BURNOUT - I Don't Want to Adult

You start a job or project and you are so excited! You’ve worked for months or years to get to this point and now it’s finally here. But then time goes on, day by day, same thing, same place, same patients. The excitement is gone, boredom appears, frustration, apathy. How do you prevent burnout? And what do you do if it’s already here?

It all starts with you. You are an amazing care giver and you probably put everyone else before yourself. Well, STOP IT!! You must come first! If you don’t take of your needs first, you won’t be able to care for others. It’s like on an airplane. When the oxygen masks fall, you put yours on first, and then help others around you.

Every day create time for yourself. It might only be 10 minutes, but that’s okay. Use that 10 minutes to do something YOU love. Read a book, take a bath, color, or just sit and be silent. Quieting your mind and not thinking can be massively healing for your mind.

But that’s just a start. As humans we are created to constantly be learning and striving for something new. Find a hobby, or book, or introduce yourself to someone new (that doesn’t include patients). Something you can get excited about again.

Most importantly, take care of yourself physically, mentally, and spiritually. Eat a plant based diet, get enough sleep, exercise every day (even if you’ve spent 12 hours on your feet, taking a 10 minute walk by yourself is very healing). Do a mindfulness session, meditation, yoga, prayer. YouTube probably has millions of meditation and mindfulness sessions by now. Snuggle with a loved one or pet.

And please, talk to someone. Keeping frustrations locked inside will only make things worse. Journaling is fantastic for getting out the babble that’s inside your head. And talking to a nurse coach is even better! If you are facing burnout, please consider a complimentary session with me (or any nurse coach) to discover the magic in letting it all go.

Let it go