FOMO & Burnout - how are they related ?

Posted on July 07, 2022 by Bas Lebesque, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.

What is FOMO?

FOMO – the Fear Of Missing Out. Do you feel you should always be everywhere and not miss anything? Do you often doubt afterward whether you have made the right choice? Social media has increased the fear of missing out. You more easily compare your life with that of others and thereby feed the fear that your life is not fun enough.

As a result, almost all of us suffer from FOMO. It has now become a well-known phenomenon in our society. But what exactly does FOMO mean, and how do you know if it bothers you? And more importantly: how do you eliminate this phenomenon and prevent burnout?

Index

• What does the abbreviation FOMO mean?

• Do I suffer from FOMO?

• What are the effects of FOMO in everyday life?

• The link between FOMO, stress, and burnout

• FOMO: How do I get rid of it?

• Tips to take back the reins

• Frequently Asked Questions

What does the abbreviation FOMO mean?

FOMO abbreviates ‘Fear Of Missing Out’ which means ‘fear of missing out’. You can anxiously want to be everywhere to avoid missing out on something fun. You, therefore, accept every invitation and if there is something to do somewhere, you do not want to miss it.

FOMO also ensures that you constantly want to know what others are experiencing. You may be afraid of not being up to date with the latest news or happenings, so you constantly check your social media. Then you compare your life with that of others.

Finally, FOMO has to do with the infinite choices you can make. It is a fear of what you will miss out on by making a wrong choice. Instead of being satisfied with a relaxing evening on the couch, you are concerned with how your evening could have been.

Do I suffer from FOMO?

How do you know if you have FOMO? How do you recognize it in yourself or someone else? The following symptoms can recognize as FOMO:

Don’t want to miss anything.

You must and will participate in all activities, even if you don’t feel like it. You want to be everywhere so you don’t miss out on what your friends, family, and colleagues are doing. And yet you still feel they do nice things when you are not there.

Feeling restless and insecure.

An insecure and restless feeling usually accompanies FOMO. You feel restless when you have nothing planned for once, and being constantly aware of everything and everyone also makes you restless. In addition, you may feel that others are always having more fun and sociability than you, making you insecure.

Always up to date

Another feature of FOMO is constantly checking your phone and social media. It’s almost an obsession for you. You keep checking whether someone posts a new status on WhatsApp, refresh your timeline on Facebook, and check the latest photos on your Instagram. In addition, you can fanatically follow the news and read other blogs and articles.

Making the most of time

Also, FOMO can make you feel like you need to get the most out of every day. When you don’t use your time optimally, you feel like you’re failing. You want to be as efficient as possible and don’t miss opportunities. You want to get the most out of life.

What are the effects of FOMO in everyday life?

Procrastination and Concentration Problems

FOMO can lead to procrastination. For example, you’re on Facebook instead of doing what you should be doing. And putting your work forward and postponing it then gives you stress. Moreover, constantly checking your social media is bad for your concentration. Concentration problems also prevent you from completing your work because you are constantly distracted.

Restless and tense

FOMO can also make you restless, making it difficult for you to relax and fall asleep. Especially if you are on Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest late at night, you can suffer from sleeping problems. Digital devices emit a bright blue light that prevents your body from producing the sleep hormone melatonin.

Loneliness

FOMO also affects your mental health. You may think you are very social by being aware of everyone’s life, but deep down, you can feel very lonely. Because we have all the information at our fingertips, you can know much about everyone without real personal contact.

negative feelings

Loneliness can eventually lead to depression. And there are other negative feelings when you subconsciously compare your life with that of others. You only see the bright side of everyone’s life, which can make you jealous.

The link between FOMO, stress, and burnout

Your body and mind need rest to recover from the day and process the experiences. But when you let yourself be led by the fear of not missing anything, you will never fully relax. FOMO, therefore, causes a lot of stress and fatigue.

Plus, FOMO pushes you too far beyond your limits. It’s hard to say “no” because you don’t want to miss anything. You will become exhausted if you go beyond your limits for too long. You can also lose the overview and see less clear which things are really important to you.

Finally, FOMO is an attack on your self-confidence. You see opportunities everywhere that you miss, and others always do better. You start to feel more and more dissatisfied with yourself. You lose your self-confidence, go too far over your limits, and don’t calm down. You are well on your way to burnout if you don’t intervene!

FOMO: How do I get rid of it?

Do you recognize FOMO in yourself? The sooner you recognize the problem, the better. It is the first step to change. Then realize that it is impossible to be everywhere. There will always be endless options of what you can do with your time. Do not dwell on everything you are missing, but focus on what you have chosen and what you are doing now.

Also, realize that only the beautiful and fun things in everyone’s life are posted on social media. That doesn’t mean they are always prospering and never have a bad day. What is posted online is not the complete picture of one’s life. To get rid of FOMO, you must put things into perspective. In addition, the following tips can help you.

Tips to take back the reins

Less social media

How often do you unconsciously pick up your phone to check again if someone has posted something new? You could keep it for a while. Then try to break the habit of constantly checking social media.

For example, you can turn off the notifications and put your phone away more often or on airplane mode. Doesn’t all that work? Then you could also consider a more drastic step and remove social media from your phone or even delete your account.

Learn to say ‘no.’

It is essential to say “no” more often. This can be difficult at first because you feel that underlying fear of missing out. But do you want to accept the invitation deep down? Think through this question carefully, and don’t let your choice be motivated by fear.

Be satisfied

Once you’ve made up your mind, be happy with your choice. Concentrate on the here and now. See the benefits of your choice instead of thinking about what you might miss.

Stop comparing

Comparing yourself to others will only make you jealous or sad. You know yourself best and are very aware of your less good qualities and the less pleasant things in your life. But in others, you may see nothing but happiness. Therefore, try to get a more realistic picture of others and focus more on yourself and your own life.

Schedule time to recharge

Taking a break from time to time is important, but FOMO can make it difficult to get enough rest. Therefore, plan several rest moments. Also, go for a nice walk or exercise more often. And when you plop on the couch at night, turn off your phone. You will see how you relax.

Help with burnout and stress.

Reducing stress and recovering from burnout is no mean feat. If you need support, you can count on my help. Preventing a burnout is a lot easier than recovering from one. You will enjoy the result of our 1-on-1 coaching for a lifetime!