7 Ways to Get Out of Burnout
Spring has sprung and I’m simultaneously feeling excited by the new blossoms on the trees, and overcome with allergies… you too?
In addition to the excitement that Spring brings, I’m jazzed because I just facilitated the second group call with my Coaching Circle!
(As a reminder, this is my new, 4 month program supporting you to unearth and learn to trust your authentic self, all in community with other women).
On the docket for this week? Burnout.
Specifically, reconnecting with joy to get out of burnout and refill your creative well.
One of the sources I pulled into this week’s call was Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle (which, if you haven’t read it yet, is a powerful primer on how our Capitalist, White Supremacist society directly creates the conditions for emotional exhaustion in women…NBD).
In the book, the authors talk about how we can’t expect to get out of burnout without completing what they call The Stress Cycle.
What does that mean? Here’s the basic jist:
Life is full of stressors – things like the news, fear of layoffs, parenting challenges, health scares, etc. These stressors make us feel stress.
We often think that if the stressors just go away – like if we could finally just enact sensible gun control – our stress would end.
But removing the stressor is not the same thing as resolving the stress we feel.
Burnout happens for a lot of different reasons, but one of them is the prolonged exposure to stress that has gotten trapped in our bodies.
Like a tunnel with a beginning, middle and end, we can ‘get stuck’ in the stress tunnel and can’t get out.
Getting stuck in stress is, understandably, not healthy for us.
Importantly, though, it’s also not productive.
Take someone who is stuck in a high-pressure job with a toxic manager. Everyday they are exposed to constant stressors that create a ton of residual stress – so much so, that even if their boss left the company, they might still feel a heightened level of anxiety, depression, or tension. They might start to wonder:
Why can’t I just get over this?
Why can’t I put myself out there and start looking for new work?
What’s wrong with me?
When we’re stuck in this stress cycle, it’s very, very difficult for us to fix or change anything.
Like discharging static electricity from a sweater, we need to discharge the stress we feel before we can get back to baseline.
If you’re stuck in a stressful job and hoping to resolve your situation, you have to bring yourself back up to a functional level BEFORE you can expect to have the energy, focus and capacity to DO anything.
Which brings me back to the Burnout book, and the 7 evidenced-backed ways the authors recommend to ‘complete’ the stress cycle and get out of the emotional tunnel:
Physical activity (there’s a reason why people say exercise is medicine)
Breathing
Positive social interactions with people you trust
Laughter
Displays of Affection (a warm hug, cuddling with a pet, etc)
Crying
Creative Expression
If I’m honest, none of this is particularly revelatory – I mean, we all know what a release it is to have a big cry, take a brisk walk, or enjoy a great laugh with a friend.
But here’s the part that is, actually, quite revolutionary:
All of these activities require us to stop and say, I need this.
They require us to pause long enough to tune in and actually acknowledge we’re in a state of stress.
They force us to address our needs, to acknowledge the basic biology of how our bodies work, and to do something that’s good for us.
Now that, my friend, is actually pretty big.
Today I encourage you to ask yourself: what’s something you can do to support yourself to get out of the stress tunnel you’re in?
Onward,
