Mental Wellbeing: From Burnout to Balance
Having reached the half-year mark, it’s time to evaluate our lives and consider the strides we’ve made to improve our health and wellbeing. Navigating busy work schedules, relationships with colleagues, deadlines, burnout – a product of our busy lives – must also be accounted for.
The World Health Organization recognises burnout as an occupational phenomenon resulting from chronic workplace stress that is not managed properly, leading to poor mental and physical health outcomes. In fact, burnout could also lead to heart disease, diabetes, depression, or anxiety. This is exactly why it’s important to understand the symptoms of burnout and actively address them
What Burnout Looks Like: Signs to Look For
There might be certain telltale signs that indicate burnout, and they can be physical, emotional, and behavioural.
Behavioural indicators might include a lack of motivation, decreased productivity, or concentration issues, among others.
Emotional signs include irritability, anger, anxiety, depression, listlessness, cynicism, and a loss of enjoyment to name a few.
As for physical signs, they include – but are not limited to – fatigue, exhaustion, headaches, increased illness, muscle pain, insomnia, or even loss or appetite and gastrointestinal disorders
Dealing with Burnout: Lifestyle Changes You Can Consider
If you feel you are inching closer to burnout, don’t worry – by offsetting the effects of daily stressors on your body with healthy practices, you can easily recalibrate and recover.
A burnout prevention plan can help manage, prevent, recover from – or even beat – burnout. Consider these lifestyle changes as well:
- Be as active as possible: When it comes to burnout, actively avoiding burnout with healthy lifestyle choices is far better than being passive about it, reacting to burnout only when it arises
- Use your free time effectively: Do things that make you happy – be it a hobby, reading, or playing an instrument. Taking up meditation or fitness-based activities, like swimming, also might help. Learning something new, like a brand-new language or sport, might benefit you as well.
- Schedule micro breaks throughout the day: They can not only help you deal with stress but also improve concentration, energy levels, and memory. Even a 10-minute session or less can make a world of difference
- Focus on aspects you can control: Try to take ownership of lifestyle choices within your control like being organised, taking regular breaks, or having rest days
- Reach out to your support network: Close relationships can help you better cope with burnout. Better connections with family, friends, and even colleagues at work can help ease the effects of burnout.
Recovering from burnout involves trying to pinpoint why you feel burned out, recognising the symptoms at an early stage, and prioritising self-care accordingly. Making small but significant changes in everyday life can do wonders for your physical and mental wellbeing
Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Readers are advised to (i) obtain independent professional advise before making any decisions related to or arising out of this blog article (ii) carefully review their health insurance policy terms and conditions to understand their applicable coverage scope (as some benefits may or may not be applicable to you), limits, and exclusions. Sukoon Insurance PJSC does not make any representation or warranty of any kind in relation to this article/blog post including that any of the data, information, materials on this blog article are accurate, reliable, or complete. Sukoon Insurance PJSC hereby disclaims any and all responsibility or liability of any kind for any direct or indirect damages or losses of any kind caused to you in relation to or arising out of this blog article.
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