Burnouts are common nowadays with stress level’s hitting the roof. It is related to feelings of monotony, lack of motivation and a drive to move on. This sort of burnout can creep up on you, slowly changing the way you function at work and at home. It tends to go unrecognized until it reaches a critical stage.
Working with people has given me an insight about how each one of you can notice if you are on the cusp of a burnout. What are some of the things that each one of you can do to see if you can recognize a creeping burnout?
How can you intervene, & make the necessary Lifestyle changes before your productivity tanks and the burnout compromises your physical and emotional health?
Frequent mood changes: The first thing which gets affected is your mood.I have seen that it causes emotional exhaustion and a loss of sense of personal accomplishment. This eventually leads to depersonalization, alienation and eventually some will be knocking the doors of depression.
Mind you I am not putting this to scare you, but talking facts out here by working with people just like you over the last couple of years. Depression has already become the number one Non communicable disease in the Indian corporate world. I strongly believe that Indians who genetically have a Low EQ fall into this trap more easily than others.
Concentration is a new word: When stress becomes chronic, this narrow focus continues for a long time and we have difficulty in paying attention to other things around us. That is when one begins to have difficulty in concentrating in their personal or professional lives.
What used to be at one time an easy effort, now becomes difficult to sustain even for a couple of minutes.
Feeling guilty & remorseful: With concentration being affected, it begins to affect your professional & personal lives. Your workdays tend to get longer and you will begin to get into a rut of feeling that your job is never complete, which will leads to working even more.
Most of the time, the logic muscle is not exercised at all. When I touch upon this area, with people who are on the verge of a burnout, they do not even realise that they are treading this path already.
Social isolation: Dwelling in this zone for long, ensures that one begins to isolate oneself from others, which eventually does more harm than good. This is a common trap which most fall into & eventually becomes a vicious cycle.
I have seen far too many people who begin to isolate themselves and drastically decrease their social interactions.Well we both know that “the horse can only be taken upto the water.
Depend on crutches: All of us have our way of developing a coping mechanism. When it comes to the majority, they tend to move towards substance abuse and in some cases emotional binge eating. This according to me ” is to avoid all the feelings that are weighing one down”.
Most are influenced by their peers and their immediate environment. It is very easy to be sucked into this vortex, when people around you are riding the same wave.Havent you heard the Adage “Birds of feather flock together”
If all these are setting off alarming bells in you, then it is prudent you step up and take control of your life. The first step to recovery is to get your mood and energy levels back up a bit and readjust your perspective. Seeing loved ones is a sure-fire way to expand your focus beyond your work. It will also help raise your happiness levels (exercise, as always, also helps but you know that already).
Once that’s accomplished, you should have the mental and physical resources to start thinking about more practical steps such as delegating more, developing healthier relationships, setting boundaries at work or starting a side project or a hobby. If you have tried all these and gone back to where you have begun, then you could reach out to me.
I do work with people who are on the cusp of a burnout and help them get back on track. Since you are already on my website, do take some time to know more about me and how both of us can team up to help build a new you. Fill up your details in my website for a free strategy session. I Will look forward to hearing from you on my mail Id coach@satishrao.in or on my Facebook Fan Page