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.
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.
Welcome to the Self-Care Society podcast with your hosts Celia Williamson, ashley Kuchar, louie Guardiola and Keri Shaw, a podcast devoted to those whose job it is to help others get or remain mentally, physically and emotionally healthy, but who also need to take care of themselves. And how we're going to do this? By first showing you the filtered, pretty version of success, and then the real struggles, real work and raw grit it took to get there, how they took care of themselves and also achieved their goals while doing it Together. We will work with you to improve and maintain your internal health and growth, while helping you achieve your external goals and your next professional achievement in life.
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And we're excited to show you how to follow your own individual and unique path and achieve the dreams you have, while taking good care of yourself. So let's get started. Hello and welcome to the self-care podcast. I'm your host, isabel Matosian, and today we're going to be discussing how to maintain your professionalism while dealing with burnout at work.
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Burnout has several symptoms, including frequent illness, exhaustion, difficulty sleeping, dreading work, irritability and escape fantasies. These symptoms can lead to compassion, fatigue, which may present as detachment or nightmares, avoidance, sadness and reduced empathy. It can feel entirely soul-crushing to work as hard as you possibly can and have the stressors continue to build, no matter what you do. You get to a point where you feel like there's a constant weight on your chest and you can't even move anywhere, because if you move, you have to face the amount of work that's already overwhelming you and are met with people who need more and more from you, and every time a new issue comes up, no matter how small it is, you feel like you've just added a thousand pounds to your back. So how do you carry the weight? When the burnout starts to become depression and your motivation is dwindling? How do you keep moving on? It doesn't matter how resilient you are or how tough you've been in your life. Anyone can fall victim to burnout. Life is full of ups and downs and your worst critic will be yourself when the downs come around. So try not to feel like a failure when burnout hits.
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My friend is one of the toughest people I know. She's endured trauma and rose above it. She manages to be kind and professional no matter what situation she faces. Recently, however, she's been struggling. She's working under a difficult manager, seeking new employment, keeping up a second job and dealing with some issues in her family. She's always been the one that people turn to for help and when we spoke, she opened up that she feels invisible when she is the one who needs support. Like she could scream and no one in her family or workplace would even hear it. She is struggling to accomplish the usual tasks that she has because there never seems to be enough time in the day, and when she does find time, she just wants to rest. If you can relate at all to what she is going through, then this is a great place to be.
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So what do we do when things get this difficult? The first thing is to make sure you have a support system in place. Some people have supportive work environments or helpful family members. Take advantage of their kindness. It's okay to accept help when you need help and you know that if you were doing well and had the time and the capacity, you would offer to be a supportive friend or a co-worker as well. If you are not so fortunate to have that help offered to you, then maybe your best option is to seek professional help from a therapist. Find someone to talk to about what you're dealing with. If you don't, then you're leaving it to fester and worsen.
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Next, do the usual organizational stuff Tidy up your living space, make a list of what needs to be done and prioritize the urgent items. I recommend trying to look into something called the time boxing method, which is where you look at your schedule and block out time for tasks. When I do it, I block times for everything, including rest, meals, time outside, exercise and walking my dog. It may seem like overkill, but when you have limited support systems, use your schedule as a support system. Let your calendar tell you what to do, where to be and when to sleep, because it can be so hard to keep track of things when it gets too overwhelming when it comes to your workplace stressors, I encourage you to maintain your professionalism, no matter what other people are doing. That doesn't mean you should let them walk all over you, but rise above it. Be better than them by being more professional than them. It Be better than them by being more professional than them.
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Don't worry about being the employee that goes above and beyond. Get the work done that you need to accomplish and save the rest for when you have the bandwidth to accomplish it, when things settle down. That's when you can start planning for the future again. If you're in a place where you want to seek a new job and get out of the situation with your current workplace, then include time for that when you're doing your timeboxing. Do your best to leave work at work when you reach the end of your day. Try not to dwell on the things that are beyond your control when you get home. Focus on practicing self-care and think about the things in your spare time that would help you out later, like tidying up or working on something that would ease the stress later on. If there's a registration that you have to accomplish or if you have to file your taxes, get it done during those moments of spare time time.
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If your burnout is not being caused by a hectic schedule, but rather by a monotonous one that feels unexciting and that isn't challenging you enough to use your skills, then consider taking on a new project at work or a volunteer position outside of work. Find something else to add a new challenge or some new excitement to your day. You don't want to stress yourself out or create worse burnout, but you do want to feel excited about opportunities to learn new skills and make new friends. You can also take a step back from your situation and seek out positivity. What parts of your day do give you joy, even while you're feeling burnt out and starting to suffer from depression? What makes you smile To the best of your ability? Embrace the joy that you currently have in your life. Let it fuel you while you're going through a challenging time.
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At this point in this project and this podcast, I feel like we've covered most of the actual tools that you need. We know by now that taking care of yourself involves introspection, a healthy diet, a comfortable space, getting exercise and sunshine, doing things that you enjoy and more. Maintaining professionalism in your workplace is going to involve a lot of the same things. Stay organized, stay kind and rise above other people's nonsense. What I really want any listeners to take away today, though, is that burnout can feel like you're waging an invisible war. It can feel messy and big, and you can be so shocked when no one else seems to notice it's happening. Remember that this is an internal battle. Support won't necessarily come to you naturally or without effort from you. You have to communicate that you need support. Seek out support where your usual systems are failing and be patient with yourself. Don't try to change the world in the next week or two when the burnout starts to really hit. Just get through it.
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My favorite quote might be too cheesy for a podcast that I am reporting for work, but even so, this is a simple quote from Cinderella. She says have courage and be kind. I think about it all the time. When I'm struggling, when I feel alone, when there doesn't seem to be anyone around who cares or is able to support me, I remind myself to have courage and be kind because, at the end of the day, it's all I really have control over. I can control how I act and what I do, not how others act. If you are currently struggling with burnout, I encourage you to seek support. If you're a community health worker in Ohio, then please join our self-care groups. The link to our online community is in the description for this episode. Hopefully you will be able to find some resources or connect with other community health workers who are dealing with the same things. Have a great day, everyone. That concludes this week's episode. And remember it's not selfish, it's self-care.
