Overcoming Burnout and Cultivating Well-Being

Burnout is a pervasive and chronic stress response. It can feel physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually exhausting. It can leave you unable to access inner resources, and it can erode your self-confidence and trust in the world around you. It can happen to anyone. Perhaps it is happening to you.

You are not alone. In 2018, Deloitte conducted a burnout survey finding that, “77 percent of respondents say they have experienced employee burnout at their current job, with more than half citing more than one occurrence.” Employees, parents, homeschoolers, caregivers, and volunteers can all experience burnout. Burnout can even happen when you love the work you do.

There are steps you can take to prevent and recover from burnout, shift your relationship toward your work, and actively engage with your own well-being. Well-being is a skill that can be learned. That’s what the research of neuroplasticity experts Drs. Cortland Dahl, Christine Wilson-Mendenhall, and Richard Davidson found. In a 2020 study, they laid out four pillars of well-being: awareness, connection, insight, and purpose – that can be cultivated through intentional mental training and by learning innovative solutions to strengthen the skills of well-being.

Consider the following areas to explore in getting started:

1. Take an emotional and physical inventory. Regularly checking in with yourself about your feelings and emotions can help you to increase self-awareness skills and identify the stressors that can lead to burnout.

2. Create and maintain healthy boundaries. When you are more aware of your emotions and reactions to situations and high-stress events or interpersonal conflict, you can better prepare for future challenges.

3. Embrace lifestyle changes to empower yourself to choose daily habits and routines to help you combat burnout.

4. Make a life change. Although change can be scary, sometimes changing your life circumstances is the best way to treat and prevent burnout. Removing yourself from an unhealthy relationship or toxic work environment can be an essential step to recovering from burnout. If you are feeling ready to consider getting help to manage feelings of burnout and overwhelm, please reach out for support. Working with a life coach can provide clarity and an empowering focus to create a strategy that best suits your strengths and vision for the life you want and deserve.

Author: Stephanie den Hollander Phenomenally You Life Coaching www.phenomenallyyou.ca