Escape the Abyss - How to Overcome Workplace Burnout
Part 3 of 3 - Guidance for how to get through burnout and enjoy life once again.
Hey there! Thanks for sticking with me through this three-part series. I appreciate you taking the time to read these articles! My goal for this burnout series is to provide valuable insights to help you or provide enough information so that you can help someone else.
Here are the first two parts if you haven’t read them:
This final article is your guide to overcoming burnout. As with the last two, I’m not claiming to know all the answers. Most of what I’m sharing is from my personal experience with a smidgen of research thrown in.
So buckle up buttercup, and let’s talk about some things you can do to escape the abyss of burnout once and for all.
Give it Time and Space
It’s been five years since I quit my soul-crushing job and adamantly stated I would never, in a million years, work as a nurse again. Well, I’m back to nursing but it took time and space to get me here.
Once I knew I needed to look for a nursing job I was hesitant and worried I would fall back into my old habits and the past would repeat itself. I wanted to try something new and different from what I had done in the past - so I accepted a job as a school nurse.
Now, every morning I send out a heartfelt thank you for my blessings, with my job being near the top of the list. I can’t tell you how grateful I am that school nursing found me. I say it found me because I truly believe the universe sent me a position that would gently ease me back into the nursing field and assist me in rebuilding my confidence.
Healing from burnout was an intense experience, but I am a different (and better) person than the one who walked out of that hospital door in 2019.
Climbing out of the Pit
Getting to where I am today hasn’t been easy, but I would like to share with you what I learned because it could help you too. Just know that I still struggle at times to manage overwhelm and stress but I don’t allow it to control me anymore.
I was worried about going back to nursing and I even considered working anywhere else but healthcare. However, I know I made the right decision. I have a lower-stress job (can we say no weekends, holidays, and call) and I now have emotional tools to deal with any stressors that arise.
Here are my top recommendations on how to heal from workplace burnout. Take what you want and leave the rest - there is no set strategy on what you should and shouldn’t do.
Modify your current situation.
Everyone’s situation is different and you have two options. Either look for a new job or change the dynamics at your current place. Typically, external factors are out of our control, so you will have to adjust your outlook (mindset) or leave your job when it becomes too much.
You may argue that leaving isn’t possible, but if you stay long enough, there will come a time when you are incapable of working. Your nerves will be so tense that one day they will shatter under the slightest pressure.
Difficult choices are a part of life, and it isn’t easy to decipher which decisions will lead you to contentment and happiness.
Empathize with yourself.
You always hear about having empathy for others, but what about empathy for yourself? If you had a friend who was going through the same situation, would you tell them to suck it up and ignore how they are feeling?
Not likely, but you would try and help by offering encouraging words and suggestions about what to do. You would be patient, kind, and understanding of the situation. Entrust yourself with the same attention you would give to a loved one.
Allow all your feelings to be present with no judgment and no ultimatums. You can’t keep beating yourself back down every time you emerge from the pit. Self-empathy creates a stronger relationship with yourself, you truly embrace the depth and validity of your emotions.
I would argue that self-empathy will help you more than anything else on this list.
Exercise & eat nourishing foods.
These are often overused advice, but perhaps one day you will see the truth in them and not overreact when you hear it being said. I delved deep into nutrition and health during this time. I read voraciously, listened to podcasts, and watched documentaries.
There’s a lot of conflicting information out there, so stick with the most current evidence-based research and don’t fall for fad diets and trendy programs.
The foundation of self-care is nutrition and exercise. Once you begin eating well and moving your body, positive changes are noticed right away and it begins the process of becoming well.
Nourishing your physical self opens the door to caring for your emotional, mental, and spiritual self.
Sunrise over the Big Butte. ©Kendra Meador Be alone with your thoughts.
Put that phone down, turn off the T.V., and listen to what your thoughts have to say. They may be a jumbled mess, but once you decipher and sort them, you’ll realize they aren’t so scary and there’s no need to hide behind distractions anymore.
Our systems are overloaded with information. Heck, this article could be too much advice in one dose. It’s no wonder we have short attention spans - our brain can only process so much at one time and when we jump from one topic to another there is no room for it to grow into a nourishing thought.
