Beyond Burnout - How to cope and reclaim control (Part 2)

If you’ve read Part 1 then you will know that I am about to share some practical ways you can reclaim control and fell more calm in the chaos.

When you stop living on stress and adrenaline, you may feel emotional, spiritual and physical discomfort - it's not unlike putting out a fire—the smoke makes it hard to breathe for a while.

Find one small activity that centers you and then make time for it—no matter what. If it feels uncomfortable at first, that's okay. Cooling down takes practice.

If you need or desire in person support to ‘cooling down’ …. please reach out to me. 

AIR

A - Awareness

Becoming aware that something may not be right is the first step, and the fact that you are reading this right now shows that you are bringing awareness to this topic, so I celebrate you for doing that.

Learn more. We need to be able to identify the tell-tale signs of burnout and exhaustion within ourselves so that we can then potentially notice it in others. This is key because the effects of it if we do not - are debilitating.

Emotions and burnout affect every single system inside of our bodies - emotionally, physically, mentally, and even spiritually.

Increase your awareness as much as possible in a way that is non-judgmental and stay curious and playful. To bring yourself back into the present moment awareness is to use your senses.

So right now, perhaps become aware of what you can see besides this article. Take your sight off the screen, into the horizon beyond that. What can you hear? What can you smell? Is there anything you can taste, a residual taste in your mouth? What can you feel? Can you feel the ground supporting your feet, the chair behind you?

Often our awareness can be in the past or in the future, which just increases the sense of hyperarousal and does not help us fully experience and express our emotions.

I - Inspiration

Which literally is, inspire. Breathe in, and do that now, maybe. Were you maybe holding your breath, or not breathing deeply, but rather more shallow breaths?

Many of us are not breathing effectively. We need air, and we need this inspiration to help our body physiologically. Relax, but also stay present and use oxygen to help support the brain and all the reactions that are happening.

When was the last time you felt inspired? There is a brilliant TED Talk by Ingrid Fetell Lee, titled "Where Joy Hides and How to Find It." I love it. In it she shares that nature is filled with joy – why not get inspired in nature – go and lie on the lawn or go for a walk outside. Look at the leaves and the flowers, the clouds, how beautiful is nature?

In my recent Masterclass ‘Beyond Burnout’ I helped participants to leave with their own blueprint of things that are inspirational to them. If you are not inspiring yourself, you potentially could be accelerating yourself towards burnout and fatigue.

R – Release

and that is how we release these pent-up emotions. Here are two ideas (there are more, but two will suffice for now).

Talking them out helps, but using the body helps too. Movement or exercise are great stress relievers.

The more you sit behind computer and phone screens, the more you need to be moving your body. Go for a walk, a run, do some gardening or some yoga – whatever floats your boat, but just move.

Another way is to speak the language of the body and just trust that intuitively your body knows what to do. What I have been doing to help facilitate that is 15-minute release session every morning by listening to various stress busting meditations by The Healing Hub founded by Nikki Owen. I do this most mornings in bed before I start my day.

Sometimes I do not know what I am releasing with these meditations, but it does not matter. The body knows, and the body keeps score, it remembers. Give your body a chance to release your pent-up emotions, and although you may feel a bit weird at first, I can promise you that the end results are way worth it.

You could also play a song (my favourite is Shake it off by Taylor Swift) and dance and shake your body like no one’s watching!

If you found some of these tips to be beneficial, or if you are looking for more practical ideas or possibly you are just curious, or you are worried about a loved one or colleague that you feel may be pushing themselves too far or is just super exhausted, or even if you just want to bring back some joy, balance and the ability to cope in life then reach out to me.

A healthy person has a thousand wishes. A sick or a burnt-out person has one. May you have a thousand wishes. And if you do not, let me or someone else help you.