In the capitalist world that we live in, which prioritizes productivity over health, it is easy to enter into burnout. This then poses the question, how can we as individuals and communities avoid or recover from burnout. This blog post will provide a brief overview of how to better understand burnout triggers and strategies for recovery and self-care.
First, it is important to have an understanding of burnout in general, as well as ways in which burnout may be triggered. This process is specific to each individual as each person loses and gains energy in different ways. One potential strategy can help you to better understand for yourself what activities within your life deplete or replenish energy and motivation. This strategy, which can be adapted based on individual interests, begins as an extended metaphor. One version of this metaphor takes concepts from video games to better understand energy ebb and flow. The main premise of this metaphor sees one as having a set energy or health bar which begins at a set point each day. Some days one wakes up with a full energy bar, aka on green, other days one wakes up with a slightly depleted energy bar, aka yellow, or when in burnout, one wakes up with a very depleted energy bar, aka red. Each of these levels provides a different experience of energy and motivation: with green being full of energy and very motivated, yellow being moderately energized and motivated, and red lacking energy and motivation. It is important to begin the process of understanding burnout by first identifying which color one is initially working with as this will impact how much energy one has to expend towards tasks as well as how much recovery and self-care is required to recharge.
The next step within this process is to break down daily tasks by how much energy they require and how much motivation one needs to complete them. For example, ones’ work or career most likely requires a high level of energy and motivation to complete each work day. For some this may be nearly the entire energy bar and for others this may be only half. This may also change each individual work day therefore it is important to continuously monitor ones levels of energy and motivation. This process can additionally be used to conduct a cost/benefit analysis to determine if a task is worth undertaking due to the amount of energy it consumes. This can be complicated when we are evaluating energy loss for tasks that are necessary for daily life such as work, personal hygiene or household chores, thus it is important to determine where one can lighten the load as well as what the long term impact of removing or altering a task.
Another step involves determining self-care activities which replenish lost energy to help balance the scale. This process will also look different for each individual. For some, socializing with loved ones or friends may fill their cup back up, for others this may look like alone time spent engaging in hobbies or spending time with pets. What is important is not the activity itself but instead how it makes you feel. Any activity which makes you feel rejuvenated, energized, comforted, or rested. These are self-care tasks which can help replenish our health or energy bar and allow us to balance out lost energy such that we wake up the next day with a green or yellow energy bar as opposed to red. It is also important to remember that one will require more self-care when in burnout than when in maintenance, thus self-compassion is an important element in the process. We cannot expect ourselves to be functioning at full capacity when in burnout, and rest and recovery are most important during this time.
Finally, it is important to remember that this process looks unique for each person. Some people inherently have more energy and motivation that other people even at a baseline. Some people will require more self-care and rest every day in order to stay within a maintenance level. There is no shame in struggling with motivation and energy and no-one can determine your baseline and needs other than you. Comparisons within this premise are not helpful and can often contribute to greater burnout experience through overworking and exhausting ourselves. The most important element to this process is self-kindness and an understanding that everyone has a need for rest and rejuvenation.
If you enjoyed this blog post and want to begin your own exploration of burnout recovery or energy maintenance, consider talking to your therapist about this process and they can help you explore this concept in a way that is uniquely tailored to you. You can also find more information and potential literature regarding avoiding burnout online as well as your therapist can recommend additional resources. I hope you find this helpful and check back soon for more therapy content or follow our social media accounts! @unlimitedspectrumcounseling
Article author: Jayde Mullis