Burnout; noun; Also, burn-out; fatigue, frustration, or apathy resulting from prolonged stress, overwork, or intense activity.
Have you ever been burned out? I’m talking about being so tired of the “every day” that the thought of more of the status quo has an almost physical or very physical effect on you. This is not a good place to be. It can make one apathetic, bored, frustrated, depressed, angry and just all around unhappy. This is a danger now, when our lives are normal, and a potential danger in a long term survival situation.
News Burnout
When you have your eyes opened and see what the world situation is, the constant bombardment of bad news can start to make you feel burned out and numb. Shutting it all out might be ok for a small time, but we Watchmen (and Women) need to be alert.
Job Burnout
Suffering from occupational burnout is probably the worst kind. We often work for/with people we might not associate with under other circumstances. We might feel like we’re not where the Lord called us, and trapped because we need to make ends meet.
Prepper Burnout
This can be a blend of news burnout and partly from trying to fill all of the seemingly endless holes in our preparedness. We never seem to have enough time to learn everything we might need one day, and we never seem to have enough money to purchase the items we need or want.
Post Fan Burnout
Most survival situations will be short in duration. However, when faced with a prolonged survival situation, the stress, boredom and one day looking much like the next, among other circumstances can lead to burnout.
What can we do?
There are many other types of burnout, but you get the idea. Suffering from burnout can be dangerous. When you’re burnt out, you can become lackadaisical and your efforts in the area in which you’re burned out suffer. But here are some ideas to help.
Take 5
If it is possible, take a small fast from what is causing the burnout. This is great if you’re suffering from news, social media or other related kinds of burnout.
Add in Some Fun
Find fun things to do and take advantage of them. Life can be hard! Adding fun can help ease the burnout. Plan fun activities so you have something to look forward to, and sprinkle smaller fun things to do until then. When you’re really burned out, it might take a day or two of fun to help (if time permits). Even when there is a lot of work to be done, you need to take time to have a little fun, or productivity, mood and other things begin to suffer.
Change of Scenery
If you are burned out and it is feasible, completely changing your circumstances can cure it. This is much more in depth than just taking a 5. This could involve changing jobs, a relationship, church or any other area where a more drastic change is needed. I recommend discovering the reason why you are so burned out and trying the other items before going this drastic. Sometimes, “Out with the old, and in with the new” is the only solution that can cure severe burnout.
What Can We do Post Fan?
In a long term survival situation, avoiding getting burnt out will be crucial. Adding in some items to help break the monotony can help with burnout. Fun games and contests or gatherings can be helpful. In the book Lights Out, which is one of my favorite books in the survival fiction genre, they had a neighborhood potluck and dance. In the book, it gave everyone something to look forward to, as well as something to remember going forward.
Prayer, Praise and Worship
There are times when God has called us to do something and no matter how hard we try not to, we get burned out. Taking 5 or a changing scenery isn’t an option, and adding fun doesn’t cure it all. In these times, I pray, thank God for the chance to serve and give Him praise and worship. In my last job I would often listen to worship music while I worked. That seemed to help renew me for the day.
What tips do you have for either avoiding or curing burnout? Share with everyone on the comments section.
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