How to deal with burnout and stress

The first way to deal with burnout is primarily to recognise the signs of stress, accept the feelings of exhaustion and honour the process of recovery.

So what is burnout?

Burnout is primarily a result of prolonged states of stress. Professional organisations that provide counselling on burnout rehabilitation describe this sense of exhaustion as follows.

“A state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands.”

HelpGuide.org

Does this sound familiar? For many people in the workforce this feeling of stress that leads to exhaustion will really resonate. Prolonged seasons of overworking to satisfy working life demands while catering to family are partly to blame for a constant feeling of fatigue.

This means trying to meet others’ needs and making time for everyone but Self. The perfect recipe that – in the long run – brings the onset of a complete shut down. A bit like the lock down we are experiencing at this time.

Medical research points to the need to understand the clinical bases which constitute this occupational exhaustion syndrome. The paper argues that emotional exhaustion is a major contributing factor to burnout.

So what is the cause of burnout if not the outside world? The answer lies in the inner Self. In the way we view ourselves as “not good enough” and constantly proving to the world that we have a right to exist.

Fundamentally burnout can be a measure of the level of self worth we have about our gifts and life purpose.

For when we are truly confident about who we are and of our gifts, we have nothing to prove. Then our boss, manager, partner, friends, children – you name it, all can feel this about us. Namely, whether we honour or do not honour ourselves.

Whether we are living our Truth and our authentic, uncompromisingly Self. Or whether we are living someone else’s paradigm.

People around us feel it in our frequency – even if they may not realise it. Because as – Nikola Tesla says, everything is frequency. A principle that powers us at the The Energy Space so that we can find ways to serve you best.

The primary step however, has to come from you and your awareness.

Are you aware of the signs of burnout?

We may not realise, but most people struggle with low energy levels and fatigue every day without really questioning it. It is just a state of Being that is accepted. For those of you who have been on the verge of burn out, perhaps you think you can release it with a good night’s rest at the weekend. But unfortunately it takes longer than that.

For some of you, it can hit so hard that the mind shuts down into some level of depression. Or for some it may cause the body to come up with an acute inflammatory condition that forces you to be still.

Yet the signs are loud and clear. If you have a persistent sense of overwhelm, from the moment you wake up in the morning to evening, then that is one clear sign. Often you may suffer from insomnia, with the mind waking you up with anxieties that feel bigger than they actually are.

Such anxieties need to be processed, yet the tired mind cannot cope. Or you just cannot sleep unless you take certain substances that you have trained the mind to take.

Have you ever experienced burnout in your life?

It becomes something similar to a chronic condition.

If you have experienced burnout, the best you can do is to start honouring yourself at a deep level.

Among such practices could be the following.

• Work less and perform better in short bursts
• Take time to deeply relax and rest
• Engage in a practice such as yoga, meditation or mindfulness
• Centre yourself and regularly come back to your home frequency
• Use breath work to do this if it helps. Buy a book with breathing techniques and practice daily – even if for just 5 minutes

Allow the parasympathetic nervous system to rest and digest.

This part of the autonomic nervous system conserves energy. It slows the heart rate and increases intestinal and gland activity. It also relaxes the sphincter muscles in the gastrointestinal tract.

All of this means that those heart palpitations you experienced, that IBS you suffered, or that skin flare-up, quite suddenly wane. And why?

Because you began to allow your body to be still and align to the frequencies of the universe, of mother earth. To honour self so that you can serve others more completely and effectively.

The secret: your home frequency

Give yourself time to observe who you are and feel into your home frequency. This is the essence of who you truly are. And this is the unique gift that the world truly wants from you – nothing else.