Did you know that your physical body is the last place dis-ease and the effects of overwhelm and burnout show up?
By the time you feel exhausted or foggy or show other physical symptoms, you’ve already depleted yourself. The dis-ease has rooted itself into your physical body or your mental mind, and it takes much longer to recover and return to a state of harmony.
Consider the word disease — not just as physical symptom or a diagnosis but as a state of un-ease within you. Dis- means “apart.” Disease is to be apart from ease, apart from harmony. When you are more aware of the dis-ease you experience mentally in the form of anxiety, worry, or negative self-talk, or experience energetically in your nervous system as frustration or feeling flooded, you become empowered to make changes sooner, before becoming completely depleted or physically sick.
Recall a time you hit your wall, got sick, or crumbled under the pressure. Weren’t there signs that may have been subtle, but upon reflection, you can see how your whole system or parts of your system were overtaxed? We tend to associate burnout with our physical body or mental state because those are the areas we’ve been taught to focus on.
There are at least eight kinds of burnout, only one of which is physical burnout. These other kinds of burnout often show up before the signs of exhaustion and disease appear in your body.
When you can articulate what kind of burnout you are experiencing, versus just saying you are burned-out, exhausted, or overwhelmed, you are more empowered to see the root, and get what you need before you get sick.
Read about the different kinds of burnout below, and consider which you may be experiencing now, noting that you have likely experienced many.
The 8 Kinds of Burnout
- Mental burnout: My mind cannot process any more; it’s fried.
- Emotional burnout: These heavy or anxious emotions are exhausting me.
- Compassion burnout: I cannot hold any more loving space for anyone else; I’m tapped.
- Relational burnout: I’ve been over-giving to others, my organization, or my community/family, and I am over it.
- Survival burnout: I’m exhausted from trying to make ends meet and stay afloat.
- Superwoman burnout: The weight of taking on so much is too much; I can’t hold it all anymore.
- Passion burnout: I love what I do, but I’ve given too much and pushed too hard.
- Physical burnout: My body is revolting; I have depleted my life force.
Take a pause here so we can increase your self-awareness of how these types of burnout show up for you. This will help you be more empowered to see and feel the signs or symptoms before you get to the point of physical burnout. Then try the harmonizing practice to identify which kind of burnout you may currently be experiencing and what you need to reverse the slide into burnout.
Self-Awareness: What Are Your Burnout Signals?
- Which kinds of burnout have I experienced?
- What are the signs or symptoms that I am experiencing these kinds of burnout? When these occur, use the harmonizing practice below to keep you from sliding into burnout.
Harmonizing Practice: Reverse Your Current Burnout Slide
Ask yourself: What do I need to receive to reverse the slide into physical burnout? Then give yourself this space or support to yourself, no matter what.
Take a deeper dive with my podcast episode “Overwhelmed & Over It! Why It’s Not Your Fault – 5 Truths that Can Liberate You Out of Burnout & Self Sacrifice” here.
To learn more, grab a copy of my new book, Overwhelmed and Over It here. And if you are curious how you may be over-giving and under-receiving, we invite you to take the Overwhelmed and Over it Burnout Quiz here.
Christine Arylo, MBA, is the author of Overwhelmed and Over It. As a transformational leadership advisor, three-time bestselling author, and host of the popular Feminine Power Time podcast, she is recognized worldwide for her work helping women to make shift happen — in the lives they lead, the work they do, and the world they wish to create. Arylo offers trainings, retreats and workshops globally. Visit her online at http://www.christinearylo.com or tune into her podcast www.FemininePowerTime.com. Connect more with Christine and her community at www.femininewisdomcafe.com.
Image courtesy of Andrea Piacquadio.
