Managing burnout (and finding balance) QUEST

Myth: Success is all about long hours and hard work

Reality: Being successful is not just about long hours and hard work. Sure sometimes we need to work hard and sometimes we put in long hours, but we still need to remember that we need look after ourselves if we want to make it to the finish line and make sure we have the strength to be ready for the next race.

Myth: I work better under pressure.

Reality: Often people might believe this to be true, without ever having actually tried any other approaches. Sometimes we may get a good result with a tight deadline but if we already think this is how we best perform, we will use this example as evidence that we really do work best under pressure. We forget about the times when it didn’t work out. Also, while we may have achieved a good grade, what were the other things that didn’t work out so well? Did we skip an important party with a close friend? Did we eat heaps of junk food and not do any exercise? Were we frustrated and irritable with people we care about?

Burnout is defined as a state of chronic emotional, physical and mental fatigue, which is often caused by excessive and prolonged periods of stress.

Stress impacts on us all differently and we all have different ways of coping. Sometimes these ways of coping can be a ‘sign’ that we are feeling more than a ‘helpful’ level of stress.

Signs of burnout might include:

• Taking frequent sick days from work or study
• A constant feeling of exhaustion despite getting enough sleep
• Cynicism and negativity
• Lashing out at others due to pressure and frustration
• Making careless mistakes that you ordinarily wouldn’t make
• Consistently arriving late and/or leaving early from classes or commitments
• Feeling like your work is pointless
• Not being able to concentrate on leisure activities like watching a film
• Lacking confidence, motivation or otherwise feeling incapable of meeting deadlines

1. Recognise and act when you see the signs

If you experience some of the signs above, it is important to take this seriously and deal with the burnout right away. This can prevent things from continuing to get worse.

You might find help helpful to think back over the last week and see if any of the above seem to be showing up more than usual. Another option is to use an online resource such as this one from ReachOut or if stress has been around a bit longer than a week, then perhaps consider checking out this online tool.

2. Re-evaluate your commitments

If you are feeling overwhelmed, take a moment to assess all of the demands on your time. Is there anything that you are able to let go of?

Can you drop one shift at work for the next couple of weeks while you have a lot of assessments due? Can you ask for some help from family or friends? Can you take a break from the volunteer role for a few weeks? Consider if your course load is reasonable.

Be sure not to decide to drop the ‘self-care’ activities from your routine – these are important!

3. Ask for help

Sometimes asking for help if we are feeling overwhelmed can keep us from burning out. This may mean that we need to be assertive about our needs and how we are feeling.

Evidence suggests that assertive communication is the most efficient and beneficial style of communication. Assertiveness allows us to take care of ourselves, and is fundamental for good mental health and healthy relationships. Check out this resource on being assertive. The following video demonstrates the importance of being assertive, even in times when it may feel uncomfortable.

Video: Get comfortable with being uncomfortable (11 minutes)

4. Set reasonable goals and stick to them

Setting unrealistic goals, such as piling on more courses than you can handle, having a social life that leaves little time for work, or expecting extremely high grades in all courses, can be a recipe for burnout. A helpful way to assess if the expectations you have of yourself are reasonable is to consider if you would have the same expectations for a friend. If you find it difficult to let go of high expectations, you might like to look into whether Perfectionism might be playing a role in maintaining stress and burnout.

As well as setting reasonable goals, breaking down longer-term goals or big projects into smaller, more achievable steps can also help avoid the stress that occurs with all-nighters or last minute projects. Setting smaller goals and achieving them can help you to feel good about your success before moving onto the next step of a project.

5. Time management and organisation

Students are less likely to experience burnout when they keep on top of assessments and exam preparation. Effectively managing time and deadlines by using an assessment calendar, keeping on track with responsibilities, and tackling procrastination are important strategies for preventing burnout.

