Zom 100, preventing burnout without a zombie apocalypse

Akira Tendo, an overworked salaryman in a desperate need for a break finally gets his wish when a zombie apocalypse breaks out. Yay! no more having to report to work.

Feel just like Akira about school or work? You are not alone! Our upbringing focused on meritocracy can lead us to push ourselves past our limits to our detriment. Oftentimes our mental health ends up taking a backseat as we endure high pressure environments chasing success. While perseverance is an admirable trait, running on empty is unsustainable.

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Feeling like Akira?

Akira reflects a desperately stressed and burnt out person, with his physical state in as bad a shape as his messed up apartment. From the enthusiatic newbie in the company he moth very quickly into someone who was so demotivated, he didn’t want to wake up in the morning.

Burnout isn’t just stress that we can tough out and push through. It’s a very real psychological disorder caused by chronic stress. It has a long term impact on memory, creativity and attention span. Furthermore, individuals who have experienced burnout may have less control over their negative emotions in future situations. This means that they feel stressed more quickly and easily than those with a healthy brain.

Burnout can leave you fatigued and can take a long time to recover from. Worse still, it creeps up on us, leeching more from us. We are led to believe that we can still go on and eventually run out of steam before we know it. As such, it’s important that we recognise the signs of imminent burnout so that we can do something about it before it happens.

Here are some common symptoms of burnout to look out for:

Physical symptoms	Emotional symptoms	Behavioural signs
Stomachaches /intestinal issues Fatigue Changes in appetite/sleep Falling ill frequently	Helplessness Cynicism Sense of failure or self-doubt Decreased satisfaction Feeling detached or alone in the world Loss of motivation	Reduced performance in everyday tasks Withdrawal or isolation Procrastination Outbursts Using substances to cope

How can we cope positively when we are burning out?

While it’s a lot of fun watching Zom 100, in real life being stuck in a dead-end situation is far from fun. How do we cope positively with the endless demands and expectations. Is there a way to prevent the negative slide down to the deep dark pit of despair and depression.

Here are 3 positive coping strategies for you.

Create your bucket list

While Akira and his surviving friends only made bucket list of things that they always wanted to do with expectation of turning into a zombie, we could do something more positive. Work and study doesn’t have to be the be all and end all of your life. Make a bucket list of to-day things and let that be your positive motivation. Click here to read more about how to be motivated here.

Reframe the situation

Akira did one thing that really turned his dreaded life around despite the zombie infestation. He reframed the situation and saw opportunities despite the apocalypse. Reframing a situation means choosing to see the positive side of things rather than the negative. Click here to read more about how to reframe a situation here.

Learn to laugh a little

Haro Aso, the author of the series wrote this story as a commentary about the Japanese society. Japanese workers are some of the most committed and hardworking people who take work very seriously. Aso wanted to show that while the workplace can be brutal, sometimes we can learn to laugh a little and learn to chill-out. Click here to read about how humour can help you destress.