Recently I was interviewed by my friend, Alan Berg, wedding business consultant and host of Wedding Business Solutions podcast with Janice Litvin. We spoke about signs and cures of burnout.

Here are the salient points.

The first key to unlocking burnout is building awareness.

How can you tell if you’re burning out?

The first clue is physiological.

knots in the stomach

tension in the neck, jaw or muscles

headaches

back aches

Another physical sign is repetitive illness. You might think, ‘Why do I keep getting sick?’ Maybe you’re stressed. Your body is not designed to be on high stress 24/7. Stress hormones, cortisol and adrenaline flood your body and cause reduced immune system function.

The second clue is mental or emotional: thoughts and feelings?

Do you ever wake up and think, ‘Oh, I can’t face my email today.’ If you start to get that type of “avoidance” feeling, that’s an important time to pay attention. You probably need a break.

Another micro-clue is that feeling that you can’t get IT all done.

One of the biggest sources of stress is time management. How do you plan your time and what commitments do you make? Working 12 hours a day is not sustainable.

One VP of Finance at a local municipality told me that her daughter said, “Mom, I don’t want to do the kind of work you do (Finance) because I don’t want to work 12 hours a day.”

Do people who love their work ever get burned out?

Yes, I call that compassion fatigue, meaning, ‘I love what I do, but I never know how to stop.’ That’s another clue – when you don’t plan breaks or vacations.

This is real and very serious. Many people at the leadership level feel so much pressure to perform. They think, ‘who will steer the ship when I am gone?’

This kind of compulsion needs to be addressed. If you are in a department of one, I recommend developing a cross-functional system where people are cross-trained to support each other, in order to facilitate not only vacations, but also unexpected emergencies.

How can a manager tell if someone on the team is on the verge of burnout?

There are a number of indicators including

angry outbursts

absenteeism

disengagement in meetings

reduced levels of productivity

What can a manager do?

Talk to the person. Ask how they’re doing? Show true concern and then offer resources.

What are my favorite stress-busters (besides reframing your thoughts, as described in my Banish Burnout Toolkit)?

 ?? Call a friend. In these digital days, we rarely pick up the phone anymore. I always feel better when I’ve spoken to someone I care about.

?? Get outside. The minute the sun hits your skin Vitamin D is activated which stimulates dopamine.

?? Movement is a great antidote to stress and anxiety. That can mean a 10-minute walk or a Zumba class. Movement releases endorphins and dopamine. You just “feel better”.

What are your favorite stress busters?