A necessary acknowledgment

A few days ago the news was released that the Canadian singer Shawn Mendes decided to suspend all the concerts of his world tour in order to take care of his mental health and avoid, in his own words, his “break”.

Another recent case is that of the award-winning actress Sandra Bullock who recently announced her temporary retirement from the screen and declared that she felt “burned out, tired and unable to make decisions” due to the demanding pace of life of her artistic career.

Both artists referred to the term burnout syndrome, or chronic job exhaustion, which has been defined by the World Health Organization as the state of mental, physical and emotional exhaustion that a person could suffer from overwork.

In my experience, the risk of suffering from burnout comes from confusing what we do (profession) with what we are (essence). And it is that, no matter how much we feel identified with the activity that we carry out, we can never become blurred to the point of not distinguishing that we are much more than the trade or profession to which we dedicate ourselves.

Here are 5 simple recommendations that you can apply to counteract the signs of burnout that may be appearing:

The first recommendation is to delegate tasks. In order to achieve this practice, you have to learn to trust: Find or train other people to whom you can assign part of your work. Calm down your ego and ask for help.

Second, rest: Just as you schedule your meetings and the rest of your tasks, reserve space in your agenda for rest and leisure. Try to make this time sacred and do not be tempted to suspend it to work.

Then, it is necessary to reflect consciously. Take time to think about your next plans or take honest stock of your accomplishments so far. Not every past was so bad and not every future is as terrifying as we sometimes imagine.

Every so often it is vital to disconnect. Many top executives are incorporating a tech detox day in which they turn off their mobile device and dedicate themselves to “emptying their minds”. Reading a book, talking with the family or going for a walk should be a priority, at least once a week.

Finally, avoid excuses. It is quite common to think that those responsible for what happens to us are on the outside and here it is necessary to take charge of our mental health and self-care.

We are going to take the time to heal, take care of ourselves and our mental health, so we can go back to work re-empowered.