Warning Signs of Burnout and 6 Things You Can Do About It

Burnout is a state of chronic stress that can lead to problems such as:

• physical and emotional exhaustion
• cynicism, irritability, and detachment
• feeling ineffective and lacking satisfaction from your achievements
• health concerns (insomnia, headaches, poor concentration, appetite changes, digestive issues, frequent illnesses, etc.)

Dealing with stress is a natural and expected part of life, however, when stress becomes overwhelming, relentless, and feels never ending without adequate rest and relaxation, it can take a serious physical and mental toll in a number of ways.

High achieving individuals often try to push through the early warning signs of chronic stress and burnout, pushing themselves to work harder, achieve more, take on longer hours and exceedingly heavier work loads, not wanting to let others down, and try live up to enormous amounts of pressure they often place on themselves to succeed.

Below is a list of warning signs that you or someone you care about may be suffering from burnout. These signs and symptoms exist along a continuum, and the earlier you can recognize and address the issues as they arise, the quicker you can return to optimal health, feel energized, happy, healthy, and productive in your life.

Warning Signs of Burnout:

• Chronic fatigue and exhaustion
• Insomnia / poor sleep
• Forgetfulness
• Impaired concentration / poor memory
• Difficulty focusing or paying attention
• Physical symptoms:
  • Chest pain
  • Heart palpitations
  • Shortness of breath
  • Dizziness
  • Fainting
  • Headaches
  • Tense muscles
  • Increased sensitivity to pain
• Digestive issues
  • GI discomfort
  • Increased gas, bloating, pain, diarrhea
  • Heightened sensitivity to specific foods / food intolerances
• Frequent illnesses
• Loss of appetite
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Anger
• Mood swings
• Loss of enjoyment
• Pessimism / feeling like you can’t count on others
• Social isolation
• Detachment / feeling disconnected from others and your environment
• Feeling apathy / hopelessness
• Increased irritability and impatience
• Lack of productivity / poor performance
• Increased use of food, drugs, or alcohol to feel better or to numb out

If you answered yes to many of these symptoms, you may be experiencing burnout, and it’s time to make some changes. Be sure to consult with your doctor or a mental health provider, as some of these symptoms can also indicate certain medical conditions, such as a thyroid disorder or clinical depression.

If you have been running on empty for too long and pushing yourself harder than what is healthy or sustainable, it’s time to put self-care back into the forefront of your life. Below are a few suggestions for dealing with burnout to help get yourself back up to speed and deal with the issues before they turn into HUGE, LIFE-HALTING medical problems.

1. Start by taking care of the basics (sleep, food, water).

Whether you like it or not, there are a few basic things we all require to feel healthy and energized. We all need to:

• Sleep enough
• Eat enough healthy food
• Drink enough water

You can only cheat yourself of the basic necessities for so long before your body starts to fight back. Start by prioritizing the easy wins that will help you begin to feel better immediately: sleep as much as possible, don’t skip any meals or snacks, eat as healthy as you can, and drink lots of water.

2. Stop and slow down.

Take a moment to hit the pause button on life and stop. Ideally, take a whole day, or a whole weekend, and intentionally DO NOTHING. Put a pause on your commitments, pause your expectations, pause the achievements, and pause the never-ending “to do” list. If you can’t fully pause your life for a day or two, slow down as much as you can.

High achievers are used to a fast-paced and accomplishment-driven lifestyle, and sometimes forget the importance of rest, or feel like slowing down is a waste of time or can’t be justified into their busy schedule.

Slingshot Analogy: To the perfectionists and workaholics who have hit the wall with burnout, remember that rest is like tensioning a slingshot. Ironically, the slingshot can only launch the stone forward by being pulled backwards, opposite to the direction it wants to go. To an outsider looking in, this may seem like a lack of progress, but this backwards tensioning is what allows the slingshot to fire with maximum velocity and force, and is the essential step. Skipping this pause to tension the slingshot means you have no stored energy to launch yourself forward, similar to how skipping rest, working 7 days/week, not allowing downtime, and feeling like you always have to be productive ultimately hurts your forward trajectory more than it helps.

3. Just say “no”.

Learn to make saying “no” (tactfully of course) one of your favourite phrases. Especially if you’re in a state of burnout, if your immediate response to a request from someone else isn’t “Hell Yeah!”, then it should automatically be answered with a firm but polite “no”.

You can’t pour from an empty cup, so until you’re in a healthier and more balanced place, adding another commitment or responsibility to your plate is simply adding more unnecessary stress to your life. Resist the urge to be a people pleaser and do absolutely everything that’s asked of you, and start saying no.

4. Commit to relaxing activities.

Everyone is slightly different when it comes to things that make them feel better. If you’re feeling completely burnt out, it’s time to add in a few activities that promote relaxation, but customize your list to what works for YOU. Some of the tried and tested ways to manage stress include:

• Massage
• Meditation
• Yoga
• Gentle exercise (going for a hike or a walk outside)
• Spending time in nature
• Warm baths
• Progressive muscle relaxation
• Guided imagery
• Deep breathing exercises
• Cup of tea
• Talking with friends
• Pet therapy
• Visiting a spa
• Pursuing a hobby (e.g. woodworking, making art, etc.)
• Taking a vacation

Only you can define what is relaxing to you, so start with something that you know makes you feel great, and commit to carving out time in your schedule to destress.

5. Ask for help.

Although you are probably used to being a highly productive, always dependable, count-on-you-for-everything kind of person, there are times when it is just not possible to continue working that hard all by yourself.

Sometimes giving up control, asking for help, leaning on others, delegating and outsourcing, and learning to cut corners or lighten up the very high standards you’ve set for your life can work wonders. Ask your partner if they can take over the grocery shopping. Hire a cleaning service. Buy the pre-cut veggie tray. Set boundaries, ask for help, and make peace that it is ok to rely on others and not feel like you have to take care of everything yourself.

6. Increase the positive, cut out the negative.

Life is too short to be surrounded by people, things, and commitments that don’t make you feel good. Decluttering physical items in your surroundings, dropping unfulfilling commitments, and most importantly, minimizing exposure or completely cutting out negative individuals can feel so enlightening and freeing! Make a point to surround yourself with mostly positive people, and lean on their energy and enthusiasm to help lift you up. Negative people tend to want to drag others down with them, so don’t feel bad about pulling some weeds to let the flowers grow bigger and better in the garden of life.

Even though we focus a lot of our nutrition coaching sessions on establishing healthy eating habits, we also do explore issues such as chronic stress, exhaustion, committing to too much, and burnout, because healthy patterns of self-care are ultimately related to the success our clients our looking for in their eating habits and physical bodies. If you’re struggling with burnout or looking to make a change to your eating, exercise, and self-care habits, know that we’re here to help and be a source of support and a catalyst for change. Send us a message at info@nutritionrx.ca or visit www.nutritionrx.ca to see how we can best serve you to reach your nutrition, fitness, and health goals!