12 Tools and Techniques To Fight Burnout
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and one of the biggest things affecting the workplace right now is burnout.
Addressing burnout is not a one-step approach, and many of the approaches depend on the individuals. Instead of trying to do everything at once, start with one or two of these techniques and go from there. Just one small change, whether it be better nutrition, connecting to your source of renewal, or self-care - can have a significant impact.
Self-care
Self-care does not necessarily mean bath salts and face masks. It means taking an active role in one’s well being and health. It is those deliberate steps you take to care for your physical, emotional and mental health.
This, of course, can look very different for everyone. For one person, it is saying no to an engagement so that they can go home and relax. For someone else it can look like prioritizing sleep. It may be scheduling all of your check-up appointments such as the dentist, dermatologist or getting that mammogram or it could be planning a night out with friends or seeing a therapist. It can also be asking for help by ordering takeout, getting quality childcare, or having a house cleaner occasionally.
The whole point is that 80% of chronic diseases are preventable with some self-care! I didn’t understand this concept until I saw it first hand. After quitting a job because of a move to another state, when it came time to apply for jobs again, I physically could not fathom jumping back into work. I had to seriously evaluate my stress level, how it was affecting my relationships, and then I built in my habits from there.
The truth is that we all need that self-care time, even if the reality is that there aren’t enough hours in the day. Maybe you can’t spend a whole day at the spa, but build some daily and occasional things into your life to keep yourself going and not depleted.
Exercise
I know I don’t need to convince you that exercise is important. But, I know when your time is limited, it is hard to find the bandwidth to add exercise to your routine. We were not meant to be sedentary creatures. People who make time to exercise thirty minutes a day a few times a week are more productive and report that they can better manage their stress. And we all know that it’s a great mood booster, especially when practiced habitually. Not only does it help you manage stress and your moods better, but it’s also great for your cardiovascular and overall health.
The other great thing is that it doesn’t require a considerable amount of time and you can do it without equipment. Waking up 30 minutes earlier to walk or do an exercise video doesn’t have to be hard if you start building it into your routine.
How do you get back into it? Starting slow. Even if it’s just on the weekends, you can build from there. And don’t forget to grab a buddy. Working out with a friend aka accountability partner will make your habit more successful in the long run.
Nutrition
You can get away with a lot when you are young and in school (i.e.; living off of pizza, beer, and poptarts). But just think about how much better your body and brain would function if you cut out the majority of preservatives and processed foods.
Our nutrition has a much bigger effect than previously thought. Just look at functional medicine and the physician pioneers building practices around healthy lifestyles. Research comparing “traditional” diets, like the Mediterranean diet and the traditional Japanese diet, to a typical “Western” diet have shown that the risk of depression is 25% to 35% lower in those who eat a traditional diet. Scientists account for this difference because these traditional diets tend to be high in vegetables, fruits, unprocessed grains, and fish and seafood, and to contain only modest amounts of lean meats and dairy. They are also void of processed and refined foods and sugars, which are staples of the “Western” dietary pattern. (Harvard Health).
Nutrition is such an essential element for studying and having the physical energy and emotional stability to get through stressful days. Being young and having a body that handled it well only works for so long. You will feel and function so much better when studying, exercising, and developing relationships if you subsist on whole foods rather than simple carbs and whatever else is available.
Honestly, the whole nutrition platform can be overwhelming. Some people want you to eat tomatoes, some cite the lectins, some are meat heavy, some are plant-based and so on. Pick what works for you. Instead of following a super-structured plan, it is okay to start by making small, healthy choices and substitutes.
Planning your meals can seem overwhelming, time-consuming, and costly if you go into it without a plan, but there are easy and affordable ways that you can manage it. Pinterest is full of ideas, I loved doing Whole 30 because it made me more aware of what I was eating (it doesn’t work for everyone), and even just making a small change can have a big effect. Try cutting out sweets or soda for a month and see how much better you feel!
Sufficient Sleep
Closing out the self-care trifecta is sleep. Yes, we all know it’s important, and yes, only a rare few get it. Did you know that sleep has been called the number one fundamental of good health? In fact, only 27% of American adults get the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep a night, and only 10% of people prioritize sleep over other activities (I am one of them!).
