TAAT: who hasn't got burnout from their stressful job and how did you avoid it?

[happypotamus]

Reading the thread about burnout, which has a lot of responses from people working in the NHS.
I am a nurse and have been for over 12 years. I love my job despite the challenges, and have, until recently, been pretty resilient to all the challenges. A few weeks ago I had a bit of a breakdown and ended up crying at work despite it being not a particularly bad day in comparision to some days. It didn't get better, repeated days of crying at work, diagnosed myself with anxiety as I constantly feel that physical wobbly feeling in my stomach like before an exam or interview, lost my appetite, not sleeping well.
I don't want to end up burnt out and hating my job and dreading going in. I love the job and have an amazing, supportive team. How do I avoid this?
My very supportive manager recommended a GP appointment, so I have booked one for next week, but I don't want drugs and I don't want signing off work, so I am not sure what a dr can do for me. I just need to get my resilience back. Any suggestions?

Watching with interest: I’ve been in the NHS for 15 years, and despite now not being in a clinical role am struggling. Extra workload with no extra help or support, working well and above contracted hours. I feel at breaking point.

I'm a doctor. I found the first few years of work after I qualified incredibly stressful, so I managed to become part-time when I became a registrar, and continued when I finished my training. I'm now a GP, working 3 days a week. Two of those days are routinely 12 hours long (by the time I've finished my admin etc). I certainly don't feel like a slacker for having two days off a week, and I'd rather earn less money but be less stressed. I do various bits of freelance non-clinical work in my 2 days at home, which earns me a little bit of extra cash without being stressful. Can you reduce your patient-facing hours?

I don't have a job anywhere near as emotionally stressful as working in healthcare which has a great impact on people's lives but my job is essentially dealing with huge amounts of incoming work and high pressure to meet targets. Downtime is important to me to rest my brain when I'm not working and I make sure that I use every opportunity to switch off when I can. I don't have emails/calls to my personal phone and I'll always take a break outside and go for a walk to get fresh air and some vitamin d whilst the sun is out. My work is very fast paced so on my commute home I'll listen to music/podcasts to slow it down before getting home and I can leave my work brain at the office.

Thanks Right. I am actually already part-time. I work 30hrs, but the hours are averaged out over a 4 week period so sometimes have 40+hr weeks. I have been doing that since returning from my first maternity leave 7 years ago. Can't afford to reduce hours further at the moment. I rarely work 2 consecutive days anyway as the shifts are 13hrs long so I do get some time to recover from work before the next shift.

I'm not NHS but my job often gets very stressful. For example I sometimes get physical attacked, have to go to court, deal with families who resent authority.
We have regular supervisions where we can off load what's been going on and reflect what could be done different.
Our rotas are designed so we have adequate time off between shifts.
A good team makes a huge difference. Sometimes you can do something over and over and it will be fine but one day the same thing can push you over the edge. Having a team mate who recognises you're having a bad day and step in to help is invaluable.
Having a life away from work is important. Some of my colleagues live and die for work. Those of us who have a passion, whether it's hill walking, painting, boxing or golf like some of my team mates seem a lot less stressed than others.

I changed my job. I think I’m very resilient and lasted a lot longer in a very stressful environment than most but I finally decided enough was enough and life is so much better. My new job is far from stress free but I know I can cope and I get so much more pleasure from my job, that offsets the stressful days nicely.

Oddly I also find full time hours less stressful, I am more attuned to my patients and potential issues and where I work in mental health nursing, understanding your patients is key in managing risk.

notacooldad yes, the team makes all the difference. I couldn't do this without the people I have working with me and the support from my manager. We probably should have some sort of supervision/ time to reflect on some of the stuff we deal with, but there isn't time for that.
sitranced I don't always have time for a break at work. Obviously working 13hrs+ without a break, without eating, without sitting down isn't going to be helping. Maybe I should try harder to make that happen somehow. I take a book to read on the bus home to try and switch off from the day and make the change from being nurse to be mummy/ DH's wife. I could do with an outside of work hobby, but again making time for that with unpredictable shifts (so hobby can't be something that has to happen at the same time each week) and also fitting in spending time with my family is hard. I already see too little of DC and DH.

Look for a non-harmful coping strategy
relaxation, bath, puzzle, adult colouring book, some craft, cooking, walking a dog (real or imaginary!) round the block each day, chat to colleagues even if only 2 mins as soon as you need to - some things need offloading immediately and cannot wait for supervision time (which can be stressy to arrange in the first place and is always subject to late cancellation)
And try to avoid the harmful ones!
Keep your boundaries - care for people but remember they are not 'yours' to grieve over. (But there's always the odd one who gets you, have 5 mins to blub, then crack on)
Accept you are human and doing a great job, which most people would thank you for if they thought about it.
Try to eat well - a big fan of the batch cook here - cook for the week, then your dinner is always ready in the time it takes to go ping, saves tons of time and worry. (Not to mention reducing washing up and food waste!)

Why not a family hobby? I know a boy irregular shift pattern and not being able to commit to a set time.
When the kids were younger we cycled together prevent hill walking. Great for destressing and spending time together.