Burnout – A Practical Guide on How to Overcome It

There is hardly anyone who hasn't encountered the topic of burnout, either personally or indirectly. I specialize in the burnout syndrome and how to deal with it. I have experienced it myself, and as a coach, I can provide you with the support that you may be missing right now.

Just like in dance, it requires preparation, patience, and discipline. However, in the end, you will learn the individual steps, and with ease, you will return to your life.

The main cause of burnout is daily long-term chronic stress. Statistics show that burnout affects approximately every fifth person. Employment is a typical source of exhaustion, but it impacts all aspects of our lives. Acute (short-term) stress does not cause burnout. Chronic stress is caused by the demand for permanent and uncompromising high performance, considered the standard, with little or no opportunity for relief, deviation, withdrawal, and with serious consequences in case of mistakes.

What does burnout look like? The list of possible symptoms is comprehensive, with the most common and prominent ones including:

Mental Level:

• Overall mental and emotional exhaustion, decline, or complete loss of motivation

• Diminished activity, spontaneity, creativity, initiative, and inventiveness

• Feelings of sadness, frustration, hopelessness, futility, and a low sense of purpose

Physical Level:

• Overall fatigue of the organism, apathy, quick tiredness even after rest

• Headaches, sleep disturbances, digestive issues, low physical activity

Social Relationships Level:

• Limited sociability, reduced contact with colleagues and loved ones

• Low empathy, reluctance towards all aspects of performed activities

How to prevent burnout? In professional literature, skills are specified that can effectively prevent exhaustion:í:

• Resilience, the ability to perceive stressful situations as meaningful challenges, the capacity to relax, the variety and variability of work, belief in one's own abilities, and a sense of personal well-being can slow down or postpone the onset of burnout.

• On the other hand, factors that can contribute to burnout include empathy, sensitivity, self-sacrifice, low assertiveness, focus on others, as well as anxiety or perfectionism.

What to do when you are already experiencing burnout? You can seek therapy, psychotherapy, or coaching. In case of any doubts about your mental or physical condition, contact a doctor or therapist!

Practical steps on the road out of burnout

With the help of these recommendations created by a coach, I have overcome my burnout, and I can only recommend this approach. One emphatic warning – arm yourself with patience, as it is a long journey! Just like you won't learn to dance with the first step, if you need guidance, reach out to me.

On this journey, it's crucial to realize that we don't have control over what causes burnout. Sometimes, we may struggle with feelings of shame when contemplating the source of exhaustion.

Accept the fact that you are experiencing burnout. Don't try to ignore it or pretend that nothing is happening; doing so may only worsen the situation.

You can successfully overcome burnout in 3 steps. Imagine burnout as a video game, where you navigate through different levels, and only after completing tasks can you move forward.

1. Level – Acute burnout– “Let go level”

Characterized by a lack of interest in any work or personal goals, even basic self-care activities seem challenging, even though they usually help you feel better (exercise, meditation, walks, ...). You are simply so tired that you don't have the strength or desire for normal life. This often corresponds to deteriorating lifestyle habits – inappropriate eating, alcohol, lack of exercise. Your projects, hobbies, and other activities seem uninteresting and boring to you.

The goal is to get out of this level as soon as possible. The most effective way out is to fully immerse yourself in it.

a) Surrender everything that is not absolutely critical and essential.

For most people, this is the most challenging step because it means you have to slow down, especially since we often think of ourselves as unstoppable. Sometimes, we also assign critical importance to many things that are not that crucial. The more we keep on our must-do list, the longer it will take us to move beyond this phase.

During this stage, it is advisable to contact your coach, who can help you identify and accept what is truly important and what you can temporarily let go. If you're not internally comfortable with postponing certain activities, it won't help you overcome burnout. You must believe that getting rid of these tasks is in your best interest. Only with newly gained energy can you devise new plans and projects and start implementing them.

b) Allow yourself to experience it.

The more you allow yourself to do only what you feel like doing, the faster you will pass through this level. Treat yourself to your favorite cake or another indulgence, enjoy an afternoon watching TV or cat videos.

The longer you've been burned out, the longer this phase will last. If you've been exhausted for months or even years, don't expect it to change over the weekend. Perhaps you haven't delved deep enough into this level and need to create more space for rest. Or maybe you're already ready to move on.

