10 Things You Can Do to Combat Burnout

My Friend’s Text

A friend of mine messaged me this week that she is at the edge of burnout. She didn’t use those words exactly, but after she told me how she is feeling…that is the word I would use to describe what she’s going through. She told me she feels tapped out in every area of life and just can’t keep going. That is the very definition of burnout. Webster’s Dictionary defines burnout as “exhaustion of physical or emotional strength usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration.”

Have you been there? Are you there right now? We all have times in our lives when we just hit the wall, when we just absolutely feel like we can’t keep going. With life so incredibly stressful now with the lasting impact of Covid, the social unrest, the stress of finances, and more, so many of us are facing burnout.

My Burnout

I went through a season of serious burnout about six years ago. It was right on the heels of a car fire we had. Multiple things merged during that time that sent me spiraling into burnout.

Because of the real fear I felt, knowing that someone had set fire to our car, I no longer slept well at night. Add to that a baby and a toddler and two other young kids, I was exhausted all the time. This was also around the time that we had several church members get mad at us and leave the church. On top of all that, we were trying to grow our church and find a new building to meet in. I was past being able to handle life.

I felt unloved, helpless, overlooked, overworked, exhausted, tapped out, and stressed out of my mind. What resulted was an inability to be around people. That is not good when you’re a pastor’s wife. Although I knew it wasn’t healthy, I honestly just could not be around people. I just wanted to be alone or with my family. This, in turn, only added to my guilt and frustration.

It took me a good eighteen months to get through that season of life. Though it was long and hard, God got me through it.

How are You Handling Life?

Have you been there? Are you there now? Everybody handles burnout differently. You may be handling your burnout fine all day at work, but then you come home and fall apart. You eat junk food and binge tv late into the night to cope. Maybe you’re home all day with kids that are home from school from covid and you can’t take one more minute. So what results is mom screaming and yelling all day long, only to fall in bed at night in tears for the way you handled yourself with your kids. Maybe you pull away from everybody and spend copious time alone. Maybe you try to find an escape, spending money you don’t have just to feel good and try to find an escape. I am guilty of doing all of these things at one time or another.

Encouragement

Let me first encourage you that burnout is not bad. Burnout is simply your body and mind’s way of telling you you’ve pushed too hard for too long. It’s a warning that if you don’t back off now, there will be literal physical consequences to your body.
So if you’re in a season of burnout right now, it’s time to stop and notice what your body is trying to tell you.

Let me share with you some things that helped me. Hopefully, one or two of them will help you get through your season of burnout.