Burnout

Have you ever been addicted to something that you tend to do everyday for long periods of time? This is a trait that I have, but don’t mind at all.  I just do not want to experience a “burnout.” Burn out is a psychological term for the experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest. This can be caused by excessive and prolonged stress. If stress continues you tend to lose all your interest and motivation. There are many different coping mechanisms that you can do to deal with being overwhelmed.

I have noticed over time that I am a highly qualified person who is at risk of burnout. I have an excessive trait that hooks me to a new workout routine or a new goal. I will train every day to reach my goals and never give it a rest. This can sometimes pose to be a problem because I become over whelmed when I do not see improvement or results. Since I am into being physical fit I tend to workout day after day. Without struggle there is no progress, but when I see no progress and I struggle, I become overwhelmed with frustration. I have noticed that I am at the risk of burnout when I start to workout twice a day. I do not give my body a rest, and just always want to be better and do more. I am never fully satisfied. Working out has taking priority and I always find a way to workout where ever I am. This can involve me doing calf raises in the shower or even calf raises sitting in my desk in class. I never handle stress well so I easily experience a burnt out. I lose my motivation and then slowly lose all the progress that I made.

When I feel overwhelmed the main coping mechanism that I do is taking a nap. Naps help me to calm my mind off the certain event that are causing me to stress such as, practice for sports teams, homework, and/or even my friends’ drama.  My mind becomes relaxed and clear of all these tedious things that are causing me to be overwhelmed. Another coping mechanism that I use when I am feeling overwhelmed is food. I notice that I tend to sit down and just eat and eat. I guess food is something that relaxes me and it is sure something that I enjoy. I personally like to eat peanut butter as a little snack or I also enjoy a nice fruit salad.  One way I think is most effective for me to overcome being overwhelmed is music. Listening to songs that I love and songs that have a soft tune and beat calm me down. My mind is totally cleared from all my thoughts and I just sing along.

The coping mechanisms that I might use in my professional life are definitely listening to music and journaling. I think it is a healthy alternative to write down the things that cause me to be overwhelmed when I am feeling on the brink of a burnout. This will help me to see what I should not do and help me arrange different ways to overcome it. As a future physical educator I think switching my activities weekly will help students from becoming burned out from that one particular activity. Always having different variations of different games are key to my success. My goal is to make my students have an enjoyable experience that will help them to not stress or become overwhelmed at any time.