One of the best ways for me to get into trouble is to keep working the way I like to. To keep going and going and going—like the proverbial Energizer Bunny. I do admit, I like to work. Let it be my day job as an anesthetist, or the many creative outlets I enjoy. I love to achieve and have a good time doing so. But there are times when my body simply needs to shut down. So does yours. You don’t have a choice. If you burn the candle at both ends (and a few places in the middle), you will end up burning your fingers. It took my stint in rehab for me to learn how important pacing and goal setting really are. When I look back at my goal lists from the past, I just shake my head in despair. They are huge goals, without any chance whatsoever to complete even a fraction of the tasks I had set myself. Inevitably, I would fail in achieving all of them, and I would see myself as a failure.

But I had a foolproof way to quickly refill my energy levels (or so it appeared to me). If I wanted a second wind, I simply had to drink alcohol and I could keep going. Who cares what tomorrow brings? And for a while, my body let me get away with it. But sooner or later, I had to face the consequences. There were times when I simply walked into a wall. Or when I ended up with a cold from hell. After all, long-term stress and heavy alcohol consumption are not conducive to sustaining immune function.

There is a formal word for the chaos I thrived on until it was too late. It’s called burnout.

Burnout can be defined as a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress—the exact opposite to what I wanted to achieve. I suffered from reduced productivity, zero energy, and felt helpless, hopeless, cynical, and resentful. Eventually, enough is enough. You have nothing left to give.

Take The Test

How much do you identify with the following statements?

• Every day is a bad day.
• Caring about your work or home life seems like a total waste of energy.
• You’re exhausted all the time.
• The majority of your day is spent on tasks you find either mind-numbingly dull or overwhelming.
• You feel like nothing you do makes a difference/is appreciated.

The more you agree with these statements, the more urgent your need to intervene!!! But what is the cause of burnout? There is rarely one single cause that applies perfectly to you. Rather, a combination of factors comes together to create the perfect storm.

It is as if the Greek gods have come together in a brainstorming session and found the most challenging things to throw at you.
At the time when you least expect it.
In short order, without any breaks to recover.
And as creatively as possible.

Reasons For Burnout

When you examine the topic more closely, it is not difficult to see the perfect storm coming together.

Work-Related

• You feel like you have little or no control over your work.
• There is a lack of recognition or reward for your good work.
• There are unclear or overly demanding job expectations.
• Your work is monotonous and unchallenging.
• You work in a chaotic or high-pressure environment.

Lifestyle

• You are working too much.
• You have little time for socializing and relaxing.
• You don’t have close and supportive relationships.
• You take on too many responsibilities and don’t ask/accept help from others.
• You don’t get enough sleep.

Personality Traits

• You are a perfectionist—nothing is ever good enough.
• You are a pessimist.
• You need to be in control—it is hard for you to delegate to others.
• You are a high achiever, a Type A personality.

Are really hopeless and helpless? I don’t think so!

Reality Check

• Admit you have a problem. When it comes to a problem such as burnout, you are back to Step 1. First, you need to recognize that you have a problem and then do something about it. ‘Practice self-rescue first before you ‘help’ someone else.’ ~ Maureen Joyce
• Reach out to your friends and family and talk about your problems. Don’t hide from them. Don’t get drawn into the spiral of doom and gloom. You are not helpless; you just haven’t found the right angle yet.
• Analyze the problem. Go through the reasons above and try to determine which applies to your problem. Then, create a targeted approach and put it into action. This is the recovery approach to the problem. But would it not be nice if we could avoid burnout altogether? To achieve this, you have to create a culture of resilience.

Dealing with difficult people

• Limit access to a@#$holes. We are not living in Utopia. We are living in the real world, where some of the people around us are simply arseholes. Statistically, 1 in 10 people has a personality disorder, and 1 in 100 people is a psychopath or sociopath. And guess what? Sometimes, it can feel as if all of the idiots in town have chosen to work with YOU. But just because they’re working with you does not mean that you have to pay excessive attention to them. Try to limit your contact with those negative people. If they do nothing else than complain, they will easily drag you down and change your mood and outlook. If you have to work with them, try to limit the amount of time you spend together.
• Be more sociable with your co-workers if you can. Developing friendships with people you work with can change your outlook. These new insights might help reduce the chance of suffering from burnout. Even if you don’t feel like you can be friends with the people you work with, spending a few moments over a coffee or during a break can make a world of difference as far as your working relationship goes.
• Find new friends and find a new hobby. Your life may very well have changed dramatically in recent weeks, months, and years. You have stopped drinking and your previous drinking buddies are no longer interested in you. Neither are you into them. This alone can cause a degree of social isolation. What better time to re-evaluate what is important in your life. Ask yourself, what is it that you really want to do in your life? What hobbies have you always wanted to learn? Is there a way in which you can learn new skills/start new hobbies and meet a new circle of friends? Would that not expand your horizon in the most beautiful and deserving way? Imagine you are into photography. Yes, you could go out there alone and then enjoy the pictures in the quiet of your living room. Or you could join a photography club and learn from the other members’ experiences. Why not display the work that you have created in an exhibition? Why not find a course on photography and spend an evening a week learning more about your hobby? Why not join a Facebook group and find people with whom you can collaborate? I think the possibilities are truly endless.

