5 Strategies to Combat Burnout as Summer Ends!

Summer is sadly over here in the Pacific Northwest, and Seattle to be more exact! As much as we’d love to prolong our evenings at the park, hiking adventures, and summer sunsets, our days of 70-degree weather are likely finished for the year. With summer coming to an end, we trade in our iced lemonade and Chaco sandals for pumpkin spice lattes and rainboots. Change is inevitable, but it can often be challenging to adjust and give ourselves the proper time to grieve summer. With this shift, you may notice you’re feeling more stressed or burned out. Summer was the perfect distraction from the job you’re unhappy in, the chaos of a new school year, or family stressors. Now the weather is changing, you’re less distracted, and you may be more aware of the impact your job is having on you. The first step is acknowledging you’re experiencing work burnout, which is completely normal!

This blog post is meant to serve as a mini guide for starting to address stress and burnout. My name is Michelle Solomon and I’m a licensed clinical social worker with my own private practice. I experienced burnout firsthand after working in healthcare and inpatient behavioral health settings for close to a decade. I understand the challenges of feeling stuck in a job you’re dissatisfied with and feeling overworked and underappreciated. While you may not be in a position to make big changes at this time, let’s explore some smaller steps you may be able to make today.

First off, what are signs or symptoms of burnout?

You may be feeling unsupported and unrecognized for your efforts at work or in your relationships with others. Perhaps you’re dreading getting up and starting the day, maintaining your daily routine, or are questioning your passion for the work you’re doing. Other burnout symptoms may include feeling tired of doing the same thing, stuck with where you’re at in life, and are finding you’re taking frustrations out on others. If you resonate with those symptoms, there’s a good chance you are burned out.

What happens when burnout goes unaddressed?

Over time, burnout can lead to strain on your relationships with those you care about. It’s hard to completely leave work at work and you are more likely to take things out on those closest to you. Burnout can affect your work performance for something you may have once cared about and no longer do. Untreated burnout can exacerbate your mental health, including depression, anxiety, and stress. Physical health often takes a backseat, where you may find yourself feeling exhausted all the time and have little energy to cook dinner, meet friends for trivia, fold the loads of laundry piling up, or go out for a walk. You aren’t yourself anymore and are spent by the end of the day, leaving you with little time left to prioritize your own self-care.

How do you recover from burnout?

While it’s easier said than done, here are a few strategies you may try to help manage your burnout or prevent burnout from getting worse.

1. Start with the basics and check-in with yourself.

What do you need today? More sleep? Healthy food? A hot shower? You don’t have to do everything but focus on doing one for now and identify how it would positively impact you as a motivator to create time for that.

2. Give yourself a 5-minute break.

Can you get outside for some fresh air? Pet your animal? Listen to an upbeat song? Try this intentionally and list the benefits afterwards to help encourage you to do more. Maybe next time you can take a 10-minute break?

3. Set boundaries with yourself.

When you’re off of work, turn your mind off from work. If you notice you start to stress and it’s impacting your ability to enjoy yourself, make note in a journal and ask a friend or family member to help you refocus when you’re thinking about work. In turn, this can help you maintain your boundaries with yourself by leaving work at work and having someone to help hold you accountable for spending your time off in a healthier mindset.

4. Create a ritual to transition from work to home.

A great time to do this can be on your commute home, such as listening to an upbeat song, calling a friend, or setting intentions for your evening. A ritual is something you can incorporate in your routine to help give yourself permission to relax after a long day of work, without carrying as much work stress into your home environment.

5. Seek therapy!

Therapy for work stress can be instrumental in addressing your burnout and giving you a safe, nonjudgmental space to process whatever is going on in your life and how to better manage all the stress. It can be hard to tackle these things alone, and therapy is a great place to get the support you may be looking for. It’s helpful to meet with a therapist who understands burnout and can relate to what you’re going through.

I hope this was helpful for giving you a taste of how to identify burnout, understand the consequences when it goes untreated, and getting a few strategies you can try to help improve your work-life balance. Enjoy the start to Fall and follow along for more blogs and mental health support!

If you are interested in working together, I offer a free 15-minute phone consult to make sure we are a good fit! Therapy for stress and burnout is one of my primary specialties, so I’d love to help support you with feeling better. Please reach out by completing my contact form and I look forward to connecting with you soon.