As a high achiever, you take pride in putting in extra effort if it means having a better outcome. If you’re like most high achievers, your sense of purpose is closely linked to your achievements. You may also be extremely critical of yourself and tend toward perfectionism in almost everything you do.
If this sounds like you, then you should feel pride in knowing you’re a great asset to society. People around you know they can depend on you when they need you.
However, you’re also more prone to feelings of overwhelm and exhaustion than others. While you have many wonderful traits, your major weakness is that you don’t know when or how to say “no,” even if saying “yes” takes a toll on you. Perfectionists are more likely to push themselves to the point of burnout, which can damage their health, relationships, and zest for life. If you want to know how to achieve greater balance and overall health, here’s how to recognize burnout and deal with it before it peaks.
How to Recognize the Beginning Signs of Burnout
High achievers, overworking feels normal because they’re so used to always trying to outperform themselves. Therefore, they’re less likely to recognize that they’re working themselves straight into a burned-out state. If you’re already suffering from burnout, it’s crucial to learn how to pull yourself out of it. Scheduling regular online therapy sessions can provide the tools and strategies you need to overcome burnout. It’s also important to become intimately familiar with these burnout warning flags so you can avoid it in the future:
- Increased irritability and cynicism: You may suddenly find family members, friends, and co-workers to be insufferable and irritating. If you had endless patience before, you may wonder why you feel like you’re operating with a hairpin trigger.
- Unexplained sleep disturbances: Burnout can make it harder to get a good night’s sleep. You may struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep through the night. On the other hand, poor sleep can make burnout even worse, leading to a vicious cycle of sleep deprivation.
- Decreased motivation: As a perfectionist, you’re used to having loads of motivation to accomplish more and do better than the day before. But when you’re experiencing burnout, it’s common to lose your enthusiasm for the challenges you once enjoyed overcoming. You may feel detached in both personal and professional settings, leading to boredom and laziness.
- Social withdrawal: Becoming more isolated and withdrawn is another common sign of burnout. You may feel like you don’t have the energy to socialize with the people you love.
- Chronic exhaustion: Many people describe burnout as a state of complete emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion. You don’t feel like yourself, and other people can see a change in you.
These are just a few of the beginning signs of burnout. If you notice any of these things, it’s critical to take immediate steps to reduce stress in your life.
How to Reduce Burnout Before It Peaks
When you first notice subtle indications of burnout, there may still be time to stop it from progressing. However, you’ll need to be willing to take action and make some changes in your life to restore balance and mental health. Here are some key ways to reduce burnout before it peaks.
Know Your Limits
You know better than anyone else how much you can truly handle on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. If you’re serious about reducing burnout before it peaks, you’ll need to sit down and honestly evaluate your current schedule. Is there anything you can cut out to restore your peace of mind? Is there something you want to say “no” to but said “yes” to instead? Those are the types of things you’ll need to kindly, but firmly, cut out of your life for the sake of your sanity.
Take Regular Breaks to Recharge
If you’re like most high achievers, you still overfill your schedule with commitments that overburden you and cause excessive stress. But when was the last time you scheduled time to take care of yourself and meet your own needs? Cars stall when they run out of gas, and you’ll eventually run out of energy if you don’t take regular breaks. On a typical weekday, your breaks might be as simple as taking a walk around the office every hour. However, you should take longer breaks throughout the week to give your mind and body time to rest and recuperate.
Engage in Mindfulness Practices
Mindfulness is the practice of observing your own feelings and thoughts while withholding judgment. It’s a simple form of relaxation and meditation that can improve emotional regulation and well-being while decreasing stress and anxiety. Many people struggle to mindfully meditate at first, but with practice, it becomes easier. Consider talking to a therapist about meditation tips and suggestions that can help you reduce burnout before it peaks.
Build a Social Support Group
You have people in your life who love you and want to see you healthy and happy. Take advantage of that fact and work to build a network of supportive colleagues, friends, and family members. Let them know you’re struggling with burnout and ask them to support you in your efforts to find relief. Often, just talking with loved ones can decrease stress and increase feelings of well-being.
Conclusion
Many high achievers suffer in silence because they don’t know why they feel exhausted, discouraged, and down on themselves. It’s important to realize there’s nothing wrong with you and you’re not a failure for needing a break. You’re human, which means you have natural limits that must be recognized and respected. Use these tips to reduce burnout before it overwhelms you while you take the road to success and achievement at a kinder, more reasonable pace.
