Your favorite job suddenly ceased to bring joy, or you find it difficult to understand the thought of the lecturer you were so actively taking notes for a semester ago? Permanently want to sleep? Many people know about emotional burnout, but few know how to make sure they don’t get burned out one day.
Often it happens that we observe all the obvious symptoms and still think that it’s fatigue, lack of sleep, Mercury retrograde, or just a bad mood that has overcome us. There can be many reasons for burnout – from excessive workloads to unhealthy perfectionism and external pressure. The main thing is to notice the red flags in time and to arrange “prevention” even in the absence of obvious symptoms.
These symptoms precede emotional burnout:
- In health and overall physical well-being: rapid fatigue, sleep disorders, reduced immunity.
- In feelings: apathy, feelings of failure, bitterness or guilt, gallows humor, irritability, feeling that everyone is picking on you.
- In thinking: rigidity (inability to adapt to new conditions), callousness, decreased concentration, suspiciousness, victim mentality.
What Techniques Will Help Avoid Emotional Burnout
The list of techniques and methods is quite wide. These are 6 basic ones, using which it’s possible to reduce the level of daily stress significantly.
Take Breaks From Work or Study
Switching to rest or any new activity keeps your brain from getting overworked. Do this every two hours if work or study allows: you can go for a walk with the dog, cook a meal, squat, read a book, listen to music, play real money online pokies, or at least watch short videos with funny kitties.
Get at Least Eight Hours of Sleep
Because of the lack of sleep, the body cannot function properly, and cognitive skills and the ability to make rational decisions begin to decline. Constant lack of sleep, even an hour, provokes the release of stress hormones and blocks happiness hormones.
Avoid Excessive Competition
Don’t always try to be the first in everything. This can increase anxiety and cause aggression. Not doing well today? Look at your accomplishments. This will help raise your own self-esteem and give up the constant struggle.
Don’t Forget About Hobbies and Socializing With Loved Ones or Co-workers
Socializing can bring as much energy as squatting. However, communicating about work issues won’t help: you won’t change the environment, and will only aggravate your condition. But the evening with colleagues won’t only help you rest but also let you have a pleasant time. Another way to qualitatively relax and enjoy the process is to pay attention to your hobbies.
Find a Substitute for Coffee and Try to Eat Fewer Sweets
Coffee helps us wake up in the morning, but it causes cortisol, the stress hormone, to rise in the body. It makes us twitchy and anxious. Fast food, sweets, and alcohol also “speed up” the nervous system, disrupting its natural cycle and preventing us from resting properly. To avoid giving up energy-boosting drinks, you can try switching to cocoa, green tea, or ginseng.
Practice Meditation and Breathing Techniques
The best meditation is not necessarily in Padmasana (lotus posture) with eyes closed. You can meditate standing, sitting on a chair, or lying down. Just choose a comfortable posture.
Practice it in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed by anything. It’s believed that the best time for meditation is in the morning so that you feel well all day long.
Start practicing mindfulness with simple observations of your physical state. Direct your attention to a single object: it can be a breath, an emotion, a sound, or a sensation in the body.
What to Do if Emotional Burnout Does Strike
The ability to cope with burnout depends largely on individual characteristics and the stage of burnout. In the earlier ones, you can, using our tips, influence your daily routine, your body and emotions, and your workload.
To consolidate the effect, sometimes allow yourself to simply disconnect from the whole world – turn off the phone, stop solving endless tasks, and, for example, go out of town. Such “unloading” will be quite enough to correct your condition. Late stages of emotional burnout sometimes lead to depression and require a systematic approach under therapeutic control.
