โฃโฃ
โฃAs we celebrate the global advancement of women on this International Womenโ€™s Day, I want to hold a space for women who may be experiencing burnout and the people who love them. โฃ
โฃย โฃ
โฃย Women are at an increased risk for work and life-related burnout due to a disproportionate level of mental, emotional, and family/caregiving workload. Unfortunately, these inequalities are largely due to continued bias views on gender roles, differences in pay between women and men and the ever stressful โ€œStrong Womanโ€ Syndrome. โฃ
โฃย โฃ
โฃHowever, we must be quick to recognize that burnout is a not โ€œa womanโ€™s faultโ€ but often a result of structural issues in a work environment and fragments in a social network. โฃ
โฃย โฃ
โฃย โฃ
โฃHere are some tips on how to support a woman/sister/friend who may be experiencing burnout.ย  โฃ
โฃโฃ
โฃย  ย โฃ
โฃโฃ
โฃ1. ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ธ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฒ ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ด๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜‡๐—ฒ ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜โฃ
โฃโฃ
โฃOften times people may wonder if there is something wrong or if it is just in their head; especially if those around them (at work, home, etc) seem to be operating normally. Let them know you have noticed changes in their mood, energy, etc and you are making yourself available to talk.โฃ
โฃย โฃ
โฃโฃ
โฃ2.ย ย ย ย  ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—ท๐˜‚๐—ฑ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜/๐—ฉ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด๐˜€โฃ
โฃโฃ
โฃ Donโ€™t minimize or dismiss her feelings as often people who are burned out feel very isolated or as if others do not understand what they are going through. Rather listen intently and make sure the conversation is focused on them. This will more than likely lead to them confiding in you.โฃ
โฃโฃ
โฃโฃ
โฃ3.ย ย ย ย  ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฝ ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜†๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜โฃ
โฃโฃ
โฃThis includes exploring the core reason they are burned out, examining the work or home situation, and discussing ways to approach an employer, family member or partner.โฃ

4.ย ย ย ย  ๐—”๐˜€๐—ธ ๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฝโฃ
โฃโฃ
โฃRather than assuming or even projecting your own ideas on how to make things easier, ask directly how you can provide support. Sometimes a listening ear is even more than enoughโฃ
โฃย โฃ
โฃโฃ
โฃ5. ๐—จ๐—ฟ๐—ด๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—บ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ธ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น/๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ปโฃ
โฃโฃ
โฃSymptoms of burnout like fatigue, irritability and difficulty sleeping may be signs of a more serious underlying medical or psychological issue (depression, hormone imbalances, etc). Encourage evaluation by a therapist/coach or physician as well.โฃ
โฃย โฃ
โฃ6. ๐—ข๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜†โฃ
โฃโฃ
โฃNo matter how dim a situation seems, burnout can be resolved, and quality of life can be improved. By offering a listening ear, providing small tokens of love (a card, flowers, a hug), sharing funny videos and memes you can remind women that they are not alone, and they are loved. โฃ
โฃย โฃ
โฃ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜?โฃ
โฃย โฃ
โฃโฃ