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Through my own experience with burnout, I have learnt that overcoming a burnout is not that simple. There is no single cure for it, there is no timeline, and it is up to you to understand how you can best overcome a burnout.

While some employers will give you time off to deal with a  burnout, you can also use a lengthier sabbatical for overcoming burnout. If you are interested to find out if a sabbatical is right for you, read our Ultimate Guide to Sabbaticals.

In this post we talk about what a burnout is, and I will share my personal experience with overcoming burnout through travel. I hope this post allows you to dig deep into my thoughts and find out if travel can help you overcome a burnout.

 

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Before overcoming a burnout, let’s figure out what it really is?

Burnout is a state of chronic stress and a mental condition that is caused by physical, psychological, and emotional exhaustion. It is typically referred to in the context of work and employment. However, severe longitudinal stress can be triggered by any situation that is building up to serious worry or stress and is persisting over a longer period of time. Whatever the cause, fact is that if you have it you damn sure will notice it. 

Symptoms of burnout include amongst others:

• Chronic fatigue
• Impaired concentration
• Physical symptoms, for example dizziness and shortness of breath
• Anxiety and panic attacks
• Depression

Read up on more symptoms here.

Burnouts are not that uncommon

Good or bad news – depending on how you see it – it’s a condition that is becoming increasingly common. A market study in 2018 revealed that of nearly 7,500 full-time employees 23% reported feeling burned out at work very often or always. While an additional 44% reported feeling burned out sometimes (study).

A scary fact is that social media can contribute to a state of anxiety as well. An obsession to check notifications and often self-induced pressure of displaying perfect daily life and competing for likes and followers can lead to developing anxiety and other mental and physical disorders (study).

Why would you get a burnout in the first place?

I want to take a quick moment to clear up some misconceptions. Burnouts or anxiety don’t happen because somebody is feeling overwhelmed and not capable of managing their work or struggling to perform well. Most cases of burnout happen to high-achievers, who rarely see it coming, and when it hits, refuse to admit it.

Also, a burnout is not necessarily visible by a change in performance of the affected. During my months of burnout I have still been leading teams and had responsibilities and deadlines.

My own experience with burnout before travelling

Nobody noticed my condition at work and I was even offered a promotion during this time.

It took me a long time to accept that I was sliding right into a full-blown burnout and I am still not very fond of the terminology. Yet, I came to realise that I have been ignoring and downplaying my initial symptoms until my body didn’t see any other way out than to shake me up big time.

From what I read and heard it can show differently for different people. For me it’s been a state of feeling overwhelmed by everything. I’m not only talking about going to work, even meeting friends or watching a movie would get me suddenly anxious without any evident reason. I would feel physically out of control of my own body. 

My first anxiety attack

I had my first anxiety attack on my train commute from work to home.

It has been one of the most horrifying moments of my life!

At this time we were in the midst of planning our world trip and I was supposed to hand in my letter of notice in a couple of weeks. When the incident of the train happened I didn’t really understand what’s going on and didn’t slow down at first.

My initial assumption was that I had a sugar deficiency because of unhealthy nutrition, over consumption of coffee, and bad sleep.

I have been living and working with the anxiety for another 5 months.

The world trip that we had been looking forward to and planning so much became an additional stress factor and I was terrified of going.

What if the anxiety didn’t go away? What if I couldn’t enjoy it at all and traveling would make my condition even worse?

I recently came across a post about positive affirmations for anxiety relief, which explains the power of using affirmation in overcoming anxiety. 

Why traveling is good for overcoming burnout

Leaving everything behind to travel is scary.

Imagine you are going through the process while coping with increased stress and anxiety. I was scared shitless. It might not be the intuitive thing to do when attempting to overcome burnout. 

It took me a long time to rebuild trust into my own body and to regain my positivity and drive that people always used to characterise me by.

5 months after leaving my job that brought me into this mess in the first place I am still not 100% back to normal. But I am SO much better.

And although I had been afraid of going on this adventure, I am convinced that it is helping me to heal. I attempt to summarise the main reasons why I think so below.

Identify what brought you into this state and distance yourself from it

The most urgent advice for overcoming burnout I received from any counsellor I spoke to was to identify what caused the negative feelings and stress in me.

Once you’ve done that, you are already a big step further because that means you can take targeted action. And one of the most effective actions you can take is to distance yourself from these negative aspects of your life – physically or, at least, mentally.

If your job is the root cause, like in my case, the best you can do is to walk away from it.

Not because you are weak but because you know your self-worth. When you go traveling, you will not only get away from the stress factor, you can also create some distance to worries and problems you thought you faced.

You will be surprised how many of those worries will seem so much smaller or even irrelevant when you get a new fresh perspective on them.

Experience the healing power of nature in overcoming burnout

One of the key remedies against anxiety and for overcoming burnout is spending time in nature. Well, no problem if you travel!

Traveling in Asia, I had the wonderful privilege to see some of the most beautiful nature in my life.

