BURNOUT IS REAL

Have you experienced burnout? How did you feel?

The topic of this came to me last night after a whole week (if not weeks) of feeling utterly exhausted, tired, unmotivated, confused and even using up my weekend to sleep.

Mental health is something I like to talk about on my blog, yet physical health is not something I feel I can, which is silly, as it is something we all have to be aware of and experience in different ways.

I was even debating writing about this, but I’m an advocate for documenting and sharing these things.

You may have or are experiencing burnout – everyone experiences it in different ways.

Stress and distress are all main causes, along with the constant rush and demands of life, and work.

WHAT IS BURNOUT?

According to Mental Health UK:

Burnout is a state of physical and emotional exhaustion. It can occur when you experience long-term stress in your job, or when you have worked in a physically or emotionally draining role for a long time.

WHAT IS MY EXPERIENCE WITH BURNOUT?

Burnout and I are very well acquainted, for many years it seems. I just didn’t realise it. This has stemmed since childhood and working super hard at school, through to college and university, where I would also hold down a part-time job as well. I honestly don’t know how I did it! I look back at Lizzie and think 1. how proud I am, but also 2. you were exhausting yourself!

I don’t know how I’d cope now (I probably wouldn’t), but it is all about weighing up putting in the hard work now to make the long run a tad easier… I so hope this is true!

When burnt out, I tend to be:

very anxious
emotional – a lot of crying and stropping involved
tired – mental and physical
less creative
unmotivated
boredom eating
eat unhealthily
feel sorry for myself / think negatively
become a recluse

HOW DO I TACKLE IT?

Not I didn’t say ‘cure’ it: there is no way to ‘cure’ burnout! There are ways of reducing it for sure, but the world is getting busier every day and to keep up, you have to put yourself out there. I don’t want to be left behind.

To tackle burnout, I like to:

Go on holiday! Whilst this isn’t a luxury everyone can have, I LIVE for holidays. My aim is to go abroad once a year, particularly as the opportunity was taken away from us because of a stupid pandemic. It’s always good to have something to look forward to
Read – welcome to Lizzie’s Week where I read many many books
Blog
Go out for coffee
Spend time with my dog
Long walks – be at one with nature. Honestly, so underestimated
Write
Bake
Sleep! Which reminds me of a book on this I want to read…

A week away somewhere isn’t long enough. I’ve learned that. You get back feeling refreshed, and then a couple of weeks later… you feel the same as before your holiday. Surely that isn’t a sustainable way of living?

Of course, that’s life and ‘the whole world is tired. Just get on with it.’

True, I understand.

That doesn’t mean I can wish and aspire for something different. As long as I am doing something about it.

I don’t know what I wanted to achieve from writing this post, other than letting you know that if you’ve stumbled across this post looking for answers: I’m sorry I don’t have them. But, you’re not alone.

Thank you for reading this far if you did x