Wellness weekend is in full swing and influencers take to their social platforms to discuss healthy diets, skin, and wellness activities. But what about mental well-being? We’ve compiled one of the region’s most renowned mental psychologist’s tips and tricks on how to prevent influencer burnout.
What is influencer burnout?
Social platforms are amazing spaces to turn to when you are feeling in the mood to create fun content with friends or share your art and passions with a wide community. But with the burgeoning creativity and all the fun needed to be an influential content creator, there is a dark side that very few influencers want to show. Mental roadblocks and community pressure for new weekly content can stop an influencer from enjoying the process. Eventually becoming consumed with constant exhaustion is called influencer burnout.
How to know if you might be suffering from influencer burnout?
It’s not uncommon for influencers to feel exhausted and sometimes pressured by their communities to deliver content. As a matter of fact, most influencers feel this way, but it comes with the territory of an influencer’s career. The big difference comes in when your body and mind start suffering from chronic exhaustion and even physical and psychological symptoms that begin to affect your overall wellness. This can be identified with symptoms such as headaches, eye strains, fatigue, irritability, energetic heaviness, insomnia, and, in extreme cases, even depression and a sense of low self-worth.
To put this easily; when something that used to bring you joy and gave you energy makes you feel depressed and drained, then your mind and body are telling you to rest. Take it from mega influencer and supermodel Bella Hadid who spoke out against the importance of mental wellness and being aware of your body’s state of mind
How to deal with mental wellness and prevent burnout according to H.H Basma Al Said
Her Highness Mrs. Basma Al Said is a renowned psychologist and hypnosis therapist and founder of Whispers of Serenity Clinic – the first private clinic specializing in mental health and wellness in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. She is renowned for breaking taboos in the Middle East and for being a pioneer in bringing mental health issues to light.
Having a plethora of degrees and experience up her sleeve we lean on an expert’s advice on how to deal and learn mental coaching mechanisms to deal with mental well-being. All of her tips and in-depth classes can be accessed by tuning into her #Playbook.
Basma, an influencer herself, is a great psychologist to follow for mental guidance as she believes in finding creative yet sustainable ways to bridge the world of creative influencing with mindfulness and wellness practices
1. Learn about your own state of mind
Understand when the body and mind are telling you to rest. Like any thriving-balanced professional, taking time out from influencing and documenting every aspect of your life to tend to the deeper parts of one’s self is an essential recipe for success and higher potential. Leaning into the burnout and surrendering to it, even welcoming it, is a powerful way to come home to our more creative, innovative, and magnetic selves.
How? Rest. Being mindful that slowing down to rest, reset, and restore is also being productive. Rest is a vital part of the creative, emotional, and mental process. Burnout signals that it’s time to power-down to be able to power up more effectively, positively, and optimally after the mind has recovered.
2. Adopt a growth mindset
Rule number 1, start by putting the phone away. Manage this by scheduling time blocks for when to be online and put your phone on do not disturb mode after a certain hour. Try to tune in with your surroundings and become present. Grow and feed your soul by taking conversations offline as often as you can and connect with people, family and friends face to face. Spending so much time by yourself interacting only via social media can be isolating so learn how to create balance also in what you see online by unfollowing people who don’t add value to your life or make you feel pressured or overwhelmed. Start by implementing actions that will eliminate the source of burnout and stressful emotions.
3. Create a positive mental health culture in your surroundings
One of the most powerful pieces of mental health advice is to practice self-care by being alone. Spend time with yourself and your mind and focus on what makes you feel better. Sometimes it’s a sweaty workout or a walk without your phone. Other times, it can be doing breath work when you feel frustrated or anxious. Listening to music that brings joy and dance to the mundane or eating nourishing food to fuel your mind and body. You don’t have to do any of these practices alone, but surround yourself with people who are willing to do them with you. Have a surrounding space that’s supportive, positive-minded and aware of your current state of mental wellness.
4. Integrate positive affirmations into your daily life
Make a diary, write without thinking and just put down whatever comes to your mind. Write or say out loud in the mirror every morning at least 5 affirmations that you want to achieve in your day. It can even be so easy as to give someone a hug, say hello to the desk clerk or notice someone did something different to their hair. Give and you will receive back. Reflect, meditate and set positive thinking goals towards your mental health (not career, beauty or wishes) but your investment in your state of positive thinking.
5. Find the right therapist for you
Having someone that understands your manner of expression, your cultural background and relatability is crucial in mental therapy. If you don’t feel that the first therapist you saw was right for you then don’t be discouraged and immediately assume therapy is not for you. Rather persevere to find someone until you feel comfortable, understood, and at ease with letting out whatever is on your mind.
6. Overcome the stigma that surrounds mental health in society
Talk, talk and talk. Sometimes being an influencer is a lot of work as your life is on display for the world to see, but that’s the beauty in having people turn to you for inspiration as you have the power to make your audience feel it is okay to not be okay. This will create depth and add value to your purpose as an influencer and make people feel relatable to you.
If you or anyone you know suffers from either influencer burnout or mental unwell-being please contact Whispers of Serenity clinic.
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