Beating Burnout
In our last post, we talked about what burnout is, why it’s important to avoid it and what the common signs are. But what if you’re already there? What if you’re already running on that trail, heading towards burnout and you need to slow down and head in a different direction?
Today, we’re sharing tried and tested tools and techniques to help manage those stress levels, beat the immense feelings of overwhelm and avoid the burnout.
Before we continue, we need to refer back to the body’s response system to stress.
There are two parts to our nervous system – the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the “fight or flight” response we talked about in our last post and the parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for the “rest and digest” state. Put simply, the parasympathetic system restores the body to a state of calm, helping the body to conserve energy, rest and restore its normal functions.
The ability to switch from “fight or flight” to “rest and digest” is critical to our overall health and wellbeing but in today’s fast-paced, over-scheduled lifestyles, a return to relaxation doesn’t always occur, so the “fight or flight” reaction remains switched on. This chronic stress disrupts the balance we need for optimal health, puts out bodies into a pro-inflammatory state and leaves us at risk of a whole host of health problems including depression, anxiety, weight gain, digestive issues, heart disease and amongst others, burnout.
So to work on getting off that burnout trail, we need to find ways to activate the relaxation response i.e. boost the parasympathetic nervous system as well as deactivate the sympathetic nervous system.
Measures to activate the parasympathetic nervous system:
Work on building a daily morning routine. Start your day with an activity that brings you joy and gives you a sense of achievement, be that stretching, a walk or run, yoga or meditation, journaling, some quiet reading or study time and preparing for the day ahead.
Similarly, create a before-bed routine. Set a consistent bedtime and stick to it. Allow for 7-8 hours of sleep a night to allow your body to restore, rejuvenate and follow its natural cycle. Avoid TV or screen time in the run-up. Cut out caffeine and avoid strenuous exercise, heavy meals or sugary snacks. Have a hot shower or a soak in the tub, listen to music or read a book and journal if you wish.
Journalling has been proven to be excellent for the management of stress, allowing you to practice gratitude, release negative emotions and clarify your thoughts and feelings.
Engage in diaphragmatic breathing, which is excellent for calming the nerves and combatting anxiety. This kind of breathing encourages full oxygen exchange, slows the heartbeat and lowers or stabilises blood pressure. Take a moment to pause, become aware of your breath and breath slowly and deeply, making sure you have a long, slow exhalation. Deep slow breathing has the capacity to double your Heart Rate Variability (HRV), which is an important indicator of being in a calm and relaxed state. For app lovers and gadget geeks, there are various smart devices and apps to help you monitor your HRV.
Eat well – eating whole foods (cutting out processed foods) will support your body to come back to balance. Simply eat more fresh veggies and fruits to fuel your body with fibre and the nutrients it needs to function.
Hydrate often - drinking regularly will support your body to operate at its best – we are made up of 60% water so if we are dehydrated your body will tap into its reserves and again be under strain. Remember, when you feel thirsty, it means that you are already dehydrated.
Measures to deactivate the Sympathetic Nervous System:
Explore how you perceive stress i.e. the amount of stress you feel when under pressure. Two people in the exact same situation may perceive the amount of stress caused completely differently. This of course impacts the necessary response to cope with it.
Get some perspective – schedule some time in nature every day, even if just for a brief walk or a momentary pause to breathe fresh air and enjoy natural light. This really does shift our perception and it’s free!
Go easy on the caffeine… if you can cut it out, do so or if you’re too addicted, cut back from early afternoon and opt for decaffeinated coffee. The idea is to calm your already overstimulated nervous system and caffeine continues to aggravate it. If you are struggling with energy levels and feelings of lethargy, consider natural energised products such as Uplift from JuicePlus that contains ingredients like Yerba Mate, beetroot, tart cherry and other fruits providing natural sources of Vitamin B(ANNE – DETAILS???)
Optimise your sleep – as mentioned above, this is key to allow your nervous system to calm down. A good sleep all starts with a good bedtime routine.
Incorporate regular restorative practices such as tai chi, qi gong or restorative yoga. Here are some useful links (link). Depending on the level of stress you are under, fast and furious exercise is not going to support bringing down your stress levels so if you feel you need to do something more active, then swim some laps, go for a low heart rate run (monitor it as you might find you need to walk to keep in the zone) or lift some weights, but avoid any training session that will spike your heart rate for an extended period. The key word here is restorative… just until your stress levels come down. (Difficult I know for the type-A’s out there!)
Organise your work and living spaces to be clutter-free, peaceful environments. Clutter increases stress, signals a lack of control and impedes your ability to focus.
The same applies to your life in general so unsubscribe to the mails that don’t add value to you, avoid people who drain you, close or consolidate social media accounts, tackle your inbox, stay on top of admin and get rid of paperwork you no longer need.
Plan your schedule using a daily or weekly planner, but allow for contingency so stress and anxiety don’t set in when things don’t go to plan. Distractions or changes to your original plan don’t need to derail you… be prepared to be adaptable and flexible to handle whatever lie throws at you.
Prioritising your tasks helps you to remain focused. And remember that multi-tasking is less productive and more stressful than single-tasking. Never hesitate to delegate. Effective delegating prevents stress and empowers others around you.
Recovery from burnout isn’t a quick process. It takes time to get there… weeks, months or sometimes years to heal. But take one day at a time and do your very best on each day. Remember that a bad day means nothing more than a bad day. A new dawn signals a new beginning.
People tend to do much better when they’re accountable to others, so find an individual or small group to support you. This can be as informal as friends or family… or via a dedicated group of others on the same journey. I have recently launched details of a 7-day group programme that starts Monday 7th June, to address your stress and beat the burnout.
If you would like to know more about this, please connect to arrange a complimentary call. I work with clients in all four corners, helping them to avoid or overcome burnout and regain balance in their lives.
Call: +49 176 43403836
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Email: anne@petersen-costa.com
Visit: www.annepetersencosta.com