Positive resilience and avoiding burnout

To mark this year's World Mental Health Day we ran a series of social media posts on positive resilience and avoiding burnout, with advice provided for us by wellbeing expert, Nick Bloy, founder of Wellbeing Republic.

The advice is collated below for reference:

• It’s all too easy to allow work to creep into every facet of our home life, which is why it is important to create pre and post work routines that create defined boundaries between the two.
  
  It’s natural that our motivation will fluctuate – we’re in the middle of a pandemic. Work deadlines suddenly won’t seem as important to our survival-based brain. We need to be a little kinder to ourselves.
  
  We ideally need to give ourselves permission not to worry. According to research, only 10% of our worries ever come true. In fact, only around 3% of our worries are actually worth worrying about… and worrying rarely helps us to be more prepared. Instead, we should focus our energy on the things that bring us joy.
  
  When our workload increases, it can be tempting to push aside rest and play. Yet those two things are what keep us from burning out. At time when many people are struggling with exhaustion, we need to double down on self-care.
  
  When we think about resilience, we often picture a lone hero persevering alone against all the odds. Yet, adopting that approach actually undermines our resilience. Challenges appear easier, we experience less pain and our wounds heal quicker when we feel supported (even virtually) – don’t try and tough this out alone.
  
  As humans, we are naturally resilient. It’s just that sometimes we need someone to remind us that we can and will do this.
  
  One of the strongest predictors of positive mental health is the quality of our closest relationships. Whilst the pandemic has led to physical isolation, it’s important that we continue to foster social connection. [texts, emails, video calls, phone calls, good old-fashioned post cards/letters)
  
  There is no doubt that the pandemic is challenging us, in so many ways. But I believe that one of the greatest positive challenges we face is to ask ourselves: what life affirming lessons can we take from this?
  
  At any point in time we are either expending energy or replenishing it. We want to ensure we get the balance right to preserve our mental health and ensure we’re the best version of our self for the people we care about.
  
  Don’t forget to breathe – slow, deep breaths from our diaphragm (just below the chest) actually stimulate our rest and digest response, soothing our stress and making us feel calmer.

Thank you to Nick Bloy for providing this advice. You can find Nick on Twitter @ExponentialNick and at Wellbeing Republic, here.