Thriving Under Pressure
Strategies to tackle stress, overwhelm and burnout
Stress is a normal part of life. For leaders in organizations, it can stem from a number of sources – striving to achieve challenging goals, balancing conflicting priorities, supporting team members’ needs – in addition to the universal stressors of family, finances and the non-stop news cycle.
Left unchecked, stress can turn into overwhelm – a feeling that things are just too much and it’s hard to see a way out. Over time, the cumulative impacts of stress and overwhelm can lead to burnout – a condition that’s unsustainable and something needs to give.
Let’s look at each of these conditions, how to recognize them, ways to deal with them and what can happen if we don’t.
Stress
Stress is the body's response to any demand or challenge. It can be triggered by a variety of factors, including work pressure, financial difficulties, personal relationships, or health issues. A mild amount of stress is unavoidable and can in fact be useful for helping us stay motivated and prioritize our time and energy.
The characteristics of stress include:
Physical: Increased heart rate, headaches, muscle tension.
Emotional: Anxiety, irritability, mood swings.
Cognitive: Difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness.
Behavioral: Changes in sleep patterns, appetite changes, social withdrawal.
Acute stress is common and not generally problematic. It typically results from an emergent challenge and, once the situation is handled, goes away quickly. Sources of acute stress may be things like preparing for a high stakes presentation, working through a reorganization, or even planning for a big vacation.
Chronic stress is stress that persists over an extended period. It can result from an ongoing, unresolved challenge – dealing with a lingering family illness, working in a toxic environment – or can be the cumulative effect of recurring instances of acute stress. Chronic stress can lead to serious health problems if not managed properly.
Overwhelm
Overwhelm is a state where a person feels that the demands placed on them exceed their ability to cope. It is often characterized by an intense feeling of being buried or drowned by responsibilities.
Characteristics of overwhelm include:
Emotional: Feeling anxious, panicked, or helpless.
Cognitive: Difficulty thinking clearly, feeling out of control.
Behavioral: Procrastination, avoiding tasks, feeling paralyzed by the situation.
Overwhelm can be caused by work overload (too many tasks or responsibilities), personal issues (relationship problems, health concerns) or life events (major life changes such as moving, getting married, or having a baby). It can also be brought about by a combination of these, where one feels surrounded by stress on all sides, with nowhere to turn for relief.
Burnout
Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged and excessive stress and overwhelm, where one feels emotionally drained and incapable of meeting constant demands.
The characteristics of burnout include:
Emotional: Feelings of cynicism or detachment from the job, reduced sense of accomplishment.
Physical: Chronic fatigue, insomnia, frequent illnesses.
Cognitive: Difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness.
Behavioral: Withdrawal from responsibilities, isolation from others, reduced performance.
Burnout can have severe consequences for the individual and for those who rely on that person.
Strategies for dealing with stress, overwhelm and burnout
In my coaching practice, I’ve worked with leaders who exhibit all three of these conditions. Here are some ways we’ve found to deal with them.
Managing stress. The first step in dealing with stress is to recognize the signs. Take a look at the physical and emotional, cognitive and behavioral characteristics noted above. Pay attention to what your body is telling you. Once you are aware that you may be having a stress reaction, there are several things you can do to relieve the stress before it becomes problematic.
Breathe. Engaging in deep breathing can calm down your nervous system and help you focus on addressing the task at hand.
Connect to your values. Think about your core values – the things that are most important to you. This can help you clarify what about the situation is most stressful and may enable you to put things in perspective, reducing your level of stress.
Take a break. Walk away from the source of the stress. Take a walk, listen to music, play with your kids – anything that brings you comfort and joy. This can help put you in a better frame of mind to deal with whatever is the source of the stress.
Prioritize and organize. Often stress is exacerbated by our attempts to multi-task or by frequent context shifting. The more you can organize your work and personal tasks and focus on one thing at a time, in priority order, the more in control you will feel and the less prone you will be to stress.
Managing overwhelm. When stress becomes overwhelm, it can be harder to find a way out. The best move, of course, is to practice stress management to avoid it altogether. But when you find yourself in a state of overwhelm, in addition to the suggestions above for stress, there are additional things you can do.
Step away. Beyond the short break suggested above, consider a longer break. Take a day off. Commit to setting work aside for a weekend and focusing solely on yourself and your family. If family is the root of the overwhelm, take a break from that, even if only for a day.
Ask for (and accept) help. Often, we become overwhelmed because we think we have to do everything ourselves. Think about if a close friend or colleague was feeling the way you do. What would you do for them? Ask that of someone else. Take the gift.
Say no. If the demands on you exceed your ability to handle them, find something to say no to. Allow yourself to be imperfect. Be willing to mildly disappoint someone else.
Do something kind for yourself. Take a long bath. Enjoy a spa day. Buy yourself something nice. Listen to music. Whatever feels like a gift, give that to yourself. And don’t forget to say thank you!
Practice gratitude. There is abundant research that supports the concept that gratitude has been found increase positive emotions, reduce the risk of depression, heighten relationship satisfaction, and increase resilience in the face of stressful life events, among other benefits.
Managing burnout. Burnout is the most severe state and can be the hardest to overcome. All of the strategies above can be useful, as well as a few additional ones.
Introspection. Take a hard look at your life. Are you spending time and energy on activities that aren’t aligned with your values? Where do you feel most fulfilled? What do you find most draining or dissatisfying? This assessment may lead you to a place where you have to make hard choices, but you’re the only one who can do it.
Consider hard choices. Beyond prioritization and saying no transactionally, consider whether there are things you need to simply cut out of your life. Is there a relationship you need to end? Do you need to quit your job or renegotiate your role? What would be the big change that could ultimately bring you peace and harmony?
Seek professional help. If burnout is sustained or a recurring pattern, consider seeking the support of a mental health professional.
Many of these strategies sound simple, but they are not easy. All of these are things I’ve worked on with various coaching clients. A professional coach can help you explore where you are, where you want to be, and discover the path to get there.
As leaders, we often believe that we need to shoulder all of the responsibility, or that simply powering through is a sign of strength. Sometimes the most courageous thing you can do is ask for help.
Photo by nikko macaspac
