Americans create an identity out of their career. But for many Americans, it’s harmful to their mental health to commit so fully to their job.

Over 20% of Americans admit to feeling burnout from their job the majority of the time. And 44% admit to feeling burnt out sometimes.

Feeling exhausted and helpless all the time can take a big toll on your well being.

Learn all the tips you need for recognizing and overcoming burnout

What Is Burnout?

The word “burnout” is thrown around a lot as more and more people experience this feeling. But do you know what burnout actually consists of? The actual definition of burnout is, “exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration”

While everyone feels tired or unmotivated at some point in life, someone suffering from burnout has these feelings over a long time. Most often, the term is used to describe work burnout caused by stress associated with your job. But, burnout can happen for any aspect of your life, from parenthood to a certain hobby.

Burnout syndrome can be hard to identify in the early stages. The longer that your burnout goes without you addressing it, the harder it can be to get your mind and body back on track.

Ways to Overcome Burnout

The first step in overcoming burnout is identifying exactly what is causing it. It’s easy to say that your whole life or job is causing your burnout, but that’s not always the case. Many times, one toxic person in your life or draining task at work is all it takes to cause burnout.

Start keeping track of when you feel the signs of burnout discussed above. When you start to feel any of these symptoms, write down what activities were occurring before you began to feel this way or who you were talking to. Over the weeks, you may be able to identify exactly what is causing your burnout.

Once you identify what’s causing the issue, use the following tips to help you overcome the burnout.

Establish a Good Work-Life Balance

The first step to counter the signs of burnout is to establish a healthy work-life balance. Many times, burnout and related stress are caused by overworking yourself.

If you find that your work-related issues follow you home after you clock out, you need to work on setting boundaries. When you’re finished with your workday, stop checking your emails or answer work-related phone calls. As soon as you step through your front door, focus your thoughts on your home and your family and forget any work worries until the next day.

In some positions, this type of separation isn’t always possible. But, you should be able to set certain hours that are off-limit for work-related activities.

Focus on the Rewarding Portions of Your Job

Another way you can avoid burnout is to focus on the rewarding portions of your job. When you’re overwhelmed, it’s easy to forget the things that you love about your career.

Take a moment to identify a few work-related tasks you truly enjoy. This could be helping a happy customer find a solution or presenting positive reports to your boss and coworker.

Make these satisfying moments a priority in your workday. It will give you something to look forward to and make your stresses appear less important.

Practice Self-Care

One of the best ways to combat burnout is to practice self-care. This means you prioritize both your physical and mental wellbeing by listening to your body.

Self-care looks different for every person, so you’ll have to find what habits work best to ease your stress and exhaustion. Some people may enjoy taking a long bath or reading a good book before bed. While others may see results from using safe CBD to provide relaxation.

Once you find an activity that makes you feel better, work hard to make it a habit. Put this activity on your schedule regularly and make an effort to take care of yourself.

Find a New Career

If you’ve tried all of the above and still suffer from burnout, it may be time for you to separate yourself from the root cause. Walking away from your career isn’t easy, but at a certain point, you need to prioritize yourself above others.

Start by finding a new career path you think would bring joy to your life. Look for something that plays off your skills and would provide an adequate income, all while being less stressful than your current position. Once you discover your new passion, you’ll want to land a job offer before you quit your old job.

Once you have a new job secured, write a letter of resignation and put in your two weeks’ notice. Don’t allow your employer to think that you could be persuaded to stay for more money or fewer responsibilities. If the job is causing your burnout now, that all won’t magically disappear in the future.

Overcoming Burnout Is Possible and Healthy

Now that you know a little bit more about burnout, it’s easy to see that overcoming burnout is possible. While the process can take some time, it will be worth it for both your mental and physical health.

The first step is to recognize that you have burnout and try to isolate what is causing that, whether it be your whole job or just a toxic person or task. Once you recognize what is causing your burnout, you can then work on overcoming it through proper work-life balance and self-care. If you can’t seem to overcome the issue on your own, it may be time to separate yourself from the cause of your burnout.

Looking for more ways to take care of yourself? Head to the Health and Fitness section of this site for more great content.