From Surviving To Thriving - 4 Steps To Burn Out Recovery And Prevention

When you don't take time out from life, your feelings becomes a blur.

Itislikereadingwithoutanypunctuationitishardtomakesenseofeachindividualword

Taking time out to reflect is like putting the punctuation in your writing.

Take some time out to wind down and take a breather from your day to day stresses.

Many people neglect this aspect of looking after themselves. Like any engine we need to take time out to carry out regular maintenance. You need to pace yourself - take time to recuperate, repair and then regenerate yourself.

Often people just carry on and on until the hamster wheel is going so fast, the only way off is to crash. You grind to an abrupt halt because you become burnt out or ill and you physically cannot keep going.

Stress

When you don't take this time, stress builds up and becomes chronic. The effect of this on your physical and mental health is well documented.

You need to slow down and spend some time making sense of what is going on and the effect of every day or out of the ordinary events are having on you.

By doing this you stop the stress from building up and allow your body to process and resolve your feelings in exactly the same way as you stop and allow your body to recover when you have exerted yourself physically.  

The Adrenaline Buzz

It is not just the events that we perceive as negative that take can their toll. Running on adrenaline produced from working or playing compulsively, staying in 'crisis mode' for too long, and risk taking can be just as damaging.

Coming down is difficult and normal routine life can seem like a real downer.  

Reflection

Your body is designed to process your emotions, but it needs some relaxed time and space to do this.

There are many, many things that work to process emotions. Bear in mind that different things work for different people at different times. So you will need to experiment and find out what works for you, if you don’t already know.

Start with the essentials. Basic physical self care – enough sleep, water, good food – generally putting fuel in the tank.

Then add in the things that are about more than survival, make life enjoyable and give you some energy rather than deplete you.

Spend some making some time to reflect, relax and recuperate.

You may need to be alone, or you might want to be with other people. You might be still or moving.

I used to have a flatmate who loved washing up because the warm water on her wrists soothed her. Doesn’t work for me - though I have to confess I find ironing quite therapeutic!!

Sport, journalling, crafts, singing, music, meditation, yoga, gardening, talking things through with a friend or professional, being with animals, by the sea, reading etc. etc.

Something that is calming and soothing or gets the tension and frustration out.