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What recharges you?

Just some other guy
over 3 years ago

I have been reading / watching youtube videos about burnout, shut downs and melt downs recently.  Then violetdr3amer’s post “Burnout/sensory overload getting worse as one gets older?” put a question in my mind…

What recharges you?

I don’t mean what do you enjoy – because some things I enjoy don’t actually increase my energy levels. E.g. I had a 2 week holiday at the start of 2021 (driving around Tasmania doing some bush walks and seeing what there was to see) – I enjoyed it but found it stressful, thus returned with less energy than I had before going…

So what do you find increases your energy levels?

So far, I think these work for me:

  • Stretches
  • Walking
  • Watching a good movie
  • Reading a good (fiction) book

I’m after ideas!

Parents
  • over 3 years ago

    I find retreating to somewhere familiar, safe and predictable is important. What I do varies, though.

    It might be watching something I'm familiar with on TV, even if I've seen it before. It might be sat staring into nothing, or listening to sounds and allowing my thoughts to process and settle. Sometimes I need to follow whatever I want to do that comes up in the moment... a quick tidy up, researching something, photography.

    I love time in nature, but it's not easy to do that alone without unpredictable distractions or social things. The countryside has seemed so much busier since the pandemic, too.

    Sleeping in longer without distractions is important when I'm burned out. Removing commitments from my calendar (with support if I'm having trouble feeling like I'm letting people down) and having easier, quicker meals ready (yet they still need to be healthy with plenty of protein). When burned out I find it hard to sleep on time, but if I can coax myself to bed earlier with a sleep hygiene routine, that helps. Keeping my temperature optimal on a conscious level, drinking plenty of water, avoiding caffeine, alcohol and high glycaemic foods all help, too.

    Basically I am focusing on getting my allostatic load down to as little as possible. Anything I do needs to require minimal mental or physical energy. This helps me redirect that energy to genuinely recharging. There can be subtle drains on that energy, though, so identifying the energy leaks helps hugely.

Reply
  • over 3 years ago

    I find retreating to somewhere familiar, safe and predictable is important. What I do varies, though.

    It might be watching something I'm familiar with on TV, even if I've seen it before. It might be sat staring into nothing, or listening to sounds and allowing my thoughts to process and settle. Sometimes I need to follow whatever I want to do that comes up in the moment... a quick tidy up, researching something, photography.

    I love time in nature, but it's not easy to do that alone without unpredictable distractions or social things. The countryside has seemed so much busier since the pandemic, too.

    Sleeping in longer without distractions is important when I'm burned out. Removing commitments from my calendar (with support if I'm having trouble feeling like I'm letting people down) and having easier, quicker meals ready (yet they still need to be healthy with plenty of protein). When burned out I find it hard to sleep on time, but if I can coax myself to bed earlier with a sleep hygiene routine, that helps. Keeping my temperature optimal on a conscious level, drinking plenty of water, avoiding caffeine, alcohol and high glycaemic foods all help, too.

    Basically I am focusing on getting my allostatic load down to as little as possible. Anything I do needs to require minimal mental or physical energy. This helps me redirect that energy to genuinely recharging. There can be subtle drains on that energy, though, so identifying the energy leaks helps hugely.

Children
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