Stressors disrupt the balanced function in your body.
This balance is called homeostasis and it’s kind of like your personal “comfort zone”.
We need to adventure out of our comfort zone from time to time in order to grow – but going out of our comfort zone too far or too often can cause problems.
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There are many types of stressors
Too much stress, or the wrong kind of stress, is bad for us. Obviously!
However, stress can also be a positive force in our lives that helps us rise to meet challenges.
That “Future You” vision you came up with on Day 2? It’s going to involve doing some pretty awesome (but challenging/stressful) things…
- Maybe you’ll be running races or going for hikes.
- Maybe you’ll be providing support and encouragement to loved ones.
- Maybe you’ll be performing as an all-star at work.
- Maybe you’ll be out and about exploring and adventuring around town.
- Maybe you’ll be a social butterfly throwing parties and celebrations.
But beyond a certain point, stress stops helping and starts hurting.
If burnout is the result of too many demands or stressors that you can handle, there are two clear ways to deal with this.
- You can reduce the number of demands or stressors.
- You can increase the amount of recovery and support.
We know that most people who are experiencing burnout aren’t doing so voluntarily.
There is a good chance that you have very real responsibilities and heavy burdens that you are carrying, and it’s not realistic for us to ask you to just bite off a bit less work so that you can feel more relaxed.
This is why the first step is to assess how much recovery and support you are getting in return for all of the stressors you are facing.
Stressors
A stressor is
Allostatic Load
Cumulative stress is kind of like a snowball. One type of stressor affects another, compounding, getting bigger, and picking up speed.
The total burden of all stressors is known as the allostatic load.
If you’re struggling with burnout as a result of stress – especially work stress – then finding peace and quiet to help yourself relax and recover can be difficult.
All of your problems tend to haunt you every minute of every day, following you around wherever you go.
This is exhausting because as stress levels go up, our recovery efforts need to go up equally.
Recovery from stress can come in two different forms:
- You may have a period of high stress, followed by a period of high relaxation
This may come in the form of periods of high stress, then periods of high relaxation, followed by more periods of high stress, and more periods of high relaxation.
If you’re currently struggling with burnout, taking on an additional task like this 21-Day Burnout Recovery Challenge can seem like
One result of burnout is the inability to focus.
on one thing at a time
▶ Implement a “focus filter.” Consciously tell yourself, ‘I’m choosing to focus on THIS right now.’ This applies to work—you don’t do housework or counsel your mother-in-law while you’re trying to do your job—but it can also look like spending time with your partner without thinking about work as you gaze across a candlelit table.
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