The phrase “give it everything you’ve got” might be inspiring or motivating for short-term events, but it might not actually be healthy for you in the long run. To commit endlessly to a job, your family, or your ambitions without taking routine time to care for yourself can lead to burnout, which impacts our emotional and physical health and makes it hard to give not just your all, but your anything.
Burnout is the effect of chronic stress on your body. In a recent survey, nearly half of Gen Z said they experienced burnout, while 40% of people 30 and older said they did. Women were more likely than men to say they felt burnout. CNBC reports that factors like the pandemic and economic uncertainty may be leading to these high levels of burnout.
If you’re experiencing burnout, you might feel like you have low energy or are exhausted all the time, have difficulty completing tasks, and feel distanced or have negative emotions towards your job. Trouble sleeping, irritability, or gastrointestinal issues can also be signs of burnout. The World Health Organization describes burnout as occupational stress related to one’s job, however, many people experience different types of built up stress over their lifetimes related to things outside of work, such as education, financial worries, long-term medical issues, or caretaking.
When stress hormones like cortisol, adrenaline, epinephrine and norepinephrine build up in the body over time, they can cause these negative impacts. Understanding how to release stress and complete what many experts call “the stress cycle,” is important to helping heal people of chronic stress and burnout.
Movement is particularly important to protecting our bodies from these burnout symptoms. Exercise produces endorphins in the body, which act as natural painkillers and elevate our moods. Over time, exercise can help us sleep better, reduce the tension we feel, and even help our self-esteem, according to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America.
The challenge with motivating oneself to exercise while feeling burnt out is that you may feel too exhausted to do much at first. Luckily, you don’t need to run 10 miles to feel better. Start with movements that feel good to you, such as yoga or walking around a local park. These movements will help ease tension, release stress, and can act as a form of meditation.
Reasons for burnout are varied, and while exercise can help address chronic stress, it’s also important to consider what factors in your life may be causing this stress. If you feel overburdened at work, consider discussing with your manager ways to alleviate your workload. While this may feel like a challenging conversation to bring up, remember that it is in both your best interest and your manager’s to have a workload that is reasonable for you. If you don’t have this, then even completing simple tasks will feel unmanageable due to burnout.
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