Burnout is more common than you think, so don’t be alarmed. Just four years ago, the World Health Organization recognised how frequent it was becoming among people around the globe and declared burnout to be an occupational phenomenon that undermines how well people perform at work.
The United Nations agency listed burnout in its 2019 International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), defining it as a "syndrome conceptualised as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed".
What causes burnout, and what signs to look out for?
Unreasonable time pressures or work deadlines, lack of communication and support from management, lack of clarity about what your role entails, unmanageable workload and unfair treatment can lead to burnout. It can cause you to suffer gastrointestinal problems, high blood pressure, reduced immune function, headaches, sleep and concentration issues, depressed mood, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness and suicide ideation. And the longer you suffer these symptoms, the more your brain starts to feel like mush, making it impossible to clearly understand what you need to do to get back to functioning at 100%.
Tips to solve burnout
Eindhoven University of Technology researcher Evangelia Demerouti wrote a groundbreaking paper about how to manage burnout, which revealed some key coping strategies. If you can’t completely change the job that’s causing the burnout, then you may want to consider switching tasks. Failing that, self-care strategies such as eating a healthy diet, getting plenty of exercise, and maintaining healthy sleep habits can play a huge role in clearing your mind.
A vacation may offer you some temporary relief, but probably won’t be enough to help you overcome burnout. Demerouti’s research recommends regularly scheduled breaks from work, along with daily renewal exercises, or it might be beneficial to find a health professional. As the line between depression and burnout can often be blurred, a qualified professional will be able to help distinguish between the two and give you the tools to hit reset.
Getting back to your best: less is more
Once you’ve nipped burnout in the bud, review your life priorities and understand what is important to you and how you can avoid going down another stress whirlpool. Prioritise what goals you hope to achieve, but don’t go crazy listing so many. Just highlight a few; this will give you a realistic chance of achieving them.
Clearly define your priorities
If you’ve suffered from burnout, then it’s highly likely you may need to set some new workplace or career priorities or health priorities to avoid prolonged workplace stress in the future. Make it clear to yourself if your new life priorities are job or career-oriented or related to your physical and mental well-being.
Document them and make them visible
Ever thought of something brilliant, only to forget it moments later and stress yourself out wondering what it was that passed through your mind? Write it down. Whether it be a memo typed into the notes app on your phone, a sticky note on your desk at work or the journal you keep in your bedside drawer. Mark Murphy, Founder of Leadership IQ, conducted research comparing people who wrote down their goals versus people who didn’t, and the ones who did were anywhere from 1.2 to 1.4 times more likely to successfully accomplish what they set out to do. This comes down to your brain processing it better and remembering it more clearly, as there is a visual cue every single day to remind it.
Reward yourself
If you’ve prioritised your mental health and decided to, for example, swap out endlessly scrolling through social media for reading a book before bed, then tested it out and discovered it’s worked for you, treat yourself. Go and buy that pair of shoes or scrumptious pastry you walk past at the bakery on your way to work every day. Give yourself a moment to bask in the joy of overcoming a difficult period and figuring out what is important to you and your well-being.
If you’re suffering from burnout, White River Manor is the ultimate recovery destination. Nestled in the South African countryside, the luxury rehab and wellness centre is bathed in constant sunlight and surrounded by nature, providing the perfect haven to balance your mind, body and soul.
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