8 Ways to Deal With Burn Outs

Many of us go through them in life. From my experience, burn outs lasted for weeks. I had one that lasted for a whole month. For those who have experienced them, you know how horrible they are.

My burn outs came during moments of prolonged levels of stress. Mostly related to problems that arose while running my business. It’s like falling into an emotional quicksand and difficult to get out.

Here are some examples of symptoms I have experienced.

Symptoms of Burn Outs

1. Fast weight gain, particularly around the lower belly as well as swelling of the whole body.
2. Difficulty in remaining focused.
3. Reduced confidence.
4. Shortness of breath
5. Loss of appetite
6. Daily migraine headaches
7. Depression
8. Fatigue

The worst case was when it lasted about a month. It was hell. Everyone around me recognized something was wrong. I decided to visit a doctor and that was when I first learned about burn outs. The doctor advised me to take a vacation. Vacation?! I wasn’t having it. Who has time for vacations when running your own small business!

So yes, burnouts suck. Once you go through them and come out the other side, you know how it feels. You become extremely grateful when it passes and think to yourself you never want to fall into that spell again!

Yet, I fell into these burn outs quite a few times. Some more intense than others. Eventually, I had to learn to deal with them and solve my way to reduce the severity of the occurrences.

Here are some methods that helped.

8 Ways to Deal with Burn Outs

1. Find Laughter. It does not matter how you find it. Whatever that can make you laugh or even break a smile is what you are looking for. A good stand up comedy worked for me. Watching funny YouTube videos helped as well. Have a friend who always make you laugh or smile? Call them. Spend time with children. They always know how to make you smile and laugh! Have a pet or a friend who has one? Go play with them! They are good for the soul. Laughter can be the best form of medicine.

2. Remove negativity in your life. Start with yourself. Remove all negative words or phrases you may be using unconsciously. “It’s too hard..”, “It’s impossible”, “This is not for me”, “I’m not sure…”. Replace them with the questions that will place you on a better track for answers. Such as, How do I… What must I… Where can I… Flood your mind with positive messages. There are hundreds of great online mentors on YouTube. Study the minds of those who have overcame much in their lives. Get inspired.

3. Organize and simplify. This one is magic. The more organized you are at your home or at your workplace, magically brings reduced stress. I’m not talking about a little here and there. I’m talking about major organization and simplification. A purge on material things you no longer need or utilize is one great way. Donating and trashing things you never touched in years. Creating new space around you to allow for new change to enter your life can be that fresh breath of new air you need to help snap you out of your spell.

4. Go for a hike. A challenging one! One with a great destination like a waterfall or a view. Something that can take a whole day would be ideal. A single hike may not release you of a burn out, but a few can drastically bring you back to earth. The sense of accomplishment you get after a strenuous and challenging hike is a great way to slowly dissolve that stress away. Movement can also help jog your mind for better decision making as well!

5. Place your focus on the future not the present. Remind yourself that burn outs don’t last forever. They will pass and recognize that difficult times may potentially reward you with strengthened emotional state. Recognize that the lessons will reward you with a medal of experience that will help your journey in your future.

6. Be decisive. Sometimes you may be experiencing burn outs for longer periods due to your inability to make a decision. Seek council, face your obstacle, make your decisions, and follow with actions. Put it behind you! The sooner you do this, the sooner your lessons are learned and the sooner you move forward in your life.

7. Get outside and get some sun. Have a favorite sport you enjoy playing? Any competitive or physical activity in the sun would be ideal. Break a sweat!

8. Place your thoughts on paper. This one is powerful. We are visual creatures and there is power in visualization. Write down when your previous burn outs occurred and for how long. This may help to remind  you psychologically that all burn outs come to an end. What your eyes see, your mind agree.

Conclusion

As bad as these burn outs may seem when going through them, there are positives to take from this. You may choose to use these episodes to learn more about yourself and become stronger. The net gains from becoming stronger will carry you far into your life. That is solely up to the individual, but the choice is yours. Will you level up during your burn out?

Thinking back, I believe the burnouts have made me tougher today. They helped me to be more adaptive and brought opportunity to change my mindset about many things in life. It taught me how to control and stabilize my emotional note during times of crisis. The benefits resulted in the ability to remain calm, composed and to make better decisions.

I know burn outs can be brutal! Will you use the opportunity to upgrade your mindset? I challenge you to try and hang in there! They all pass.

How do you guys deal with burn outs? Would love to hear from you! Thank you for reading.