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Key points
- Decision fatigue is a symptom of burnout that makes it more difficult to manage stress.
- Guilt and anger are common reactions to stress that create more anxiety.
- Learning to manage time, energy, and resources can help break the cycle of burnout.
Burnout was common before the pandemic—but now pile on two years of uncertainty, civil unrest, irritability in the political climate, disruptions in work and childcare, and fear. These circumstances can trigger a stress reaction in our bodies; burnout is the physical reaction to that stress.
Some symptoms of burnout include fatigue, brain fog, irritability, and the urge to self-medicate with food or alcohol. Decision fatigue is another common symptom of burnout that makes it more difficult to dig out of a rut. Simply put, making many decisions makes it harder to make decisions. It doesn’t matter if those decisions are big or small. Decision fatigue makes it harder to manage our negative thoughts.
Automatic thoughts create more stress
Circumstances cause the lower areas of the brain to secrete stress hormones to prepare our bodies to react to a perceived threat. While we are deciding how to manage those physical reactions and go about our day, the higher levels of the brain generate automatic thoughts.
Primed for survival, it doesn’t matter whether you are being chased by a lion or thinking about it; the nervous system reacts. These thoughts trigger a similar stress response in our bodies.
Many of these thoughts reflect a scarcity mindset; there is simply not enough time, energy, or resources to manage day-to-day life. These thoughts may be accurate, but with the perceived lack of control over our circumstances, it's easy to get stuck in a win-lose mentality where we are losing.
The psychological response to these feelings is often more anxiety, particularly around guilt or anger. The feelings are confused with identity; someone feels mad and starts to believe they are an angry person. This creates an anxiety loop and the distorted thoughts that drive guilt, shame, anger, and depression.
An example would be a healthcare worker who is physically tired and thinks they don’t have enough energy or resources to care for patients. Their thoughts are accurate given staffing, and these stressors drive compassion fatigue. These workers feel guilty for their anger despite spending countless hours doing their job and caring for patients. They are tired, but their negative thoughts about their work are just as damaging and ultimately drive their decision to leave.
Shifting to an abundance mindset
When a negative mindset interacts with difficult circumstances, the result is beyond burnout, there is an anxiety loop perpetuated by shame over feelings of guilt and anger. Self-care can address the physical aspects of burnout but is often not enough to fill up our cup.
So how can we shift our mindset when the reality is there isn’t enough time, energy, and resources to deal with the pandemic? Here are some tips to disrupt that loop by shifting from a scarcity to an abundance mindset.
1. Value time
For now, don’t worry about adding a bunch of tasks to help you relax. Focus on taking short, intentional breaks throughout the day. A break is getting up to stretch or making a cup of tea, and it is not checking your email or social media feeds.
Next, make a list of 10 people and things that take a lot of your time. The list will include people you love, but they are a time suck. What would make those things more manageable? How can we teach that person how to value our time? Never calling that person may not be acceptable, but maybe there is a better time to deal with them or a reasonable time limit for the call.
2. Protect energy
Do you ever feel like you are doing all the right things to care for yourself, but your cup still isn’t filling up? Chances are you work in a giving profession, service industry or are a parent. You are probably a funnel; what little fuel is going in the top flows right back out the spout. Control the flow of water through this funnel by limiting your energy output.
Take radical responsibility for your schedule; do not overbook or overcommit. A pandemic is not the time to overdo it. Don’t let the time you save on commuting turn into an evening of reports and emails.
Are you worried about not doing enough for work? Just think of a dam holding back the flow of water and how that creates energy. By holding back, you’ll save your energy for the moments that count.
3. Utilize resources
Wouldn’t we all like to have someone to clean the house and cook our meals? Outsourcing is money well spent right now. If you think you can’t afford help, consider a cleaning app, so you don’t have to decide or track what tasks are due or order meals kits. Ask for help—there are likely resources in your community that are underutilized.
Final thoughts
An abundance mindset mitigates automatic thoughts and the stress response and anxiety they cause. Finding ways to feel more in control of time, energy, and resources helps shift away from a scarcity mindset that often drives feelings of anger and guilt. Small changes can result in significant gains in our perception of our circumstances, allowing us to live with more contentment.
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