'Burnout' is a word that we often hear in the creative industries, and not just from people who run their own businesses or freelance – it's a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress.

Burnout leaves you feeling overwhelmed and unable to cope with simple tasks. It can make you lose all interest or motivation in your work and you might also become helpless, cynical or even resentful. You might want to hide under your duvet and never emerge from your bedroom again.

Because burnout affects your productivity levels and drains you of energy, happiness and calm, it's hugely important to recognise the warning signs before it's too late. The signs and symptoms can be physical, emotional and behavioural.

The physical signs

You're constantly exhausted and drained. You have a lower immunity and suffer from regular colds and flu, headaches, back and muscle aches. You're struggling to sleep at night. Your appetite habits have changed. You keep sighing loudly, to the point where people notice.

The emotional signs

You feel hopeless and adopt a negative outlook on the world. You feel like a failure. You feel detached and as if you're all alone. You lack motivation and care less about things. You feel trapped and defeated. Your satisfaction levels have taken a nosedive.

The behavioural signs

You increasingly isolate yourself from other people. You procrastinate and take longer to get things done. You turn to food, drugs or alcohol to cope with stress levels. You take out anger on others. You withdraw from all responsibilities and skip or avoid work altogether.

If any of the above warning signs sound familiar then it's important to tackle your stress levels immediately. Burnout can affect your whole life, including your health – your body may become more susceptible to infection, and you could even suffer from anxiety and/or depression.

How do you prevent burnout and ensure you stay happy, healthy and stress-free? Read the following top tips to avoid burning out.

Start as you mean to go on

A lot of people get straight out of bed and straight to work. This isn't the right way to begin a new day. Instead, take half an hour each morning to wake up gradually and do some gentle stretching – give yourself a chance to relax as it will set you up for the day and prepare you for tackling anything that comes your way.

Be kind to yourself

Sleep right, eat well and exercise every day to be healthy, happy and able to deal with life and its daily challenges. Be good to yourself to ensure your mental, physical and emotional wellbeing is top notch and firing on all cylinders.

Set boundaries

Burnout can often be the result of too much work, so become savvy at saying 'no' to ensure you can stay on top of your workload. If you freelance, learn to say 'no' to family and friends who want your help for free – if you're at an agency, speak to your boss if colleagues are delegating too much work. Set boundaries in your life so you don't overextend yourself.

Make changes if necessary

Burnout could be the result of too much work or a stressful client or project. If this might be the case, ditch the client or speak to your boss about switching things around – don't be afraid to take steps to reduce stressful situations in your life. Your health and happiness is far more important.

Take regular breaks

It's tempting to sit at your desk all day but it won't leave you feeling very productive. Get up and take regular breaks to avoid burnout, step outside to stretch your legs and get some fresh air – it'll do you the world of good.

Learn to switch off

At the end of a working day, it's tempting to think or talk about work – you might even use your downtime to learn new skills or concentrate on a side project. Although it's sometimes right to do this, don't make it a regular thing. Learn to switch off and enjoy your evenings away from work.

Put the technology away

Thanks to technology, it's incredibly difficult to disconnect from work these days. Email, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Foursquare – they can all alert us to updates via our mobile phones, making it impossible to switch off. At the end of each day, turn off your phone, put away your laptop and hide the iPad. Taking daily breaks from technology will help to manage your stress levels.

Start a new hobby

Nothing beats a hobby, especially a creative one because it acts as a powerful antidote to burnout. Take up something new, like painting or knitting, to give your mind a rest, and make sure you choose an activity that is completely unrelated to your profession.

Those are some tips on preventing burnout, but what if you are already suffering from the condition? How can you turn things around to get better? If you're suffering from burnout, then you need to go through various stages of recovery.

Recovery stage one: be pro-active

Burnout is often the result of issues in the workplace or problems with clients. To combat this, be pro-active and make the necessary changes to improve the situation – you'll feel much better if you actually do something about it, rather than allowing things to get worse.

Recovery stage two: find support

Burnout can force you to isolate yourself from the world. Instead of hiding under your duvet, turn to family and friends for support – don't be ashamed to admit that you're suffering and share your problems with loved ones.

Recovery stage three: Reassess your life

Burnout can offer a silver lining by encouraging you to reassess your life in general. It can help you reevaluate your goals, priorities, hopes and dreams, discover what does and doesn't make you happy and take positive steps towards a better existence.

Recovery stage four: Take time out

Burnout sometimes requires a complete break from your working life so use up any holiday entitlement you have to get away. Make sure you leave your laptop and mobile phone at home to completely recharge your batteries and get better.

Those are just a few top tips to help you recognise, prevent and deal with burnout, but if you are ever in doubt, speak to a medical professional. As always, if you've got any of your own nuggets of wisdom please share them by commenting below.

This content was originally published by Creative Boom

Katy Cowan runs the Creative Boom website voluntarily – she is a trained journalist, writer and PR professional. Follow her and Creative Boom on Twitter @Creative_Boom

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