Do you lately feel pessimism, increased dissatisfaction, absenteeism and inefficiency at work?

Depression, inability to sleep, increasing anxiety, irritability, difficulties to concentrate and frequent sicknesses?

Those are signs of burnout.

Professional women today face many roles and significant stressors, many of which are different than those faced by men or even women of previous generations. For most women, stress ranks at the top of the list of daily problems.

Daily stress floods your body with a cascade of hormones: adrenaline pumps up blood pressure and makes your heart beat faster; cortisol raises your blood sugar level, and, if it remains chronically elevated, can erode your overall health and eventually can lead to burnout.

Two important definitions of burnout are:

“A state of fatigue or frustration brought about by devotion to a cause, way of life, or relationship that failed to produce the expected reward.” – Herbert J Freudenberger coined the term ‘burnout in 1974

“A state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion caused by long term involvement in emotionally demanding situations.” - Ayala Pines & Elliott Aronson

Burnout is the result of continued, unrelieved and unmanaged long-term stress. Period. I was there and know a lot about it. (Click HERE to read How did I overcome burnout - my personal story)

The signs and symptoms of burnout are similar to those of stress, but burnout includes an emotional exhaustion and an increasingly negative attitude toward your work and life in general.

If career burnout affects your interpersonal relationships, work performance or your health, you have cause to be concerned. When we are overworked and emotionally drained, it becomes very difficult to interact with other people, and often we start isolating ourselves from them. Some people who suffer from burnout also resort to addictive behaviors such as substance abuse. This dependency on substances can cause significant harm and serious problems if the root cause is not addressed.

All factors causing burnout fall into three groups:

• Job related burnout
• Lifestyle related burnout.
• Personality related burnout

"Burnout exhausted as a result of long term stress is the biggest occupational hazard of the 21st century," says Christina Maslach, Ph.D., coauthor of Banishing Burnout: Six Strategies for Improving Your Relationship with Work.

 Physical signs of burnout include:

• digestive problems
• headaches
• high blood pressure
• heart attacks
• strokes
• teeth grinding
• chronic physical fatigue - feeling tired much of the time
• frequent illness
• sleep problems

Emotional and behavioral signs include:

• powerlessness  and hopelessness
• increased alcohol, nicotine, drug, caffeine intake
• little satisfaction from your work
• withdrawal and isolation from interpersonal relationships
• insecurity about your competence and abilities
• cynicism
• increased irritability and negative emotions,increasingly pessimistic outlook
• anxious
• increased impatience, moodiness, inexplicable sadness

• Recognize the symptoms and ask for help
• Set limits and boundaries for yourself – learn to say NO!!
• Identify your responsibilities, prioritize and delegate
• Change your work and home environment
• Develop an interest in stress relieving activities
• Eat healthy, get plenty of exercise and enough sleep
• Spend more time laughing and maintain positive focus!
• Dont rush, live mindfully and stay in the Here and Now
• Simplify your life
  

Change isn't always easy, especially when you doubt about where to start.

Stress coaching enables you to identify the sources of stress in your life and equips you with techniques to manage stress more effectively and reach the permanent stress reduction and stress relief results.

Are you ready to manage stress before it manages you, your health and your professional and personal life?

Don’t hesitate to contact me at info@action4balance.com to find out how I can best help you.

I reward immediate action takers.