The Importance Of Not Burning Out
When someone says “burnout”, you might envisage a person lying in bed all day, not showering for weeks on end, their paperwork or school work culminating into a thumbed through beast on their desk in the corner of their room. Sure, this is sometimes what extreme burnout can look like. But it can also take other forms, more discrete, more unnoticeable so it can slip through the cracks and become more powerful. It’s important to recognise these hints and signs of a burnout infiltrating your life so you can nip it in the bud, and ensure you are reaching your highest potential.
As a young leader, you might often find yourself in a high pressure environment. This could be in the lead up to some important examinations, or preparing for a job interview, or writing an application for candidacy for school captain. Whatever your goals are, you can’t avoid the situations where the expectations are high, the hard work is piling up, and you’re working tooth and nail everyday to achieve high quality results. This is where burnout can be a very real, very threatening monster.
Burnout is where you have reached a stage of physical, mental, or emotional exhaustion due to an imbalance in work versus rest. Burnout can poison your body, first and foremost. The exhaustion of burnout will often disturb your sleep, and might even lead to insomnia. The stress of burnout will weaken your immune system, which means your body will be less able to fight off pathogens and recover from illness. It can lead to musculoskeletal problems such as muscle tension, muscle knots, as well as stiffness and pain in the neck, shoulders, and back. As well as this it can disturb your digestive system, manifesting in gastrointestinal issues such as IBS, acid reflux, stomach ulcers, and other digestive disorders. It can also cause a lack of appetite, or intensified cravings for unhealthy foods.
But burnout is most commonly categorised on the devastating impact it can have on your sense of wellbeing and mental health. Individuals experiencing burnout will find their cognitive function impaired – so as much as they try to get to work, they will struggle to retain information and complete tasks to a high quality (making burnout and wanting to achieve your goals a bit of a double edged sword). When you’re not able to get the work done, it is going to damage your self esteem as you might feel incapable or inadequate with the pile of work slowly growing larger and larger. The exhaustion of burnout can emotionally drain you – leading to more serious mental health implications like depression or anxiety. You might find yourself with a shorter fuse, a quicker temper, or more prone to irritability than usual as you’re so overwhelmed with daily challenges that your judgement and patience may be wearing thinner. Burnout can be the biggest slayer of passion, which can lead to you detaching from the work or relationships that once left you feeling fulfilled and excited, meaning that the dopamine receptors in your brain are going to be massively starved.
But don’t be scared off by working hard to achieve your goals! Burnout can be avoided if you know how to spot the early signs, and you know exactly what to do when you see the nasty creature creeping into your life.
Burnout will begin in small, sneaky ways. You might find yourself being more overwhelmed by relatively simple tasks in front of you. For example, organising your emails might have once seemed a quick, 2 minute job. But now, it has grown into a nightmare of a task – what colour should I code them? Do I need to file them to a separate inbox? I haven’t replied to that email yet! I need to remember to cancel that subscription… it might have already charged me for this month! Back to the emails – agh, I can’t do this! I’ll go watch the latest season of Love Is Blind instead.
Or, burnout will manifest itself in the thoughts in your head. You’re scrolling on Linkedin, and see a super cool work opportunity pop up! You go to apply, but… what if I’m not good enough? There’s probably loads of people way more qualified than me. What if the application form is confusing? And I haven’t updated your Linkedin portfolio yet! But the documents are on another laptop. God, I’m so unorganised! I definitely shouldn’t be applying for this job. See? In just less than a few seconds you’ve missed out on a big opportunity, because burnout has convinced you that you aren’t high quality enough, or experienced enough to apply. Sidenote – if you see something that you really want that scares you, just apply for it! The worst they can do is say no.
Burnout might begin as a lack of appetite. Missing your alarm in the mornings… again, and again, and again. Being less productive throughout the day. Giving up on your work halfway through the day. The more you ignore these signs, and try to just power through, the worst the burnout is going to get. So here are some top tips of what you can do as soon as you notice burnout happening.
- Don’t judge your emotions. It’s easy to feel frustrated with yourself when you’re starting to burnout, especially if you are under a lot of pressure as it is from your work or school. But judging yourself and trying to bully yourself into working harder won’t make the situation better. Acknowledge how you feel, and treat yourself with the kindness you’d treat your best friend with. Right now, you need to be a friend to yourself more than ever.
- Cut up the tasks. Slice up your jobs into small, manageable, bitesize tasks. It might seem counterproductive to be doing less work, especially if you have a lot on your plate. But if you try to tackle it all at once, you’re going to end up with less of the work completed. Taking it in baby steps will mean that the work is done more efficiently, and you’re getting enough dopamine from setting achievable goals.
- Tell someone. The “embarrassment” of burnout can often stop people from sharing their experiences with friends or family. But taking the burden of knowing it off your chest will lighten the load on your back, and might even mean the burnout fades faster and you’re feeling yourself get more productive. It also may be useful to talk about your burnout to whoever is setting the tasks – your boss, or your teacher. You can’t guarantee they’ll respond positively, but if they do, then you can reduce the stress of failure or falling behind, and focus on more important things.
- Rest. It seems obvious, but it is super important. Taking the time to rest – whether this be by physically falling asleep, playing some video games, reading a book, or having a friend over, is crucial to defeating burnout. You will know what type of rest is best for you – if you’re an extrovert then social events may recharge you, however if you’re an introvert you may want some time to hole up with a good book in your bedroom.
- Set boundaries. If your teacher or boss asks you if you can take on a larger workload, when you’re already feeling burnt out, or asks you to pick up an extra shift, or go to an after school club, say no. You’re not a bad person for setting boundaries, in fact, you’re ensuring you’re a more effective and proactive student or employee by protecting your downtime and recharge time. You can also set boundaries with your friends – if you aren’t in the right mindset to go on a big night out with them, or look after a friend who is feeling down, you can express that. It doesn’t mean you don’t love them or want to be there for them, it just means you are focusing on your own mental health and prioritising your wellbeing.
- Dopamine. Do activities that induce some dopamine. And no, this doesn’t mean the superficial dopamine you get from fast food or your iPhone. Natural dopamine can be found in creative activities like art, music, or drawing. It can also be gained from exercise, sunlight, meditation, social connection, and a healthy diet. Giving your brain that little push can pull you out of the cynicism of burnout.
- Therapy. I want to acknowledge that therapy is, unfortunately, a privilege that isn’t accessible to everyone. However, if therapy is available to you, it can be really useful in times of burnout. Burnout is characterised by refusing to focus on our own mind and health, and instead investing all our energy into work. Therapy will allow you the space and time to give your emotions a breathing area, and acknowledge and work through them without feeling like you’re wasting time or being unproductive.
Ultimately, as a young leader, you need to be able to focus on your health, wellbeing, and happiness just as much as your goals. The two will usually go hand in hand, but can also work against each other if you’re not dividing your time between rest and hard work efficiently enough. If you’re experiencing burnout, it is super horrible and can feel like a dark pit you’ve disappeared into. But I promise, it is not an undefeatable beast – and you can get through this. You are no less valid, quality, hard working, or a leader, because of your mental health. Focus on you, to focus on the future.
If you or a loved one is struggling right now, you can check out the link below for some useful resources and advice.
https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/mental-health-issues/stress/
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services/
https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/adults/nhs-talking-therapies/
Xantippe Steel
August 10th 2024