Burnout

What are your triggers to identify that you may soon crash and need to slow down? Are you a caregiver for children or other elderly or sick family members? Is your significant other dependent on you but in turn you lack support and feel alone in your relationship? Are you overworked at your place of employment, where everyone comes to you because you're capable but at times it appears as though you're taken advantage of and unappreciated? Are you in an emotionally or physically draining profession and find yourself consistently frustrated, tired, or overlooked? If you can relate to any of these questions or have other stressors in your life that contribute to feeling overwhelmed, you may be burned out. This is a time when you may require a vacation or " me time" to unplug from the people, places, and things that trigger anxiety. When interviewers ask that generic question on a job interview, "what are your weakness" the frequent go-to response is...you guessed it..." I work too hard and never take a vacation or time for myself." While this is probably the cheesiest and lackluster response, often times it is true. I went seven years at my place of employment without planning a real vacation outside of an occasional weekend trip to visit family or attend a wedding or funeral. Eventually, I saw the need in treating myself to week long or two week vacations out of the country or even staycations where I went off the grid. Essentially, it is important to direct my attention to me, as I am no good to anyone else if I am not rested, rejuvenated, or inspired. It gets ugly when I'm burned out but often before that occurs, there are triggers...red flags if you will, that signal the importance of directing my care inwards and providing time for healing. While self-care is individual, it is up to you to determine what lifts your spirits and ignites your restart button, whether it's attending church physically or streaming from your sofa, dedicating time to a favorite podcast or book preferably Grace (shameless plug lol), drawing a bath, visiting that one friend who lifts your spirit and makes you laugh, taking a long walk in your favorite neighborhood, taking a long drive upstate to see the fall foliage, or booking that trip to your most desired instagram-post-worthy destination; go for it! You're worth the time and the effort. No one can value you more than they see you invest in your emotional/spiritual capital.