Your tips for treating burnout.

[whatisforteamum]

After relentless stress for many months at home due to redundant and depressed dh,numerous other homelife stressors I can't mention or I will out myself.
Meanwhile I've been working 12 hr days short staffed for months too.
I feel exhausted and recognise I'm burning out again.last time I worked through it with therapy.
Any tips to reset myself quickly.I can't take annual leave as we are so short staffed.
My dh has work again and I feel empty.
Thanks in advance.

I was lucky to have an NHS health coach referral when I burned out, and his order of tackling things was:

1. Sleep. It is so fundamental to our ability to do everything else. Get a firm sleep routine established.
2. Nutrition for gut health. Leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower all excellent, but focus on unprocessed foods. This restores the lining of your gut which is destroyed by prolonged stress, which affects your health in many ways.
3. Exercise.
4. Indulgence - hobbies, socialising etc.

The key was, build a routine around prioritising these things, and don't let any of them get out of whack for the sake of the others.

You have to give it the attention it deserves and take time off sick to get it sorted. What could be a month-6 weeks to sort now could end up being much longer if you just keep going.

I have seen people ignore it and not been able to recover sufficiently to return to their roles afterwards (which they actually enjoyed).

Massage/Spa type thing.

Horse riding/walking/gardening/art project.

Book time off ASAP so the end is in sight.

Let your management know you're close to burn out, they may see it as a few days now (can they get temp/agency staff in?) is better than weeks off sick.

Can you speak to a therapist again?

Get signed off for at least 4 weeks, rest, sleep, eat well, veg, see friends, generally slow down.

Great ideas above. I agree with them all.

Couple of others:

• 5 portions of joy a day if you can (e.g set your favourite dancing track on and dance madly in the kitchen, google children giggling)


• keep in touch with people that nourish you. A quick text if that’s all you feel you can manage.

also, explore any mental barriers to self care and self compassion. What does your head tell you if you try and be kind to yourself? ‘I don’t deserve it’ ‘I don’t have time’ ‘it’s indulgent’ ‘it’s giving in’. They are all common internal responses. Notice them. Then remind yourself of the reasons not to listen to those thoughts.

good luck.

Consider these questions…
what am I like when I’m well?
what am I like when I’m nearing burnout?
what do I need to do every day to stay well?
what do I need to do (but not necessarily every day) to stay well?
what do I need to avoid / limit doing in order to stay well?
If I notice the signs of burnout, what will help me?

This is the basis of a Wellness Recovery Action Plan (part one) and can be really helpful to help you understand yourself better and work out some healthy routines. When I’m burning out I revisit my WRAP and usually realise that I’m not doing the things I need to do to stay well - exercise, have ten minutes on my own, get fresh air etc

Going to bed early.

I gave up alcohol in lockdown and made sugar free treats took up exercise.
All good.Only a few weeks ago I was juggling everything seamlessly.
Now I just feel drained .I was going to book the odd few days annual leave and was told I can't.
I know physically I've been overworking which is fine.
I will have to contact the therapist again but it is nhs so there will be a wait.

You will burn out because you can only go at that pace for so long

If you can't take leave , the situation isn't improving . So can you leave ? Or you will end up taking longer off sick

For me it's no social media, very little socialising for a while - I can't be bothered with all of the texts pinging back and forth - and some time in nature as often as you can (a walk, a bit of weeding in the garden, sitting on a nice bench in the park - or something more substantial if you have access to it).

OP, take your leave. You won't be any use to them or yourself if you burn out. Or switch jobs. Your own health is more important.

Your body and mind are screaming at you that you need proper rest. If you don't take time off work you could get really unwell.

I had burn out and left it to the last possible moment before I admitted defeat and took a week off sick. It then took me months to recover fully. I should have taken time off weeks before. If you can't take leave, get signed off. This won't get better until you properly rest.

Coudawoudashouda I agree but I can't get to bed before midnight.😪
Great advice thanks.
I will contact the local MH team.

Prioritise sleep and healthy food. Then get out in nature as much as you can. Even if it's sitting in your garden or a park for a little while.

Confusedbydesign I agree.
I still feel drained and empty though.

Well really there needs to be a change in circumstances and time for proper rest. All you can do when you can't get that, is try to manage things so you don't spiral downwards.
It's just awful and no one should be in this position.

Might be time to see a gp if you're not feeling recharged by anything else. Put your health first.

Tell someone how you’re feeling, if you haven’t already. Bottling it up makes it worse but if that’s not possible, write it down - acknowledging it in some way always helps me feel a bit less pressure.

And I agree with the back to basics approach - prioritise sleep, try to eat as well as you can, keep hydrated and say no to anything extra that you don’t have to. I set myself impossible standards so the first thing I do when stresses are building is trim the unnecessary stuff, even if that’s as simple as buying a pudding rather than making it or getting someone a gift voucher rather than a thoughtful present etc. Do wherever you can to carve out extra time for yourself.

I was refused annual leave, although I had plenty, but we were short staffed etc. So I went to the GP, who signed me off for 2 weeks initially, then for another 4.
The lack of sleep was killing me.

You need to take annual leave/cut back your hours. If you don’t you will burn out and end up off sick. Talk to your employer. If your line manager isn’t helpful then go to their line manager/head of HR.

You are not feeling recharged because you don’t have enough time to get 8 hours sleep, exercise, do home life stuff and relax. If there isn’t enough time then you can’t do it. It doesn’t matter how many drugs or how much therapy you get if you cant do the basic of sleep, good food, exercise and relax then you aren’t going to fix it. I know it’s hard but nothing changes unless you change something.

I meant to add and bloody well done for keeping going as you have! If you're partner is now in work you need to let him carry the load so you can recharge.

If you need time off for burnout and you say you can’t have annual leave - get signed off sick and take sick leave instead. Prioritise your own wellbeing.

Your work need to take responsibility for your burnout. Take sick leave, not annual leave, recuperate and then return to normal working conditions not 12 hour days. Set your boundaries, you need to stand up for yourself.

I booked a full body massage and facial every 2 months when I was burned out. Paid for up front so that I couldn't postpone, all appointments set in advance. Really worked wonders for me, and I notice now that I haven't been for a while (pregnant and therapist doesn't have a pregnancy massage table 😥). Can't wait to get back to the routine!!

I love 5 portions of joy, definitely stealing that! Thank you 🙂

Orwellwasright and Buddahatsea sorry to hear you have suffered too and hope you feel better now.
The shifts are 12 hour with the usual half day long gone months ago.
Time to eat or rest are rare so I do carve out one day where I do minimum.
The short staffed situation shows no sign of easing.
I honestly think helping dh job search while he was so resistant has drained the life out of me .Plus the loss of income so not all my stress is work related.
Also it is an job where being off sick is a no no.
I wl go to the go if I have too.Thanks for the support I feel less alone.