Dealing With Burnout

by Laura Goodwin

Like anybody else, BDSM club leaders and volunteers can suffer from "burnout". How do you know if you, a loved one, or someone you work with is suffering from burnout? Here are the signs.

1. Depression: gloomy outlook, chronic fatigue, sleeplessness, self-criticism, a sense of being besieged, feelings of helplessness.
2. General irritability: anger at those who are making demands, cynicism, negativity, exploding easily at seemingly inconsequential things, suspiciousness.
3. Chronic minor physical complaints: frequent headaches, gastrointestinal disturbances, unusual weight loss or gain, shortness of breath.
4. Recklessness: increased degree of risky behavior, many minor accidents.

Sometimes a simple change in daily habits can help you to avoid or heal a case of burnout. Burnout is basically a case of excessive stress. Reduce your activities. Focus on those things which you enjoy the most or are best at, and delegate the rest.

If someone in your organization is manifesting signs of burnout, do what you can to help lighten their load. If they resist the process, you may have to formally organize and implement a procedure to reduce their duties or to remove them from duty for the good of the club.

If you have no one you can delegate to, then simply reduce your activities until you are at a level you can easily handle. If that means no involvement at all, so be it. You are important and your health is important. Take good care of yourself.

How do you know if someone if a good person to delegate to? First of all, they can't already be busy with other things. They have to have fresh enthusiasm *and* time on their hands to spare. If there is no such person available then simply reduce the number and scope of the services you offer until it's at a level you find positively boring. Use the free time you have thereby created for unrelated leisure activities.

Another way to bolster your volunteers with fresh enthusiasm is to honor them somehow. Be generous with recognition and thanks: it's often the only compensation that volunteers get. If they don't get thanks and visible tokens like medals and trophies, then their energy will eventually flag and their enthusiasm will falter.

Also, don't forget about the magic of hugs and kisses. Affectionate and loving acts and words can do much to keep morale high. If you aren't getting enough hugs, then bluntly ask for them. That is not asking for too much.

Being a volunteer doesn't mean that you give without expecting anything in return. We do the work so that all, including the volunteers, might benefit. It is right and proper for volunteers to enjoy the fruits of their own labors. It's not a conflict of interest if a volunteer also benefits from their own good work: that's called ~justice~.

Certainly if your BDSM club, business, or organization is doing you no good then you shouldn't continue to waste your time on it. You earned it: take your share of the resulting good from the good you have done.

This essay and all site contents Copyright L. Goodwin 1990 -2001