Anything Everything At Once

Have you ever had nightmares about your job? Not when you have a presentation due and you think you missed something, but full on nightmares that wake you up in sweat and tears? If you answered yes, you’re probably experiencing some burn out with your current job.

I sold cars for the last three years of my life. In Washington I had a built in pipeline that I had built through sales and referrals. When I moved to Colorado and started with the same brand at a new dealership, I did not have that sort of luxury. This meant my income was cut by almost 75% of what I was previously bringing in. The inconsistency kept me up at night and I was terrified to even miss a day of work.

This mentality began to cause me to have full blown panic attacks. I was not able to get a full nights sleep. I did not eat correctly. I was constantly numbing my pain with large quantities of alcohol just to function after work. It was an unhealthy environment for me.

The moment I decided to quit was when I had a panic attack that was so bad I thought I was having a heart attack. All it took to set it off was the action of me walking to my car to drive to work. I knew I couldn’t live like that any longer for both my physical and mental health, so I began to explore other avenues of employment.

There is no shame in quitting.

Employers think that we are there to work just to work, but we are there to work in order to live. It’s sad that as a society we have normalized burnout and the constant stream of medication we have put ourselves on in order to manage it. In reality, things are a lot better if you change your scenery more often than not.

But bottom line, how do you know you’re experiencing work place burn out?

1. Irritability. Irritability is one that comes in different forms. For me it was more geared towards my home life and me snapping at my partner after a long day of work. Others may snap at their co-workers when something gets under their skin, but this is a huge indicator of burn out.
2. Headaches. Constant headaches are not fun to deal with, but they are more common than you think. Headaches can be brought on by dehydration, poor stress management, anxiety, and many other things. They are miserable when you get them and even worse when they happen almost daily at work. If you experience constant headaches, go pay a visit to your doctor and see what they recommend for them.
3. Low Energy at work. Low energy is an indicator of a few things much like headaches. Are you hydrated? Are you sleeping? Are you fueling your body correctly? If you work in a busy job with unpredictable customer interaction, chances are you probably are not doing these things. I know for me, I abused caffeine like a mad woman in order to get through each and every interaction, it was not great.
4. Panic Attacks or Frequent anxiety. Keep an eye on these two, they are nothing to be taken lightly. Panic and anxiety are your body’s way of getting your attention to something you’re neglecting internally. Combat this by leaving your job on your lunch break. Don’t eat at your desk. Make a playlist. Write down something you are grateful for. Change your scenery for even one hour and notice a slight difference. With my current job, I try to walk as much as I can since I am stationary at a desk a lot of the day. Walking and getting away from my desk are a game changer for me.

I am not saying up and quit your job if you are feeling burnt out. Make a few conscious efforts to try and make your environment work for you. If you have tried everything and you still feel like you are not in a growth environment, then change your employment. Quit if it is bad for your mental or physical health. Quit if it is a toxic environment. Quit if something better aligns with your values. Changing jobs for me has been the best thing for my mental health and that is something within my control to help.

Since leaving the auto industry and getting into property management, I have felt myself relax. I have been able to enjoy my life with a consistent schedule, no long days, no bosses creating a negative culture (my new boss is actually wonderful and I’m so grateful for her), and I am no longer feeling like a waste of space. I am actually appreciated and valued at this new job. I never would have felt that if I had stayed in the auto industry.

Make sure you take care of you. At the end of the day, you are the only person you truly have in this world and you need to take care of that person.

What are some signs of burn out you have experienced? Post them below! I’d love to hear them.