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Americans are living in a time of prolonged distress with no known end in sight. The pandemic, racial awakening, contentious election season, and an increase in weather and fire-related emergencies are a lot to face.
Given that many facets of each of these realities are outside of any one person’s control, it makes sense that we are stretched and stressed. Our stamina is taxed and our resourcefulness depleted. In many ways, both the quantity and intensity of the multiple stressors have outstripped our abilities to cope. For many, burnout is real, making it impossible to continue tending to all the necessary actions and precautions that our current reality demands.
Psychologist Herbert Freudenberger introduced the concept of burnout in 1974 after finding cynicism, emotional depletion, and lack of motivation amongst volunteers at a free clinic in New York City. The flood of research that flows from this original work is immense and centers on the reality that burnout is not simply a state of being but, rather, an experience that impacts the brain and the body.
Increased negativity, resentment, ambient inertia, and feelings of incompetence are all related to burnout as are critical changes in the prefrontal cortex and amygdala. Creativity, problem-solving, and working memory are often impacted, meaning cognitive function and acuity is reduced when we are burned out. Further, when we lack control over the stressors we face and/or perceive that there is little reward for getting through them, we are at greater risk for burnout and its accompanying symptoms.
More than likely, most of us can relate to many of these realities. We feel “foggy-headed” and are experiencing difficulties with our motivation. It’s hard to get started on things and hard to keep going. We are anxious and depressed and lack access to many of the spaces and activities that typically help us regulate ourselves emotionally. We feel little volitional control over our abilities to move about in the world and we see no clear end in sight.
While the following suggestions are certainly not cures for burnout, they are small tweaks that can help mitigate some of our internal distress in these uncertain times.
1) Walk away from the news, work, and social media. It’s easy, in times like this, to stay tethered to our screens, taking breaks from work/school to check the news or social media. Resist this urge and commit to walking away from devices for a few minutes every hour. Social media use (including video gaming) can cause depression and anxiety and news coverage amplifies our feelings of being out of control. Even ten minutes of screen-free time every hour can make a huge difference to our mental health.
2) Tend to your sensory self. Physical distancing and work/school from home has severely diminished the way in which our bodies are stimulated out and about in the world. The heavy reliance on screens for connection, education, vocation, and entertainment has only intensified this, overstimulating our visual and auditory senses and under stimulating the rest. Even still, tending to our senses is one of the best ways to usher in self-soothing.
Put a pot of water to simmer on the stove and add whatever spices smell great to you. Toss in fresh herbs and citrus if you have them. Purchase a balance board or Waldorf rocking board and use it throughout the day. Make a batch of homemade playdough, add essential oils, and knead it regularly. Taste interesting flavors and foods. Look at a picture book. Listen to lyric-free soothing music or find a simple uplifting chant/musical phrase to repeat throughout the day. Hum. If touch is lacking (and a primary need) read this.
3) Take breathing breaks. Don’t worry too much about technique, just breathe as deeply as you can, making your exhales last a bit longer than your inhales. If you can, inhale through your nose (“Smell the roses”) and exhale through your mouth (“Blow out the candles). As you exhale, imagine your body releasing all of its tension, melting into the surface that supports you.
Link deep breathing with activities that you already do throughout the day. When you wash your hands, commit to taking six deep, cleansing breaths. Whenever you find yourself checking social media or gaming, commit to taking four deep breaths before you start and as you stop. To add benefit to breathing, add some simple stretches or sun salutations.
For other breathing tips, check here.
4) Develop a meaningful reward system. While there are certainly long term rewards for doing everything necessary to stay healthy and bring about racial, climate, and political reform, we may need shorter-term recognition for the hard things we are doing. Identifying some easily attainable rewards and offering them to yourself and others will go a long way in this time. These can be as simple as take-out from a favorite restaurant or a nap or afternoon spent reading on the couch. Ordering a small token or flowers to be delivered to yourself or engaging in an activity (hobby, online class, etc) you’ve wanted to try are also good ideas. This is not the time, however, to attempt a herculean new skill or overspend on an item. Keep the rewards simple.
If you have a small community to do this with, consider having each member make a list of items/experiences/offerings that would feel like rewards to them then have each person choose another person in the community to offer a weekly reward to.
5) Practice gratitude. No matter how difficult things are, there is always something (often barely visible) to be grateful for. Put a piece of paper in a place you’ll see it throughout the day or cover a wall with butcher paper. Use half of the space to chronicle the losses inherent in this time (e.g: control, freedom to move about, vacations, experiences) and the other half to list things you are grateful for (e.g: time to meditate, a new recognition of the importance of nature, etc). Work to record at least one item of thanks for every loss.
With a future of unknowns and our stamina lagging, these small actions can go a long way toward helping us come back from burnout. Practice them frequently and share them with others. Together, with empathy, grace, and a little bit of effort, we will get through this impossibly difficult time.
