A few weeks ago, I started writing about burnout. Ok, it was technically just shy of 2 months ago, but life got a little hectic... preventing me from writing about burnout... the irony is not lost on me.
There are three key elements of burnout, and the first is emotional exhaustion. Emotional exhaustion signals the depletion of emotional energy - the emotional demands of the job overwhelm the individual's inner resources.
Emotional exhaustion is very jarring for me when I experience it. I am a born carer - I care deep and I care hard, even when whatever I'm caring about clearly isn't worth the kind of emotional effort I'm putting into it. When I feel emotional exhaustion, I feel like I'm not myself. I've lost the care that I love to invest in whatever I do, and it's disturbing. It also means that I can't cope well when I hit resistance or speed bumps; my emotional reserves are simply all spent.
Rebuilding from emotional exhaustion takes time and purposeful re-filling. After all, if you continue to pay out more emotional currency than you're taking in each day, the deficit will continue to grow. To heal and rebuild, you have to end the day with something in the tank.
What can you do to heal from emotional exhaustion?
- Take real breaks that are actually relaxing
- Before walking into an emotionally taxing situation (or before going to work!), affirm that you're choosing to walk in and why
- When things feel stressful, check in with your body. Do you feel tension in your shoulders, forehead, hands, or back? Take a moment to let go of the tension, relax your breathing, and balance your posture.
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