Emotional burnout, how it can sneak up, but when it hits you, it hits hard!

I’ve been doing good lately, really good in fact! I’ve been setting myself small goals and achieving over 80% of them, I’ve been feeling positive about life, despite having lots of challenges going on. Things were looking up until I woke one morning, and I struggled to get myself out of bed! I was tired beyond belief; I think I had a cold coming on. I’ve done it again, rather than giving myself the things that I need, I’ve burnt myself out.

Taking stock.

I’m far from perfect when it comes to avoiding emotional burnout. For me, burnout will follow a period of intense good mood lasting longer than normal. I’m however getting better at recognising burnout quickly once it starts. I did this in this instance, taking a few days away from work.

Consider contacting professional help.

Like any other health condition, there are lots of steps you can take to improve matters yourself, however, it is not always possible to do this alone, if you are struggling after a few days contact your doctor and they can put you in touch with others that can help. In my last instance, I got myself feeling better within a few days however previously I’ve contacted professionals and sought help to get back on track. Don’t suffer alone.

Watch for the signs.

There are many signs of burnout and lots of them are specific to certain individuals, while others will affect everyone. For me personally, I tend to get mood swings, I start to isolate myself from others and I’m unable to concentrate on tasks. Often, I will compensate for this by trying to apply more and more effort until I can do no more, it is at this point that I realise it is burnout.

Please be aware that emotional burnout can also cause physical symptoms. I’m still not sure during my last low if the cold was caused by the burnout, the burnout was triggered by the cold, or if I was unlucky to get 2 separate things at once. I believe that the cold was the physical manifestation of burnout.

Prevention is better than cure.

You can do many things to avoid emotional burnout; I find that sometimes things work and other times they don’t. Here are a few things I would recommend:

· Talk to others.

· Exercise.

· Learn to say No!

· Make your self-care routine a priority.

· Set boundaries in both work and personal life (and stick to them).

· Make time for the things that you enjoy.

It’s too late, I’m already burnt out.

That’s ok and despite putting everything in place there will always be times in life when we do burnout. When this happens give yourself the time that you need. Set yourself small goals that you know you can achieve, this can be as little as getting out of bed, eating something, or getting dressed. I recognise from my own experience that these things may not be little to you, but the bottom line is it does not matter what you chose just make it something easy for you and then build on it. As I previously said, if you are not feeling better after a few days, seek professional help.

What next

Well, I’m doing much better, a few days off did me the world of good. I’m very aware that I need to do little things every day to try to avoid burnout in the future. I’m also aware that despite doing all this there will be a time when I burn out again, and that’s ok, it is what makes us human and not machines. I hope if you are reading this, you find it helpful, and using some of these tips, you can attempt to avoid burnout or recover faster if it does catch you.

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Ben – It's That Sober Guy

Disclaimer – I’m not a trained addiction or mental health professional, information is based on my own life experiences and shared in good faith to help others.