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Experiences of Returning to work after burnout

Homebird

After 3 months off work I have had a phased return. I work 4 days a week. This week has been my first full week, but still doing less challenging things. It has been good getting back to doing the work and gives me a sense of purpose/achievement. Monday and Tuesday went well. On Wednesday I had started to get tired. Today I have had to take things slowly as I am struggling with energy. I am now feeling exhausted. I am trying to figure out if this is to be expected and things will improve, or I will need to review my hours. When I returned to work I felt like my energy was fairly much back to normal. 

Can anyone share experiences of returning to work after burnout?

  • in reply to Belnarlo

    That is helpful. Yes, I can be like that too. I feel guilty that I am not as helpful currently as I used to be on the team. My manager has been helpful in saying to only move forward at the pace I can cope with. This is the worse burnout I have had and I get frustrated that I can't do as much as I used to. 

    I have to remember that at the beginning I wondered if I would ever be able to return. Wishing you well for your recovery.

  • in reply to Cinnabar_wing

    That must have been difficult having to learn new things too.

  • I'm also in the middle of my phased return, and I have noticed the same where some days I struggle with energy. Having been through this a few times, yes it's normal. Give yourself the space to accept some days will be worse than others and find ways to recharge. For myself I also found I am pushing myself more than my manager expects, so consider if you are trying to run before you can walk. You've been on a non-work schedule for months and rebuilding the work schedule (and required energy) will take a minute.

  • I had about 3 months off after leaving one job and getting another last summer, after burning myself out. I was shocked that I seemed exhausted again really quickly and a little scared that burnout might happen again.

    The first month was hardest I think, before I realised I needed to go a little easier and slow down a bit (I really wanted to quit). Doing less outside work, getting to bed a bit earlier, some simple meals, helped too, and it did start to even out. I realised I wasn't 100% still, so tried to keep that in mind. 

    Things did improve, like a slowly charging battery. I suppose as Iain said, just keep an eye you aren't sliding backwards too much and adjust what you can?

    I hope it goes well for you!

  • Homebird said:
    I am trying to figure out if this is to be expected and things will improve

    It sounds fairly typical in my experience - they key is to acknowledge that it takes time and patience and not to let yourself get stressed by the slow progress.

    I found that focussing my time out of work on activities that I found restful and positive (eg watching my favourite films) was a good way to speed the process up.

    One other technique I have seen used is to journal each week and keep track of various factors like focus, patience, energy, sleep etc and score them out of 10 each day. Seeing these over the course of a few weeks will show the gradual improvement and gives you faith that the process is working the way it should.

    There will always be the occasional setback but overall if things are steadily improving on average then you are doing it all right.

    If you are not back to roughly a normal state after a month and still have a wide difference in your levels then it may be worth revisiting your plans and maybe even speaking to a therapist who has skills in this area.

    Patience is the key and it is reinforced with a little practical application of measurements,

    Good luck