This is no new topic for any of us. At one point or another in our lives, all of us have experienced some signs of burn out. However, many of us pushed aside those warnings and continued on moving forward without pause, eventually resulting in more of a breakdown than a burn out.

Everything is taking place in one location now. Our work, our meals, social events like seeing family or friends, working out, etc. While in the past, I found about half of those activities taking place outside my home, now they all happen in the same place and sometimes, at the same time. This idea of having all this “extra” time now that I am not commuting to an office, has pushed me to believe that I should be filling every empty minute of my day with a glass-full of projects or activities that otherwise I normally wouldn’t have time for. The aftereffect? My glass is spilling over and I’m feeling overwhelmed.

Does this sound familiar? If you hurt your knee, you wouldn’t want to run on it everyday. Instead you would take a break. Same goes for our minds. If you’re overwhelmed, tired, fatigued or burned out, it’s time to slow down, take a break and most importantly, not feel bad about it.

Here are some of the biggest signs that you’re burning out and might need to step back:

Your body is showing signs of stress

Sudden forehead bumps? Unexpected weight gain? You just woke up a few hours ago, but you’re already craving a nap? While these symptoms seem unrelated, they all are caused by chronic stress.

Emotional stress, is a leading cause for hormonal spikes that can make us sick. Insomnia, anxiety and brain fog are all as real as a hurt knee, and need to be treated and healed as such. The longer you wait to address these symptoms the more they can accumulate and harm you worse in the future.

You’re feeling extra irritable

Doing the same things everyday and seeing the same people every hour of the day can cause some personality conflicts that are inevitable. However, if you’re finding yourself snapping at your roomie for something that you would normally shrug off or have a casual conversation about, then it might be time to check yourself and take a much needed OOO day.

If emails are sending you spiraling, or your partner’s unwashed dishes are causing you to snap, spare yourself any passive-aggressiveness and take the day off. If taking a day off seems impossible, try the following:

1. Place a hand on your heart. You read that right, try it now. If you place a hand on your heart before you’re about to snap, yell or glare at your partner or roomie you might find that it is a lot harder to do so. Taking the time to center ourselves, and breathing will help clear your mind before you make any sudden moves that might lead to a bigger disagreement.

2. Walk away. Did your boss just asked you for something that made your head spin? Take a sip of water, shut your laptop and take a quick 10 minute walk outside or around your home. Separating yourself even for a few minutes from the thing causing anxiety will help you see it clearer when you need to step back in.

3. Talk it out. If something someone is doing is simply too much to handle for you, talk it out, but calmly. Explain to the other person that you are under a lot of stress or in an overwhelming situation and they could help reduce the stress for you if XYZ was taken care of by them this time.

The most important thing to realize, is that you will not be penalized for slowing down. And I know you might already be thinking that you’re slowed down enough with everything being closed and being quarantined at home. But, not because our routines have changed does it mean that suddenly your over-achiever self is down to Netflix for 12 consecutive hours. It is necessary to know, that whatever that project, email, or thing is that you feel needs to be done this second, can also be done in a few minutes and the world will be okay. Your mental health is more important and precious than anything else you can possess, treat it as such.