Burnout is Seriously Real
Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. The World Health Organization has recently classified burnout as a legitimate medical condition, and I am here for it. According to the International Classification of Diseases, burnout is classified as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” Burnout shows up in the following characteristics:
Feeling depleted of energy or exhausted
Increased mental distance from one’s job
Negative feelings or cynicism to one’s job
Reduced professional efficacy
The WHO classification of burnout as a condition refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context. However, burnout can appear in any area of life where there is excessive unmanaged stress. The first studies about burnout were in 1974, but it wasn’t until recently that it was considered a real condition. It has become apparent that stress management and work-life balance is imperative to a healthy lifestyle. Unmanaged burnout symptoms can lead to serious issues such as depression, anxiety, insomnia, substance abuse, and heart disease. According to Psychology Today, over 60% of medical visits to the primary care doctor are due to stress.
WAYS TO MANAGE BURNOUT AND STRESS
Sleep – Get more sleep! It is recommended for adults to get 6 to 8 hours of sleep a night. If you are struggling with sleep, I encourage you to try blackout curtains or a sleep mask, melatonin gummies, or sleep coaching before going a pharmaceutical route.
Regular exercise – It is recommended to exercise 30 minutes 3 to 5 days a week. Regular cardiovascular exercise has been shown in studies to significantly reduce burnout symptoms in as little as 4 weeks.
Yoga/Meditation/Mindful Breathing – These could all be their own line; however, they all share the common thread of mind-body connection. Each of these practices can help one learn to acknowledge without reaction, which can be carried into life by teaching you to not react to every little thing and causing stress, but instead provides equanimity to your day-to-day life. Also, each of these mind-body practices offers a time to disconnect. Whether it's 5 minutes or an hour, more time spent doing these activities means less time in the daily stresses. These three practices also trickle into other realms on this list. For example, taking the time to practice yoga, meditation or mindful breathing would be considered self-care – yoga has the added bonus of regular exercise– and a positive outcome of these three practices is better sleep.
Self-Care – Self-care has become very popular (#selfcaresundays), which is incredible! Taking a few moments a day to pamper yourself or do something that selfishly sparks joy has many physical and mental benefits. Not only does it help with stress management, but it also enables you to become a better caregiver. Remember you can't give from an empty cup.
Talk about it - Let. It. Out. Keeping thoughts and emotions pent up creates a ticking time bomb of stress. If you have something you need to get off your chest, speak to someone about it or journal about it. Although, admittedly, I don’t journal as much as I probably should, I find it cathartic. Even when what I write may only be a simple two-sentence thought, getting it out feels like a weight off my shoulders. I suffer from anxiety to the point that I get too stressed it is nearly impossible for me to breathe, literally. I let those unsaid thoughts, work stresses, and daily duties build up, and it culminates into a dam being broken, and it all coming out one way or another.
Ultimately, the overwhelming feeling of stress is influenced by our nervous system and the sense of fight-or-flight. Practicing yoga and mindfulness helps us learn to slow down, become fully aware of each moment, and helps us retrain our fight-or-flight response to become less stressed by your daily tasks. Yoga and mindfulness create the equanimity that we desperately need.