When we’re feeling good, we have more resilience and patience towards stressful situations. On a physiological level, stress sends our body into “emergency” mode in order to react to a threatening situation; however, constant stress drains our system, leaving us feeling exhausted. We cannot expect our body to thrive under a constant state of stress.

So, how does one know whether they are suffering from burnout or not?

These are some the questions you should be asking yourself:

How’s your physical condition:

• How do you feel physically? Do you get tired and sick often, or are you strong and resilient?

What about your work situation:

• Do you feel valued in your workplace?
• Do you enjoy what you do?
• Do you have the skills to be successful?
• Do you work with positive people?
• Do you work too much?
• Are you being paid fairly?

How about your personal relationships:

• Is your family caring and loving?
• Or, are they indifferent towards you?
• Do you have close friends and a community you are a part of?
• Are you happy with your social life?
• Do you invest time to yourself in doing things that you enjoy?

The responses you’ll get from these simple questions can serve as a map to know you’re feeling and what you should improve in your life. Whether it’s the relationship with your family, friends or work colleagues, managing your time better, or the needing to develop new skills and habits that will help you live a more wholesome, stress free (most of the time at least) lifestyle!

Here are some tools that can help you manage stress and avoid suffering from a burnout:

On a mental level:

Practice mindfulness or meditation. With the chaotic lifestyles that we lead, we shouldn’t only focus on exercising our body, rather we should also be dedicating time to disconnect our mind from all those daily thoughts and worries that take over. Just with 15 minutes a day, you’ll be able to notice a great improvement, from feeling more centred, focused, calm and strong on an emotional level.

On a physical level:

Never forget that our bodies are machines that work constantly to allow us to do the one million things we do a day! Exercising is a wonderful tool that helps our body produce hormones such as endorphins, serotonin and dopamine, which improve our mood, help us sleep better and increase our energy levels. So, even if you’re feeling exhausted, rid your body from stress with a good workout or relaxing activity like yoga!

On a nutritional level:

Did you know that sugar increases cortisol-the stress hormone- levels in the body? We live in a world where almost every packaged food contains sugar, whether you’re aware of it or not. We also live in a society that suffers from more stress than ever. The World Health Organization’s sugar recommendation is that we should consume 0-10% a day, however, in most countries, this sugar intake is double or even triple the daily-recommended allowance. Want to cut down on your sugar intake? Try these healthy alternatives to sweeten your life without the harmful effects!

These tools and healthy habits will help you manage your stress better on a daily basis and will avoid you from getting to the point of burning out. If you haven’t tried them, why not start today?