Are you a bundle of
nerves? Do you need a way to handle your stress and anger? Feeling
trapped? If the answer to any of these is YES, then you may be “burned
out” – worn out physically or emotionally – especially
in the wake of a hectic holiday season.
Our special quiz will help you figure out what kind of action
to take – and how to get your groove back through the New
Year without feeling like Scrooge. Answers in next column.
1 When your significant other asks what you want to do Saturday
night, you answer:
A) “Something different and fun.”
B) “How about a Girls/Guys Night Out?”
C) “I don’t care.”
2 Your friend asks you 24/7 for advice. You:
A) dish out your TLC because you care.
B) screen your calls and don’t pick up.
C) tune out and give her one word answers.
3 You discover your long-term mate has been flirting on the
Internet and telephone with other women. You:
A) are depressed and disappointed.
B) escape to a work-related event.
C) tell him you’re upset and on guard.
4 At the gym, you start to:
A) enjoy exercising less than more.
B) shorten your routine.
C) skip your workout again.
5 You’ve hit a plateau on your diet. You:
A) research ways to rev up your metabolism.
B) cheat a little since the scale won’t budge.
C) binge big-time and feel mega guilt after.
6 Your boss asks you to work overtime again. You:
A) believe your hard work will payoff one day.
B) oblige but stare in space at your desk.
C) say “yes” but bail early and clock out late. |
YOUR SCORE
Mostly A’s: HANG IN THERE! It’s time to decide if
it’s worth it to stay and handle whatever life throws in
your direction. “Burnout demands that we listen,” says
psychotherapist Dina Glouberman, Ph.D., author of The Joy of
Burnout: How the End of the World Can Be a New Beginning (Inner
Ocean Publishing, Inc.,$16.95.). Adds Washington, DC-based Mark
Gorkin, LICSW “The Stress Doc” ™ www.stressdoc.com, “See
if negotiation is possible. If not, seek counseling; give it
a chance.” But note, after a couple of months pass and
no change happens, consider time off.
Mostly B’s: TAKE A BREAK! Chances are if you’re
fantasizing about fleeing, it’s time to bail temporarily. “Time
off breaks the self-defeating, vicious cycle effect. If it’s
a situational factor, situations change over time,” points
out Gorkin. “Use the time out to do a self-inventory of
your life,” suggests The Stress Doc www.stressdoc.com.
Use his rejuvenating formula: sleep, priorities, empathy, exercise
and diet. After you savor R&R, decide to stay or go.
Mostly C’s: PACK YOUR BAGS! It may be time to cut your
losses and run not walk away. “When a relationship [or
situation] is emotionally and/or physically abusive, and the
other party resists counseling, get out,” advises Gorkin.” Adds
Dr. Glouberman: “Burnout is, or can be, a door to walk
through into life with space, love, and joy—indeed a sense
of being able to be one’s true self.” And remember
the proverb our mom’s taught us: “As one door closes,
another always opens.”
 Cal
Orey is a disaster preparedness expert and the author of The Healing
Powers of Vinegar, Revised and Updated, The Healing Powers of Olive
Oil and SuperSensitives: Can You Sense Danger (Feb. 08). Log onto
her websites at www.calorey.com and www.earthquakeepi-center.com
for more information and links about disaster preparedness.
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