Burnout is often a slow slide of unconsciously neglecting ourselves. To tend to our wellbeing and health is as essential as any other aspect. Within us the aspects of self-knowledge, self-care, building strength and adaptability through self-acceptance and expression, all need a little TLC daily. Just as we tend to the gardens of our career and relationships, learning to tend to ourselves is fulfilling, rewarding and deeply nourishing not only for ourselves but for all those we love and look after. And essential to living well and reclaiming the wellbeing we so desire. Download PDF for easy tips.
Our present stress epidemic results in 80% of doctor visits. 52% of professionals are at risk of burnout. And 80% report that their stress is work related. Burnout affects two thirds of employees mental, emotional and physical health[1]. Burnout prevention prevents employee absenteeism.
Burnout that is left untreated can lead to chronic depression, anxiety attacks, a loss of control and self-confidence, as well as heart disease and high cholesterol. Worldwide 615 million suffer from depression and anxiety, costing US$1trillion each year in productivity[2]. Both yoga therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy are equally effective, and even complementary, in prevention and recovery of burnout,[3][4] because we work top-down and bottomup; meaning we use cognitive as well as somatic and sensory restoration and reintegration to heal deeply and allow the calm to move through our many layers.
Symptoms
- Extreme fatigue
- Disturbed sleep and biorhythms
- Low immunity and confidence
- Digestive issues and lack of appetite
- Shortness of breath
- Emotional exhaustion
- Irritability
- Social withdrawal
- Mental distancing and skin problems
- Lack of focus and decision making
- Chronic fatigue and depression
- Darkening of skin pigmentation of face, especially around the eyes
Causes
- Long work hours, excessive work, workplace politics, perfectionism, job insecurity[5]
- People pleasing, our own sense of never being good enough or doing enough
- Too many responsibilities, choices, roles, expectations
- Insufficient rest, family time and time management
Excessive intake is a major culprit to mental and emotional overwhelm- We take in more information in one day than someone did in a lifetime 150yrs ago![6]
Treatment & Strategies
- Social support
- Yoga Wellness & Resilience Training[7] that includes
- Rest and relaxation techniques
- Physical strength building
- Physiological regulation
- Hormonal homeostasis
- Vagal tone
- Mindfulness
- Emotional literacy training
- Recognising and creating boundaries
Taking time to process the INTAKE; information, media, conversations, social interactions is done via OUTPUT; rest, pause, physical activities, yoga, meditation and creative work or journaling.
Yoga Therapy Wellness & Resilience Training
Yoga therapy wellness trainings use both the body and the mind; top down and bottom-up approach, creating an integrative and effective strategy. Reclaiming overall wellbeing with longer lasting benefits due to body awareness and self-knowledge, allowing continual self-regulation long after the training or therapy is finished.
In the next 6 weeks I’m going to share with you the six steps to a quicker recovery, a better prevention techniques and results based steps needed to ensure we don’t slide into the old habits that brought it about in the first place. These help us gain body-awareness, effective self-care, emotional agency, mental clarity and enable physiological self-regulation.
Knowing ourselves and listening to our bodies cues, we understand our needs, abilities, weaknesses, boundaries and goals, both personal and professional. Boundaries require a healthy sense of self from which to feel our emotions and distinguish them from others. Enabling us to discern our needs, wants and abilities for physical, physiological and psychological.
6 Weeks to Reclaim Wellbeing
Week 1 Self-knowledge Understand your personal health needs, abilities, boundaries, weaknesses and goals. Re-evaluate.
Week 2 Self-care Learn how to move from fight/flight mode into rest/digest to heal and restore. Relax.
Week 3 Strength & Resilience Build physical strength to improve physiological homeostasis; mood, energy and bounce back. Resist.
Week 4 Adaptability & Flexibility Physical, emotional and mental flexibility equals adaptability to life’s changes and challenges. Revitalise.
Week 5 Emotion & Expression Clear emotional expression affects physiological and hormonal health beneficially. Reclaim.
Week 6 Mental Clarity Vagus nerve activation improves mental calm and clarity ensuring wellbeing and self-agency. Reintegrate.
Benefits of Yoga Wellness & Resilience Training
- Learn techniques to access vagal parasympathetic activation for rest/ digest, tend and befriend
- Gain self-awareness, mindfulness and associated mental calm, focus, solution identity and clarity
- Improves physical strength, biorhythms and diaphragmatic breathing
- Increases physiological homeostasis, energy levels, self-regulation and agency
- Decreases sense of loss of control, emotional reactivity and exhaustion
- Improves Sleep health, Digestion, Breath capacity, Energy levels, Sense of connection
Immunity & Sense of Self, Mental focus, Mental clarity, Adaptability, Ability to relax, Emotional availability, Mental presence
Be Moved Feel alive & Move Into Living Well with and through your own effort, knowledge and some very simple and effective tools.
[1] https://www.actec.com/2018/09/17/how-to-prevent-employee-burnout-absenteeism-and-turnover/
[2] https://everyonesocial.com/blog/employee-burnout-statistics/
[3] https://bmccomplementmedtherapies.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12906-018-2141-9
[4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32805013/
[1] https://barendspsychology.com/burnout-facts/
[1] Fiona Agombar, Yoga Therapy for Stress, Burnout & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, 2021, Singing Dragon.
[2] https://hbr.org/2019/12/burnout-is-about-your-workplace-not-your-people
