This Is The Best Way To Avoid COVID Burnout

Be honest: have you found yourself extra negative lately, and lashed out at your kid or a coworker? Do you find it harder and harder to be productive? Or maybe you've had a solid eight hours of sleep but still feel exhausted?

These are all red flags that something's off, and you're approaching burnout.

The World Health Organization defines burnout as a syndrome that results from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. Three dimensions characterize it:

• feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
• increased mental distance from one's job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job; and
• reduced professional efficacy.

Most believe that the primary cause of burnout is workload, but that's not always the case. Consider that you can work many hours on something you feel passionately about, yet never feel overwhelmed. Conversely, work-related stress doesn't just come from your paid jobs; volunteers can also experience burnout.

For most, burnout is caused by a lack of connection to their work. This manifests as disengagement at the workplace, feeling undervalued, feeling that you're not working on something meaningful, and broken communication at work where you feel you can't be open with colleagues and managers and must bottle everything up. We often lose our sense of identity and become reactive.

As if that wasn't enough, we're now six months into dealing with a global pandemic, which only compounds and exacerbates things.

Davida Ginter, co-founder and CEO of Enkindle Global, a non-profit initiative that cultivates personal well-being to bring about social well-being, and author of Burning Out Won't Get You There: Cultivating Well-being to Successfully Lead Social Change, says she's now seeing new causes of burnout related to COVID.

"The pandemic brings with it a sense of continued uncertainty, which contributes to chronic stress," says Ginter. "Employers, employees, and those who are self-employed have no idea what will happen next, what the 'new normal' will look like, and how long this will last."

Ginter says that working from home is also takes its toll. "So many are dealing with loneliness from a lack of physical connection and social isolation." Worse, says Ginter, are the dissolving boundaries that blur our home and work lives, and the expectation that we're "supposed" to be available 24/7. "The truth is that nowadays we're dealing with a work/life 'blend,' not 'balance.' We feel guilty about taking a break in the middle of the day, even if we desperately need it."

A final COVID-related cause of burnout stems from what Ginter refers to as "rumination"—the endless loop of thoughts that bounce between the extremes of hopelessness over our situation and the desire to "hack" our way out of it. "Our energy is reduced when we fight against the odds and then spiral over the thought that no one cares anymore, the world is shutting down, or that we're no longer relevant."

The good news, says Ginter, is that burnout is not a given. She stresses that though there are no one-size-fits-all solutions, we can practice healthier ways of working, acting, and living through our approaches and mindsets in these key factors:

Cultivate connection.

Building your support system is crucial, which includes giving and receiving empathy. When we have someone we trust—a partner, kid, mentor, or coworker—who holds space for us to be heard without judgment, we feel more supported and connected.

Pause the self-judgment.

Many of us unconsciously criticize ourselves for not doing enough or not keeping up, which is a slippery slope of feeling less-than. "I'm failing" often leads to "I'm a failure." Make a conscious effort to observe your thoughts, and when you find yourself being your own worst critic, journal your feelings, talk to someone you trust, or do something else to press the reset button.

Be open about your struggles and, yes, failures.

This is especially true of leaders who are afraid to appear weak or experience vulnerability or mistakenly equate leadership as mistake-proof. Of course, choose carefully with whom you share and when, but consider that bottling up your challenges will only keep you in a negative loop.

Explore your concept of balance.

At a time when screen time is at an all-time high and Zoom calls reign, you might consider adding in more time to socialize in person. Or if your day is spent in a hectic, noisy environment, seek out some quiet time alone. Consider your needs as you add in complementary activities to your daily mix, whether that's stillness versus movement or the creative versus analytical.

The important thing to note, says Ginter, is that you shouldn't expect a stress-free life, but one that moves along a continuum between the burnout and well-being. With awareness and intentional self-care (whatever that looks like for you), you'll push yourself to the healthy side of that equation.

"Developing a practice to deal with challenges and enhance your emotional well-being," Ginter adds, "will help you avoid burnout and combat future threats."

An earlier version of this article was first published on Forbes.com. Find it here, and Amy's other Forbes articles here.

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?Amy Blaschka is a social media ghostwriter who helps leaders craft their stories to communicate and connect better.   Contact her if you'd like her help.?

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