2. Level – Return to Basics of Self-Care - “Pick it up again”

You still don't have an interest in long-term projects, but you slowly begin to feel the need to return to your activities. Sweets and videos no longer fulfill you, or they even cause you worse feelings, and you feel the need to do something more. It's time to consciously move forward.

It's advisable to make a short list of undemanding activities – yoga, a walk, journaling. It is essential to be extremely kind and gentle to yourself with mild discipline and consistent prioritization. Start slowly at the beginning, choose 1-2 activities that are most beneficial for you. You should wisely invest your energy so that the investment pays off.

No major investments into long-term goals and projects are allowed at this point.

Reflect: What energy investments bring you the most benefit? (More in the article on Energy Debt).

3. Level – You have energy to spare.

Now you finally have enough energy for the most interesting and enjoyable part, and you can fully invest your energy into significant actions and projects again. This will bring you the most joy.

Key mistakes: If you're not careful, you can quickly find yourself back in level 1, life energy resources are not inexhaustible. Being advanced means being very good at the basics, and you need to continuously return to them. This means that even if you dive headfirst into new projects, you always set aside time for activities that brought you back on your feet from level 2. It is essential to remain consistent, especially during busy periods. Discipline in the basics, regularly replenishing and maintaining energy, is necessary to avoid repeating the vicious cycle.

How to survive burnout? A few notes from practice.

Patience is a MUST-HAVE

There is a direct relationship between the length or depth of burnout and its recovery, but it is asymmetrical. There is no formula that can tell you that if you have been burned out for a year, you will be fit in six months. One thing is certain: the longer you have been burned out, the longer it will take to recover. Patience is absolutely key alongside discipline. It is not uncommon for people to be upset by how long their recovery takes, thinking they are doing something wrong or that it's not working. These feelings are normal.

The more you agonize over the length of recovery from burnout, the longer it will take. Accept it and believe that everything will come in due time.

You are recovering, but you still don't feel better

You are finally taking the right steps, but you feel like nothing has changed, and you are still tired. From my own experience, I know that there can be a fear that it will be like this forever. The only thing you have to do is persevere. It may happen that your battery is slowly recharging all this time, but you just don't feel it yet.

I promise that if you are taking the right steps, this phase will soon shift. Don't be discouraged, and most importantly, don't push yourself if you're not ready yet. Don't give up, don't be afraid to ask for help from a coach.

Concerns about not working on your big projects may mean that you are getting ready to start dedicating time to them.

If you find yourself constantly thinking about a project, generating ideas, feeling stressed that you haven't worked on it for a long time, and so on, it's a good sign! You are returning to the path of your life. Sometimes you may feel like you actually don't know what you want or what to do. However, this is usually just evidence of deep exhaustion when a person is so tired that they genuinely don't want anything at that moment.

Sometimes larger actions are needed for recovery from burnout.

Consider whether you need help. You can ask your family, friends, or your coach for assistance.

If you feel like you have to leave your current job, that's okay. However, consider whether it's a suitable long-term strategy. Your goal should be healing and preventing burnout from recurring. You need to LEARN how to live long-term and sustainably without the threat of burnout.

Be cautious of your thoughts

Dwelling on certain thoughts can significantly worsen burnout. Intensive contemplation of the problem can paralyze you, making it difficult to do anything and deepening your exhaustion. Therefore, try to lighten your mind and shift your thoughts to positive or at least neutral ones.

Another example that exacerbates burnout is the belief that it can't be done without you. This places excessive (and often unrealistic) pressure on yourself, and the mere thought that everything depends solely on your shoulders is exhausting. We will never have 100% control over our minds and the thoughts that come to us, but we can influence how we deal with negative thoughts.

If you're struggling with anything, experiencing burnout symptoms, or just want to prevent it in time, I'm here for you.

Jana, Life Coaching, Brno (contact here)

Zdroje:

BLOG VZP_ Syndrom vyhoření – přichází nenápadně, ale ničí důsledně; [cit. 22.2.2021]. Dostupné z webových stránek Aktuality VZP

Katie Seaver. Podcast Now we are getting somewhere (Recovering from Burnout)

KEBZA V., ŠOLCOVÁ I.: Syndrom vyhoření. Praha 2003; Státní zdravotnický ústav; ISBN 80-7071-231-7