Re-entry Issues and Burnout

by Judy Klipin

I truly believe that burnout is verging on epidemic proportions and is under-recognised as the scourge that it is. I will get off my soap box for now (I have developed a 6 week burnout recovery self-study programme in case you are interested in finding out more about how to regain and maintain your own life force) and get to the point I would like to make in this blog:

In order to avoid burnout we need to look after ourselves, and take holidays when (or preferably before) we are tired.  Just as we need to sleep every night to recharge our bodies and minds, we need to have regular breaks to do the same.

I know this, I believe it and I preach it.

And…

I understand how people choose to keep working, even though they are exhausted, rather than going on holiday.

I have just returned from a wonderful week in the bush and, frankly, it has messed with my equilibrium!  I suspect it is because I needed a longer break – my body and mind were only just starting to relax and unwind when they were rudely transplanted back into my everyday life.  It could also be because I left in summer and returned (6 days later) to winter.  Maybe it is because I rushed straight back to work within hours of returning.

Whatever the reason, I have found it hard to get back into my routines.  I haven’t written a blog for weeks.  I have been all over the place – in my diary that is, not in the sessions – with my clients, and they all over the place with me (no less than 4 cancellations/reschedules this week so far, and it is only Tiesday).  I have felt grumpy and out of sorts when not coaching.

All in all I have been experiencing what Martha Beck refers to as ‘re-entry issues.’

Re-entering life after a holiday can be challenging.  People who have, or are on the way to, burnout know this, which is why (I suspect) they avoid taking breaks. They keep working, ignoring the messages their bodies send them until they are too overwhelmed and exhausted to work any more.  And then they land up in my or a doctor’s office with burnout.

Because what they don’t allow themselves to do is push through the re-entry discomfort and reach the other side.  The side of productivity and presence.  The side of clarity and performance.  The side of renewal and rejuvenation.

Happily (very) I am on that side now: I have written two blog posts and a newsletter, seen three clients and caught up on all my emails so far today.  And it isn’t even lunch time yet.  I have regained my energy and my zest and I am ready and rearing to go.

There will be no more burnout on my watch – the re-entry issues are difficult and uncomfortable, but only for a short while.  After that they are well worth the benefits of rest.

Feeling overwhelmed in your life, work or relationships?

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