Are you burnt out?

Burn out can be a bitch.

But how do you know when its approaching…?

A lot of people are close to reaching burnout, but don’t know how to recognise the signs in time to stop it from happening.

Me included.

We have this mindset of ‘I’ve got to get everything done and I need to do it by a certain deadline’.

It seems to be off the back of ‘grind culture’, where you have to wake up at 5am and accomplish an entire to-do list before 9am to be successful.

Well I for one think thats quite possibly one of the worst things you could do for yourself, especially if other aspects of your life aren’t in order.

So here are 5 signs of burnout that will help you catch it before it’s too late…

1. You’ll appetite will either increase or it will decrease. You may notice that your eating habits change, and it’s all due to changes in your hormone production. Because burnout isn’t just mental, it has physical effects on the body too.

2. You require more sleep - if you find yourself getting sleepy at 8pm on the sofa it might be a sign that your body requires a bit more catch up - listen to it, start a proper wind down, put your screens away and hop into bed instead.

3. Your focus slips - concentration, attention, brain fog and focus are all signs that you're on the brink of burnout. It’s not normal to not be able to focus on the task at hand for longer than 5 minutes. Take these hints as a sign to slow down.

4. Anxiety and depression - mental health can slip during periods of burn out, and it is imperative that you keep an eye on it. If you feel like you might be struggling, firstly know that it’s okay and there is help all around you. Secondly, don’t delay in asking someone you trust for help. To get some time off work, some therapy, a doctors appointment - whatever you feel you need.

5. Detachment - this can present itself in the form of self isolation. Bringing yourself away from those who care about you and how you feel. Don’t let burnout take away your relationships with the ones you love the most.

It’s really important that when you feel yourself falling into bad habits, or periods of strong emotion that are out of the ordinary for you, that you check in on yourself and how you are self-caring.

It might seem strange to say this but you are the only person who will show up for yourself day in day out, and you are the only person that you can truly count on.

So, if you are feeling like you’re going through burnout, or you’re on the brink of it, just drop me a reply to this email - from someone who has been burnt out before, I have something I think will help 💚

COACH ANTONIA X