Today we're going to explore some of the early signs that you're heading towards burnout and what you continue to recognize and act on these signs. I'll be suggesting some measures that might be helpful. But remember to listen to what feels right for you. If keeping a track of early signs of burnout feels too overwhelming. Just try and work on becoming more aware of your signals instead. Simply by taking some time to check in with yourself and become more familiar with how your mind and body experiences situations can be enough to give you a heads-up about whether you're potentially heading towards burnout. One of the most important steps and managing burnout is to recognize it early. Burnout doesn't appear over night. It builds gradually over time. Often, beginning with small, subtle changes that we might tend to ignore or miss. If we can notice the signs. It's easier to take action and prevent a full blown burnout episode. Start by trying to tune into your body and mind. Burnout often begins with shifts and how you feel or function. As neurodivergent people, it can be difficult to pick up on the signs. 

So try and notice changes in behavior that might be signaling that something is changing for you. For example, you might notice that you're feeling increasingly tired or fatigued. Even after getting a full night's sleep or you might find that tasks that you usually enjoy feel far more draining and tiring than usual. Notice any emotional shifts. 

Perhaps you're feeling easily angered, perhaps you're feeling irritable or anxious or detached. And over time these feelings can grow, but if you can notice them early, you can begin to take steps to address the root causes. A nice metaphor that I use is thinking about burnout as a big storm up ahead. And if you can recognize these small shifts in how you're behaving or feeling, it's a bit like spotting the dark clouds forming, or the first drops of rain before a storm. You've got the chance to try and seek shelter before you ended up in the eye of the storm. In my own experience and some of the signs are very similar to signs that I've noticed with clients I work with too.

I've noticed a few signs that often signal that I'm heading towards burnout. One of these is falling asleep very easily, even at random times. It's almost as though my body is forcing me to shut down because I haven't been giving it enough rest or recovery time. Another key sign for me is finding it hard to speak. 

Forming words and thinking about how to structure sentences can become extremely difficult. On top of that, I tend to feel short-tempered over things that don't usually bother me. What, I've noticed in a lot of my clients and myself is that sensory reactions, which can tend to be very intense at most times become even more heightened and intolerable when I'm approaching burnout. So, if you are noticing any changes at all, even if they appear to be very small, stop for a moment and think about what these changes might mean. 

Are there any patterns? When you've experienced burnout before, have you looked back and thought actually there was a lead up that was signifying burnout. And remember heading towards burnout can feel very similar to heading towards a meltdown or a shutdown experience. And it might be that you're noticing a pattern of having more meltdowns or more shut downs. 

So again, there's some kind of pattern which is a bit different to your usual experience. 

To stay ahead of burnout, it's important to find some way of checking in with yourself. This doesn't have to be complicated or time consuming. It's just about trying to find some time to reflect on those experiences. Some people will find it much easier to do this in a more formal way. So for some people take time once or twice a day to journal on how you're feeling emotionally. 

Is there a pattern that's different? Is there an intensity of emotional response in there? It could be that you want to reflect on how you're responding to other people and how you're feeling at a sensory level, or is it more important to you at this time that you're having routines in place and getting very attached to that feeling of sameness? So this is something that might always be a part of your experience, but has it intensified? Or is it that you're beginning to act in a much more impulsive manner and not give the same level of thought that you might usually give to things? 

Are you finding yourself losing things more? Are you feeling that it's just more difficult to do everyday tasks that usually feel manageable? So, if you can have some way of writing these down or journaling, it's great. But I completely appreciate that this can feel a bit too overwhelming in itself, which is something that you definitely want to avoid it might also be for some people that getting feedback from other people close to them can be helpful. So if you've got people around you who know you really well, who understand burnout. And who you trust to give you feed back. 

It can be very difficult for us to have an objective view of our own behavior and our own experiences. So if you have a family member or a partner or a friend, who's beginning to notice that you're acting in a way that is previously led to burnout. And you trust their opinion. 

That can be really good feedback for you to begin to think that something might be shifting in your experience. We'll have a look in a later lesson about what you can do to begin to avoid future burnout situations. But recognizing these early warning signs. Is one of the most important measures you can take to avoid getting to the point of a full-blown burnout. 

So if you're recognizing these signs and you've ignored them in the past, really make an effort to appreciate for, they are telling you. And thinking about these signals, recognising signals is not a failure in any way. 

Your body and mind are telling you that they need something. And it's important for you to listen to what that is. In the next month. We'll explore strategies for recovering from burnout and recharging your energy when you need it most. I'll see you there.