We all work tirelessly to make ends meet, and there are days when we drag ourselves home with little to no motivation. We often fail to realize it, but somehow, we mix our professional and personal lives. As much as you try to balance your work and personal life, you always have office tasks on your mind. Working for long hours not only makes us exhausted physically, but it also burdens us mentally. Our lives have become so busy and full of chaos that we barely find time for ourselves or our family.
When we are new in the workplace, we are all energetic and happy to work. Still, our energy and motivation reduce as the workload increases. At times you might think you are not good enough or not giving your best. Your mood starts to change, and you get irritated easily. If you feel that you were less productive or that your work does not make you happy anymore, you might be undergoing burnout.
Let us understand burnout; burnout is a state of mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion resulting from prolonged and excessive stress. When you feel emotionally drained, you cannot concentrate on your tasks efficiently and might feel tired quickly.
Almost every employee faces work burnout and does not realize it. If left unattended, the burnout can develop into more stressful situations like depression, anxiety, and aggression. 1 out of 5 employees experiences burnout at work, even if they work from their home's comfort. Besides burnout, many people face social anxiety that hinders their communication pathways and interaction with colleagues at the workplace. People facing social anxiety at work often have self-esteem issues and low self-confidence.
It is vital to identify why you face burnout and find remedies to cope with it. Here is how you can overcome work burnout.
Talk It Out
When we are stressed and exhausted, everything appears to be difficult and challenging. Everything looks bleak, and mustering up enough energy seems impossible, let alone helping ourselves. Surprisingly, we have a lot more control over stress than we think. We can overcome our burnout by talking it out. At times we fail to look at a problem from a different perspective, but others can help us look at it. We, humans, tend to rely on our friends and family. Venting out about our problems to our loved ones can help us find a solution. The person you talk to might not reduce or control your stressors, but they can listen to what is bothering you and provide ease. When you are undergoing stress, talk about it with your partner, parents, and ask if they had been through the same. If they had faced a situation like that, they might guide you about strategies for coping. Bottling up your feelings does not reduce the stressors, but it multiplies them further.
2. Identify And Cut Back
We all face work burnout, but we might not be aware of it. When you are at work, and you feel changes in your behavior and mood, instead of fretting over it, identify the factors involved. You do not have to deal with the stressor all the time. If it is something from your colleagues, you can decide to interact with them less often. Creating personal boundaries is vital if we want to reduce our stressors. Do not consider your work a burden but try to find the factors you enjoy and carry that as motivation. When we are stressed, we start doubting ourselves and adopt a self-defeating behavior, and blame ourselves. Such actions only add up to our stressors and make us feel more upset. Cut back on all the habits that can increase your stress and put a strain on your mental health.
3. Re-Evaluate
Often we pick up unnecessary things, and they become a nuisance for us to handle. If you are undergoing stress, do not add more to your plate. Burnout is a sign that something is not working right. We work to earn a stable income, but when your work-life interferes with your personal life, that is when things start going south. It is vital to set boundaries for your mental wellbeing and avoid the extra burden on your shoulders. Turn off your phone post working hours, fix a time for checking your emails, and take a break from technology. Evaluate the factors that give you positive vibes and discard the ones that are making you more stressed. Take a break while you are at work and relax for a while helps rejuvenate. You can spare some time for breathing exercises when you feel overwhelmed and cannot find a way out.
4. Focus On Your Sleep
Work burnout results from prolonged stress and the stress increases twice as much when we have disoriented sleeping patterns. Often people lose sleep when they are stressed, and it makes things worst. Sleep is the time when our brain and body recharge and rejuvenate from all the exhaustion. A disturbed sleep includes more to our stressors, and it makes our performance slow. Getting good seven to eight hours of sleep can help us cope with the stressors at work and find the solutions to have mental clarity. With little to no rest, our mind becomes foggy, and it affects our function and ability to process tasks that are waiting for us the next day.
5. Eat Well And Seek Help
Often people give up on their food when they are stressed, and appetite makes things more difficult. When we are hungry and do not feed our bodies, it makes us irritable, and our bodies become energy deprived. Food is a vital source of energy and health to our body. Giving up on food is like adding more stressors, and an empty stomach also affects our cognition as the brain needs glucose to function that comes from the food we eat.
Conclusion
Our health comprises physical, emotional, mental, and social wellbeing. If one of the aspects is not right, it affects our mood, cognition, and behavior. Around 70% of people complain about experiencing work burnout and how it affects their capacity to function at work. Work burnout is a medical condition that can trigger mental health issues like depression, anxiety, or it can affect our self-esteem. Talking about it can help you find a way out, or you can seek a psychologist's help. Taking care of our wellbeing is vital if we intend to function well in our professional and personal lives.
Isreal olabanji a dental assistant and public health professionals and has years of experience in assisting the dentist with all sorts of dental issues.
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The content is intended to augment, not replace, information provided by your clinician. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Reading this information does not create or replace a doctor-patient relationship or consultation. If required, please contact your doctor or other health care provider to assist you to interpret any of this information, or in applying the information to your individual needs.