what is burnout and how to cool it off

What comes to your mind when you hear the word “burnout”? For me, it’s pretty standard – too much stressful work over a sustained period of time.

And guess why I’m writing about it right now? Yep – these months I’ve been working more than I’m used to.

One definition on the web told me that “burn out” (written separately) means melting of a wire by an electric current of too great quantity.

My attitude towards electricity might be close to what ancient people felt when looking at the stars – electricity seems magical, unknown and dangerous. Still, I fathom that there needs to be a central controller (transformer) managing how much current is allowed to flow through, thus preventing overheating.

Coming back to psychological burnout, it’s interesting how we see it as an external force – something that happens to us. But of course, burnout is a malady of our spirit. It is our inability to stand up for ourselves and have self-care practices. Just like with an electric transformer, we are a control centre deciding how much load is flowing through us.

I made a burnout checklist. Tick all the boxes and you might find Mr Burnout at your doorstep.  

1. Ignoring signals that your body sends you

Common symptoms include frequent chest tightness, falling asleep in a strange place because we are constantly sleep-deprived, getting sick just when we take a few days off (as if our body was waiting for the first occasion to decompress), or simply collapsing on the spot (happens more often than you might think).

2. Inability to prioritize

With no life vision, no short and long-term goals that we ruthlessly stick to, we’ll be constantly swayed by life’s events and other people’s priorities. We will be overcommitting to things that we don’t feel like doing at all. The easiest way of saying “no” to something is having a strong “yes” to something else that is way more important.

3. “Hedonic treadmill” – I want more!

We constantly want more and think that we’ll be more content when we achieve this and that. But of course, once we have more, we metabolize it fast and there is a new “more” calling out. If a peaceful existence sounds like something to aspire for, do as little as needed rather than as much as possible.

…

How’s life? Busy

What if there are periods when life just gets damn busy anyway? Here’s a lifeboat – it becomes more important than ever to have micro-breaks during a day. I’m talking about brief moments of stillness, relaxation, and just being rather than doing something. If you have no other choice, do it wherever, a toilet can do just fine. Put the bloody smartphone away and have a few conscious, deep breaths. Focus on one particular area of your body and put all your attention there (helps with clearing the monkey mind). Or come to the window, shake that gorgeous body a little, relax your face, and look softly at some distant point for a minute.

This is like cooling off an electric cable that transfers more current than it is designed for.  

This post flows with Digital Daggers - Save Us from Ourselves