{"id":301,"date":"2023-06-29T11:33:46","date_gmt":"2023-06-29T11:33:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.sensa.health\/?p=301"},"modified":"2024-01-22T14:29:49","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T14:29:49","slug":"4-best-ways-to-avoid-burnout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sensa.health\/blog\/4-best-ways-to-avoid-burnout\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Best Ways to Avoid Burnout"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Burnout. It\u2019s something that many of us have experienced at some point in our lives. But when burnout becomes your natural state of being \u2013 there\u2019s a problem.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burning out can be caused by many things \u2013 overworking yourself, not taking enough time to rest, a lack of sleep, difficulty in personal or workplace relationships, and plenty more. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, without further ado, let\u2019s get into how to avoid burnout altogether.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>1. Recognize the warning signs<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the most difficult things about burnout is that it impacts your self-awareness. When you\u2019re stuck in it, you\u2019re running purely on adrenaline, and the momentum feels so good that you end up adding more to your plate. But then \u2013 burnout hits, and it can take a long time to overcome. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what are the signs you should keep an eye out for? <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Simple activities like going to the store feel overstimulating<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • You feel overwhelmed to the point that you start to ignore or neglect activities you know are good for you \u2013 things like alone time or exercise <\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • You\u2019re saying \u201cyes\u201d even though you\u2019re already at capacity<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • You find everyone and everything irritating<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • You\u2019re all too familiar with \u201crevenge bedtime procrastination\u201d when you stubbornly stay up late because you didn\u2019t get any time to yourself during the day.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    We\u2019re naturally inclined to ignore these signs \u2013 but they\u2019re very important warning bells. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/span>2. Break the stress cycle<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    In the world we live in today, we operate at surge capacity most of the time as we are never able to complete the stress cycle. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Imagine you\u2019re stuck in traffic for hours \u2013 you\u2019re not going to be able to immediately feel better when you walk through your front door \u2013 your body will still be stuck in that stress response. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you haven\u2019t made it a habit to wind down and relax, you\u2019ll continually produce the stress hormone cortisol. Eventually, all that accumulated stress will catch up to you, and you\u2019ll crash.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here are some ways to complete and break out of the stress cycle:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Cry<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Take slow, deep breaths<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Do a physical activity \u2013 anything from vacuuming the house to going for a run<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Laugh<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Hang out with friends<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Do something creative, like writing or drawing<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Engage in physical affection, ask a loved one for a hug<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      <\/span>3. Draw and respect your own boundaries<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      I\u2019ll let you in on a secret \u2013 no one is going to draw your lines for you. You may wonder, why don\u2019t the people who care about me stop me from overdoing it? Often, it\u2019s simply because they want you to succeed, and a big marker of success in modern life is \u2018being busy.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      It takes courage to say no and stick to it without feeling guilty. The next time you\u2019re on the brink of saying yes to something you\u2019re not particularly excited about, pause and ask yourself:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • If I say yes, what do I get from it?<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • If I do this, what will I not be able to do instead?<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • If I say no, what\u2019s the worst thing that would happen?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Your capacity is going to be different from everyone else\u2019s. Your friends, coworkers, and even partner may not share the same burnout triggers as you. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        For example, if you\u2019re an introvert and your partner is an extrovert, they may see you in a slump and encourage you to schedule dinner with friends or go to a show. That\u2019s what they would do to feel better. But that might be the exact opposite of what makes you feel better.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Burnout is your body and mind forcing you to pay attention to them. Avoiding and healing from it involves learning what your own innate pace of life is, and then inhabiting that pace.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        <\/span>4. Understand what type of burnout you\u2019re headed toward.<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        Since \u201cburnout\u201d has become an umbrella term, it\u2019s good to understand exactly what you\u2019re feeling. This gives you the best chance to get the specific help you need. If you\u2019re exhausted because you\u2019re working super long hours, that has different implications than if you work part-time but find your role meaningless or boring.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) looks at three dimensions of burnout:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        1. Exhaustion<\/b>: You feel constantly depleted.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
        2. Cynicism<\/b>: You feel detached from your job and the people around you.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
        3. Ineffectiveness<\/b>: You feel that you\u2019re never able to do a good enough job.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          The MBI is often misinterpreted \u2013 people tend to focus solely on the exhaustion dimension. To help you better understand what you\u2019re feeling, take our quiz below to find out what kind of burnout you\u2019re struggling with or heading towards.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Burnout. It\u2019s something that many of us have experienced at some point in our lives. But when burnout becomes your natural state of being \u2013 there\u2019s a problem….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":302,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[4],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sensa.health\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sensa.health\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sensa.health\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sensa.health\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sensa.health\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sensa.health\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1117,"href":"https:\/\/sensa.health\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301\/revisions\/1117"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sensa.health\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sensa.health\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sensa.health\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sensa.health\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}