It happens to the best of us. Life feels like it’s moving at 80 miles per hour at times. You feel like you can’t catch a break, and eventually, it all catches up to you, physically and mentally. It’s important to acknowledge and accept when you can no longer continue pushing yourself to do more, you burn out. Burnout can have physical, mental, and emotional implications. It’s your body begging you to take a break. If you’re anything like me, you push yourself until you break. This is something I had to learn how to manage for my mental health. Over time, I’ve learned a couple of things that have helped me to come back and feel refreshed again after a burnout.
First and foremost, you need to accept you’re burnt out. I think it is the biggest issue for many people. When you have so much on your plate, and you’re trying to finish it all, it’s hard to try and take a step back. Your mind is set on that one goal at the end of the tunnel. However, you need to realize that no matter what, the tunnel will stay the same, and it’s okay to slow your pace. I feel like now, in 2021, everyone’s trying to make up for the lost time of 2020 and trying to get back into the swing of things. But you can’t compare your pace now to before the pandemic. Whether or not we want to accept it, there are a lot more obstacles to battle now.
Our body and mind can only take so much pressure. We need to start listening to the cues and tell us what our body gives us. Burnout can take the shape and form of many different characteristics, mental and physical. From body fatigue, cloudy mind, irritable emotions. These factors can lead to far bigger and severe health issues if we don’t address them. Exhaustion is the leading factor of burnout. The feeling of complete mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion is like no other.
Just like we exercise and take care of our bodies, we need to take that same energy for our mental health. Burnout can have a huge mental and emotional toll on one’s everyday life. Trying to work or study during a burnout is practically like repeatedly banging your head against a wall. We need to accept that it’s okay to take mental health days like we take sick days, we need it. Taking a day for your mental health will allow you to come back refreshed and sharper, allowing you to complete the tasks you need to complete
The mentality we set forth is how we live our day-to-day, it’s easier said than done, but you need to learn how to keep a positive mindset. Keeping a positive mindset doesn’t necessarily mean ignoring when things go bad. It means acknowledging a situation, assessing why it happened the way it happened, and being able to control your reaction to it. It’s a learning process, and it takes time, but it’s not impossible. Don’t be so hard on yourself.