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Ask HN: How are you getting through (and back from) burning out?

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Re: Ask HN: How are you getting through (and back from) burning out?

#31

Post by Spooky23 »

Take a step back and figure out what you really care about and be humble.

You may find that you are placing alot of attention on things that ultimately don't matter. When I've been in tough times, 8/10 times I've put blinders on and tried to fix everything except what is broken for me. It's a cycle that you have to break!

There's a reason why pride is in religious tradition the cardinal sin thats the root to all others, it blinds you to all sorts of things -- you start believing your own bullshit.

Re: Ask HN: How are you getting through (and back from) burning out?

#32

Post by jackhack »

abbiya wrote: post #16

One thing is to get married

In a word, no. If one thinks that marriage will simplify life and reduce stresses, well, I have some bad news for you.

Don't get me wrong -- marriage is/can-be wonderful, but you owe it to your partner to bring your mentally-healthy self to the table, not to burden someone else with your problems because new challenges will result. Life is struggle, and having someone to lean on is wonderful.

Re: Ask HN: How are you getting through (and back from) burning out?

#33

Post by SolaceQuantum »

hnnh44 wrote: post #15
SolaceQuantum wrote: post #2

I would recommend if your problem is overplanning, how have you responded to spontaniety? e.g. Attending figure drawing sessions where you don't know who you'll be sketching and the distinct and sudden social change around viewing nakedness. Or roller blading or dancing or jazz, all of which hold spontaneity or the appearance of such as part of the enjoyment of the activity.

I find this advice useful for breaking out of a slump, not for preventing burnout. I have to take the opposite approach for burnout: cut things out. Do less. Cross things off the Todo list and _dont_ add a new one. I find my biggest sources of stress are those little tasks that take you 10 hours, but would take someone else 1 hour. Constantly fighting against unknowns and feeling helpless leads to frustration and bur…

I was under the impression that "getting through/back from burnout" is when a burnout enters slump phase, which is what OP specified.

Re: Ask HN: How are you getting through (and back from) burning out?

#34

Post by 52-6F-62 »

dkoston wrote: post #27
DaiHafVaho wrote: post #5

The easy: Drink more water. Stretch regularly. The habits to change: Eat breakfast. Cherish loved ones. The difficult: Empathize with your employer; understand how they (don't) value you. Contemplate the evanescence of your work; it will all someday fade away, and you must come to terms with this fact.

It's surprising to me that so many people recommend eating breakfast. There's no specific value add to eating early in the morning. There are tons of value adds to constraining the hours you eat during each day ("intermittent fasting"). Eat breakfast at your own risk: https://priceonomics.com/how-breakfast-became-a-thing/ https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/is-skipping-breakfast-b... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hi…

If you exercise first thing in the morning (like myself), I'd say breakfast is essential shortly afterward.

Re: Ask HN: How are you getting through (and back from) burning out?

#35

Post by KIFulgore »

dkoston wrote: post #27
DaiHafVaho wrote: post #5

The easy: Drink more water. Stretch regularly. The habits to change: Eat breakfast. Cherish loved ones. The difficult: Empathize with your employer; understand how they (don't) value you. Contemplate the evanescence of your work; it will all someday fade away, and you must come to terms with this fact.

It's surprising to me that so many people recommend eating breakfast. There's no specific value add to eating early in the morning. There are tons of value adds to constraining the hours you eat during each day ("intermittent fasting"). Eat breakfast at your own risk: https://priceonomics.com/how-breakfast-became-a-thing/ https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/is-skipping-breakfast-b... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hi…

I lost over 100 pounds by reducing carbs and skipping breakfast. And I hardly miss it at all.

Re: Ask HN: How are you getting through (and back from) burning out?

#36

Post by thisismyusernam »

I am focusing on one day at a time, one week at a time. Seeing a psychotherapist and attending various groups when I have the energy.

Burnout for me is a deeply physical experience of contant tension and utter exhaustion, with mental overwhelm and low stress-tolerance. So I find that I have to take things on the moment-by-moment level to see what I'm good for, and give myself permission to cancel everything if need be.

I'm also taking small, but practical and tangible steps towards a difficult life transition and health goal. Each step I take (there have been many) has lifted a bit of weight off me and put wind in my sails, because I've been on the fence about it for so long. I really enjoy and appreciate these 'small wins'.

Even on that personal journey side of things, I am not planning much, if anything, beyond the next day or two at a time (even while I have longer-term projects I am working on).

I have put my business on indefinite 'tickover', servicing existing clients but not doing any work of expansion at this stage. I have communicated with all staff about that as well and let them know that I am not available for any kind of meetings, calls or creative work.

I have 'uncommitted' from various projects (whether personal or shared/group) for which the ball was in my court. This alone gave me a lot of headspace to move forward in other ways.

I'm sleeping a lot, mostly at night, with some daytime naps. I've been enjoying playing RuneScape again, spending time tidying up and decluttering at home, sitting in cafes, going for short walks, doing self-care stuff.

People say to read books, but part of my burnout was information overwhelm. The one book that's been helping me a lot is Essentialism by Greg McKeown. GTD is also helpful but only when I have the energy to follow its guidelines.

For me the trick is to just really not expect anything much of myself for now. It's also Winter where I am, so I can call it hibernation, which helps.

One general thing that has really helped is being honest about where I am at, coming out to other people about it, and treating this burned-out stage of life as seriously as if I had pneumonia. Treating it as a friend rather than an enemy.

Hope this helps.

Re: Ask HN: How are you getting through (and back from) burning out?

#37

Post by jbcolmenares2 »

When I was burnout exercise really helped to get better. Not gym, I had no energy for that. But just small walks for example. Keep moving. I ended bicycling to work which was great, but started just walking from my kids school which was close by. I realized I felt better after those walks so started to walk more. Take care.

Re: Ask HN: How are you getting through (and back from) burning out?

#39

Post by Rumudiez »

The best advice I can offer is: find a hobby that captivates you.

For me, it was motorcycling. It’s not for everyone, but the reason it helped me is that it requires precision control and mental focus. When I got my first motorcycle and went for rides I didn’t have time to think about anything else; driving the bike well and improving my ability took 110% of my attention.

I burned out and tailspun in my job for about a year, but the relaxation I felt after going for a long ride showed me what’s healthy, and I followed that feeling until it got me out of the rut.

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