Burnout For Dummies

Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Introduction
	About This Book
	Foolish Assumptions
	Icons Used in This Book
	Beyond the Book
	Where to Go from Here
Part 1 Turning the Tide on the Burnout Epidemic
	Chapter 1 So You Think You’re Burned Out
		What Exactly Is Burnout?
			What burnout is not
			What makes burnout so complex
		Looking for the Signs of Burnout
			Using the Three R approach
				Step 1: Honeymoon phase
				Step 2: Onset of stress
				Step 3: Chronic stress
				Step 4: Burnout
				Step 5: Habitual burnout
			No gas in the tank: Emotional exhaustion
			Not feeling it: Depersonalization
			Not cutting it: Ineffectiveness
		The Several “Flavors” of Burnout
			Overload: Burnout by volume
			Underload: Burnout by boredom
			Undersupported: Burnout by neglect
			Overpleasing: Burnout by socialization
		Checking Your Burnout Level
			Discovering just how burned out you feel
			What the results mean . . . and what they don’t mean
			Taking a moment to simply acknowledge
	Chapter 2 Exploring the Scope and Impact of Burnout
		Burnout Feels Lonely, But You Are Far from Alone
			What the statistics say about the prevalence of burnout
			Who gets burned out?
				Jobs that put you at risk of burnout
				Personality profiles that put you at risk of burnout
		How Burnout Affects the Individual
			The physiology of burnout
				What happens when you experience acute stress
				When acute stressors become chronic stress
				It all ends up downstream as symptoms
				The physiological signs of burnout
			The psychological effects of burnout
			The social impact of burnout
			Burnout as an obstacle to making meaning
				What is your why?
				Where do you find meaning?
		The Impact of Burnout on Organizations
			The financial costs of burnout
			The insidious effects of a culture of burnout
				Burnout as commonplace in society
				Burnout as a badge of honor
		The Wisdom of Paying Attention to Burnout
	Chapter 3 Getting Ready to Tackle Burnout
		Burnout Is Not the “New Normal”
			Recognizing the chronic and insidious nature of burnout
			Observing your own pathway to burnout
		Responding to Burnout Rather Than Reacting to Suffering
			No quick fixes, but relief is possible
				Creating little islands in your day
				Taking care of your body
				Taking a breath . . . or three
			Cultivating patience, curiosity, and vulnerability
				Find patience
				Be curious
				Let yourself be vulnerable
		What Taking Action May Look Like at First
			Enjoying the lighter side of managing burnout
			Discovering a place for warmth, kindness, and compassion
			Recognizing your power
			Keeping your eye on the prize
Part 2 Sorting Out the Sources of Burnout
	Chapter 4 What Caused Your Burnout?
		The Multiple Sources of Burnout
			Taking responsibility without shame or blame
			Your history sets the stage
				Acknowledging your history can be fruitful
				Tracing the path of your life for clues
			Personality is the spice of life
				Where you stand on “The Big Five”
				Connecting your profile to burnout
			Vision, meaning, and purpose: Is there a mismatch?
			Why the job is pushing you over the edge
		Context Is King: Systems Can Create Burnout
			Keeping a wide view of your situation
			Exploring and naming systemic assumptions and actions
				Assumption: “Suffering is okay because we are doing good”
				Assumption: “We need to collaborate, discuss, and meet on everything first”
				Assumption: “Everything needs to happen now (or yesterday)”
				Assumption: We don’t care how you manage your time; just get it done.
				Assumption: Figure out your work-life balance on your own time
				Assumption: Recognize the best and give them more . . . to do
			Connecting the dots
		Explaining Burnout with the Four Factor Model
			High workload
			Lack of recognition
			Lack of support
			Personality tendencies and habits
			Connecting the dots with your life experiences exercise
			Appreciating the complexity and taking your time
	Chapter 5 Examining Your Relationship with Burnout
		Shifting Away from Shame to Opportunity
		Digging In to How You Got to Burnout
			Fear of missing out (FOMO)
			Passion outweighing all else
			Depending on technology and staying “connected”
			Putting off care of your own well-being
			Seeking meaning when there seems to be none
			Misappropriating work time
		Stepping Back to Self-Assess
			Self-assessment questions
				Personalities
				Tendencies
		Taking the Next Steps
			Establishing calm
			Taking the Mindful Breath
			Practicing self-forgiveness
			Staying curious and open
		Compiling the Data and Prioritizing
		Taking Baby Steps with Self-Care
			Identifying what you want to feel to lead the way
			Connecting with your want and setting intention
	Chapter 6 Deciding Whether You and Your Job Are a Good Fit
		Do You and Your Job Have Good Chemistry?
			What did you expect?
			Why did you choose this job?
			What, exactly, did you sign up for?
