Course 2: Becoming a 7 Cups Leader - (Discussion #11) Avoiding Burnout

@Heather225

Hey Heather,
I think burn out is something that happens way too often, especially in the medical and mental health field, so thank you for this post!

Please read it through and in the replies, tell us what you learned, and what you will do to stay healthy and avoid burnout!

What have I learned?
I learned the symptoms of burn-out, such as an increase in mental illness and negative emotions like anxiety, anger or depression, but also physical symptoms like headaches or fatigue.
I also learned that burn-out can lead to exhaustion and therefore makes us unable to work.

So what will I do to avoid it?
I think my number one on the list is self-care. I can't be on Cups 24/7 and I especially can't be in 1-on-1 chats all the time.
So I will be going into the listener rooms for a quick break, but also log off for a moment completely, read a book, go for a walk or maybe even to the stables to fully recharge my social batteries.

Taking breaks is the next one. I can be on Cups a lot, without any signs of exhaustion, as long as I remember taking breaks. So I will do my best to include those in my schedule!

Thank you, wonderful human reading this, for going through my whole post. If you are done reading, please take a break. You deserve it. And sometimes a 5-minute breather can be enough! 💜

@Heather225

Please read it through and in the replies, tell us what you learned, and what you will do to stay healthy and avoid burnout!

There were some symptoms of burn out that I hadn't considered before which was interesting. I also liked the list of things good leaders and bad leaders do. I already limit my time online, I don't cups on the weekends and that gives me a few days complete rest from cups. I'm definitely going to keep an eye on the amount of roles I'm taking on too. I have created a lush morning routine that sets me up for the day and provides me with some nourishment.

I’ve learned that this feeling of exhaustion and detachment is called burnout. I don’t usually identify it, which makes me doubt whether I’m capable to provide support in 7cups community. Now I know it’s a common phenomenon and I could overcome it with simple tricks.

To avoid burnout, I think I need to limit my time online and spend sometime relax and restore energy. I’ll probably jogging for half an hour or write a book reflection to make reduce this burnout feeling.

@Heather225

I learned how importamt it is to remain fit and relaxed most of the time .

Self-care is indeed every important and until and unless we take care of ourself , things never work out well . It never is helpful to be hard on yourself and stress yourself till the point of burnout . This can be improved by taking things light heartedly , having proper faith in yourself that you can do it instead of being too hard and stressing on yourself and also taking breaks in between may also worl great in which you may take some sort of recreation for the mind so that next when you sit to work , it improves your efficiency and concentration

@Heather225

I learned that remembering my why is important! This helps me avoid burnout, and I will remember my why by comparing what I’m currently doing as a volunteer to what the ideal situation looks like where my ‘why’ is always fulfilled. Afterwards, I can create goals and steps that will lead me towards that ideal scenario where my ‘why’ is fulfilled.

@Heather225

I volunteer on 7 Cups because I love supporting others on their journey, because I find purpose in working here, and because it is a place where I can keep growing. Since I already have most of the major burnout symptoms due to other chronic illnesses, I'll have to keep an eye on the symptoms of a growing burnout. The most important signals for me are, when I don't enjoy being here any more and when my performance get worse.

There's a quote from Bernhard from Clairvaux, a French abbot, that I've tried to translate since it's something that I always try to keep in mind:

The Shell of Love

If you are reasonable, prove yourself to be a shell and not a channel,

that receives and passes on almost simultaneously,

while that one waits until it is filled.

In this way, she passes on what overflows without harm to herself.

Learn to pour out only from the abundance and do not wish to be more generous than God.

The bowl imitates the spring.

Only when it is saturated with water does it flow into a river, does it become a sea.

You do the same! First fill it, and then pour it out.

Kind and wise love is used to overflow, not to pour out.

I don't want to become rich if you become empty in the process.

For if you treat yourself badly, to whom are you good?

If you can, help me out of your abundance,

if not, spare yourself.

@Heather225

Activity: Please read it through and in the replies, tell us what you learned, and what you will do to stay healthy and avoid burnout!

I already knew a little bit about burn out on 7 cups, but the powerpoint was great and i really enjoyed reading and learning a few more things such as cynicism and detachment, i actually didn't really know much about that. And loss of enjoyment, i thought burn out for me was always im doing way too much im mentally exhausted i need to go… and then kept staying. But i realized months ago i was doing too much on 7 cups and i lost interest for a few months and needed to take a self care break, and then i came back and now i'm juggling so much. So this time around i realized i need to get more sleep, sometimes im up from 5 pm to 5 am doing my course work on academy projects, and talking to my members and taking more on then i should for my one on ones, i have to realize that if i dont help myself first i wont be able to help on 7 cups at all as a community

@Heather225

Through the PowerPoint, I learned about the negatives of taking on too much. I do often find myself taking on a lot because I feel I must prove myself and help others but after reading through that I noticed it can do more harm than good. The PowerPoint also showed me the importance of setting boundaries around 7 cups such as limiting the time you spend online not only by using self-care breaks but by also setting a schedule and limiting your daily time online.

I think to avoid burnout I will need to set my account on a self-care break while on holiday as I often get tempted to go online when I am having alone time which can then ruin the entire point of the holiday :) I also feel I need to set a schedule/ time for rest on 7 cups each day to avoid burnout. To avoid burning out I can also look at all the roles I have and think about each one and see if any of them do not spark joy. If any of them do not spark joy or feel like a chore, then I should consider changing my commitments.

@Heather225

"If we ourselves do not take care of us, how can we expect other to do that"

This is the simple way of putting out a brief summary of what I understood from the slides. We are here to help people, first by helping ourselves to see and analyse things things in a healthier and peaceful way.

Burnout is a physical and emotional exhaustion. Signs of burnout includes cynicism, loss of enjoyment, pessimism, detachment, and so on. If you have burnout you might need self care.