Excerpt:
If you’re human, you have probably felt exhausted before. You have probably had a moment, day, or season when you’ve felt there is way too much on your plate, and you cannot carry it any longer. Maybe you ended up skipping plans you originally looked forward to, called out from work, or missed a night or two of quality sleep. You were probably experiencing burnout,
which is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive, prolonged stress. It happens when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands.
You may find it comforting to hear that experiencing burnout is very common. You are not the only one feeling at your wit’s end without any rest. Many individuals experience burnout when their job becomes too overwhelming, while others experience compassion fatigue when some aspect of caregiving becomes too overwhelming.
The signs are similar in both burnout and compassion fatigue. While neither is a mental illness, they are serious experiences and may show up in several warning signs:
Whatever circumstance you find yourself in, it is easy to believe that you must keep going in order to survive the season in which you are experiencing burnout. You might be thinking “If I stop even for just a day, things will get too piled up” or “I can’t afford to take a break.” However, these thoughts are certainly not the antidote to burnout.
Find comfort in this, knowing that:
Be encouraged going forward, knowing that you are not alone and that there is much you can do to actively address feelings of burnout and compassion fatigue. Consider the steps you are willing to take to address burnout in your life. Which of the strategies listed above are you willing to take
If you’re human, you have probably felt exhausted before. You have probably had a moment, day, or season when you’ve felt there is way too much on your plate, and you cannot carry it any longer. Maybe you ended up skipping plans you originally looked forward to, called out from work, or missed a night or two of quality sleep. You were probably experiencing burnout,
which is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive, prolonged stress. It happens when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands.
You may find it comforting to hear that experiencing burnout is very common. You are not the only one feeling at your wit’s end without any rest. Many individuals experience burnout when their job becomes too overwhelming, while others experience compassion fatigue when some aspect of caregiving becomes too overwhelming.
The signs are similar in both burnout and compassion fatigue. While neither is a mental illness, they are serious experiences and may show up in several warning signs:
- Disconnection from tasks at work, school, or home
- Mental fog surrounding tasks
- Loss of sleep
- Decrease in energy related to work, school, or home activities
- Emotional numbness
- Headaches, stomachaches, digestive problems, etc.
- Difficulty concentrating
Whatever circumstance you find yourself in, it is easy to believe that you must keep going in order to survive the season in which you are experiencing burnout. You might be thinking “If I stop even for just a day, things will get too piled up” or “I can’t afford to take a break.” However, these thoughts are certainly not the antidote to burnout.
Humans are Not Invincible. We’re Created with Limits.
You may have experienced firsthand what happens when you try to ignore your body or your mind telling you to take a break. The work you do becomes exhausting, and your body, mind, and spirit feel exhausted too. Failure to acknowledge this over time would be detrimental to your overall health.A Christian Perspective on Burnout and Rest
May I submit to you that you do not have unlimited energy, time, and resources to give to your job, school, or home activities. A Christian perspective acknowledges that we were made to work and commanded to rest. According to the Bible, “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done” (Genesis 2:2-3).Find comfort in this, knowing that:
- God himself shows us how to rest in Genesis on the 7th day, after creating the heavens and filling the earth.
- We were created with needs that only our Creator could fill.
- It is normal to try to take on more than we can handle.
- Finding true and satisfying rest is refreshingly simple.
Practical Ways to Combat Burnout
- Identify boundaries ...
- Practise journaling ...
- Talk to a counselor...4
- Get comfortable with the idea of resting... (read article)
Be encouraged going forward, knowing that you are not alone and that there is much you can do to actively address feelings of burnout and compassion fatigue. Consider the steps you are willing to take to address burnout in your life. Which of the strategies listed above are you willing to take
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