Signs of burnout & how to avoid it

Workplace stress is commonplace, especially in industries that fluctuate with the market and economy.

Unmanaged stress can lead to burnout, but it doesn’t have to be this way. There are telltale signs of stress that, once you notice them, will enable you to address and avoid it.

Stress is a physiological function, not mental, meaning it is a chemical process in our body and isn’t simply a “mind” thing. Stress happens when we encounter a difficult situation that triggers certain chemicals in our body to be released. Back in the day, those chemicals helped us fight the perceived stressful threat. These days, those chemicals sit in our bodies until we complete the stress cycle. Because stress is mostly a chemical process that happens in our bodies, to manage it, we can’t simply say, “It’s going to be okay.” To complete the stress cycle and resolve stress, we have to take actions that trigger the right physiological responses that tell our body that we are “safe” and no longer threatened.

Stress is triggered when we experience a situation that puts us in fight or flight mode. Again, reading a message from our boss or having a stressful meeting can all trigger certain chemical responses in our bodies that put our bodies in fight or flight mode. The chemicals course through our body, alerting all of our organ systems that we are in “danger.” This means our body is prepped to either flee or fight the perceived threat, and that’s how our body responds in stressful situations, even today when there is nothing we need to flee or fight. If we don’t flee or fight, the chemicals stay in our body and keep building up as we encounter different stressors throughout our day, week, month, and year. If we don’t complete the stress cycle by fleeing or fighting, the stress continues to build up in our bodies. If we let our stress go unmanaged for too long, we may start to see some negative signs in our body—signs of burn out:

  • You notice yourself doing the same thing over and over again or engaging in self-destructive behaviors.

  • “Chandeliering” - erupting and not being able to control your emotions is a sign you’re past your threshold and need to deal with the stress before you deal with the stressor.

  • If you’re hiding from your life, you’re past your threshold.  In this case, you aren’t dealing with the stress or the stressor.  Deal with the stress so you can be well enough to deal with the stressor.

  • Your body feels out of whack.

You may be thinking right now, how on earth am I meant to complete the stress cycle and avoid burn out? Am I supposed to run away when my boss sends a mean message or get into a fist fight with them?

Completing the flight or fight response was much easier when our ancestors had physical threats to deal with like tigers or elephants. The natural responses in those situations would be to run or fight, which would naturally complete the stress cycle. But today, a lot of our work and life is online and the threats aren’t tigers but rather a difficult meeting or a fight with a partner. In these situations, we still need to complete the stress cycle, and we can do that by going on runs or moving our bodies everyday. Remember, stress is physiologically so we have to address it in a physiological way too. Movement is how we can complete the stress cycle today, triggering the right chemicals to end our stress cycle.

Here are some ways you can manage stress each day and complete the stress cycle, enabling you to avoid burnout:

  • Move your body for 20-60 minutes a day, most days.  Since stress is experienced most days, you should also complete the stress cycle most days too.  Standing up, taking a deep breath, tensing muscles for 20 seconds, then shaking it out can be a good start.

  • “Physical activity is the single most efficient strategy for completing the stress response cycle.”

  • Breathing is most effective when stress is not high, or to release the very worst of stress to get through a difficult situation.

  • Positive Social Interaction can be key when you are experiencing stressful situations.

  • Laughter

    • Laughing together and reminiscing about times we’ve laughed together increases relationship satisfaction and also relieves stress

  •  Affection

    • A warm hug in a safe trusting environment can do as much to help the body feel like it has escaped a threat as jogging a couple of miles

    • A 20 second hug can change your hormones, lower blood pressure and heart rate, and improve mood, all of which are reflected in the post-hug increase in the social-bonding hormone oxytocin.

  • A Big Ol’ Cry 

  • Creative Expression - Think: journaling or painting or crafts or anything that gets you going.

If you’ve spent a lot of years or your whole life holding onto worry, stress, and anger, you’ve probably got a lot of accumulated stress cycles spinning, so it’s going to take some time before you get through the backlog.  The key here is to recognize that you feel incrementally better (each time you workout) than you felt before you started completing the stress cycles.

Remember, managing your stress is incredibly important and key for your wellbeing. Wellness is not a state of being but a state of action. If you’re reading this, it’s time to take action.

Jill Ahrens Tucker, LPC & LPC-S, Co-Founder