Just because you can function on 4-5 hours of sleep every night does not mean that you should. Getting less than the recommended amount of sleep can impact your brain function in several ways:
Interferes with brain cells’ ability to function and communicate with each other
Disrupts hormone levels
Activates genes that interfere with optimal brain activity
Decreases ability to make and store memories
You are less focused and attentive
Your decision making and judgment skills suffer
Feeling fully charged will not only make you more productive, but it will also help manage your stress, give you a mood boost, and a healthier heart (lower blood pressure!). Work on proper sleep hygiene by creating a peaceful space, turning your devices off, going to bed at a decent time, and getting your sleep!
Connect to Your Sources of Renewal
One of the best things you can do for yourself is to create your own version of self-care. Right now, ask yourself:
What does self-care mean to you?
A day catching up on Netflix
A day outdoors
Reading a book
Getting a massage
Playing a video game
Going to church
Having coffee with a friend
Spending time with family
We all have different things that fill us up emotionally and spiritually. So, figure out what those things are and do them as often as you can. Try to avoid thinking about self-care as if it’s just another “to do” item – it’s truly a way to become more aware of your basic human needs and prioritize yourself.
Understand what you need to have a good day and commit yourself to that. How does a day like that look? Do you wake up calm and purposeful? If not, then set out your clothes, your lunch, and get your children’s stuff ready the night before. Then do what you can to feel ready while understanding that not everything is within your control. This can also mean following your heart or mastering something creative (like being a yoga instructor!).
Remember, it’s all about you - so don’t think about what your coworkers need to do or how your patients need to act to make your day enjoyable, etc.. Do what you can and connect where you can daily to ensure you feel renewed and your best self.
Manage Your Expectations
After being in this industry for a while, I can say with confidence that I have never met a student, resident, or pharmacist who does not expect a lot of themselves.
This goes along with imposter syndrome because you are your own worst critic. Don’t be so hard on yourself! There is a balance between expecting a lot from yourself and debilitating self-induced stress because you aren’t getting everything done. Add on top of that your family obligations and you are stressed before you even start.
Not only do we expect a lot from ourselves, but also from others and this can lead to a lot of angst especially since their actions are beyond our control.
In a perfect world, we “expect” our corporation to run a certain way, our boss to understand our needs, and our coworkers to work as a team. That’s not often reality, and you will need to be resilient enough to work through these circumstances without getting hung up on the way you think things “should” be. By accepting the conditions and then developing a plan to take action on what you CAN control only, you will be able to move forward without getting bogged down by expectations and unnecessary stress.
Fight that Inner Critic
If imposter syndrome is getting you down, reconnect to your purpose. We will talk about this more in the next chapter, but think about why you wanted to be a pharmacist and what you love about medicine. Even though this may sound cheesy, connect to that original goal daily, whether that means setting a reminder on your phone, computer or having a quote at your desk.
It's also time to stop comparing yourself to others. Social comparisons are deceiving because not only are you comparing your internal failures to their external successes (they hide their failures!), you are looking at someone at a different stage of their journey. Instead of comparing apples to oranges, figure out your purpose by understanding yourself, your needs, strengths, and desires.
Your unique self is capable of charting your own extraordinary course by building on your strengths and focusing on being the best version of yourself. So list the things you did when you thought you couldn’t do them and start where you are. We all are at different points of our journey. And everyone was once a beginner! Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.
Foster Positive Interactions at Work
Instead of focusing on negative interactions at work, introduce positivity into your day by turning your attention to gratitude and action-oriented problem-solving. Use your support system as a crutch when you need it and to help motivate you to get through difficult times.
Get help with the types of patients that you have the most difficulty. Maybe you have a coworker who navigates them very well, and you can ask for strategies. Also, allow yourself to be human and give yourself the space and enough support to recover from complicated interactions with patients or coworkers.
Address those difficult and toxic professional relationships. There are many ways to solve interpersonal problems. Skills can be developed like crucial conversations, emotional intelligence, mediation by reading books, listening to podcasts, and practicing for yourself!
Be the change in your families, your workplace, your community, and your professional organizations. Stop waiting for others to do it!
