Burnout is not just being tired—or something that an extra-long weekend or a relaxing bubble bath will cure. It’s a real medical condition characterized by emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion. You develop it when you’re exposed to prolonged, intense stress. It can make it hard to cope with the demands of everyday life. Still, there are some self-care practices that can help address the underlying causes of chronic stress and fix your burnout.
Burnout is not simply an emotional or mental problem. It manifests itself physically as well. When you’re under prolonged stress, you stay in a fight-or-flight mode all the time. This results in various physical symptoms, including headaches, muscle tension, and joint stiffness.
If you’re an office worker or caregiver, you probably already have knots forming in your back and neck. Your back muscles often store this stress, and over time, this physical stress feeds mental stress, eventually leading to burnout. Similarly, sitting in front of your computer all day long can lead to a condition called tech neck, which disrupts the nervous system and triggers the release of stress hormones, like cortisol.
To fix these problems, you need to find ways to relieve back tension, and that’s when you can try professional spine alignment to help reset your entire physical self. If you’re not sure how to handle it all, try The Joint. They provide practical solutions to remove obstacles to wellness and help you overcome back pain and headaches before they truly contribute to mental burnout.
Mental burnout is often the result of decision fatigue and the “on-the-go” mentality that’s so common these days. The problem is that you end up choking your prefrontal cortex when you’re constantly juggling between emails, notifications, and a never-ending mental checklist.
Cognitive offloading can help in this situation by shifting the mental burden from your head to an external medium, like an app, journal, or planner. This reduces the Zeigarnik effect—a nagging feeling our brains get when we leave things unfinished. You also have to establish digital boundaries to help your brain go back to its Default Mode Network, where creativity and emotions are processed. This way, your brain can recover from the unending mental grind and keep burnout at bay.
Burnout is characterized by feeling drained but unable to rest. It means that even though you feel exhausted, you still can’t fall into a deep sleep. And when that happens, you lose the ability to clear the waste that accumulates in your brain during the course of the day. Eventually, your emotional strength goes down to a point where even minor stressors seem like a big deal.
To feel relaxed, you need to learn how to regulate your circadian rhythm, or sleep-wake cycle. When you’re under stress, your brain confuses the natural highs and lows of melatonin and cortisol, which disrupts your sleep.
You can fix this by lowering your bedroom temperature, sticking to a consistent wake time, and spending five to ten minutes in sunlight every morning. These small steps can help reboot your biology and make you feel motivated to do something about your stressors.
Recovery from burnout is not about doing more—but making sure you have enough room for your body and mind to heal. Take steps to support your nervous system, offload your mental burdens, and improve your sleep quality to move out of a state of survival back into a life of movement and confidence.
P.S. Before you zip off to your next Internet pit stop, check out these 2 game changers below - that could dramatically upscale your life.
1. Check Out My Book On Enjoying A Well-Lived Life: It’s called "Your To Die For Life: How to Maximize Joy and Minimize Regret Before Your Time Runs Out." Think of it as your life’s manual to cranking up the volume on joy, meaning, and connection. Learn more here.
2. Life Review Therapy - What if you could get a clear picture of where you are versus where you want to be, and find out exactly why you’re not there yet? That’s what Life Review Therapy is all about.. If you’re serious about transforming your life, let’s talk. Learn more HERE.
Think about subscribing for free weekly tools here.
No SPAM, ever! Read the Privacy Policy for more information.
