b'Michelle Yeoman is an accredited executive Coach and former HR Director, with a 20-year career in global corporates, professional services, consulting engineering and pharmaceutical industries. She runs MY Coaching and Consulting Limited, offering coaching programmes, workshops, retreats and HR consultancy. She cares passionately about leaders achieving their potential and creating their best self.mycoachconsult.comBURNOUT - ITS A REAL THINGBe aware of the signs and how to prevent itW ith Burnout now classified byeverything I do in my life and business aligns with my values, the WHO as an occupationalself-care and burnout prevention.phenomenon, its crucial that peopleHigh achievers with a need to progress,who are reluctant pay attention to their stress levels andto delegate or have perfectionist tendencies are most seek to make changes at the first signs vulnerable to burnout. of negative effects. But anyone who runs at a high speed for a long time is at Not knowing the signs, or ignoring them, can lead to hugerisk - in any walk of life. Trying to stay on top of everything impacts on your health and wellbeing, performanceand presenting a faade depletes energy levels and the and productivity, and relationships.ability to cope and only perpetuates the problem with devastating consequences. After 20 years in HR and now running myPushing through overwhelm and exhaustion is not the Even if youown business, Ive experienced the impactsanswer. The answer lies in taking time to stop, reflect approach yourof burnout. and change direction. responsibilitiesAt first it was brain fog and big dips with a positivein energy. I couldnt get past 2.30pmWhen youre under pressure or in the attitude, burnoutwithout needing to rest and was strugglingdepths of burnout, talking, exploring can get you to make the simplest of decisions.and coaching might feel like the last thing you want to do I felt disconnected, was increasinglybut taking positive steps to withdrawn, fraught, tearful and anxious. Mycut through it and find your motivation waned and my confidence plummeted.clearest thinking can be the In the 12 months prior, Id led an organisational changebest way forward.programme, trained to become an accredited coach, takenYou can find solutions to the redundancy, moved, set up my business, launched a retreatpressures and challenges and was doing major home renovation work. youre facing. You can I didnt see it coming, I approached it all positivelyrebuild your confidence and andthought I was coping well, but my body and mindrediscover that inner drive. You thought otherwise. can identify your true purpose People often think of burnout as being so mentally andand what you really want from life.physically exhausting that they cant get out of bed and areBurnout can leave you feeling isolated completely debilitated. This isnt always the case. I still tookand detached so its important to consider your whole life my children to school and just about kept up with my work.during this time to ensure recovery and promote prevention. But I felt like stress had poisoned my body. Eventually IChanging direction can take many roads but the important succumbed to taking a break.thing is to identify whats best for you to recover from I had to take a step back, to reassess my values andburnout, feel healthy and well, live purposefully and feel purpose; enabling me to make real changes. I now ensurefulfilled again.08'