How to Overcome Stress

Burnout is more than “just” stress; it is a syndrome of chronic workplace stress included and defined in the International Classification of Diseases guide. And it has affected up to 70% of the workforce in the past year. Likewise, burnout recovery is about more than just overcoming stress. Successfully following your own burnout recovery plan will require a thoughtful, honest examination of your professional and personal life and the courage to follow through with making changes to both. Whether you think you’re feeling burnt out right now or you want to explore burnout recovery options and learn how to overcome stress proactively now and in the future, these expert-sourced processes can help:

In their LinkedIn Course on How to Beat Burnout, Exhaustion, and Stress, Pete Mockaitis asked Dr. Jacinta M. Jiménez to explain telltale burnout symptoms. She told him that burnout was characterized by three: Mental and physical exhaustion: “This is when you take time off work and don’t feel better.” Cynicism and detachment: “You become less interested in work. You want to just be left alone.” Feeling a lack of effectiveness: “You feel like you can’t catch up and can’t effectively solve problems.” “You need all three burnout symptoms [to have burnout], but they can be in different dosages,” Dr. Jiménez concluded. How to Overcome Stress and Begin Burnout Recovery Right Now The first step to overcoming your stress is to identify its major recurring triggers. Todd Dewitt broke down how to identify stress triggers in his course on Managing Stress. “Take a few minutes to write down your thoughts as you consider each of the following,” he recommended: The who: “Usually, there's only one or two people who are most responsible for your highest stress episode.” The what: “Maybe there's a type of work you always dread or a part of a project that always makes you wince.” The where: “Only when you name the clear one or two most relevant locations can you begin to manage them.” The when: “The more you know about when your stress happens, the more you can be mindful about managing it more effectively.” You obviously won’t be able to avoid all of your stress triggers all the time, but you can begin taking steps to limit your exposure to your stressors whenever possible. Begin creating a structured plan for managing your availability to and interactions with others. Allocate your time with the goal of finding new ways to limit stress. Maybe you need to spend less time on certain aspects of your work that are particularly stressful - or you need to spend less time working on these aspects with certain people.

Unless you address the root causes of what caused your burnout in the first place, it will happen again. Even if you take the steps above and begin to feel less chronically stressed, it’s critical to take the time to honestly evaluate what caused your burnout in the first place. In her LinkedIn course on Managing Career Burnout, Founder and CEO of Bossed Up Emilie Aries identified and explained the four root causes of burnout: A lack of rest: “When you’re chronically underslept and never have time for fun during the average work week, your risk for burnout increases.” A lack of agency: “When it feels like life is just coming at you, or you don’t have any power over your day, your risk for burnout increases.” A lack of purpose: “When your work doesn’t feed your soul or you feel like you’re not having the impact you want to, you risk burning out.” A lack of community: “When you feel lonely and isolated, your risk of burn out increases.” Take the time to honestly examine your life and evaluate which of these you lack. It may be particularly helpful to cross-reference the stressors you identified earlier with these root causes. Create a long-term plan to find a place for what you’re missing. Ultimately, this will likely mean making big changes in your life and career, but you don’t have to make those changes right away. Instead, start with small goals and work your way toward bigger ones. For example, if you feel a lack of agency, purpose, and community, you may need to change jobs or even careers. That doesn’t mean you have to quit your job right away, however. Instead, start considering what you would feel more fulfilled doing and building the skills and connections you need to start doing it. The first step is to pay attention to what specifically makes you feel burnt out, and by overcoming stress, you can also take steps toward building the life you truly want.