6. Make time for self-care

Often, we can get into a thinking trap that spending time on ourselves is a “waste of time”, when we have so many other things on our to-do list. This can then lead to feelings of guilt when we are taking some time for ourselves. However, this “me time” is essential for your wellbeing. While it can seem counterproductive to take breaks from study to do something for yourself, these breaks actually increase your productivity by keeping our stress levels down and reducing burnout.

Self-care activities should give you a break from uni work, and leave you feeling a little more refreshed and relaxed. This could include taking a 10 minute break to have a coffee in the sun, going for a swim, chatting with a friend or driving to the beach to look at the ocean.

Keep in mind that watching TV or killing time on the computer does not actually relieve stress – it often just lets it sit dormant. The most effective stress reducing activities are either calming (such as mediation, yoga, walking, and breathing) or physical exercise and sport. This is because these activities release positive endorphins and help with sleep.

In addition to scheduling fun activities, self-care also involves meeting our basic needs on a regular basis, such as getting enough sleep and eating a balanced diet. Check out this list of fun ideas for self-care or here for more information.

7. Self-compassion

Another way we can look after ourselves and prevent burnout is to notice our self-talk when we are stressed. Often our inner thoughts may become critical of ourselves and how we are coping. We often set high standards and hold ourselves accountable for not managing better or feeling like we should not be stressed.

This kind of cycle does little for our stress levels. Suddenly we have another reason to be stressed! Not only are we not coping but now we are also not coping with not coping!

Self-compassion is showing compassion to yourself in the same way that you can show compassion towards another person. If you notice that your self-talk is critical it can help to think about what you would say to someone you cared about if they said these things? Or what would you say to someone who said these things to a child?

Harsh self-criticism is often an unhelpful and misguided attempt to improve our performance. It can activate the ‘threat’ pathway in our brain, leading to anxiety, low mood and unhelpful coping strategies such as avoidance. To learn how to hold yourself accountable with kindness, check out the free workbook from Centre for Clinical Interventions on “Building Self Compassion”.

Video: Self-Compassion (4 minutes)

Workshops:

• The University's Counselling and Psychological Service run free webinars and workshops on topics such as Tackling Procrastination, Exam Anxiety, and Overcoming Perfectionism. Check out the website for the current timetable of workshops.
• BiteBack is a free online program designed by the Black Dog Institute to help you manage burnout and stay balanced.
• Coping with Stress – This 4-lesson course is based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques which are clinically proven to reduce stress and anxiety.
• Mindspot – This resource offers heaps of free programs on topics such as Wellbeing; Mood; OCD; PTSD; Indigenous Wellbeing; and Chronic Pain.

Online Resources:

• The University's Counselling and Psychological Service has a load of tip sheets including some to help you manage stress or anxiety, or even work on grounding or breathing.
• The Centre for Clinical Interventions have some great modules and resources for developing ways to manage stress. You can do a few modules on a particular area such as stress, or look into particular techniques like building self-compassion and reducing physical tension.

Apps:

• Smiling Mind – Free guided mindfulness activities that you can do no matter where you are via your phone or device. 3 million downloads can’t be wrong!
• Calm – Some options for calming yourself to reduce stress, improve sleep and engage in mindful movement are a part of this beautifully designed app.
• Headspace – This app offers a introduction to mindfulness meditation to allow you to tune into your thoughts more effectively to manage stress.
• Breathe2Relax – Guided practice to help you slow down your breathing and keep your fight or flight response in check!

More Videos

Video: How to shrink Stress (15 minutes)

Video: TED Talk - The Secret to Living Longer May be Your Social Life (16 minutes)

• University of Newcastle After-Hours Support Line – talk to a counsellor outside of office hours (5pm-9am Mon-Fri and 24hrs weekends and public holidays. Ph: 1300 653 007 or SMS: 0488 884 165
• See a University Counsellor or Wellbeing Advisor – online counselling or face to face counselling

UPDATED MARCH 2022

Contact: onlinecounselling@newcastle.edu.au