Discernment is required for healing, you have to look deep into all aspects of your life to figure out why burnout occurred. And you can’t figure it out if you don’t give your thoughts the space to be heard.
Relax, rest, & rejuvenate.
Prioritizing rest and relaxation is crucial. One of the primary factors of why you are suffering from burnout is because relaxation was not in your daily routine. Remember burnout is brought on by prolonged and unmanaged stress.
Rest encompasses more than sleeping. It could mean sitting outside under the maple tree with a cup of tea or putting your feet up and listening to your favorite music. Rest should be relaxing and peaceful.
I know peaceful moments can be hard to come by, but I’m sure there are times during the day when you can let go of your worries and responsibilities. If not, prioritize and schedule a time.
Find activities that are relaxing and you look forward to. For me, it’s gardening, hiking, and nature photography. Getting outside has many mental, emotional, and physical health benefits.
Seriously, get out in nature as often as you can, it will heal you more than you could ever imagine. And while you are there, it’s an ideal time to be alone with your thoughts and begin working through some of the issues that led you to the abyss in the first place.
Rinse and Repeat
I stand by these interventions because I know they work. However, you can’t do something once and expect your life to be perfect. It’s going to take time to feel like yourself once again and it won’t be an easy journey.
Just when you think you are healed, something causes you to fall back into your old negative habits. But during the process of healing, you’ve built ledges in the pit as you’ve slowly climbed your way out. When you fall back in (because you will), you won’t fall as deep because now you have a ledge to land on.
That ledge will catch you and you will know what to do to get back out. Pretty soon when a stressful event occurs you’ll be able to prevent yourself from even falling into the pit.
I’ve come close to the edge a few times, but I’m grateful I’ve taken the time to learn how to prevent that downward spiral. To maintain my current state, I constantly prioritize self-care and utilize all of these interventions to some degree every day.
I highly suggest you do the same - you deserve to be healthy and happy.
The Sciencey Bit
I didn’t look to science while I was tending to myself. Instead, I respected my body enough to listen to what it needed. I’m not gonna lie, at times it screamed so loud, that there was no way I could continue to ignore it.
Listen and respond to your body but remember that science has some valuable suggestions on recovering from burnout. Here are a few to get you started:
Seek professional assistance.
You knew this was coming right? Some therapists specialize in dealing with burnout. Remove any stereotypes about therapy and don’t worry about what others may think. It’s your well-being at stake, not theirs.
Be open to trying different ways to combat stress.
The Cleveland Clinic has a list of tactics from meditation to self-hypnosis. Trying new things will eventually lead you to the modality that works best for you.
Set professional and personal boundaries.
Learn the value of saying no. You don’t have to do all the things, all the time. Balance is vital and if you don’t give yourself time to heal, the symptoms only intensify.
Search out ways to be happy.
There are limitless possibilities here. Find what makes you feel happy and alive and do more of it every single day. Be open to the meaning of happiness because society isn’t always the best at defining what true happiness really is.
Take advantage of those who are willing to support you.
Not in a negative way of course, but look at support offered by others as a gift you are willing to receive. Don’t be obstinate like me and think you can figure out everything alone.
Outside encouragement and inspiration are helpful when going through tough situations. This is still an area I’m working on so I totally understand if it feels uncomfortable.
The Beginning, not the End
You’ll notice there is an overlap of preventative measures and ways to heal from burnout (from my personal suggestions and what science says). Prevention and treatment go hand in hand in this case.
There aren’t medications that can be prescribed to fully heal from this either, it takes being with yourself and truly understanding why you fell into the abyss in the first place.
It takes reaching for the light with a determination you didn’t even know existed. You have to believe in yourself. You have to know to your core that you will get through this. Most importantly, you have to love yourself enough to begin and stay committed enough to follow through to a new beginning.
If I can heal from burnout, I know without a doubt you can too.
Love every part of this! You know how much I relate to this 🖤it does take time 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
Fantastic piece. Thank you for all the thought/knowledge that went into it.. I especially loved the ‘ledges’. I’ve been thinking about that lately, how the further into your healing you go, when you get disrupted and disregulated, you won’t fall as far because you have gained tools and wisdom to prevent that. ❤️