			Understanding what the job demands of you beyond the job description
			Considering the value exchange
			Balancing your passion with the reality of the job
			Figuring out what changed
		Assessing Your Career
			Right career, wrong job
			Wrong career
		Establishing Core Values as a Guiding Compass
		The Job Doesn’t Fit, So What Now?
			Short term: Fake it ’til you make it
			Exercise: Mini appreciation breath break
			Long term: Keeping your eye on the prize
			Exercise: Creating your vision
			Charting a course to freedom and fulfillment
	Chapter 7 When Caring Is Your Job: Dealing with Compassion Fatigue
		The Unique Challenge of Burnout in Healthcare
			Paying the cost of care and . . . caring
			The high expense of compassion fatigue
			Self-medicating to cope
			Is your Caregiver archetype setting you up for compassion fatigue?
		It’s Not You; It’s a Flawed System
			When caring people make mistakes
			The key is caring for the caregiver
		Cultivating a Vision of Care that Includes You
			Challenging the way you think
			Challenging your beliefs in action
			Knowing you are worthy of receiving care too
		Being Willing to Accept Help
			Seeking good care for your mental health
			Fostering a team of support
			Shifting your approach to work by helping yourself
			Continuing to grow personally and professionally
			Nurturing a spiritual practice
			Enhancing your coping strategies
			Focusing on self-care so that you can care
Part 3 Building Essential Resources for Navigating Burnout
	Chapter 8 Building a Foundation of Awareness with Mindfulness
		Awakening Your Senses to the Reality of Burnout
			All roads begin at awareness
			Knowing where you are before you chart a course
			Being patient and persistent
			Accepting what you can and can’t change
		Minding Your Physical, Mental, and Emotional Self
			Your body: Your constant companion
				Practice: Scanning the body
				Practice: Focusing on the breath
			Minding the chatter of the mind
			Being aware of your emotions
		Reacting versus Responding: Mindfulness in Action
			Mindfulness in action practice
			Remembering to pause
			Letting thoughts be mental objects that come and go
			Accepting obstacles that appear along the way
				Feeling sleepy
				Having doubting thoughts
				Getting irritated
				Feeling restless
				Having the pull to do something else
		Building Your Mindfulness Platform
			Do or don’t do, but there is no “try”
			Adapting seven essential attitudes
			Getting started with two simple practices
				Where are my feet?
				Here and now stone
	Chapter 9 Being Kind . . . to Yourself
		Treating Yourself as You Treat a Good Friend
			Practice: Loving Kindness Meditation
			Recognizing common humanity
			Practice: Just Like Me
			Clear seeing with mindfulness
		Facing the Challenges of Self-Compassion
			Common misgivings about self-compassion
				It is not being weak
				It is not being too forgiving
				It is not being self-centered
				It is not being selfish
				It is not self-pity
			Experiencing the backdraft
			Finding the hidden value underneath difficult emotions
			Practice: Self-compassion break for burnout
		Meeting the Suffering of Burnout with Loving Kindness
			The three stages of self-compassion progress
				The early stage: Striving
				The “muddy middle”: Disillusionment
				The later stage: Lightness through radical acceptance
			Meeting the difficult feelings of burnout in practice
			Accepting that self-compassion can be difficult
			“This being human is a guest house”: Managing self -doubt
		Pocket Practices to Get Started with Self-Compassion
			Remembering you are a miracle
			Drawing it and putting it in your pocket
	Chapter 10 Cultivating a Safe and Brave Inner Space for Change
		Finding the Will and Way for Change
			The tricky path between acceptance and change
			Adding mindfulness and compassion into the mix
			Cultivating the capacity to savor the moment
			Identifying core values as a compass to guide you
			Practice: Uncovering your core values
				Step 1: Self-reflection
				Step 2: Whittling down your list
				Step 3: Making your statement
			Dark night and dark clouds: Wisdom gleaned from being burned out
			Exercise: Finding the silver linings in burnout
		Making Change and Listening to Your Voice of Compassion
			Exploring the function of the inner critic
			Your inner critic is simple, but it can fill up your head
			Finding your more compassionate voice
			The wolf you feed
			Giving the inner critic a new job without silencing it
			Exercise: Creating a new job for your inner critic
				Step 1: Accepting
				Step 2: Listening mindfully
				Step 3: Breathing in space for compassion
				Step 4: Being a lovingly kind friend or parent
				Step 5: Embracing your inner critic
				Step 6: Creating a new supportive role
			Connecting to your story of greatness when you feel burned out
	Chapter 11 Cultivating the Infrastructure That Supports Your Life Force
		Your Body (and Mind) Are Brilliant!
