How To Deal With Early Burnout?
5 steps to follow if you find yourself in that early burnout stage.
One of the things that makes burnout very challenging is that it usually sneaks up on us and surprises us.
The problem with burnout is that “The Burnout Borderline” is very narrow and there are no signs where it begins and you don’t get any notification that you have crossed it.
Another thing that makes burnout hard to prevent is that It often happens that we miss the first signs and symptoms of burnout. Once we realize that we have crossed the line, we’re already into the early burnout stage and it can be challenging to get out of.
In this newsletter, we’ll explore what you can do if you find yourself in that early burnout stage.
How to deal with early burnout?
Step 1: Take a step back
The first step in dealing with early burnout is to step back.
Burnout is a sign that your body is tired and that it needs time and space to heal, recover the energy, and recharge its battery.
Take a step back. Take a couple of days off if you can. Rest more. Sleep more. Engage in less demanding activities. Treat that early burnout as sickness: your body will heal and recover by itself if you give it time, space, and resources to do so.
Step 2: Support your body
The second step, which is related to the first one, is to support your body and give it building blocks so it can repair itself and recharge its battery.
You can support yourself and your body in different ways:
Food and nutrition: fuel your body with healthy and nutritious foods: including red meat, complex carbs, good quality fats (omega 3s like fatty fish, omega 9 like olive oil, avocados), fruit and vegetables, etc. Also, salt your food more which will help support adrenal function and replenish lost minerals.
Supplements: Choose supplements that will support and aid your adrenals to “get back on their feet” and help your body recover from the burned-out state. These supplements are Adrenal Glandular supplements, (eg. Adrenal Cortex), B Complex, a lot of Vitamin C (ideally liposomal), Vitamin D, Salt, Minerals/Electrolytes and Good-quality Magnesium, Cordyceps, L-Tyrosine, Panax Ginseng, etc.
Deep rest: Good-quality sleep, naps and napping, deep healing meditations, etc.
Light physical activity: Walking, jogging, easy swimming, tai chi, etc.
Recovery activities: Yoga, stretching, foam rolling, sauna, massages, floatation, etc.
Mindfulness and meditation,
Breathwork: slow, deep, belly breathing and relaxation breathing techniques (Box breathing, 4-7-8 breathing, etc),
Lifestyle practices: Spend time in nature with pets, etc.
Self-compassion practices: Self-love practice, gratitude practice, cultivating joy, peace, appreciation, etc.
It’s also crucial that you include a couple of activities from each category so the body gets a variety of different ingredients so it can recover holistically and fully.
Step 3: Figure out the root causes
Burnout is usually just the consequence, not the root cause. Most of the time, there are underlying issues that are causing us chronic stress which then burns us out.
Try to look at burnout through a different lens: try to see it as an inventory, as an opportunity to reinvent your life, to analyze what caused you to burn out, to fix the reasons and causes that brought you to it, leave behind things that don’t serve you and start living differently.
To do that, take some time and space to calm down and reflect. You can ask yourself and explore the following questions:
What are the reasons behind this burnout?
What brought me to burnout?
What were some of the mechanisms and patterns behind my burning out?
What can I learn from this and how can I change my life?
You can do this in a journal, in your head, by talking to someone you trust, to a pet, a toy, it doesn’t matter.
In my experience, there are 4 main pillars of health and burnout. Root causes of burnout can come from one, but often from multiple things across all 4 pillars:
Physical: Physical strain, poor nutrition, inflammation, food intolerances, gut problems, accumulated stress
Lifestyle: poor sleep, poor work-life and energy balance, chronic stress
Mental and emotional: Pressures at work, high expectations, internal patterns and belief systems, unprocessed emotions and trauma, etc.
Spiritual: lack of joy, passion, purpose, real connections and relationships,
Assessing and dealing with the root causes is crucial to recovering from early burnout and preventing it from reoccurring.
Step 4: Do more of what fills you up
A common misconception about burnout is that we need to rest more to prevent and recover from it. While rest is a crucial part, it’s not enough. To prevent and recover from burnout, we need to do more of what fills us up.
I’ve written several newsletters where I emphasized that in my opinion, one of the most important pillars for vigorous energy, revitalizing well-being, and resilience against fatigue and burnout is what I call “Vital Energy”.
Vital Energy is generated and created when we engage in things and activities that we enjoy doing and for which we feel a strong sense of passion and purpose. It’s the energy that we get when we help other people and give back to the world, when we’re spiritually aligned, when cultivate spiritual fitness and spiritual connection to something greater, and when we live a life that is meant for us.
There are a couple of components that contribute to Vital Energy:
Happiness, which is a combination of three essential components: enjoyment, satisfaction, and meaning.
Joy, which has 3 factors: Playfulness, connection, and flow.
Passion and purpose: Passion embodies an intense enthusiasm and eagerness that makes us “light up”. Purpose, on the other hand, is the compass that guides our actions. It's the "why" behind our endeavors, the profound reason that gives our existence direction and meaning.
Incorporating in your life things and activities that bring you happiness, joy, passion, and purpose will be a great antidote to burnout and resilience in your life.
You can explore more about each component of Vital Energy in the newsletters below:
Conclusion
Burnout can be an opportunity to take a step back and analyze what caused you to burn out, to fix the reasons and what caused you to burn out, leave behind things that don’t serve you anymore and start living differently.
It’s also important to be patient. If you’re currently suffering from burnout, don’t lose hope! Burnout is curable and reversible — it just cannot be done in a day or a week. Have patience and faith: trust the process and believe in yourself and your body!
If you need any help navigating burnout and you don’t know how to deal with it and recover from it, reply to this email and I’ll be happy to guide you along the way.
I’m super grateful for finding this newsletter. I’m currently in major burnout. I had 2 weeks off work, but now I've returned, I feel the same. Any resources you recommend for working through burnout once you've crossed the line, and must continue to work?