A Washington, DC Therapist’s Guide to Combat Burnout and Sunday Scaries
Written By: Linsi Grose, LICSW, LCSW
We spend so much time at work that it is easy to get lost in the day-to-day struggle of balancing work, friends, family, and meeting your own needs. This constant balancing act often feels like just that: an act.
If this is something you feel you can relate to, you may be experiencing burnout. What exactly is burnout? It is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion normally caused by excessive periods of stress.
Some signs you may be experiencing burnout include:
You’re constantly feeling exhausted.
You don’t enjoy activities you used to enjoy such as time with family, friends, physical movement, or travel.
It feels like no matter what you do, you just don’t feel “better”.
Work stress spills over into other realms of your life.
You are experiencing self-doubt and feeling like a failure.
It is hard to get a good night of sleep.
If you can relate to the signs above, it is okay, and you are not alone! Once you are privy to the smoke signals of burnout that means you can pause, and begin taking steps towards building a more positive, sustainable lifestyle. Burnout is a sign that something in your life isn’t working. Here are some steps you can begin to take to reclaim the parts of your life that have gotten off-balance and address your unmet needs.
What’s Your Tolerance?
Are you exceeding your capacity? Check-in with yourself. If your current level of burnout pertains to professional stressors, get clarity by asking yourself the following questions. What are you tolerating at work? Are you putting work before your own needs? Do you feel like you are getting the support you need to succeed at work? Once you ask yourself the questions above, get honest with yourself and try to sit with your answers. Make a list of ten things you are currently tolerating at work. After making the list, try to go through it to figure out two tolerations you can begin to shift. This can look like creating boundaries for work-life balance or advocating for more pay.
Get Clear On Your Workload:
So often we find ourselves with an unmanageable amount of work, with unrealistic expectations to work intense days and continue plugging along well into the evening. It is so important to remind yourself that everyone works at different paces and in different ways. That is okay! The workplace functions successfully because of our diversity. When you feel like you have too much on your plate, take the time to prioritize with a manager. It may be helpful to utilize this framework to focus on the situation, behavior, and impact, and suggest solutions or make requests. Once you can get clear on your expectations, you can say “no” and create space to say “yes” to what is important to you!
Beat the Sunday Scaries:
First note, you are not alone in the uncomfortable feeling that rolls around on a Sunday when you begin to think about the work week ahead. When you begin to experience some of your individual symptoms of a case of the Sunday Scaries it’s time to have an honest conversation with yourself. Why is the workweek really scary?
Take some time to journal about the parts of your week ahead that are really causing you fear or discomfort. You can then go through with mindfulness and figure out what is actually scary versus what is the story you are telling yourself about work. Maybe you are telling yourself a story about how you need the perfect conditions in place in order to get started on a project when in reality it’s just a first pitch that has time for edits and evaluations. What are the facts surrounding intimidating factors in the week ahead, and where is your internal narrative about those facts coming into play?
The consistent and persistent experience of the Sunday Scaries may be an internal cue that burnout is not too far behind.
Consider how you can best care for the parts of yourself living in anticipation of the week ahead. Self-care Sunday is much more than a face mask, or a hot bath. Though those may not hurt, self-care can often include the act of taking care of your future self. Will it be helpful to meal prep for the week ahead? Get your laundry done so you have your favorite pair of jeans to wear to a function later in the week. The same way you put gas into your car before a road trip, how are you fueling yourself heading into the week? Bringing serenity into your Sundays is a powerful antidote to the scaries!
Feel The Burn:
To close out, there is no quick fix to burnout. It’s important that you can actually give yourself space to feel the signs and symptoms surrounding burnout. Sunday scaries may be a part of that equation, as well as consistent and persistent stress beyond your limits. There are, indeed, small and impactful steps you can take to gain more awareness and start to feel better now! It can be helpful to work with a therapist to begin to create these shifts towards feeling more balanced, and go from feeling the burn to healing the burn(out)!
Begin Therapy for Stress in DC
Our team of therapists would be honored to support you in learning new ways to care for your well-being. We are happy to offer therapy services to address the stress and burnout you may experience from our Washington, DC-based practice. You can start your therapy journey by following these simple steps:
Schedule a consultation with us using our contact form.
Meet with one of our skilled therapists.
Start getting more enjoyment out of your career!
Other Services Offered At The Sterling Group
Our team understands there are a variety of mental health services that may affect your life. This is why our counseling practice believes in healing for the whole self. Our skilled therapists offer a range of services related to your healing including self-esteem therapy, trauma therapy, and self-discovery. We help folks struggling with life transitions, anxiety, depression, life transitions, and executive function and ADHD struggles. Additionally, we can provide boundary-setting therapy, LGBTQ+ therapy, couples therapy as well as individual counseling for relationship issues. We hope that you’ll reach out to us to get started with counseling and we can’t wait to hear from you.
