5 Tips You Can Do When You’re Having Emotional Burnout
For more than one year, the existence of virus COVID-19 forced us to stay at home in purpose to prevent virus contagion. While we work at home, by all alone and cannot go to see our friends, makes us feel tired without reason. Oftenly, we found ourselves feeling down, don’t have any motivation in everything, and become sensitive if somebody talk to us. I had this experience, not just once, but many times. From those condition, you start feeling guilty and blame yourself because you’re not being productive. Here I’m telling you, that having emotional burnout is something normal. It can happen to anyone and anytime.
What is Burnout?
The common explanation of burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. The sign of burnout occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. Later when the stress continues, you start to lose the interest and motivaton in everything you do, it can be school or work. The first term of burnout originally come from American pyschologist named Herbet Freudenberger. He used it to describe the consequenses of severe stress and high ideals in “helping” professions. Those term aimed at nurse or doctor who sacrifice themselves for helping others, which often end up being “burned out” and unable to cope. Nowdays, burnout not only used for these helping professions, but it can affect anyone, from stressed-out career-driven people and celebrities to overworked employees and homemakers.
The Symptoms of Burnout
There are three main areas of symptoms which considered as signs of burnout:
- Exhaustion. For this symptoms, people oftenly feel drained and emotionally exhausted, unable to cope, feel tired and down, also don’t have energy. Beside the effect of low-feeling, people who affected also suffered some physical symptoms include things like pain and gastrointestinal (stomach or bowel) problems.
- Alienation from (work-related) activities. Mostly people who experience burnout find their jobs increasingly stressful and frustrating. In the begining, they start being cynical about their working condition and collagues. However, in the same time, they distance themselves emotionally and start feeling numb about their work.
- Reduced performance. Along the the first and the second symptoms goes on, it also affects everyday tasks at work or home, even when caring for a family members. People with burnout are always anxious about their tasks, find it hard to concentrated, listless, and lack of creativity.
Therefore, when you able to notice yourself that you’re having burnout, you have to take a break. Fill those break time with something you like and enjoy the most. For more specific, here five tips you can do for helping reduce your burnout.
- Found the stressor and take some rest.
Beforehand, when you’re feeling burnout, you may notice things that makes you feel exhausted and lost. It can be underpressure work, lots of school deadline, or you always sacrifice yourself to help others. After you found the causes, it is okay to have some rest and shut off from the world. Leave the work for awhile. Perhaps, you can ask your collague to not call or text you about the work. Another possibilities, if the work are too heavy and demanding, or the environment makes you not comfortable enough, you are allowed to considering the resignation.
2. Eat healthy and exercise
When you’re too busy with your work, you are not realized that your body is not healthy. Overworked, stay up late, and messed-up-eating schedule makes your immune in low condition. Therefore, eating healthy and exercise is two things that are inseparable. Your body need nutrition in order to get energy to do activities. Good food with rich nutrition could help boost the body immune and metabolism. Start to fulfil your protein needs and vitamin by eating lots of vegetables, fruits, and lentils. At the same time, you have to doing some exercise. Such as walking, running, or doing cardio at home from YouTube. Exercise could help to reduce stress and sharpen your focus. Also, don’t forget to drink water, so your body stay hydrated all day.
3. Get enough of sleep
As we grow older, sleep somehow become something unncessary. We are too occupied with our tasks and forget that our bodies needs sleep. The good sleep for adult need seven until nine hours per day. Beside the quantity aspect, sleep have must an adequate quality. There are some characteristics that shows your sleep quality. Likewise, you fall asleep soon afer getting into bed, within 30 minutes or less. You tipically sleep through the night without any interuption. Able to sleep as the recommended amount of hours for your age group. Lastly, when wake up in the morning, you feel rested, restored, and energized. The side effect of having not enough good sleep quality include poor sleep hygine, stress, or another chronic health condition.
4. Connect the closest and trusted friends
In the situation you feel down, all you need is someone who listen, an attentive listener. Probably, no need much suggestion or advice, but someone or few people who willing be there for you. It can be your high school best friend, friend from your childhood, or your girl/boyfriend. Make sure your surroundings is very supportive and able to help you to get through your hardship. Also, you can do some activities together like picnic, watch movie, sleep over, shopping, or maybe baking both favorite cupcakes. By this way, you don’t have to suffer alone, because the feel of needed and loved by your friends, which led to relieve your stress.
5. Do hobbies that makes you calm
For me, doing my favorite hobbies is like a simple teraphy for myself. No need expensive hobby or things which hard to do. Rearrange your spotify playlist, with good calming music. Try to paint in canvas or drawing book. Go walking around your neighborhood in the early morning. Play with your pets or gardening. Last but not least, I always write down the little things that make me grateful each day. It sound cliché but quite effective. By doing this, you may realize there are many wonderful things which could make you happy.
Surviving from burnout not easy as it sounds like what I write. Nevertheless, I believe everyone can go through their hardship. Remember, it’s not wrong to take a break for your mental health. Stay safe and stay sane, don’t forget to love yourself and put your priority in the first place.
Sources:
“Burnout Prevention and Treatment.” https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/burnout-prevention-and-recovery.htm
Cologne, Germany: Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG); 2006-. Depression: What is burnout? [Updated 2020 Jun 18]. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279286/
