Very interesting break down of stress & burnout & how to manage it. Some take away’s I have are:
How to recognize causes of burnout & stress:
The 3 areas of this are:
- Emotional
- Mental
- Physical
Causes are work related or person / life related.
Some work related causes can be:
- Lack of control
- Pressure ( work load)
- Lack of resources
- Poor leadership
- Lack of support
Some person related causes can be:
- Being a perfectionist
- Having unrealistic standards
- Being a type “A” personality
Life related causes can be:
- Lack of social support
- Lack of leisure time
- Spreading ones self too thin
- Lack of healthy habits
Identifying the signs of being close to burnout are key in realizing it is there, & is the starting point in restoring from stress & burnout. Signs of burnout can be: negative mood most of the time, physically tired, feeling disconnected, feel that ones efforts do not make a difference, hopelessness.
Strategies to prevent burnout & stress:
There are many activities / mindsets that can help prevent burnout.
- Bring energy to your work, this brings happiness & you are more productive.
- Identify the level of enjoyment you get from areas & focus on those.
- Spend time to recharge between times. 90 min. intervals, are what our bodies recognize, on the by & large.
- Sleep is huge, less than 6 hrs per day is bad.
- Nutrition, exercise, & meditation are equally as important.
- Perspective is a huge part of managing stress & burnout. Pessimism & the 3 P’s are huge in causing stress, & the 3 “C”’s are huge in helping. Feel CHALLANGED, be COMMITED, & always feel in CONTROL.
- The A/B/C’s of managing stress…… ADVIRSITY, is just the belief of a situation. BELIEF is that you really can change your thought of a situation, & it is not as bad as one thinks. CONSIQUENCE, how you handle stress is how others perceive you. Think before acting in a stress situation.
How to restore ones self from burnout & stress: ( recharging & renewing)
A few activities that are key in helping one recharge are:
- Each lunch away from your desk.
- Don’t look at emails all of the time.
- Schedule a time to do nothing.
- Learn to relax & breath.
- Take a walk.
- Read a book.
- Get outside.
From the course, they challenged us to do a 21 day activity to promote positivity, & recharge from feeling the signs of stress & burnout. I identified 5 of these, & will be doing one of them for 21 days & beyond at home. This will be my way of staying positive & avoiding burnout in life. It is writing down 3 things I am grateful for each day. This will be my personal journey in this.
I learned some great ways of recharging and renewing! I've experience work-related burnout before, and I lecture on it in my most advanced lab. I'll be incorporating some of the suggested strategies for prevention, recognition, and recharging when burnout raises its ugly head.
I learned how to mitigate risks for burnout. I love the idea of creating a 21 day routine that includes a balance of exercise, sleep and work where it will help in mitigating stress and burnout.
I like where they suggest you write thing down, that makes you stop and take sometime for yourself to think about things.
It is about believe and perceptions that affect how we identify burn out.
We operation in 90 minute cycles. Energy spent is more valuable than time/hours spent.
This is an eye opener for me. I have learned how to control myself and do what is best for myself like amount of sleep, good food and exercise. Great!
I like the idea of the 21-day routine and how it becomes a habit afterward. I have slacked on my working out and I need to pick it up! Meditation is key to refocus on what is important for the mind and body.
What is most important is my perspective of what is going on around me/in my environment.
Taking care of the basics in my life and giving them attention: sleep, nutrition, exercise, meditation/breathing/reflection.
Taking on an internal locus of control instead of an external locus of control.
Staying away from the 3 Ps and utilizing the 3Cs of stress hardiness and ABCs of mood management.
writing down something I'm thankful for each day!
I need to reprioritize self care. Taking the time to get excercise and be mindful of my thought patterns
There are definitely areas of opportunity where I can implement some of these strategies to reduce my stress. I have been working on meditating and excercising more. Eating healthier is still a challenge and a work in progress. I've also increase the number of hours I sleep during the night and noticed the difference in productivity the next day
I tend to look at things as one large picture and easily become overwhelmed. Once overwhelmed I beat myself up for not being able to do what the task was, and end up feeling worse... It's a horrible cycle. I like the idea of the 21 day challenge becuase it breaks it down, and each day will feel like an accomplisment. This is way more common than I thought, and it's nice to know I'm not alone.
I started paying attention to how much time I spend on activities that "clutter" my schedule but don't provide any meaningful or tangible benefits. For myself, I found this to mostly include my time on social media, my time checking my work emails when I'm off the clock, and my time reading dismal news articles. Since paying attention to this, I also increased my capacity to be more mindful about where I put my energy. This in-turn has increased my ability to relax and recharge rather than be drained without even realizing it by giving my free time to things that don't really serve me. I hope to continue this practice moving forward and use it to help me lead a healthier and more fulfilling life.
Sending a thank you or message of gratitude is a great way to maintain perspective and keep a positive mindset. When I was in the classroom I made it a point to send three positive emails to parents each week and that practice did help me reflect on what had gone well that week. In my current role, I have not adopted a similar practice, but after taking the module I am considering how I can build expressions of gratitude into my weekly routine.
Taking breaks and making time to particioate in the 4-6sec breathing excercises to keep refreshed.
sleep is something that I need to work on for sure. I do like the idea of emailing a thank you note every day for the next 21 days. Actually of their suggestions are great for the next 21 days
Good nutrition, exercise, and establishing work-life balance has improved my quality of life.
Excellent module. As an occupational therapist, what this speaks to is the importance of occupational balance. Taking time to do those things that are important and meaningful to us as occupational beings, including our spiritual and physical pursuits.
Setting aside small amounts of time to complete tasks that may be holding me back.
