How to Deal with Burnout Syndrome: Find your Inner Peace and Restore your Balance

Burnout Syndrome might sound like some new fancy illness, but in reality it’s seriously affecting people’s life and unfortunately my life. It’s not me who’s suffering but my fiancée is.

For those of you who have no clue about Burnout Syndrome — don’t feel bad, I also just found out about it 2 months ago — let me give you some insights.

Burnout Syndrome is specifically about your workplace and as I found out it’s defined by International Classification of Diseases as follows:

• chronic stress at work;
• exhaustion or running out of energy;
• detachment for your workplace, negativism or cynicism related to the workplace;
• reduced effectiveness;

Again after reading this you may say — Still not a big deal, everyone is tired — but trust me, this is different. My fiancée is now like a walking zombie, she’s coming home, eating, sleeping and repeat. There’s no more joy, no matter how much I am trying to attract her in different activities.

I started thinking about this really deep and even read a lot about how can I help someone with the Burnout Syndrome and through tens and tens of articles and medical studies I finally put it together and created a list on how to manage and cure this affection.

This is something I put together myself and what I believe it will work with my lovely future wife knowing her personality.

There are doctors out there saying that in order to deal with Burnout you need to address the 3 “R’s”

1. Recognition — they say you need to watch for the warnings signs;
2. Repair— you must seek support in order to get rid of your stress;
3. Resilience — increase your stress resistance by taking care of your physical and emotional health.

Well I guess that old saying is not for nothing. “Mens sana in corpore sano”

Establish a constructive relation with your co-workers

When you are worn out, your problems seem endless. Fortunately we have more control over stress than we think, we just have to be positive and to connect with people around us. Just being more sociable seems very helpful in this situation.

Try to limit your time around negative people. I am sure everyone has negative people at work. Connect with a cause you care about, something meaningful to you, it will help you deal with stress.

Reframe the way you look at the workplace

If you hate your job probably the best option is to quit and find something that fits you better. For most of us changing jobs is a bit difficult and I don’t recommend doing it while you’re having burnout syndrome. Try to see your job as something of value. Focus on how your role helps others and what aspects of your job you enjoy.

Try to find a balance in your life between work, family, friends and everything else you love. You can ask for some free time to recharge your batteries.

Reevaluate your priorities

Burnout is often indicating that something important in your life is not working. Think about your goals, dreams and hopes. This is an opportunity to find yourself. It is very important to take a daily break from technology, just disconnect from social media, use your creativity, who knows, maybe you will discover some new hobbies — after 27 years of life I discovered I love collecting old coins — .

Physical activity should be a priority

Even if you don’t feel energetic enough, exercising is a very powerful antidote to stress. This is available to anyone, you don’t need equipment and it will improve your mood. Try rhythmic exercises, walking, running, swimming even dancing. Instead of focusing on your thoughts, just focus on your body and bodily sensations.

Having a healthy diet helps you get rid of Burnout

Unfortunately for us, food lovers, it is already scientifically proven that foods rich in carbohydrates are leading to a quick drop in energy and when you have no energy you simply have a zombie bad mood. You also need to limit caffeine, unhealthy fats and generally foods that contain chemical preservatives.

One important thing is to consume alcohol in moderation. Even if you may feel better when you’re drinking, in the long term it will affect and deteriorate your psychological state.

I’m hoping for the best. I am actively helping my fiancée to respect the steps towards recovery and I am always thinking of new advices I can share to improve her daily mood.

We now have a daily exercise hour, we play with the weights around the house or we go outside for running. I am constantly exploring new recipes with new ingredients and when she’s coming home, the workplace and everything about it stays at the door.

Human connections are essential to recover from burnout. Focus on progress, not just the end goal, focus on your body, not just your thoughts, stay healthy, at work and at home.