For me the beach and sea have been incredible in terms of healing. Just listening to the breaking waves of the ocean is pure meditation to me.

Find the landscapes that serve you best for calming your mind. Take long walks in nature. Practice deep breathing. Maybe try yoga or meditation. Take hikes and swims and be physically active. Your body and mind will thank you.

Leaving the busy routine behind to take time to rest and enjoy

So often in our Western lifestyle we feel like we have to perform, we have to fit into a certain lifestyle or definition of success. This makes us focus on things that might seem important from society’s point of view, yet don’t make us really happy, or even worse, that make us feel miserable.

To find the way back to your strong and healthy self, it is important to not force yourself to do things or have a certain day rhythm because it’s expected from you. Do things that you enjoy and that make you feel good.

Get good sleep. Read books that you find interesting. Pick up a hobby. I found a new passion in writing, which brings me fun and helps me to sort my thoughts.

Slow down your pace of life for a bit.

Spending more time with yourself – being kind to yourself

It’s been incredibly hard for me to accept that I needed a break. That I needed to start focusing on overcoming burnout, rather than accelerate in my career. 

I felt like having failed my expectations towards myself and the ones of others. It took me a long time to understand that having a burnout is not a sign of weakness. It’s also nothing to be ashamed of.

We can be strong, yet we are not invincible. You have been unbelievably strong in fighting so hard and keeping up a state that was killing you inside until your body waved the white flag. And it’s even greater strength to realise that something was going wrong and take action to change it.

Many people don’t find what’s good for them their entire life. 

Surround yourself with positive, relaxed people

Our society often pushes us to run the rat race. For what? What will it give us in the end?

In South East Asia we met some of the poorest and happiest people ever. Money or a title on our business card do not define us and they don’t give us happiness either.

I’m not saying you don’t need to be ambitious for recognition or money but traveling changes your perspective on what is important. Our first and foremost aim in life should be to be happy above anything else.

Yes, for some it may be their career or the purpose they found in their work. On the road we met people that completely changed their professional path, turned a hobby into a career – in short, found ways to make a living without suffering through Monday to Friday. Instead they embrace every day and make the most of it.

We don’t HAVE to do things that we don’t want to. This is an attitude that I really picked up only thanks to travelling. 

Regain appreciation of what you do have in your life

Obviously not everything has been perfect, otherwise you wouldn’t be in the situation. Nonetheless, there are many things to be grateful for and that you enjoyed at home, which you might have even taken for granted maybe.

I love to think back of going for a bike ride in the Vondelpark in Amsterdam, having a delicious coffee in one of the cute cafes by the canals, enjoying a relaxed evening at home on the couch with Netflix. And, of course, most importantly, spending time with family and friends.

These are all great things that will be waiting for you when you come home. While traveling you will have plenty of time to think about how you want to design your life after returning. You can make a plan of how to replace the things that made you frustrated or anxious with things that you can look forward to.

Believe me, you will be fine! 100%! 

You can overcome a burnout!

In my opinion, getting to the point of burnout is as a positive that has encouraged me to revisit my outlook and my priorities in life.

Through this experience, I have learnt to be kind to myself and to change my attitude from “let’s push through it” to “let’s think about what would truly make me happy and make a plan on how to achieve it”.

I don’t live anymore for the recognition of others or for building up my CV (two things that used to motivate me like crazy). Instead my definition of success and achievement is to be able to do what I enjoy.

I don’t have all the answers and I am not fully sure where my path will lead me, especially work wise. Though, I know that I don’t need to be anxious about it. I know that I won’t have to do something that I don’t want to do. There are so many options, I just need to discover them.

If you have been in the same situation as me, although you might not see it that way now, you have probably done something very well with a lot of passion. Any you allowed it to get so much importance in you life that it caused you to burn out.

You might have put 1000% into your job, cared very much about a certain cause, tried to keep a relationship running. Whatever it was, not everybody has this type of dedication and drive.

You will learn from it and take it with you into your future life. Moreover, you will overcome it. And if you go travelling, you will have another great accomplishment of being brave and living your dream. You have so much to be proud of, honestly!

Traveling is not everyone’s remedy for overcoming burnout

One more thing which I would like to highlight. As with everything in life, not everything is for everybody.

Traveling is one of those things. If you have a travel spirit, trust me, traveling will do you good. But if you are not the type of person that packs their bags and marches out into the big wide world, no worry at all.

Find an activity or place that gives you peace of mind – evening walks in the park, painting, singing, or baking cakes. Anything that serves as meditation to you and helps you free your mind and relax.

I’m telling you the truth. Travelling is not only flowers and unicorns. It is demanding – physically and mentally.

You will find yourself confronted with new environments and habits that will stretch your patience. Not everything will go according to plan.

There may be delays, discomfort, and other inconveniences, but the good news is that you can do it at your own pace. If you don’t like something, move on. If you like something, stay and enjoy as much as possible of it.

Go with an open and positive mindset and good things will find you.

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