Burnout and our addiction to thinking
Is your addiction to thinking causing you to burn out?
Does your brain run a mile a minute to the extent that it feels really hard to switch it off? And when you try, it wants to continue its train of thought? I'm talking about:
🎓 Mentally preparing your opening lecture in your head 3 months in advance
🚿 In the shower, arguing in your head with Debra from the teaching committee about last week's meeting, replaying the events
📧 Thinking through an email you sent just before 5pm that you're now worried was too aggressive
🫥 Lying awake at 4am considering a criticism sandwich-style feedback structure for that lovely student who totally missed the point of the essay that doesn't knock their confidence too much.
““You know, there’s a lot of talk these days about addictions—many people are addicted to all kinds of substances. But one of the greatest addictions, or rather the greatest addiction, you never actually read about in the papers because the people who are addicted to it don’t know it. It’s the addiction to thinking. It’s actually addictive. You can’t stop thinking, just like you can’t stop drinking, smoking, or eating. Thinking is the greater addiction than any of these””
The problem is, like many today, you're probably addicted to thinking. As Eckhart Tolle says, the addiction to thinking is one of the greatest of all, and it's not surprising given that we live in a world that glorifies busyness.
Notifications, emails, endless projects—it's all part of the "go-go-go" culture. Many of us attach our sense of self-worth to how much we've done in a day. The other side of this is that sitting and doing nothing, restoring, actually feels very uncomfortable:
Looking out of the window
Waiting in a queue and not looking at your phone
Being present and just playing with our kids
Even when we are doing, it's often not enough. We scroll the news in a boring bit of a TV programme. We have a podcast on while playing with our kids. The real issue here is that we've become hooked on this state of hyper-alertness.
Why Is This So Addictive?
Next Wednesday in Sisterhood book club, we're reading Burnout by Dr. Claire Plumley. Even if we're not in the red zone of burnout, we can get stuck in the "amber" zone of our nervous system—the constant state of doing, where rest can actually feel uncomfortable. Although reasonable spikes of stress are good for us, that needs to be accompanied by green zone restoration and relaxation. But we're addicted to the amber. We chase that next hit of busyness to feel accomplished, even when it's exhausting us.
A side effect of this is the addiction to thinking. We've trained our brains to associate downtime with anxiety, restlessness, and guilt. And that's the problem.
Breaking Free from the Cycle
When you come into my world, we work specifically on slowing down these thoughts and feelings and creating a calm brain. Here are some things to try for now:
Stay present and remind your brain about the green zone: When you're trying to relax in the evening, and your brain wants you to think about today's meeting or tomorrow's calendar, remind it that green zone rest is important, and you're just focusing on the present moment now.
Wean yourself off with "non-productive" attention-capturing pursuits: The best thing for this is computer games. They immerse your attention, satisfy your addicted brain's urge for "doing", and actually get you into a restful state. I recommend Two Point Hospital or Zelda Breath of the Wild (also recommended by Dr Plumley)
Do a jigsaw or crossword: Get something away from a screen that's going to occupy your mind and wind you down.
Exercise: this discharges the flight or fight response built up by your nervous system in states of stress. Go for a run, join a martial arts class and literally start to release that stress response, leaving you nice and tired for bed.
Journal and read before bed: Get everything off your mind and onto paper. Get into that state of relaxation and switch off.
