Episode 84: Confronting Burnout

When the weight of the world feels like it's squarely on your shoulders, and the echo of your own struggles seems to vanish into thin air, where do you turn? This episode isn't just an exploration; it's a lifeline for those feeling the crush of exhaustion, irritability, and the need to escape. We join forces to equip you with a toolbox of strategies, like the time boxing method, and emphasize the sanctity of a tidy living space and the power of a prioritized to-do list. Whether you're the sturdy rock for others or the one in search of a listening ear, our candid conversation provides a compass to guide you through the fog of professional burnout and back to a place of balance and wellness. Join us and discover how to transform the invisible scream into a chorus of support and self-care.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Self-Care Society podcast with
your hosts Celia Williamson,ashley Kuchar, louie Guardiola
and Keri Shaw, a podcast devotedto those whose job it is to
help others get or remainmentally, physically and
emotionally healthy, but whoalso need to take care of
themselves.
And how we're going to do this?

(00:22):
By first showing you thefiltered, pretty version of
success, and then the realstruggles, real work and raw
grit it took to get there, howthey took care of themselves and
also achieved their goals whiledoing it Together.
We will work with you toimprove and maintain your
internal health and growth,while helping you achieve your

(00:42):
external goals and your nextprofessional achievement in life
.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
And we're excited to show you how to follow your own
individual and unique path andachieve the dreams you have,
while taking good care ofyourself.
So let's get started.
Hello and welcome to theself-care podcast.
I'm your host, isabel Matosian,and today we're going to be

(01:09):
discussing how to maintain yourprofessionalism while dealing
with burnout at work.
Burnout has several symptoms,including frequent illness,
exhaustion, difficulty sleeping,dreading work, irritability and
escape fantasies.
These symptoms can lead tocompassion, fatigue, which may
present as detachment ornightmares, avoidance, sadness

(01:34):
and reduced empathy.
It can feel entirelysoul-crushing to work as hard as
you possibly can and have thestressors continue to build, no
matter what you do.
You get to a point where youfeel like there's a constant
weight on your chest and youcan't even move anywhere,
because if you move, you have toface the amount of work that's

(01:56):
already overwhelming you and aremet with people who need more
and more from you, and everytime a new issue comes up, no
matter how small it is, you feellike you've just added a
thousand pounds to your back.
So how do you carry the weight?

(02:18):
When the burnout starts tobecome depression and your
motivation is dwindling?
How do you keep moving on?
It doesn't matter how resilientyou are or how tough you've
been in your life.
Anyone can fall victim toburnout.
Life is full of ups and downsand your worst critic will be
yourself when the downs comearound.
So try not to feel like afailure when burnout hits.

(02:38):
My friend is one of the toughestpeople I know.
She's endured trauma and roseabove it.
She manages to be kind andprofessional no matter what
situation she faces.
Recently, however, she's beenstruggling.
She's working under a difficultmanager, seeking new employment
, keeping up a second job anddealing with some issues in her

(03:00):
family.
She's always been the one thatpeople turn to for help and when
we spoke, she opened up thatshe feels invisible when she is
the one who needs support.
Like she could scream and noone in her family or workplace
would even hear it.
She is struggling to accomplishthe usual tasks that she has
because there never seems to beenough time in the day, and when

(03:23):
she does find time, she justwants to rest.
If you can relate at all towhat she is going through, then
this is a great place to be.
So what do we do when things getthis difficult?
The first thing is to make sureyou have a support system in
place.
Some people have supportivework environments or helpful

(03:45):
family members.
Take advantage of theirkindness.
It's okay to accept help whenyou need help and you know that
if you were doing well and hadthe time and the capacity, you
would offer to be a supportivefriend or a co-worker as well.
If you are not so fortunate tohave that help offered to you,

(04:06):
then maybe your best option isto seek professional help from a
therapist.
Find someone to talk to aboutwhat you're dealing with.
If you don't, then you'releaving it to fester and worsen.
Next, do the usualorganizational stuff Tidy up
your living space, make a listof what needs to be done and

(04:26):
prioritize the urgent items.
I recommend trying to look intosomething called the time
boxing method, which is whereyou look at your schedule and
block out time for tasks.
When I do it, I block times foreverything, including rest,
meals, time outside, exerciseand walking my dog.

