Stress, anxiety, and burnout are issues that in the modern 24/7 world are becoming increasingly common, but what is it and how can we recognize and avoid it?
We caught up with Ryan Ridgway of Meraki Hair to get his take on how to recognise and approach stress burnout…
Michael Gungor describes it as this: “Burnout is what happens when you try to avoid being human for too long”.
Most of us have busy lives, being the partner, parent or professional, and often fulfilling these roles is unavoidable, so it’s essential we make space and time for us.
Most of the stress we face may be something we can’t change or avoid, the traffic, tech issues, workload, children, Covid regulation changes – some we can influence but some we may have to learn to live at peace with. So how can we switch of our busy internal dialogue to be at ease with the continually ‘spinning plates’ in life?
Firstly, let’s look at how we can recognize when we are approaching burnout and need to apply some early intervention which could prevent an inevitable crash.
What do you notice in yourself when you are stressed? How do you feel? Agitated, overwhelmed, like you can’t cope or take much more, fidgety, anxious, nervous – the list goes on as we are all different. It’s also worth noting that we all see things differently, so what stresses me to the max you may face with ease.
What about the physical signs of stress? It could be some of the more well-known like heart rate increase, change in breathing patterns, sweating, nausea or something that’s been branded our Stress Signature. This refers to the unique thing that we do when we start to become nervous, anxious, worried, or stressed. You might pick, bite your lip, curl your hair, tap your leg, bite your nails – again the list goes on.
Add to this how someone might behave when they are stressed, things like being snappy, short, agitated, or aggressive – there is no complete catalogue of the ways stress and burnout may present itself, and there is also no MRI Scan or X Ray to evidence it!
So, we rely on healthy self-reflection, and the best proven way to let out some of this stress we often live with is to take some time for you, doing the things you enjoy. The most common ways to unwind are things like exercise, nature, meditation and mindfulness, creativity, and reading – but remember, we are all different.
When was the last time you took timeout for you? Ask yourself when you last did that thing you enjoy? And it’s not easy to create this time but you can’t pour from an empty cup! None of us our going to get to the end of our lives, look back and reflect and say ’I wish I had sent more emails.’
Self-care is not selfish, its ok to sometimes put yourself first.