How do you know if you are burnt out?

Stressed womanYou may have noticed that when you go away on holiday, it can take a good few days to ‘wind down’. I was recently on a break in Turkey, and the first couple of days, even spending 2 hours lying on a sun lounger by a gorgeous swimming pool proved a challenge. My mind was all over the place, making lists, feeling guilty about doing ‘nothing’, worrying about this and that.

This was my ‘normal’ state, and it had been suddenly laid bare.

You see, in our daily lives, this state of mind is usually masked by constant activity. We never have the space to notice that we are in overdrive.

No surprise then that hardly a day goes by without us hearing or saying the word ‘stress’.  You get stuck in traffic on the way to work – stress!, you get to work, and your boss gives you a hard time about that project you’re working on – stress!, you get home and you have an argument with your partner – stress!, you go to bed and can’t get to sleep – stress!… not the greatest day in the world, and luckily some days are not as bad as this, but not too much of an exaggeration I’m sure?

Stress is a normal part of life, which is almost a reassuring thought, as most of the time, we can take it in our stride. However our accelerated pace of life and high expectations can drive it out of control. Our body is designed to withstand it and bounce back from it, back to its healthy state of homeostasis (balance), but sometimes, it stops coping. This is when stress becomes more than just a vaguely uncomfortable feeling: it becomes a danger to health and we become what is commonly known as ‘burnt out’.

So how do you know if this is the case?

I’ve picked 10 warning signs, which from my experience with clients, as well as various sources on ‘adrenal fatigue’ as it is known, are common indicators that our bodies are not coping with stress.

See how you score out of 10…

  1. You are putting on weight around the middle, and whatever you do, it doesn’t shift: suddenly various diets you have tried in the past, which may have helped you drop a size, are just not having any effect.
  2. You feel constantly tired. Even after a night’s sleep, you wake up feeling like you’ve come back from an all night party.
  3. You seem to be catching every cold, infection or bug in the neighbourhood.
  4. New allergies appear, or you’ve noticed that suddenly you are more sensitive to certain foods, pollens or pets which have never bothered you before.
  5. Your digestion seems to be in meltdown mode, and you experience irritable bowel symptoms.
  6. You crave salt
  7. The slightest upset pushes you over the edge. Events that you would normally deal with quite easily now cause you to become emotional or angry.
  8. Your memory and concentration are not as sharp as they used to be. Your mind feels a bit fuzzy.
  9. PMS (premenstrual syndrome) symptoms, ranging from mood swings to breast pain have started appearing or are getting worse.
  10. Whatever you do, you don’t seem to get as much enjoyment out of as you used to. You could even say that you are feeling a bit depressed.

If you have scored more than 3 out of 10 then you should seriously be looking at ways of reducing your stress or supporting your body in dealing with it (whether through physical or psychological means).

I’ll be posting a few recommendations soon. Do click on the RSS link at the top to subscribe to my blog if you’d like to hear them! (and feel free to make comments below)