Burnout: How to Deal With it in Singing

At one time or another, most people have experienced burnout, even if we didn't know that's what it was at the time. With 2025 coming to a close and the Earth slowing down, I wanted to chat about what burnout means, how most people experience it, and what to do to resolve it once it finds us.

So what exactly is burnout? The formal definition is that it's a state of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion that comes from working too hard for too long. It can lead to feelings of dread, sadness, overwhelm, extended periods of fatigue, and other unpleasantness. It's something that at times, you might feel like you can work through, but other times you may feel a complete halt in productivity and motivation, preventing you from moving forward.

Dealing with burnout once it's already grasped your consciousness is really challenging, but not impossible. I'd like to share my tips and tricks for spotting when burnout is creeping up on you, how to see it, and how to deal with it.

The first step to dealing with burnout is noticing it. It's really important that we take mental note of the signs and symptoms that tell us burnout is close so we can stop it before it takes hold.

Some of these signs might include:

• Having a shorter attention span than what's normal for you

• Feeling higher levels of irritability or overwhelm

• Feeling more anxiety around completing tasks, even simple ones

• Feeling more tired more often

• Unexplainable feelings of sadness or dread

You may experience one or more of these feelings, or you may find your experience completely differs. The way to recognize it is by paying close attention to how your mood and productivity shifts throughout the day or week. A bit of fluctuation is normal, especially around the colder months, but when it starts to feel chronic, that's when it's time to assess.

Once we are able to recognize that burnout is around the corner, it's so so important that you take it seriously. Brushing it off or ignoring it won't make it go away, in fact it will likely compound, making the entire experience exponentially worse.

Once we see burnout in the distance, the best thing to do is take a step back, whatever that means for you. For me it means taking time off if I'm able to, and more importantly, trying to fill my emotional cup by doing things that make me feel positive things. This can be doing self care like taking a bath, doing skincare, having a sweet treat (or two), but it can also mean doing fun activities like going to mini golf with someone who makes you feel happy, or even just reading a book. Doing things that take us out of the environment causing us strain can be super helpful for finding ourselves again, and lessening the stress caused by feeling so burnt out.

Rest is something that we often take for granted. In my opinion, that's because the world/society we live in tells us we have to be productive and stay motivated 100% of the time. In reality, our bodies and minds weren't meant for that. We are meant to move with the flow of nature like the tides, or trees swaying in the wind. Taking time to rest is arguably the most important and beneficial thing we can do to help keep ourselves happy and healthy. You'll hear a lot of people say something like "If you don't take breaks, your body will take them for you". This is such a true statement, and is why it's crucial that we listen to our bodies and minds when they tell us we need time to ourselves.

What are some things that tell you burnout might be on it's way? What is your version of self love?