(04:46):
It may seem like overkill, butwhen you have limited support
systems, use your schedule as asupport system.
Let your calendar tell you whatto do, where to be and when to
sleep, because it can be so hardto keep track of things when it
gets too overwhelming when itcomes to your workplace

(05:08):
stressors, I encourage you tomaintain your professionalism,
no matter what other people aredoing.
That doesn't mean you shouldlet them walk all over you, but
rise above it.
Be better than them by beingmore professional than them.
It Be better than them by beingmore professional than them.
Don't worry about being theemployee that goes above and

(05:28):
beyond.
Get the work done that you needto accomplish and save the rest
for when you have the bandwidthto accomplish it, when things
settle down.
That's when you can startplanning for the future again.
If you're in a place where youwant to seek a new job and get
out of the situation with yourcurrent workplace, then include
time for that when you're doingyour timeboxing.
Do your best to leave work atwork when you reach the end of

(05:54):
your day.
Try not to dwell on the thingsthat are beyond your control
when you get home.
Focus on practicing self-careand think about the things in
your spare time that would helpyou out later, like tidying up
or working on something thatwould ease the stress later on.
If there's a registration thatyou have to accomplish or if you
have to file your taxes, get itdone during those moments of

(06:18):
spare time time.
If your burnout is not beingcaused by a hectic schedule, but
rather by a monotonous one thatfeels unexciting and that isn't
challenging you enough to useyour skills, then consider
taking on a new project at workor a volunteer position outside
of work.
Find something else to add anew challenge or some new

(06:40):
excitement to your day.
You don't want to stressyourself out or create worse
burnout, but you do want to feelexcited about opportunities to
learn new skills and make newfriends.
You can also take a step backfrom your situation and seek out
positivity.
What parts of your day do giveyou joy, even while you're

(07:01):
feeling burnt out and startingto suffer from depression?
What makes you smile To thebest of your ability?
Embrace the joy that youcurrently have in your life.
Let it fuel you while you'regoing through a challenging time
.
At this point in this projectand this podcast, I feel like
we've covered most of the actualtools that you need.

(07:23):
We know by now that taking careof yourself involves
introspection, a healthy diet, acomfortable space, getting
exercise and sunshine, doingthings that you enjoy and more.
Maintaining professionalism inyour workplace is going to
involve a lot of the same things.
Stay organized, stay kind andrise above other people's

(07:48):
nonsense.
What I really want anylisteners to take away today,
though, is that burnout can feellike you're waging an invisible
war.
It can feel messy and big, andyou can be so shocked when no
one else seems to notice it'shappening.
Remember that this is aninternal battle.
Support won't necessarily cometo you naturally or without
effort from you.

(08:08):
You have to communicate thatyou need support.
Seek out support where yourusual systems are failing and be
patient with yourself.
Don't try to change the worldin the next week or two when the
burnout starts to really hit.
Just get through it.
My favorite quote might be toocheesy for a podcast that I am
reporting for work, but even so,this is a simple quote from

(08:31):
Cinderella.
She says have courage and bekind.
I think about it all the time.
When I'm struggling, when Ifeel alone, when there doesn't
seem to be anyone around whocares or is able to support me,
I remind myself to have courageand be kind because, at the end
of the day, it's all I reallyhave control over.
I can control how I act andwhat I do, not how others act.

(08:55):
If you are currently strugglingwith burnout, I encourage you
to seek support.
If you're a community healthworker in Ohio, then please join
our self-care groups.
The link to our onlinecommunity is in the description
for this episode.

(09:15):
Hopefully you will be able tofind some resources or connect
with other community healthworkers who are dealing with the
same things.
Have a great day, everyone.
That concludes this week'sepisode.
And remember it's not selfish,it's self-care.