As a counselor and instructor my academic year has recently begun and I am making a promise to myself not to burnout by the end of the year. I hope the same for all my other “heart workers,” who constantly burnout because they give so much to others. For all my educators, health care workers and social justice warriors I want you to refuse to burnout again.
What is Burnout?:
So what does burnout look like and feel like? For me it feels like difficulty focusing, forgetting things and feeling exhausted by the end of the day. Many people wrongly think that self care is the answer to avoid and remedy burnout but it is not. In the book, “Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle,” the authors, Emily and Amelia Nagoski, explain that it is not self care that helps with burnout.
How to Avoid Burnout:
What actually helps with burnout is letting out the pent up energy within us from a long day of “heart work.” I pick up on people’s energy easily so I often absorb people’s negative, depressed or anxious energy. To get out that energy I have started jogging four days a week. The thing that helps me the most is doing sprints. I often think about the energy I picked up throughout the day and imagine it coming out of my body as I run. There are other ways to get this pent up energy out such as crying, yelling or jumping jacks.
Another thing I learned to do is to ask for help and take breaks. I have always struggled with asking others for help and I tend to try to do things on my own but I have found time and time again that doing everything on my own just doesn’t work. After a major breakdown one year I started asking my family for more help than I ever have before. I started to let go of my perfectionism and let others do things their own way.
What Fills Your Cup?:
Finally, I have learned to fill my time with more of the things that fill my cup rather than taking away my energy. What fills you up with energy is different for everyone. For me it is writing and journaling out my thoughts, spending time with a small group of close friends and reading. All of these things provide me with more happiness and energy so that I can continue doing the heart work that I care so much about. So this year let’s all make a promise to ourselves not to burnout and instead to enjoy the year ahead.