4 Unhealthy Ways to Handle Burnout

When you're faced with burnout, you've got some options. Burnout is totally REAL and the effects can set you back from your goals by days, weeks or even months. Handling burnout in a healthy way allows you to move on from it and delay the next onset of symptoms. Each burnout experience should actually teach you more about yourself and equip you with more skills to put burnout at bay for longer stretches of time. If you're not sure if you are burning out, check out this symptoms list. There are healthy ways to handle burnout and unhealthy ways. We typically have a go-to unhealthy response to burnout. We want to be self-aware of our responses so that we can maximize the good responses and minimizes the poor responses. Let's take a look at four unhealthy burnout coping mechanisms.

1. Ignoring your burnout and pretending you're fine. Y I K E S. This response is quite dangerous and only feels good momentarily. This approach will leave you in total denial - and be quite frustrating for those around you. Don't ask me how I know.

Shoving burnout down and away just maximizes the symptoms. They will simmer and simmer....and lead to our second unhealthy strategy in regard to burnout.

2. Pushing your burnout symptoms onto others. This is most definitely a by-product of ignoring burnout. Symptoms of burnout can include things like fatigue, frustration, snappy attitudes, sleeplessness, inability to think coherently, etc. We are seriously disillusioned if we think those symptoms will not affect those around us. We can still choose to ignore our burnout and push the symptoms onto others, but let's all acknowledge this isn't the healthy way to handle things.

3. Fueling more burnout by continuing to overwork and avoid rest. Sure, you can handle burnout by 'buckling down' - but I don't advise that. Avoiding rest is no real way to handle burnout, but that doesn't stop most of us from trying this approach! This is counterproductive and what you'll find is this: a lack of rest means a bounty of burnout.

4. The last unhealthy way to handle burnout is this: believing burnout is required for success. This belief system will keep burnout apart of your plan, even if you don't really want it there. If you experience burnout often, check your belief system. Do you believe that overworking, forfeiting rest and mentally staying 'on' are required to get to your goals? Write out what you think the cost of success is and realign your actions with this!

It's important to continue to assess your burnout symptoms so that you can catch burnout before it ever takes root. Burnout will keep you from your goals every time. If you're wanting to expand on this mini-blog, ask people you trust (and care for!) how they see you handle burnout. Be ready to listen to their honest feedback and explore what beliefs you have that may be allowing for this kind of response.

Tossing confetti,

Coach Alicia