Burnout and How To Prevent It.
by Apostolic Counselors’ Fellowship

Burn-out: The exhaustion of physical and psychological resources caused by excessive striving for unrealistically high expectations.

Do you feel like you want to “run away”? When you get up in the morning, do you dread going to work? Do you ever wonder what would have happened if you had married your high school sweetheart, or fulfilled your childhood ambition? If so, chances are good that you’re burning out.

Burnout can happen to anyone,- and the older you get, the greater your chances of burning out: 22% of workers 22-34 years old complain of burnout; but in the 35-46 year old group, 64% felt burned out. Most burnout is job-related, but people also bum out on relationships, on family duties, on any situation that consistently requires more energy than it gives rewards.

The hardest part of dealing with burnout is identifying it.- Because it happens gradually, it’s easy to dismiss early signals of burnout as fatigue, temporary irritability, or “laziness.”

Preventing Burnout

Even if you’re a high-risk candidate for burnout, there are things you can do to inoculate yourself against burnout …

Develop or improve your social support system. A network of supportive friends and family is a great buffer against burnout.

Develop sources of enjoyment and reward other than your regular job Hobbies, community activities, or aspects of your job other than your regular duties can provide variety and stimulation.

Follow good health habits – regular exercise, proper diet, and enough sleep protect against physical symptoms of burnout.

Pay attention to the “smoke signals” that mark the early stages of burnout. Don’t dismiss the fatigue, irritability, and depression of burnout as just “being a little tired,” bad moods, or PMS.

Be realistic about your goals and expectations. We rarely get 100% of what we want or deliver our 100% best effort – but 80% or 90% often does the job.

THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN PUBLISHED BY THE APOSTOLIC COUNSELORS’ FELLOWSHIP.

THE ABOVE MATERIAL HAS BEEN COPYRIGHTED AND MAY BE USED FOR STUDY OR RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY