Understanding Stress and Burnout

Stress is a natural response to challenging situations. It can be a motivating factor, but it can also become overwhelming and lead to burnout. Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion that occurs when someone experiences prolonged stress. Burnout can make it challenging to perform daily activities and have a negative impact on a person’s mental and physical health.

Trades workers experience stress and burnout due to many factors including; working long hours, tight deadlines, physically demanding work, poor diet, strained family relationships, and a lack of control over their work environment.

However, there are several steps you can take to help limit the effects of stress in your day to day life

Coping Strategies

Prioritize Self-Care
Self-care is essential for maintaining good mental health and wellness. I know you want to get that project finished! But the reality is your not good to anyone if you’re not first good to yourself. If you have worked for long enough you know projects they come and go so make sure you prioritize self-care by eating a healthy diet, getting enough sleep, making time with your family, and engaging in regular physical exercise. These activities can help reduce stress and promote overall well-being.

Set Realistic Goals
Rome was not built in a day and so it’s fair to say that project you are working on won’t be either. Don’t beat yourself up by setting unrealistic goals and timelines to get projects done. Remember if you miss a deadline you are only human. I’m not saying make it a habit but cut yourself some slack!

Take Breaks
There are not any awards for retiring with 160 hours of vacation and 1000 hours of sick leave! Sure you might get a plaque and a nice retirement lunch but I have been to enough of those to know that you would of gotten that regardless. Am I saying burn through your sick leave and vacation? Absolutely not! What I am saying is you are working hard so if your brain or body isn’t feeling up to task it may be a indication you need to take day off. Also, if you are blessed enough to have a good career and the ability to go on vacation with your family you should go! We only live once your kids are only young once! Go make some memories.

Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a technique that involves focusing on the present moment and accepting it without judgment. I think of this as a form of self centering and use it to calm my mind when I start to worry. Think about it as just blotting everything else from your mind and checking in with yourself and seeing how you are connected to the world. That is probably not the best explanation but if you want to learn more watch this short video.

Read here more about 5 Ways to cope with Burnout!