		Connecting with Your Life Force to Find Ease
		Minding Your Nutrition
			Your mood and food: Understanding the gut-brain connection
			Recommendations for minding your nutrition
				Think nourishment
				Take good care of your microbiome
				Add balance
				Slow down
				Get colorful
				Think about adding, not taking away
				Remember to hydrate
				If you are going to eat it, do it with mindful gusto
		Why You Want to Get Your Move On
			Exercising for stress relief
			Exercising when you feel burned out
			Building exercise into your life
				Take it slow
				Focus on fitness, not on your weight, how you look, or how much you are doing
				Factor in a lot of rest and recovery time
				Do what you love with people you love
				Fuel yourself
			Tapping into mindful movement to heal burnout
		Taking Time for Recovery
			Why sleep when there is so much to do?
			Giving yourself permission to pause
			Exercise: Taking a pause in stillness
			Being nurtured by nature
			Playing is not just for kids
		Allowing Time for Connection and Belonging
			Why the sense of belonging can help you come out of burnout
			Cultivating a sense of connection with a Love Pyramid
			The importance of social support
			Achieving self-love
			Connecting with spirituality
			Self-assessing your infrastructure
	Chapter 12 Establishing High-Quality Connections
		Connection as the Foundation for Healing, Growing, and Thriving
			Building connection through compassion
			Practice: Giving and receiving compassion
		Managing Difficult Relationships
			The pain of feeling or fearing disconnection
			The cost of anger unexplored
			Connecting expectations and unmet needs
			Exercise: Exploring expectations and meeting unmet needs
			When being connected to others hurts
			Practice: Compassion with equanimity
		Mending Your Relationship with Yourself
			Improving connections with the five R’s
			Relationship: Mending what is broken
			Respect: Listening deeply
			Responsibility: Searching inside your heart
			Repair: Moving positively past harm
			Reintegration: Returning to collaboration and co-creation
			Practice: Ho’oponopono, the forgiveness prayer
Part 4 Beyond Burnout and Toward Resilience: Flourishing and Thriving
	Chapter 13 Charting the Course from Burnout to Resilience
		Setting the Stage for Resilience
		Going Inside to Find What Makes You Tick
			Awakening your story of resilience
			Exercise: Identifying with self-value
			Exercise: Connecting with your gifts
			Connecting with meaning and purpose
			Mindfully getting to know your unique situation
			Getting into a place of acceptance for change
			Exercise: Mindfully getting to acceptance
		Charting a Custom Course of Action
			What is your responsibility and in your power to change?
			Plotting a personal strategy with patience
			Anticipate the pitfalls and patterns of being you
			Getting crafty with your job
			Understanding ways to get crafty
			Optimizing the job you have
			Looking at the social side of work
			Boosting autonomy and sense of control
			Communicating openly and honestly
			Extracting more meaning
			Exploring other options for change: Aspirational crafting
	Chapter 14 Creating Conditions for You to Flourish
		What It Means to Truly Flourish
			Using PERMA to flourish
			Positive emotions and feeling good
			Engagement and being in the flow
			Relationships and having healthy connections
			Meaning and finding value
			Accomplishments and feeling masterful
			Connecting to flourishing
		Building Your Recipe for Flourishing
			Staying mindfully present, patient, and kind
			Minding your energy and fuel compassionately
			Leaning on your unique character strengths
			Nourishing relationships and seeking trusted support
				Consider what rewards you want and need
				Do an inventory
				Determine commitment
				Determine mutual investment, rewards, and trust
				Put in the effort
				Create new connections and seek support
			Milking situations for meaning, including at work
			Igniting curiosity and awe
		How Do You Know If You Are Flourishing?
	Chapter 15 Building a Culture of Care and Flourishing
		What Is a Culture of Care?
			Care builds flourishing communities
			Building a culture of care with a code of conduct
		Setting the Example for Caring
		Unlocking Resources from Within
			Making flourishing the prime focus
			Getting to know your people
			Cultivating positive identity in workplace
			Overcoming negative attention bias
			Activating virtuousness
			Exercise: Activating virtues through mindful contemplation
			Building a sense of purpose and meaning to foster flourishing
		Creating a Conspiracy of Goodness to Support Flourishing
Part 5 The Part of Tens
	Chapter 16 Ten Ways to Use Your Body to Ease Your Mind
		Enhancing Physical Activity
		Breathing with Alternate Nostrils
		Mindfully Being in Motion
		Stretching and Twisting into Peace
		Smiling to Your Body
		Posing in Child’s Pose
		Centering and Grounding
		Digging in the Dirt
		Relaxing Your Muscles Progressively
		Dancing, with or without Abandon
	Chapter 17 Ten Tips to Foster Flourishing at Work
		Starting the Day with “Me Time”
		Taking Time Off to Unplug
		Developing Your Strengths
		Enlivening Curiosity
		Strengthening Your Team of Support
		Getting Organized
		Bringing Mindfulness into Your Work
		Embracing Failures as Opportunities
		Outsmarting Negative Bias
		Thinking with Your Whole Brain
Index
EULA