Course 2: Becoming a 7 Cups Leader - (Discussion #11) Avoiding Burnout
7 Cups is founded on a community of passionate volunteers who lovingly dedicate their time to providing support.
You may face what is called burnout during your journey. You may have already faced this in your real life. Burnout is very real and must be recognized. You can't help fuel someone else when your tank is empty, after all!
To address and learn about burnout, we have created a slidedeck on how to avoid burnout.
Activity: Please read it through and in the replies, tell us what you learned, and what you will do to stay healthy and avoid burnout!
Then, please reply to 3 of your peers in this thread with encouraging or supportive words!
After completing the course quiz, please proceed to this post!
This post is brought to you by the Leadership Development Program Team, find out more information about the program here.
What I learned:
How the effects of a burnout can have a detrimental effect on my role as a leader and how to look out for the signs of a burnout.
What I will do to stay healthy and avoid burnout:
- Take self-care breaks whenever I need to
- Knowing my limits and never overwhelm myself
- Never be afraid to say no if something makes me uncomfortable
- Speak to peer support if a chat gets too intense.
@becca2002
Thats great that you have set yourself these goals. Peer support is also a great idea. Well done you and good luck with the rest of the course. You are awsome !
@Fergie12299
Hey thank you so much for the kind words!! Good luck to you too!
@becca2002
Learning to say no is empowering...as well as knowing your limits. Awesome
@becca2002
Very good response!
@becca2002
I agree with knowing your limits and never pushing yourself way too hard
@becca2002
I love the part where you said not to be afraid of saying no, because lots of us have this problem because we don't want to disappoint others but it might 3nd up badly for us and our physical and mental health
I love that you say that other people are there for everyone!
nice answers!
I really agree to what you say about "knowing your limits" It doesn't necessarily mean to limit yourself but be aware of your own capacity and take self-care if you need too. Love it!
I learned the signs of growing burnout and sign of already having a burnout. I will take time to identify the sign of burnout and take a self-care break if I start to feel the signs. I will also reflect and assess, and maintain a postive attitude
@BellatheHappyHelper
identity the signs of burnt out before they get worse is a good step in preventing burnt out all together!
Activity: Please read it through and in the replies, tell us what you learned, and what you will do to stay healthy and avoid burnout!
I have learned that it can be very easy to become burned out and reading this has help show me some of the signs that point out this. To help avoid getting burned out I will take regular breaks from 7cups, Limit the time that I am online and I will also limit the time that I spend with members an sometimes a conversation can last over 45mins.
@Fergie12299
I need to get better at limiting the time I have online...thanks for the reminder!
@Fergie12299 awesome answers!
@Fergie12299
I also engaged the most with the idea of not being online for too long. Amazing post!
@Fergie12299 I like how you limit the time you are online. That is important when volunteering on a platform such as 7 cups.
@Heather225
To avoid burnout I:
1. Meditate for 10 minutes, twice a day
2. Run every morning
3. Eat well and get plenty of rest
4. Play in the park with my dog
5. Stay in touch with friends
6. Ride my Harley, love to feel the wind in my face while riding throw the mountain road
@sunlightspirit
Very Nice goals to take Sun, All the best of luck with them ;)
@Fergie12299
thanks Ferggie...I forgot the first part of the question and had to post a second thread...grrr
@sunlightspirit Very good goals. I wish you the best in achieving them.
What I learned about burnout:
Having had worked with another agency for almost 5 years involving crisis counseling I am very familiar with burn-out and what was said in the presentation.
I will say this...that sometimes it can be difficult to recognize that I am starting to burn out since I live within myself day to day with a busy life and might brush off my symptoms. I always check-in with myself daily to stay aware of how I am feeling and ask myself, where is this coming from?
@sunlightspirit A good one about check-ins with yourself and especially about set of goals you do to avoid burnouts, very healthy ones!
@Heather225
I learnt that to avoid burnout, one must prioritize self care. This includes set boundaries with one's time and emotional space. It means taking breaks and recharging oneself so you can pour from a full cup. Maybe even taking a mini vacation from being a lsitener to ensure you are at your best. Avoiding burnout means touching base with yourself constantly to be aware of your own levels of energy and when you need to apply a little more self-care.
@Heather225
I experienced severe burnout when I was 13, I had not slept for more than an hour every night for a long time and I had taken more than I could do in my life. So, now Im very careful with my state of mind and how much I'm capable of . I take breaks when I need, do things I enjoy, and accept my anxiety instead of fighting it. I have learned a lot from personal experience and I hope this has helped others!
@goldenFriend9335
I am glad a past experience has taught you to be more mindful about how much to take on and avoid burn out .
Absolutley needed to be cautious of ourselves and our emotional check . Thanks for sharing ❤
@Heather225
To keep healthy, I will limit my time on screens, take regular excercise and have healthy sleeping patterns
@Heather225
Please read it through and in the replies, tell us what you learned.
- I learned that burn outs can happen regularly when we push ourselves too much and don't take sometime to recognize burn out symptoms which I learned that those symptoms can be either physically or emotionally. I also learned that burn outs can affect my role as a listener which will in return affect my ability to provide help to members.
What you will do to stay healthy and avoid burnout?
1. I need to know my limits and always stop to see if I'm pushing myself too hard
2. I need to take self care breaks and tune off from being online all day
3. Manage my work hours on 7 cups and in real life so I don't overwork and forget about my well being
4. I need to eat, drink lots of water and sleep regularly because I tend to get deprived of those 3 while working which caused me lots of health problems
@generousBreeze169 That it affects our roles here and that it is important to recognize symptoms of it. Noted, thank you very much.
@generousBreeze169
I agree! Eating, drinking lots of water, and sleeping regularly is so important to our health!
Activity: Please read it through and in the replies, tell us what you learned, and what you will do to stay healthy and avoid burnout!
I learned that supporting others means taking care of yourself as well. Without doing that, you cannot support others in a helpful manner. I will take self-care breaks and do exercises to stay healthy and avoid burnout.
@competentParadise6344 You summarized it perfectly. I'd not do better <3 Like very much how it looks :D Yeah, self-care is most important here.
