4 Strategies for Dealing with Burnout

Melissa DiFonzo, MSW RSW · Work and Life

I make a living talking with people all day long — and it can lead to burnout.

It feeds my soul being a part of someone's journey to well-being, self-acceptance, and self-love. Lately, however, I've been noticing I've been feeling pretty depleted. Don't get me wrong, I love my job; but let's be real— I'm burnt out.

I started noticing the symptoms of burnout when I caught myself getting angry out of nowhere and feeling really low in energy. As someone who really believes in the importance of practicing what she preaches, I have taken some time off work to help me recharge. I’m about a week into my conscious self-nourishment routine and I am already feeling a hell of a lot better!

I want to share with you some of the things that have been helping me return back to my fully energized self.

1. Spend time with close friends and family

What really feeds my soul is connection. Connecting with people that I love and expressing to them how Ive been feeling has been key to my returning-back-to-my-fully-energized-self journey.

2. Eat intuitively

As soon as I began to notice burnout, I made more time to stop and ask my body what it feels like eating as opposed to eating based on how my mind feels.

3. Turn inward

Authentic nourishment is an inside job. What has been truly helping me in this recovery process is making more time for mindfulness, deep breathing, and offering my body, mind, and heart loving-kindness and compassion.

4. Take time off

I've been taking some time off and this has helped me make more time to do 1-3. I have taken some mental health days and I encourage you to do the same if you're noticing you need it! There's no shame. It's important self-care.

The key to all these strategies is being able to show up for yourself, regardless of how you feel. This means not only showing up for yourself when you feel joyful and at peace, but also when you're feeling low, when you’re feeling sad, when you’re feeling anxious, etc. Show up! When's the last time you truly showed up for yourself even when it hurt? Show up for yourself especially when it hurts!

What helps me most to show up is checking in with myself and asking (throughout the day!), "does doing this support the life I am trying to create?" and "if my body could speak to me right now, what would it say?"

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