BURNOUT 101
Stress is when the requirements and demands of your situation exceed your resources to cope. – Dr. Sharon Grossman
The COVID-19 Pandemic is a great example of a situation that can cause deep, disruptive success for some and has been a life changing experience in a positive way. Different humans react differently to the same situation depending on their skills, abilities, and resources to cope.
Burnout happens when that stress is chronic. Repetitive and ongoing stress. When day in and day out we have too much to cope with.
DECODE YOUR BURNOUT
If you look at 10 working moms across all careers and situations who are all burned out, you will see various reasons for burnout. The key to recovering from burnout comes from decoding the source of your burnout. Then you can develop strategies and approaches to handle stress better.
Dr. Grossman has identified three key areas that factor into getting burned out: your programming, your environment, and your personality. Instead of feeling like it’s all the job, the situation, or your environment, aim to work on yourself and developing those coping mechanisms.
WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL
Your programming – what are some of the things that you believe that have brought on burnout? You can control those narratives in your head. You can rewire that programming and change the stories that you are telling yourself. You can hit the reset button on the expectations in your life!
This comes from doing some deep work to identify what is the underlying nature of what is making you feel so stressed each day, that can inform the choices that you make to build clear, enforceable boundaries at work and at home.
INCREASING ENERGY & DEALING WITH MENTAL FOG
Organizing Your Environment
Organizing your environment helps to calm your mind, because clutter and chaos is distracting to your brain. It’s easier to be present and calm in a place where things are in their home and your surroundings are more clean.
Have Designated Space Boundaries at Home
Try not to work in bed and try not to eat where you work. Create designated workspaces so your brain gets used to doing work where work is done, sleeping in your bed. If at all possible, even if you work from home, create a space outside of your bedroom to work is ideal.
Figure out How to Reboot
Think about your cell phone. The first thing you do when you pick up your phone is check the battery. Create a process where you check your own battery and see what you need to help recharge your battery.
Cultivate a list of activities that are going to decrease your stress and recharge your mind and your body – this rest should be active, restorative and not just flopping and vegging out.
WRAP UP
If you are wondering just how burned out you are or looking for some real, actionable items to decode your burnout and get clear on the steps to recovery, start with Dr. Grossman’s Burnout Checklist to see where you fall on the spectrum from cold to on-fire hot and deep in burnout.
Interested in reading more and taking the steps to identify your specific source of burnout, then go about the business of recovering? Read Dr. Grossman’s book (it’s FREE with kindleunlimited this week) The 7E Solution to Burnout.
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Burnout-to-Balance with Caitlin Long, PA-C
Boundaries are the Antidote to Burnout with Diana Page, CRNP
