Running on a cycle of burnout (or compassion fatigue) and recovery sucks.

Interestingly, the signs of both are identical.

Most people can identify at least some of their symptoms. Fortunately, Manuela Mischke-Reeds (2018:31-3) compiled a somatic inventory of burnout and compassion fatigue signs:

Isolation from others

Excessive blaming and feeling resentful

Easily overwhelmed

Stuck emotions you are unable to express

Irritability, tendency toward aggressive outbursts

Frequent troubles with others and misunderstandings

Compulsive behaviours

Lack of self-care

Trouble sleeping

Chronic physical ailments, which can be anything from restless leg syndrome to gut issues

Apathy toward life events, friends and/ or work

Difficulty concentrating

Mental and Physical exhaustion

Preoccupied or urge to distract (high social media use)

In denial about a problem

Resistance to change

Lack of flexibility (in body, mind and approach to life, as well as in your nervous system)

Lack of future vision

Legal problems and indebtedness

General negativity and depression

Inability to complete tasks, feeling ineffective

Somatic complaints that can't be explained (headaches, stomach aches, digestive issues)

Lack of physical drive and energy

Purpose-motivated, such as vision and mission-led, people can be on the cycle of burnout and recovery, as are many parents, professionals, business owners and executives.

The energy you put into your career and family should be balanced with the energy you put into your hobbies, relationships, and self-care regime. But this is seldom the case; your working life demands the lion's share of your time and energy; whether this is your job or caring for your family is irrelevant. The point is that most people have more energy going out than they have coming in, which is intrinsically unsustainable. There is a need to find harmony with the rhythms of life. Moreover, it's essential.

The pressures of life, whether financial, familial, cultural, or emotional, lead you to lose track of your energetic hygiene. And when you do, there is a cycle you start to live; for some, it's blowing off steam in some way involving sex and/ or drugs, which, while fun in the short term, doesn't actually nourish the soul; it kicks the can down the road until some of the symptoms above become apparent, or it may be the signs of a high party lifestyle become obvious. For others, it may be the feeling of living on an endless treadmill or becoming ill and needing to deal with the urgent demands of your physical and mental health.

The truth is that while many pressures influence you, there are choices over which you have agency. You need to learn what they are. Then comes the challenge of living them. The fact is that you will need to make fundamental changes to your approach to life to break the cycle of burnout and recovery.

In the second course in Life University, Energetic Hygiene: Moving from Burnout and Compassion Fatigue to a Life of Coherence and Flow, we tackle the cycle of burnout and compassion fatigue head-on. The way we support you to find another way to live is to frame burnout and compassion fatigue as one half of a polarity. The other pole is flow and coherence. There is excellent research with practical tips we share that bring balance, flow and coherence into your life through daily and weekly practices and then focussing on the longer term.

This course is just two weeks, one on each end of the polarity and is offered on a sliding scale.

Message either Sandy or me for more information.

References:

Manuela Mischke-Reeds (2018) Somatic Psychotherapy Toolbox, PESI Publishinh and Media, Eau Claire.

Figure: Listopad, Ian & Esch, Tobias & Michaelsen, Maren. (2021). An Empirical Investigation of the Relationship Between Spirituality, Work Culture, and Burnout: The Need for an Extended Health and Disease Model. Frontiers in Psychology. 12. 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.723884.