Avoid Burnout and Exhaustion
Life can get hectic, we sometimes find ourselves with a long list of things to get done and during this busy time, our self-care and time to replenish our energies can often be pushed further and further back to the bottom of the list. It is important to use self-care tips to avoid burnout.
Many of us love looking after others, caring for those we love and always lending a helping hand, but do you ever stop to look after yourself. It is important to look out for others but it is just as important to keep yourself in a healthy place. Your quality of life is important and you are important. Spending time looking after your own energies will in time help you be in an even better place to care for others.
If we do not look after ourselves and our own needs we can often end up in an awful state. In today’s society burnout is becoming more common, people are feeling fatigued, they are getting exhausted and they are becoming ill from stress and overload.
Today we will be giving you some great self-care tips to help you look after yourself and stay replenished!
I have been there and I’m sure many of you have, with too much to do, people to care for and little time to relax and replenish. It is easy to even feel guilty for spending time on yourself when we spend so much time doing other things and helping others it can feel ‘wrong’ to stop and care for ourselves, but that needs to change!
Self-care is a priority and necessity!
Burn out is a state of chronic stress and it is happening all around us in many people of different ages and different paths of life. So many of us go to work, keep up an exercise regime, look after families, fit in time for friends, bring work back home with us and have little time left to even eat or sleep properly.
Burnout is a serious problem and if you are showing the signs of burnout it might be time to change something before it gets worse.
Below is a list of some of the signs of burnout:
- Insomnia/oversleeping: You lay awake unable to wind down and relax/ you find yourself sleeping at every opportunity and oversleeping at the weekend or in time off.
- Increased Illness: You seem to be ill more often and pick up everything going around.
- Impaired concentration: It seems to take extra effort and energy to concentrate and keep your attention focused on a task.
- Forgetfulness: You forget things people tell you or things you need to do.
- Chronic fatigue: You feel tired all the time, no matter how much rest or sleep you get.
- Cravings: You crave junk food in order to pick up your energy and mood.
Self-care Tips
Self-care is so much more than just laying back and having a bubble bath. Self-care really is taking time to step back from life and breath. Self-care is about meeting your physical, mental and emotional needs.
Self-care helps us to remember who we are and the things we love in life, our passion and our purpose.
It can be really hard to break the cycle and that’s why these tips should help you incorporate self-care back into your life a little bit at a time, because again if you try to do it all overnight it can be exhausting and have an adverse effect.
Self-care For Physical Health
- Spend some time outside in nature, go for a walk, sit down for a bit and you could even listen to some walking meditations!
- Put on some of your favorite music and have a dance.
- Set up a bedtime routine and try to get a good amount of time asleep.
- Practice deep breathing
- Make sure you are eating well and giving your body the full you need.
- Do exercise activities that you enjoy (this does not include any strict routines or gym regimes you have)
- Give yoga a try, there are many different types and this mindful practice is also very good for your mental health.
- Set up a morning routine that involves extra time being mindful when you wash, care for your body, maybe meditate, eat breakfast and welcome the new day.
Self-care For Mental Health
- Practice mindfulness and mindful meditation
- Read a personal growth, self-help or educational book to increase your knowledge about self-care and ways to look after yourself.
- Listen to music you love or watch a film you love.
- Socialize in a relaxed manner with people who uplift your energies.
- Spend time with or around animals.
- Write in a journal, let out your stresses and write down the things you are grateful for.
- Do something creative, craft something, cook something, make music or design something.
- Listen to an educational podcast.
- Turn off your phone, computer, and tv and allow yourself to just do nothing for a little while.
- Avoid any drugs or alcohol if possible, eat well and exercise as these can all help your mental health.
- Go and do something that YOU enjoy. Don’t worry about what anyone else thinks, go and do something that you enjoy doing. This could be going to a museum, the cinema, for a picnic, to an art class, to see a show, cook a new meal. Just do it!
Self-care For Emotional Health
- Stop comparing yourself to others, use others as inspiration and make your own goals.
- Take a break from social media.
- Practise positive affirmations, record yourself and listen to them, read them aloud or repeat them to yourself in the mirror.
- Forgive yourself and let go and forgive others and let go.
- Keep a mood diary to track your emotions.
- Allow yourself to feel, recognise and acknowledge your feelings, feel them and then let them go.
