“I don’t know how you do it all.” I used to hear that from people a lot and I took pride in it. I don’t hear it as much anymore because I see it for the red flag that it is! I’m an overachiever and I have a tendency to overpack my schedule. Years ago, I realized how bad that was for me. Yes, I’m a badass and I can buckle down and push through anything. But just because I can, doesn’t mean it’s good for me.
Once I figured out that I could get everything done that I wanted to get done without running myself into the ground, my life became so much better! I no longer confuse stress and busyness with achievement and success. But I still, on occasion, slide back into old habits. Taking on more and more and letting myself get pulled in every direction.
However, I’ve put strategies in place to snap me out of it before I head towards burnout. And now, if I hear “I don’t know how you do it all,” I know to pause, reevaluate, and make some changes.
Can you be addicted to stress?
One of the things about myself that I’ve had to face is
why I run myself into the ground. The truth is, it’s addicting. That drive to feel accomplished and productive can pull me in like any other addictive substance.
Stress can be addictive. You can become addicted to the rush of cortisol your body produces when it’s under pressure because it’s usually followed by a big dopamine boost from accomplishing the tasks under stressful conditions. And don’t forget the ego boost that comes from being able to do more than anyone else on just four hours of sleep!
It can be hard to break that dependence on cortisol and dopamine. But that level of constant stress will take a toll on you physically, mentally, and emotionally. And if you aren’t careful, you can completely burnout and shut down.
How can you tell if you’re headed towards burnout?
The problem is that we don’t always recognize just how stressed we are. We’re so accustomed to stress that we start calling it normal. We condition ourselves to ignore our body's warning signs telling us that we’re about to burn out. Warning signs like…
- Headaches
- Insomnia/Exhaustion
- Loss of Motivation
- Irritability and Anxiety
- Social Withdrawal
- Changes in Appetite
- Chest Pain
- Fatigue
- Muscle Tension
When we consistently ignore those symptoms, we risk burning out. And once burnout sets in, all of those negative symptoms become critical and our ability to cope is impaired. Essentially we have to start from square one. And that is not a great way to live.
It’s Human to Backslide
Like I mentioned before, one of my red flags is when people tell me, “I don’t know how you do it all.” That’s my sign to pause and check in with myself. In fact, the last time someone said it to me, I stopped for two days! I reevaluated everything I was taking on and I made some changes. I paused early enough to stop myself from backsliding and I was able to make changes before things got bad.
Why am I sharing this? Well, because I imagine that the same thing has happened to you. Maybe you’ve tried to cut back on the things that cause you the most stress, but found yourself sliding back into old patterns.
Or maybe it’s something else! Maybe you stopped eating sugar and started exercising, but then, in the blink of an eye, you realized you were back to your old habits. Maybe your backsliding doesn’t involve stress, but it involves emotional eating, or anxiety, or disorganization. We all have unhealthy patterns that we fall into. Because we’re human! And we’re fallible. We will slide backwards sometimes.
The key is to be in tune with yourself. To know what your early warning signs are. And to learn the right techniques to pause and stop the backslide before you end up back at square one. If you’re in an unhealthy pattern, shoot me a message! Whether it’s burnout, or overeating, or disorganization, I can help you break the cycle and create the healthy habits that will get you where you want to be!