Dealing with a difficult work environment

• Consider changing jobs/retirement/new opportunities. Is it time to say enough is enough? Is it time to hand in your resignation and find another job (not necessarily in that order)?
• Change the culture. When leaving is not an option, maybe it’s time to look at how you view your job/position. Yes, it may be boring and repetitive! But would it not feel the same for the other guys around you? Therefore, what would happen if you were to start encouraging those people in your immediate vicinity? Consider for a moment the following plan:
  One day, you decide to greet every person you meet, from the CEO to the cleaner. And you make it a mission to put a smile on their face. Do you think that their day would be better or worse? What do you think about your own feelings? Would it feel good to have a secretary break out into a big smile because you have noticed her new haircut? In other words, if you can’t change positions/jobs, it is time to shift your attitude!
• Change your focus. Maybe your work is a huge challenge, but you recognize that you need to keep going to pay the bills. Fair enough—focus on the other 15 hours of the day. Yes, you are at work for 8–9 hours with breaks. But what are you looking forward to after work? That’s where the work/life balance comes in.
• Take a mental health day/holiday. One way or the other, you are ticking all the boxes as far as signs and symptoms of burnout are concerned. Time to put the brakes on—you need a holiday. Remove yourself from the place. Use up all your sick days and annual leave. Because you are one step away from a mental and physical breakdown! Recognize and reverse!

Practice self-compassion and self-love

Over the years, I have learned a lot about my hopes, goals and dreams in life. In order to achieve these goals and to live my dream, I have become fiercely protective of myself. This has led to dramatic changes in my life in general.

• Taking breaks. I allow myself breaks during the day whenever I need them (and, in all honesty, whenever I can take them). These might be micro-breaks, a few seconds of breathing exercises that allow me to refocus. Or it may be that I come home, kiss my family, and then go upstairs to lie down on my bed for 10 minutes. It’s time to calm down, switch off my work brain, and get ready to be there for my family.
• Defining crystal clear goals. My goals are better defined, and I keep them at a manageable size. I rank the goals by their real importance. Gone are the days when I was available for everyone and everything, 24–7. For example, I switch off my social media when I focus on my invoices. It is too easy to get sidetracked and make a mistake, which then sees me angrily back-pedalling, full of fear that I have made a fool of myself. Not the way I like to be. And too much hard work to deal with my irrational fears and anxiety.
• Eliminating stressors wherever possible. I have identified the tasks and things that made my life stressful. For example, rushing to work was a good way of setting myself up for disaster. Pacing for me means leaving with 10 minutes of spare time. Firstly, the traffic is easier, and I miss the idiots on the road. Secondly, I am one of the first people at work and have all the time to set up my workplace, troubleshoot any issues and settle in for a productive day. In its own right, it’s not a major thing. Yet, it has completely changed the start of my working day.
• Setting boundaries. Gone are the times of repeatedly over-extending myself. Instead, I smile and say “No” until my tongue bleeds.

Managing crises.

Sometimes, there is no chance for a break. At those times, I make sure I stay hydrated, full of coffee, have small snacks and raise awareness among my team. This is the time when mistakes occur and that’s when (in the operating theater) we cover our backs. That means checking and re-checking, to make sure the right actions have been taken in each case. However, as much as I may dislike it, I might have to rearrange other scheduled things to avoid burnout. For me, it is way too easy to keep pushing and pushing and pushing.

In Summary

So often, we have no control over our environment and without a raised awareness it is easy to find yourself in the depth of burnout and depression. But the past does not equal the future. Wherever you find yourself – you have the privilege of choice. Unless you have a magic wand you can’t change the challenges that life has dumped at your doorstep. But you very much have a choice in how you respond to these challenges and what daily steps you take to lay a sound foundation of resilience and emotional strength!

Look after yourself, and live with intention!

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