Burnout

Corporate life and small business alike can be relentless. Long hours, feeling like the work is never done, financial worries, regulation to keep up with, endless conference calls to report daily results, complaints, managing client or staff anxieties and the list goes on. It can feel like you are carrying the world on your shoulders and that you are only just holding it all together. I know the feeling.

Burnout is a real thing and it likely won’t be fixed by taking a holiday

It is a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion caused by chronic work stress over an extended period of time. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained and unable to meet constant demands. You might be experiencing burnout if you:

• Dread going to work & feel that every day at work is a bad day.
• Feel exhausted much of the time.
• Feel no joy or interest in your work, or even feel depressed by it.
• Feel overwhelmed by your responsibilities.
• Engage in escapist behaviours such as excessive drinking.
• Have less patience with others than you used to.
• Feel hopeless about your life or work.
• Experience physical symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, sleeplessness or heart palpitations.

Work stress activates our nervous system, hormonal, metabolic, immune and cardiovascular systems. If these systems are triggered too frequently or for too long they fail to return to normal which can lead to physical disease. This is why it is so important to either prevent burnout altogether or recover from it properly if you are already experiencing burnout.

The good news is that recovery is definitely possible, however it’s just not a quick fix. Calming your nervous system down takes time and consistency to put new strategies in place. These strategies will lead to ongoing lifestyle change which will have positive benefits across all aspects of your life. Your relationships, health, happiness and vitality for life will be better than ever.