Burnout creeps up on you quietly. Before you know it you’re feeling so emotionally and mentally drained you can’t even get yourself out of bed. When you work in a specialized profession that often has demanding hours, this can only spell disaster for your workweek. How do you avoid this? Burnout is the body’s natural way of shutting down after too much strain. It can be avoided through a series of careful and conscientious actions involving your lifestyle, diet and sleeping habits, just to name a few.
Below you’ll find the top 10 ways to avoid burnout in a comprehensive list of causes, treatments and success stories.
The Rate Of Burnout In America
The United States is seeing a burnout epidemic. Physicians, in particular, are being hard hit. Recent studies have shown physicians being twice as likely as the general population to report a dissatisfaction with their work-life balance. It’s estimated there is a 35% overall burnout rate among American physicians of all specialties, making it a large enough problem to warrant its own set of surveys to address the underlying cause. Whether you’re a physician or not, the list below will help you learn to target the warning signs associated with burnout.
The top 10 ways to avoid burnout include being honest with yourself, using the resources around you and remaining in-touch with what makes you happy.
Emotionally Drained Symptoms
Burnout psychology is being extensively studied to help millions of Americans lead a happy and healthy lifestyle. Workplace stress is known to cause nearly one million employees to collectively miss work every day — a survey exploring the impact work has on happiness saw two-thirds of men and women stating work has a noticeable influence on their stress level. Signs of emotional exhaustion include being disinterested in personal hobbies and relationships, both of which are highly irregular if they go on for weeks at a time.
Reuniting with hobbies you love and spending time with friends or family at least once per week will go a long way in keeping depressive symptoms at bay.
Signs Of Physical Exhaustion
Emotional and mental exhaustion can cause or exacerbate physical exhaustion. A recent study found medical students reporting a rate of depression that’s up to 30% higher than the general population. Common reasons often cite the demanding nature of the job on top of grueling hours and sometimes inflexible shifts. Although a little exhaustion is normal after a long day, you should still be able to fall asleep normally and concentrate once you’re awake again. Physical exhaustion can impact your short-term memory and leave you feeling lethargic no matter how much sleep you get.
Do you struggle with a chronically stiff neck or poor sleeping habits? Your physical exhaustion might be reaching its peak.
Managing Anger In The Workplace
It’s understandable to be frustrated when exhaustion keeps nipping at your heels. Another physician-based study reported over 45% of physicians considering they are experiencing at least one burnout symptom, if not several. The top 10 ways to avoid burnout include managing these emotions so they don’t control you and make your symptoms worse. Finding a support group, whether online or in-person, will help immensely with venting these negative feelings and putting you in a healthier mental state.
A stressful job is frequently the source of anger, depression, weariness and bitterness. Air these feelings out with like-minded people and remember you’re not alone.
Reach Out To A Professional Counseling Service
Sometimes a round of jogging or a venting session on a forum isn’t enough. Sometimes you need to reach out to a professional that has seen your situation before and can offer more strict guidelines for improving your life. According to a survey provided by Medscape Physician Lifestyle, female physicians rated themselves even higher on the physician burnout scale than their male counterparts. Burnout is a difficult symptom that can take away weeks, even months, of productivity. Staving it off with little actions will help keep it at bay and make sure you’re ready to face whatever life throws at you.
The 10 ways to avoid burnout should always be in your back pocket to be pulled out at will. It’s all in the little things.