Even if you may not know this by name, you have absolutely felt this at some point in your life. Burn Out. It creeps up on you when you least expect it and can last months or even years if not addressed.
It all starts fairly innocently and with good intentions. You’re on a roll with your studies, or in the workplace with a strenuous task. But you keep grinding away at it… now you’ve skipped lunch… now you’re doing overtime… BUT it’s okay because now the job is done!… Right?
While yes the job is done and the boss is happy, where does that leave you? Does work now seem like an ever-growing wall of stress and incomplete tasks? Are you struggling to sleep? When was the last time you gave any time to that hobby you used to love so much? This is what is known as burnout, and we’re still learning about it. Here are some steps you can take to at least recognise if you are burnt out.
Physical Signs Of Burn Out
If you have maybe been experiencing some more gut discomfort than you’re used to, it might be a sign to slow things down. Overworking yourself to the point of burnout can tend to cause Chronic Stress. In turn, Chronic Stress can not only lead to problems sleeping but headaches & migraines, stomachaches and even intestinal issues. In these cases, it is important to book an appointment with your Mental Health Professional to get a handle on these things.
Emotional Exhaustion
Burnout is bad enough as it is. But the roller coaster of emotions that it will put you through will leave you feeling drained. You might feel unable to cope with emotions that may arise from stress throughout your day. This can also evolve into a chronic lack of energy like you’re always dragging your feet. Sometimes a simple routine change can be a good fix here, change up your workouts, try some new foods, or even go for a hike.
If you are noticing a serious lack of emotion or emotions you maybe aren’t used to experiencing reach out to your local mental health professional and let them know.
Food For The Soul And The Burn Out
Have you noticed yourself suddenly eating significantly more? Or maybe the opposite, a sudden loss of appetite? Again this could be burnout rearing its ugly head around the corner. The exhaustion your brain is feeling from the task you are burnt out from, can either just stop your want to eat leading to dangerous weight loss. Or on the opposing end cause you to stress eat much more than you normally would causing rapid weight gain. Either of these situations is not one anyone wants to be in and both come with their own health complications and a troublesome relationship with food if not addressed with a mental health professional.
Is Concentration Escaping You?
Burnout can also manifest itself as just general brain fog. Throughout your job, personal life and everyday tasks just feel like there is a cloud over and in your head making you sluggish. This is entirely normal and one of the lesser side effects of burnout. While not inherently dangerous as with the rest of the signs on this list it is important to get it checked out by your GP or mental health professional.
Are You Still Catching Zzz’s?
And last on the list of the ways you can recognise burnout in yourself is by your sleep! At night are you getting as much sleep as you need? As much as you were previously getting?
The stress that we experience from Burn Out can often make it difficult to switch off at the end of the day. Our brains are racing to try to find solutions to work that we should have stopped doing, 4-5 hours ago.
This is where apps that can track your sleep or devices like a fit bit can really come in handy or just improve sleep hygiene as a whole. They pose no threat or difficulty to how your fall asleep and can give you some important information over time about how your body rests.
