Burnout and Dealing with Stress
Burnout is a combination of emotional, mental and physical exhaustion. It differs from occasional stress in its length and persistence; if the below checklist seems to have become your new reality for the past fortnight or more, you may be experiencing burnout.
Quick Burnout Check
Constantly feeling down
Getting highly irritated
Getting sleep is a mission
Motivation or passion is dwindling
You’ve picked your bed over going out way too often
You’re noticing physical symptoms such as tension headaches, chest tightness, or nausea
Your emotions are out-of-whack and everything is a little overwhelming
If you are burnt out, it’s likely that you have a lot on your plate right now, and making time to look through resources may seem like another overwhelming hurdle. Please remember that you are worth it, you deserve to make time for yourself, and sometimes, shifting your well-being to top priority is the best and most productive thing you can do for yourself.
Whether you have or haven’t gotten to the point of burn-out yet, want to prevent it, or can feel yourself walking a fine line, we've put together a few resources for you that may help.
Self-Check-In activities, that only take a few minutes
What type of rest do you need most right now?
We need much more than just sleep to replenish our energy. Have a look at the six types of rest, see which one you might be lacking the most and what you can do to encourage it.
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Physical Rest |
Mental Rest |
Social Rest |
Sensory Rest |
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Find a quiet corner, do tiny, fast jumps, relax your limbs and shake out your body. Even 30 seconds of this can kick-start your body to feel more at ease
Make time for some movement. If one hour at the gym seems overwhelming, even 10 minutes of stretching or walking outside can help. Giving yourself a little bit of time to move is better than none.
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Do something to intentionally separate work from rest and wind down. A walk or a long shower can do the trick.
Decide on an intentional amount of time to switch off. Turn off your phone, take a piece of paper and a pen, and write down everything that’s on your mind, no filter. |
Do you have someone in your life that gives you energy? Give them a call today
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Give yourself an intentional 2 hours (or more) of no screen time.
See if you can spend intentional time just existing. Go to a local park or the beach, or just lie down in a quiet room. Your mind might start to rush around, you may even cry or have an emotional reaction. You don’t have to stop it, all you have to do is observe it.
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Emotional Rest |
Creative Rest |
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Set up a date with your favourite person. Someone who accepts you and gives you energy.
Write out your thoughts on paper, no filter. |
Take a moment to enjoy the sunset today. If it’s raining, admire the mighty weight of the clouds. |
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Short body-awareness scan
Lie down somewhere comfortable where you won’t be distracted.
Close your eyes, focus on your breath and center your mind with your body.
Begin with your toes. Tense them as hard as you can, and then release them, relax them, then consciously relax them even more, and let them feel still and heavy, dragged down by the gravity of the earth.
Work your way up through every part of your body; calves, knees, thighs, buttocks, lower back, torso, chest, upper back, hands, forearms, arms, shoulders, neck, jaw, temples, head.
At the end of your scan, keep your eyes closed, let your body sink into the ground, feel the heaviness, feel the surface you are on supporting you, gravity sinking you down. Stay in this space for as long as you like, then open your eyes.
Prefer to have guidance?
Check out the two videos below; the first is a guided meditation by a male, and the second is a guided meditation by a female
