Each individual has a unique tolerance level for how much physical and emotional stress they can endure before something starts to give. Far too often people ignore the warning signs that their stress levels are becoming unmanageable and it takes a crisis of some kind to get them to change.
The speeding ticket from God
A couple of years ago I was rushing to work and made the split-second decision to keep going through a light when I knew very well that it was going to turn red. Moments later I was pulled over by an irate cop and on the receiving end of the full extent of his wrath along with a major ticket. As I waited for him to return to my car, I started to cry, not with frustration or self-pity but out of sheer relief that I hadn’t caused an accident.
The irony of this story was that I was on my way to give a seminar about how to manage stress and avoid burnout. I felt so profoundly grateful that I had received a wake up call without hurting someone else in the process. It really seemed like an enormous blessing in disguise and ever since then I have referred to this occasion as the time I received a speeding ticket from God.
My wish for you is that you don’t wait until something goes wrong or until your health begins to suffer to pay attention.
Watch for the symptoms
Excessive stress manifests physically and emotionally in a variety of ways. Here is a list of some common ones.
- Change in appetite. Losing or gaining weight is often a clear indicator that things are getting out of hand. Food may lose it’s appeal, or if you are like many people, you may find yourself downing too many of what I like to call “consolation calories”. If you notice that you have a stress-activated sweet tooth, you may be seeking comfort. If it is more generalized over consumption, you maybe trying to stuff your feelings down along with the extra food.
- Drinking etc. Monitor your alcohol consumption, that goes for any drug of your choice – including the more subtle forms of escapism like excess TV watching.
- Sleep. Losing sleep or can’t get enough of it; either way you will notice that you are feeling tired all the time. Ironically, increased exercise will give you more energy and creating soothing bedtime routines may also help.
- Tolerance. One of the more unpleasant side-effects of your stress for those around you is a decreased level of patience. Notice if you find yourself snapping at people; for me how I react to drivers cutting me off is a great litmus test.
- Memory. Short term memory problems can also be an indicator of stress. Concentration can also be affected.
- Getting sick. Stress has a direct effect on your immune system. More frequent colds can sometimes reveal that your body is taking notice before your mind.
- Clumsiness. “Less Haste, More Speed.” I find that I become more clumsy and less coordinated when very stressed, although it’s hard to discern how much of this is due to rushing.
- Relationships. For an instant reality check on your stress level, ask the people closest to you. They will be able to inform you whether you have been neglecting them and also whether they think you have been taking your stress out on them.
- Humor. How often are you laughing and smiling? If you can’t remember the last time, you have definitely been taking life too seriously for too long.
- Futility. A sense of hopelessness about what feels like endless burdens and a lack of purpose can also be clues.
This list is just a starting point.
Some of these may seem irrelevant or conversely, glaringly obvious. You might be able to come up with three of four more that I haven’t even mentioned right off the bat. You are the expert. The most important thing is that you start to become more conscious of how you are doing before you reach breaking point.
Start to develop your own list of red flags and warning signs, so you can take evasive action and avoid burning out.
Is there a continuation of this article that discusses how to avoid burn out or was it just mistitled? I know what burnout is and you can probably tell by my tolerance that I am burned out. The questions is how to avoid it or at least that’s why I spent my time reading the article.
Hi Guest,
The purpose of the article was to advise you to notice mounting stress so you can take action before you reach burn out. Since by your own admission you have already reached that point, I’m worried about you and that I wasn’t helpful to you. It seems like what you were hoping to discover was a way to push yourself even harder when you already sense you have exceeded your limits. I would be happy to give you some specific suggestions if you would like to speak off-line?
I don’t want to take up your time for individual attention though I greatly appreciate the offer. It would be nice to see a followup article on how one should minimize burnout, cope with burnout, unwind during the downtime, or draw boundries for work life balance. It seems like you know what you are talking about, and while I recognize that I am stressed and it is affecting me, I have no idea how to lower the stress, how to unwind, or where my work life balance should be. I am sure there are many others in my position that would benefit from a followup article on how to avoid and/or deal with burnout. Thanks for the response!
Seriously, I would be happy to offer a 20 minute chat or Skype with you. Actually I do have a lot of those tips to offer – in fact I am hoping to put together an e-book based on the workshop I offer called From Halo To Volcano – How to avoid burnout. In the meantime, I think another post would be a good idea – perhaps titled – “I’m burned out already! – now what?” What do you think?
Brilliant, just let us know where it will be posted! Thanks
Mirabi: I liked your article, and the points you listed were good. Take this with a grain of salt; I do feel that a lot of people get burned out, they seek help and then when their new habits fall short because they try to change too much at once, they fall back to their old habits. I think the only solution that works, every time and is more in our nature.
SLOW DOWN.
It’s important to set focus on slowing down your every day pace. Doing less and focus on the tasks you go through with, rather than do a lot to fit into societies social code. Learn to sit down and just eat, just drink the coffee in the morning while listening to some relaxing music, reading your favorite book or just talk with someone. Sit down and just think. Instead of turning on a TV to let it buzz in the background, no wonder people can’t focus with all the distractions we live with. Turn your cellphone on silent every 3rd day and leave it in your coat (check it at the end of the day). Check your emails and other sites at a given time, not waste hour upon hour just mindlessly surfing the web. And the list goes on! I just wanted to throw in some basic ideas on how to simplify. Further more becoming some what of a minimalist when it comes to material goods will also clean your head, conscience and heart.
Have also been struggling with burnouts myself for years, and I found a great source of inspiration to make life simpler.
Guest: Zenhabits is my favorite blog for mindfulness, peace, reflection, meditation, productivity etc. It’s written by a guy named Leo who changed his life over a course of a couple of years. I highly recommend his work.
Good luck!! I hope you keep trying :)
Article is titled “HOW TO AVOID BURNOUT”. Yet, it only lists symptoms.
Hi Jim,
Oh dear, I think I was not specific enough that to avoid burning out you need to notice before it happens and then take action by slowing down, by seeing where you can empt your plate, by setting mire boundaries with others. Etc. Maybe I need to do a follow up explaining this?
Wow, some of these symptoms are quite scary. A few even border on clinical depression and of course, if they persist, a consult with a health professional is definitely warranted.
Yes, thank you for mentioning that.
Pretty much all of them for me… don’t see no way out with mortgage, college, bills, etc. NO WAY OUT except the LOTTO.