burnout

What is burnout; information and understanding of the experience of burning out

Am I Burnt Out?

AM I BURNT OUT?

 

I am struck by how many women these days easily say, “oh I’m just so burnt out”.  Sadly, I believe it’s a statement most of us seem to relate to in this fast-paced world today. Many of our clients come to us feeling down, depleted, and utterly overwhelmed…and you guessed it, they all say, I think I might be burning out.

 

What is this thing called Burnout?

We often ask people, ‘do you really know what burnout is’.  We hear a variety of common responses some accurate, some not.  Bottom line, if the information is not correct women don’t seek help and things get worse.  It’s the way Burnout takes hold.

When people hear you say you’re burned out, they usually reply that everyone is stressed.  If you think you are suffering from burnout and hear this, you walk away feeling foolish and inept for making a fuss, even though you feel about to drop from exhaustion.

Others talk about ‘being burned out’ in a manner that sounds like a fad or trend or something ultra-light.  They are the ones who seemingly act like the ‘every-ready bunny’ and keep going, hardly skipping a beat.  It makes it hard to believe they feel like you do, because you are struggling to keep up with everything.  So you lie awake wondering what’s wrong with me that I can’t cope.

This would be a good moment to give Burnout some serious thought.  What is it really and what does it look and feel like.  The best medicine is to arm yourself with proper knowledge so that you can make decisions in aid of your well-being.

The Burnout Queens have put together this Simple Symptom Checklist for Burnout to help you identify whether or not you are burning out.  See if you recognise any of the emotional, physical and mental changes for yourself.

 

Get immediate access to this Checklist

CLICK HERE:

 

 

 

 

Don’t dismiss your feelings and emotions.  If it’s just stress it can’t be that bad, right?  And if it’s really bothering you that much you must be depressed, right?  Perhaps not.

Burnout is not stress and it’s not depression, although you just might ‘feel’ depressed and stressed when you keep trying to juggle all your responsibilities and never feel you get enough reprieve to feel well.  If you are burnt out you keep trying to ‘keep going’, but with depression you just want to hide under the duvet forever! 

Let’s nip burnout in the bud.   Start by downloading our Simple Symptom Checklist for Burnout.  This is the best and simplest way to check if you are actually burning out.

If you love downloading, you will love our Learn From Us page.  Feel free to save and read as many of our resources that you think will help on your road to living a burnout-free lifestyle.

 

 

To your health!

Love, The Burnout Queens xx

Reader Feedback we love

Reader Feedback!

Huge response both on and offline to our June 30th Feature Article on Bullying in the adult world [Stand Tall, No Sagging Allowed!  HSPs Stand Up To Bullies]

Here’s a taster of the feedback from across the globe!  Thank you all.

 

“Great ideas for coping with bullies! Thank you.”   Deb V.  Las Vegas, USA

“Hi there  I’m not being bullied but was when I was a teenager and my daughter has been too.I used to have a background in HR. I would have loved to have shared these tips to our staff back then. Fab post 🙂 Have a lovely weekend x  Wishing you fabulousness! ” Ruby McGuire, MCIPD, ASC  (Visibility Diva, aka Queen of Connection Visibility Strategist, Trainer, Speaker, Author.  UK

“I just had to tell you how timely your latest email was about bullying. I am currently going through the negotiations over dissolving the partnership in my business and everything in your email hit home for me. I was literally lying awake at 1am so upset over everything and I pulled out my phone and saw the headline of your email. Thank you! This will make me stronger throughout this time! ” J.G.  BC, Canada

 

 

 

What if your workplace is toxic?

What is a toxic workplace and how will I know if mine is toxic?

The Burnout Queens love to share good articles and this is a good article in Inc.com (Marcel Schwantes) based on solid research out of Harvard.

 

The article titled 5 signs of a toxic workplace that should be stopped immediately (Inc.com magazine), summarises who toxic workers are and what they do that is so counter-productive to the company and their workers.

“much has been written about hiring and developing top performers in the workplace, but less attention has been paid to the effects of toxic workers on their organizations.  [toxic] workers are not low-functioning or low-status employees…[they]are talented and productive….”

Here are this article’s 5 signs of a toxic office.

  1. Gossip is spreading
  2. Morale is at an all-time low
  3. Managers are dictators not leaders
  4. The human touch is lost
  5. Health issues and absenteeism are on the rise

These are just some of the situations our Executive Clients find themselves in, many of them disheartened by their company culture, disillusioned by an absent listening leadership.  Others grapple with questioning whether they should stay or take the opportunity to leave and place themselves in their dream career move. This all leads to low morale and possibly burnout, which has a knock-on effect on many leaders, teams, executives and ultimately erodes the company’s bottom-line.

Read the full article and get really honest with yourselves. Next step? Implement healthy, rather than punitive change. To ignore and keep following the same path is to risk losing your most talented to the competition.

The step after that?  Get in touch (www.livethesolution.com) .  We coach Highly Sensitive Executives in these situations all the time and they learn to thrive.

Email skills up to snuff? Part 3

Here’s the third Email Mistake that makes all of us look unprofessional according to Inc.com.  It’s easy to do when you are bombarded by inbox overload or are squeezed for time. However, this mistake can make the best of us steam with irritation (at least it does me)

Slow response or no response at all.

The Inc article makes it clear that you should acknowledge receiving an email from someone, even if you quickly answer ‘got it’. I am so happy that this is what our VA does each time I send work from the UK to the US. One word from her that it landed in her inbox allows me to just move on knowing the work will be handled.  Bless her she’s a highly sensitive person as well, so she ‘gets’ the importance of replies.

However, (this is a big irritation to me and most HSP’s I know) if I send an email with substantial information, opinion or suggestions in it, if I send a client a personalised visualisation, if I email a colleague with a joint business idea…I want to hear that it was received!!!!!! (notice irritation growing.)

You can double my irritation (and confusion) if a colleague or client wants to book time with me, and I take quick action to reply and offer a time slot (time zones are a challenge when working globally) and then I wait for a no-or-slow response…!  Nothing irks me more than being asked for something, delivering, and then waiting for confirmation! I am left thinking several things.

  1. My email never arrived or is languishing somewhere in the Ethernet.
  2. The request for my time wasn’t that important in the first place (but I am keeping a timeslot open which means it’s still on my mind).
  3. The person is lazy or impolite because they aren’t checking their inbox…hello (either way I’m starting to steam)!
  4. They feel they are too busy and oops, ‘sorry it went to the bottom of my to-do list’.

Regardless of the WHY of no-or-slow replies to emails, the article (and I totally agree) suggests we filter and prioritise our emails and always send a quick reply regardless of restraints…(got it, got this, will reply tomorrow, I’ll get back to you on this asap).

I always use these suggestions and I always appreciate when others do the same. Don’t you?

(hello…are you there)

(hello?)

Hmm, note to self, better check this article reached everybody!

Love, The Burnout Queens xx

Check out the other 2 Email Mistakes that Make Us Look Unprofessional.

Email skills up to snuff?

Email skills up to snuff? Part 2

 

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