Wendy GraceIt is that time of year again, when Christmas is just around the corner and your summer holidays are a distant memory. Many of us can overload ourselves and risk getting ‘burned out’. Rather than waiting for ‘burnout’ to happen, it is important to look out for the signs in order to avoid it happening in the first place.
Burnout is when you find yourself completely exhausted; you may lose interest in general, or in a particular part of your life. You might often feel negative, exhausted, experience weight loss or weight gain or feel a sense of helplessness. It can affect your spiritual, emotional, physical and social state.
Often burnout is a result of overworking in one or several areas of your life, where there is little time for peace and relaxation. We frequently keep ourselves busy with non-essentials, never really evaluating how efficiently we are spending our time. Then with the little time we have to relax, we over-stimulate our minds with television, computers and using social media (often all at the same time), so we are distracted rather than resting.
As Christians our faith has a huge role to play in avoiding burnout; we can find light and encouragement in our faith.
Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30). This also means opening our eyes to all the gifts that God has given us to use in order for us to be happy. Perhaps it is great friends that you can lean on, or a talent that can be utilised to help others, or a hobby that helps you to switch off – and most people have probably been blessed with all three!
Burnout can often occur because we rely solely on ourselves too much. We take on the roles of many, failing to delegate or simply not knowing when to say no to requests. There is huge freedom in asking for God’s wisdom and direction in our lives. Challenge your trust in God by learning when to say no and when to say yes.
Of course, being busy taking care of others is good in itself, but when it leads to you forgetting to take care of yourself, it can be dangerous. Have you ever sacrificed sleep continuously or been rushing around so much that you cannot eat the right food and look after your body? Is your time totally over-extended?
Neglecting your needs, ultimately, will have a negative impact on your health, but also your ability to help and support others.
Looking after yourself means caring for your body, mind and spirit. This means getting proper nutrition and exercise and taking time to be with friends, to have time alone, actually to fully experience people, places and the numerous gifts God has given us to enjoy.
Timetable
A good start is to look at your life and analyse the areas that are causing you to experience stress. The first step is to identify areas in your life which might be contributing to the risk of burnout.
Start by mapping out a typical week to enable you to see where your time goes; be honest with how efficiently your time is spent and if there is a proper balance between work and rest. Often we risk burning out when we put our heart and soul into a project or a cause we are very passionate about.
Giving of ourselves is vitally important. However, without balance our efforts may soon become less valuable. For example, if all of your free time is focussed on good works but you leave yourself no time to pray, or in doing these good works you neglect your children or your family commitments, then your efforts in reality are in vain.
Find rest
It is important for everyone to have an outlet in order to find strength and peace, a place to ‘switch off’. Avoiding burnout doesn’t mean avoiding all stress or work or the duties that are important in our lives; it means finding the right balance and the right outlets in order to rest.
Rest doesn’t need to be confused with sedentary activity; it means a rest from the fast pace at which life can be. On the contrary, undertaking exercise is a great form of rest; exercise is good for your body and good for your mind.
This actually is about the ability to find calm within the storm of our lives. Find time to be silent, where you will be uninterrupted and you can be still and tranquil, even if just for a few minutes.
Everyone can afford just a few minutes each day. Choose something simple, such as meditating on the day’s Gospel, taking a 10-minute walk alone (technology free!), driving in the car without any distractions and the radio off or losing yourself in a book.
Find what helps you to take your mind away from work and the hustle and bustle of daily life. It is very important to have social time with friends. Don’t let months drift by without spending time with the people you care about.
I highly recommend Achieving Peace of Heart by Fr Narciso Irala, SJ. This book is full of practical suggestions which we can learn to help us ‘switch off’ our minds and how to get true rest.
Nourish your mind
What we read, watch, hear and see can have a profound impact on our daily lives. Do you fill up your mind with things that feed your emotions and your soul? If you spend your entire day listening to and reading bad news or watching negative documentaries, you can be sure that this will affect on your outlook.
We need to inspire ourselves constantly and always keep a broader perspective on our lives and circumstances. Burnout can often occur when someone fails to see the bigger picture or meaning in their life. This is where the gift of our faith is truly rich and encouraging.
Have a laugh
A little laughter goes a long way! Not taking life too seriously, and being able to crack a joke, laugh and smile when the going gets tough is a great form of stress relief. The Bible also reminds us how important it is to laugh: “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” (Proverbs 17:22).
Laughing activates our stress relief response, soothes tension and improves our mood and immune system. Are you able to have a laugh every day?
Take time off
It is vitally important that you give yourself time during each day to slow down, empty your mind and to enjoy silence. This could be in Eucharistic adoration, over a quiet cup of coffee or taking 10 minutes to listen to a relaxing piece of classical music.
Finding even small pockets of time to pause and reflect can make a huge difference.
Legal requirements in our working day are there for a reason, because we need them. Take your lunch and 10-minute breaks throughout the day and use these them wisely.
Taking time to switch off is very important. Time off might not necessarily mean a holiday. This is time when you allow yourself to switch off completely. Turn off your phone, stay off social media and away from unnecessary distraction.
This might seem difficult but why not try doing this for 10 minutes a day for one week, then 20 minutes the following week and see if you can eventually find 30 minutes a day. Eventually you may even work up to something I highly recommend – having a phone-free Sunday.
If you undertake even some of the advice I have recommended, not only will you be less likely to burn out but you will find that you will become more productive and you will discover yourself really enjoying your free time to the fullest.