Burn Out: Is It Possible to Prevent It or Only Combat It?

Here’s the thing… we are all tired, and I don’t mean because we haven’t gotten enough sleep last night (although I’m sure that’s a factor!). 

Chances are if you’re a person in the United States you’ve experienced some form of burn-out or are on your way there, whether due to work, family life, school, or a combination of them all. Times have been tumultuous for some years now regardless of your situation, so continuing to hear “You just need to do more self-care” can make you want to run screaming in the opposite direction out of frustration. 

So my question: is it possible to prevent burnout?

Yes & no.

To prevent or get rid of it, we need to make environmental, systematic, and overall big changes to our society and/or lifestyles to rid ourselves of any current burnout happening. If you can’t or don’t want to overhaul your life I have some suggestions for how to lessen it!

We take advice from Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith’s research on the different types of rest to give us a framework for how to take care of ourselves. When you hear the phrase “I need rest”, what pops into your mind? For me, it looks like, lying on my couch, in my pajamas, watching Harry Potter movies! Maybe you thought about getting a massage, taking a bath, or a simple nap. Well, this is only one area of rest… specifically physical rest and if you are only addressing your needs for physical rest you can still end up feeling restless at the end of it.

In Dr. Dalton-Smith’s work, she outlines 7 distinct areas we can look at to recharge. 

1. Physical 

Lifestyles or experiences that lead to physical fatigue: working demanding physical jobs, being an athlete, caring for young children, coping with a chronic illness or disability. 

Signs you need physical rest: feeling sluggish, body aches and soreness, fatigue. 

How to get physical rest: 

• Improving sleep schedule (aiming for consistency)

• Increasing the amount of sleep per night

• Stretching or light forms of exercise 

• Activities aimed at supporting your body like massages, hot baths, acupuncture, etc. 

2. Mental 

Lifestyles or experiences that lead to mental fatigue: jobs that involve a lot of cognitive attention or strategizing, difficult classes/ school work, using a second language for work/socializing, adapting your neurodivergence to a neurotypical environment.

Signs you need mental rest: poor concentration, brain fog, forgetfulness, procrastination of important tasks, mind-racing. 

How to get mental rest: 

• Leisure activities like reading, walking your dog, crocheting -Completing simple tasks: washing dishes, folding laundry, etc. 

• Meditative practices, visualizations, listening to meditation videos on Youtube, practicing mindfulness.

• Screen breaks, especially if your work involves a lot of screen time. 

• Spacing out larger mental tasks for work or school (i.e. reducing procrastination). 

3. Sensory Rest

Lifestyles or experiences that lead to sensory fatigue: having a processing disorder (common with ADHD or Autism), being in loud/chaotic environments frequently or for a long duration, driving in traffic, being in front of a screen for long periods, too much multitasking. 

Signs you need sensory rest: experiencing headaches or migraines, eye fatigue, jumpiness with sounds, increased irritability. 

How to get sensory rest: 

• Turn off your devices, even 5 minutes of this can help.

• Wear earplugs when you need to be in an overstimulating place (Loop Earplugs are great!) 

• Complete tasks one at a time (limit to one screen at a time!) 

4. Creative

Lifestyles or experiences that lead to creative fatigue: working a creative job, monetizing your hobbies/crafting skills, being a perfectionist with what you create.

Signs you need creative rest: feeling stuck on projects, picking up new hobbies quickly without following through with them. 

How to get creative rest: 

• Do something just for fun outside of your regular creative endeavors. Make something with the idea that nobody is going to see it. 

• Involve yourself in other’s creativity- visit a museum or order a commission piece from your favorite artist on Twitter. 

• Go into nature! 

5. Emotional

Lifestyles or experiences that lead to emotional fatigue: having that shoulder everyone wants to cry on, difficulties setting emotional boundaries with others, life transitions, and new stressors. 

Signs you need emotional rest: feeling more emotional/tearful yourself, feeling shut down or a lack of empathy when others come to you with problems, minimizing your emotions when asked (you are not “fine” all the time!) 

Examples of emotional rest: 

• Surround yourself with those who give you emotional peace and don’t add to the stress.

• Reflecting activities (journaling, art, singing, etc. anything that gets your emotions out.) 

• Expressing feelings to a trusted person, whether a family member or professional. 

6. Social

Lifestyles of experiences that lead to social fatigue: Being a parent, working in a customer-facing job, having people-pleasing tendencies or “pouring from an empty cup”, having an active social life/outgoing friend group. 

Signs you need social rest: irritability, feelings of wanting to run away or shut down from your responsibilities, and feeling drained after a social interaction.

Examples of social rest: 

• Say no! You don’t have to attend every 4-year-old’s birthday party, go to every brunch, or hang out with coworkers after dealing with customers all day. 

• Change up your social spots. If you always go to dinner drinks, try an exercise class or paint-and-sip together. 

• Choose who you socialize with wisely. Are your friends/family energy-givers or energy-takers? 

7. Spiritual 

Lifestyles of experiences that lead to spiritual fatigue: having a lack of community, and societal traumas causing hopelessness.

Signs you need spiritual rest: feeling a lack of connectedness, increased imposter syndrome, experiencing an “existential crisis”, isolating yourself.

Examples of spiritual rest: 

• Increase your community! Join a group, volunteer, and talk with people that share your interests.

• Zoom out and look at your bigger picture. If you struggle to set goals or with answering that “where do you want to be in X amount of years” question, try looking forward and focusing on how you want to feel/lifestyle improvements you want to accomplish and see how that changes your outlook on your life currently. 

Take a minute to think about what areas you are feeling worn out by, and consider how you can use some of these strategies or ones you think up yourself to combat the burnout you feel. The key to reacting to burnout is to proactively nurture ourselves across multiple areas of rest. Remember, it’s not solely about preventing burnout but also about embracing rest as an integral part of our well-being. 

References

Dalton-Smith, S. (2021, January 6). The 7 Types of Rest That Every Person Needs. ideas.ted.com. https://ideas.ted.com/the-7-types-of-rest-that-every-person-needs/