Selfesh

I’ve done it. I have hit that wall before, that brick wall of exhaustion, hopelessness, and negativity. I couldn’t just quit. I had to keep going, working through my emotions, never resting.Never reflecting. Not allowing myself to recover. I’m sure most of you reading this have felt the same as well, or you wouldn’t have clicked on another post. Jokes, I kid.

No, seriously though, why do we put ourselves through this? why don’t some of us ever break the cycle. Of being overworked, and Underappreciated. The real answer lies within you. It starts with what we think is expected of us. Growing up in this capitalistic world has conditioned me to believe I have to constantly work to get what I want. What happens when you just don’t want anymore, and if you want something, it’s to not do anything.

Burn-out is a serious issue within our society, we are spiritual-being experiencing this material world. That’s how I look at it, working under the conditions that most of us working under will never feel good because we are not meant to.

Here are some things I do to recover a little bit at a time, when it feels like the world is burning down, or I just picked up five or six shifts in a row.

Acknowledging When You Are Burnt Out

The first step is knowing when you are burnt out, it could feel different for everyone. For myself it feels like I’m starting to catch a cold, or extreme fatigue. I catch myself not wanting to get up and work. There have been so many times, I’ve picked up too many shifts, or made plans and regretted them.

Know that you are burn-out so you can get on the path to recovery.

Don’t Just Push Through

Pushing through has been a mistake I have made when I feel burnt out. When you push through, you just allow yourself to endure. Enduring exhaustion mentally and physically affects your health in a negative way. Everyone has a breaking point, the goal is to meet yourself where you need to be.

Rest & Recharge

Resting is the name of the game, we need downtime, we need time to recharge when we feel overworked, mentally, physically, and spiritually. Working can kill your spirit, that feeling of hope. The feeling there is more to life than just working for this paycheck, just to pay a bill. That Job will always be there but you might not be so serious and intentional.

Recharging can be whatever you make it; it can be calling in to your shift. It can be laying in bed all day. It can be meditating. Watching a show. Spending time with loved ones. Whatever you need to do, just don’t feel guilty for needing a break. we all do.

Identifying the Root Cause

While resting and recharging, we need to know what caused the burnout. Was it your job? Are you putting too much on your plate? Are you not Honoring your own boundaries? Identifying the root cause is key to our plan for managing our stress. 

It could be a mix of all the things going in your life, in that case we need to pick and choose what root needs pruned first. It also helps us identify any other triggers contributing to our burn out.

Prevention

This is our march forward, we can’t just keep getting burnt out, we need to take action to stop it in its tracks. This is where it might take time, when we are conditioned to work, work, work. In such a capitalistic society that’s not the norm. We are told we have to work hard just to have the bare minimum. 

Changing the mindset to putting our health and wellness first is the first step. Choosing what’s best for yourself can never steer you in the wrong direction. That’s what this blog is about!

So take it slow, and know your boundaries. If I know work burns me out, I know I can work less hours, take a break, or quit. I understand not a lot of people can just do the later option. Maybe a different scenery might be in the cards for you instead. I am just reiterating the need to put yourself first, but make the choice that fits what you need for your situation.

Navigating burnout can be trial and error, just do what you can, and understand this is your life and you can control what your outcome. It is easy to feel unempowered especially when exhausted so keep your head, you will get through this!