It happens every year.
This year, our world is, figuratively and quite literally, on fire! We need to recognize reality, prioritize ourselves, prioritize each other, and utilize strategies to move in a direction that will keep the burnout at bay.
I have struggled lately...much more so than I ever would have anticipated. Like many of you have done so many times, I have prioritized my students and my work over my own self-care. It makes sense, especially after spending so much time away from them, after they have missed so much education. However, by neglecting ourselves, we are doing a disservice to our students. Teaching is not a sprint. It's not even a marathon. It is a series of ultra marathons. This year, it is a series of ultra marathons where the race organizers have put lions and hyenas on the course to chase us. There are many more stressors in our lives that we have never had to manage before. We cannot continue running this type of race without strategies to manage burnout.
A colleague recently shared Brené Brown's podcast, Unlocking Us (episode linked below), with me because it resonated with her. She knew I had been struggling as of late. In the episode, she talks about burnout with the authors of the book Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. I strongly encourage you to listen to the podcast. It's about an hour long. Time...I know. Put it on in the car; go for a walk; try to make time. If you cannot find the time to listen to it, at least check out some of my own takeaways from the podcast.
(~9 mins in)
3 Components of Burnout
Emotional Exhaustion - fatigue that comes from caring too much for too long
Depersonalization - the depletion of empathy, caring, and compassion
Decreased Sense of Accomplishment - the unconquerable sense of futility, nothing you do makes a difference
Stress, anxiety, and depression can coexist with burnout, but burnout is a distinct condition of exhaustion, characterized by apathy, fatigue, frustration, anger, depression, and dissatisfaction. Findings on how to prevent burnout are not surprising: We prevent burnout by strategically renewing ourselves, sleeping more, and taking time off more frequently. We also prevent burnout by boosting our resilience. - Elena Aguilar, Onward
(~40 mins in for detailed explanation)
7 Efficient Strategies to Manage Burnout and Complete the Stress Response Cycle...Boosting Resilience.
Physical Activity - walking, literally any movement of your body, tensing your body up really tight and then relax and release.
Breathing - deep, slow breath in (fill the belly), big, long, slow exhale to the end, until your abdominals contract, (regulates your nervous system, gentlest way in to completing the stress response cycle, great place to start so you don't get overwhelmed). Try 1.5 minutes. Your thoughts will go over the place, that's normal, try to return your attention to the breath
Positive Social Interaction - consider the fight/flight response - you're running from the threat, someone lets you in to their place, you jump up and down, high five, fist bump - our natural inclination to connect with other people tells our body that it is somewhere safe - even if you're not in your actual home - your body can get the feeling that you are home because you feel safe
Laughter - authentic, genuine laughter - not social posed laughter - the embarrassing, mouth open, belly bouncing, takes over body kind of laughter. You can even reminisce about a time you laughed that way. Laughter is a universal language. "Laughter is an ancient evolutionary system that mammals have evolved to make and maintain social bonds and regulate emotions." - Sophie Scott
Affection - a warm hug in a safe and trusting context can do as much to help your body feel like it has escaped a threat as jogging a couple of miles...and it's less sweaty. 20 second hug. Hugging until relaxed, not leaning into each other, holding your own center of gravity, breathing together until you feel the shift in your chemistry - that's your body telling you have come home, a place of safety. A 20 second hug can change your hormones, lower your blood pressure and heart rate, and improve mood all of which are reflected in the post hug increase in the social bonding hormone oxytocin (it's not about time, it's about intimacy, leaning in, maintaining your center of gravity, and being vulnerable)
Crying - crying won't eliminate the stressor, but when you allow it to happen, it can complete the cycle. Steps: set the cause aside, turn toward physical experience of crying (how many tears, how hot do I feel, where's the tension, how much snot, etc.), pay attention to the sensation of the crying itself without feeding it thoughts
Creative Expression - doesn't have to be a thing that you create, could be you thinking or imagining your way through a story. Feel how good it feels to take whatever you feel inside you and put it outside you. "Turn your broken heart into Art." - Carrie Fisher
Turn toward the difficult feelings with kindness and compassion - whether you fight, flee, or freeze - and let yourself finish the feelings and complete the cycle.
If you can't stay well enough to deal with the stressors, you are going to burn out and stop trying to make the world a better place.
"A substantial amount of our ability to be resilient is fostered in our daily habits." - Elena Aguilar
Resilience is:
a way of being that allows us to bounce back quickly from adversity, and stronger than before, so that we can fulfill our purpose in life.
an adaptive, dynamic process that includes an individual's interactions over time in a complex environment. Context plays a role; resilience is not simply a function of one individual's behavior. Who we are and where we are impact our ability to cultivate resilience.
cultivated through engaging in specific habits and by fostering specific dispositions.
what enables us to thrive, not just survive.
We must focus on cultivating our own resilience because it'll help us manage physical and emotional stressors, enjoy life more, and fulfill our purpose as educators. (Aguilar, 2018)
To be well is not to live in a perpetual state of safety and calm, but to move fluidly from a state of adversity, risk, adventure, or excitement back to safety & calm and out again. Wellness is not a state of being, it's a state of action, freedom to oscillate. (Nagoski & Nagoski, 2020)
I hope you have a great weekend and find time to recharge and manage your stress, so you can burn bright, not burn out, on Monday! - Mark
References:
Aguilar, E. (2018). Onward: Cultivating emotional resilience in educators. John Wiley & Sons.
Nagoski, E., & Nagoski, A. (2020). Burnout: The secret to unlocking the stress cycle. Ballantine Books.
Further Reading: