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Everyone Burns Out

Everyone reaches a certain point in their social anxiety recovery where they feel as though they cannot go on any longer. The road has been so hard and the person has experienced such intense anxiety and stress levels that it seems if any more stress or anxiety were encountered, life would simply become unbearable and the person would feel that giving up is the best option to take.

Fortunately, there is some very good news for those who are feeling this feeling, which is burnout. The good news is that everyone burns out at some time or another. When speaking of work, physical fitness, or anxiety in this case, everyone that is attempting to achieve a goal eventually will hit a certain point where they feel they can no longer go on. It is at this point that it is the best time to take a break from the anxiety levels that one is experiencing; one’s body can only handle so much. Taking a hot bath and reading a book, watching a favorite TV show, or doing whatever it is that relaxes a person is the best thing to do at this point. The burnout can last any amount of time from a few hours to a few weeks, depending upon the person. While one is in the burnout phase and is relaxing and recovering, one should feel free not to engage in any acts that challenge his or her anxiety, as this will shove him or her right back into burnout. Instead, at this point it is okay to be one’s self, whoever that is at this point, even if that self includes a fair amount of anxiety.

The point of relaxing during burnout is to rejuvenate and recuperate one’s mind and body so that they both once again feel strong and healthy and ready to face whatever challenges may come one’s way. One may fear that he or she will lose all the progress gained up to this point should a break be taken, but this could not be farther from the truth. As long as once continues to remain aware of his or her anxiety and how it affects him or her, he or she will be fine. This relaxation point is what helps one to get back on track and is a necessary part of recovery for each and every person. The danger of this is that one may want to go on an indefinite hiatus and cease to work on anxiety recovery for a long period of time, such as months or years. This indeed could hamper one’s progress up to this point. The important thing to remember is that the person should get right back in the mix of things as soon as he or she feels fresh and ready to face the world once again, and it is up to this person to determine when his or her mind and body are ready for just that.

The next question that may arise is how often is it normal to burn out? This question has a subjective answer, that being that burnout occurs more frequently for those who have just begun recovery from an anxiety condition and also for those who have a more severe anxiety condition to start with. In the beginning (this is scary but seems true), for some, burnout may happen almost daily. This means that those who experience very frequent burnout should be extra nice to themselves, emotionally and physically. This will keep them mentally strong enough to go out there and continue to make progress on recovering from anxiety.

The good news is that after a while of working on anxiety recovery, burnout becomes less frequent and less intense. Pretty soon, burnout will occur once during the week; then, after a while it will occur once per month; then, after some more time, it will occur once every few months; then, after some more time, it will occur once or twice per year. Burnout can never be totally eliminated from one’s life, but it can be made to be very infrequent (a couple times per year) such that it causes very nominal interference in one’s lifestyle.

This guide on burnout is short and straight to the point, but it seems to be more or less right on target. Burnout is a difficult phase, but it is a sign that one is trying and moving in the right direction; it is a mental growing pain. It is completely normal to experience, and during this time, one should be extra kind to him or her self. Hopefully this guide has made everyone aware of what it is and how to handle it so that they can continue to move forward in their recovery!

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