Improve Your Work-Life Balance
The concept of work-life balance may never go away but we can define what balance means to us. We may always feel like we need to “lean in” and we probably are always going to carry guilt about what we should or shouldn’t be doing. The trick is that our work-life balance is dynamic with unique needs, and our resources are continually shifting.
Despite what the perfectionist in us wants, there will not always be a perfect balance. Sometimes, good enough is actually good enough if you are focusing on the right aspects of your life.
But, if you need some strategies:
Can you job share? The flexibility will give you some extra time during the week.
Can you go down to four days a week or a version of part-time? People rarely miss the money when they take a small step back. And you adjust your needs and lifestyle to fit the new budget
Can you outsource those chores that drain you?
Look at creating different roles at home instead of the stereotypical gender roles. Share the care of children if possible and learn to say no. One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that those little rituals you build mean a lot. The quality moments of Taco Tuesday, pasta night, game night, etc… will mean more to them than constant togetherness.
Build Your Resilience
Grit and resilience often get used interchangeably, but their definitions are slightly different. Resilience is that optimism that keeps us bouncing back from a failure while grit is the passion and perseverance we put towards reaching a long-term goal. Our resilience capacity is key to coping with mental health pressures. Both are important in fighting burnout, being a strong practitioner, and navigating the day to day rigors of school and your job.
As an individual in a professional field, it is crucial to understand and develop your resilience. Not only will it aid you against burnout, but it also is associated with high academic performance in pharmacy students and success in students and residents.
Some great tips recommended by the American Psychological Association (APA) for building resilience include:
Make connections: maintain good relationships with family, friends, and others.
Avoid seeing crises as insurmountable problems: try looking past the present to how future circumstances may be better.
Accept that change is part of pharmacy: accepting circumstances that cannot be changed will help you focus on the circumstances that you CAN change.
Move toward your goals (which this book will help you with!): develop some realistic goals and make small changes regularly that will help you accomplish them.
Take decisive actions: instead of detaching completely from uncomfortable situations, act positively when you can
Look for opportunities for self-discovery: you can grow and learn so much about yourself when we are going through loss or burnout.
Nurture a positive view of yourself: you are doing a great job, let the other stuff go! Develop confidence as you work through and accomplish your goals.
Keep things in perspective: even during painful events, consider the stressful situation in a broader context with a long-term perspective.
Maintain a hopeful outlook: try visualizing what you want instead of worrying about what you fear.
We are all in this together: You are not the only pharmacist experiencing this - many if not most are! Together we can conquer this problem.
Take care of yourself: engaging in activities that you find restorative helps keep your mind and body ready to deal with situations that require resilience.
Practice Gratitude
When I worked at Duke University Hospital, our patient safety officer went around to all of the department staff meetings and highlighted some research that had been done at Duke on resilience. This research, called the “three good things” model kept coming up and up again. Participants would think of three good things (kind of like a gratitude journal!) that happened to them during the day and write them down before bed each night. The process of writing it down solidified it in their brains, and after two weeks, people reported less negativity and more resilience. J. Bryan Sexton, associate professor of Psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke’s School of Medicine says that “humans are hard-wired to remember the negative aspects of their day, but flipping around the natural inclination is simple - gratitude.”
Just incorporating a small practice into your daily schedule will do wonders for your outlook.
Meditation and Mindfulness
I’m not sure why there is still skepticism around meditation - even by science-minded people! But research shows that meditation really does help improve our overall health and wellbeing. It makes our brain slow down, helps us stop multitasking, and allows us to just be present, focus and relax.
There are so many useful apps and podcasts out there to assist in developing mindfulness in your day to day life. Try sitting quietly for five minutes and focus only on your breath, download an app like Headspace, or do a meditation through podcast to help get you started.
One of the key elements of mindfulness is that your stressful thoughts and sensations can PASS US BY without being rooted. We can acknowledge them and let go without associating with every negative thought or emotion. This gives us the freedom to experience and take control over how we handle situations.
Start out small by thinking of one thing that you want to be fully present for in your day. This could be reading a book to your child, making dinner, checking prescriptions, or folding your laundry.