Comments on: Burnout resources

Question: Burnout resources

mermaidcafe — Mon, 06 Sep 2021 19:50:35 -0800

I'm so burned out that I'm not much able to do the things that would help. I'm ooking for some helpful books, videos, articles, etc. Snowflake within.

My burnout is caused by years of stress and frustration in my work as a writer, on top of the chronic pain and hassle of fibromyalgia and a mood disorder.

Being this burned out is making it super hard to find work, so finances have been extra stressful, and it's not like I can just take a break for more than a day or two. Even being in dire straits financially, I'm exhausted by all the legwork I have to do myself. (Currently looking for steady remote writing work.)

The other unfortunate things is that writing and art are my two biggest hobbies, and right now I'm associating them with professional stress

Finally, I notice that I'm experiencing major decision fatigue and not trusting my opinion on things, however small.

I have a therapist, a psychiatrist, an acupuncturist, and a meditation practice. I don't need to be asked if I've tried yoga or hiking or massages or gratitude journals. But if you've found any great resources on navigating burnout or how to still do important things when burned out, please do offer up links or titles. I'm female (not a mom) so anything directed toward women would be good. I'm also not religious but am open to using spiritual practices to help cope.

By: firstdaffodils

firstdaffodils — Mon, 06 Sep 2021 23:05:13 -0800

Burnout by Emily Nagoski is still good, even if you're so burnt out, you only reach the chapter on shaking out of the stress cycle.

By: magicka

magicka — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 01:29:32 -0800

I'm burnt out as well! For the decision fatigue, I've noticed that I'm better at making decisions when it's early morning before I've had a chance to work. So I write notes on my phone throughout the day and review them in the morning when I wake up, cross anything out or make any major decisions by the time I finish my coffee. Then just commit to it and don't allow yourself to re-review the decision until the next morning. If you think you're similar, it might be worth trying.

By: majick

majick — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 09:34:56 -0800

I went through and am still working on mitigating a burnout-related situation in my life, and the thing that really helped me get my head around how to approach the problem was a session given by Dr. Yousef on "The Science of Burnout" to my employer. Linked is what appears to be the same talk she gave us.

"In this rapid-fire session, Dr. Sahar Yousef will discuss how burnout became officially classified as a disease in 2019 by the World Health Organization, what distinguishes burnout from excess stress or depression, what burnout does to the body, and provide a practical tool set of strategies on how burnout can be beat."

The insight she provided me formed a pretty good basis for understanding what I was going through and what was factoring into it as well as determining what I should be focusing on to help myself heal.

By: cCranium

cCranium — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 13:52:17 -0800

The Nagoski sisters' book was already mentioned but they have a podcast as well, which is much of the same excellent content but delivered differently: https://www.feministsurvivalproject.com

By: one4themoment

one4themoment — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 16:11:15 -0800

Really liked that video link majick provided, watched the whole thing and thumbs up it fwiw

By: chiefthe

chiefthe — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 08:20:26 -0800

This blog post helped me to think about my burnout, which wasn't as based on overwork as is more popularly the case, more constructively and make some changes that I needed to begin climbing out.