You might have noticed more articles going around about burnout lately, and for good reason. We’re two years into a pandemic and it’s adding stress to every aspect of our lives. When this excess stress piles on for such a long period of time, we eventually can experience burnout, which is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion.
Burnout can cause irritability, depression and a pessimistic attitude. Physical symptoms of burnout levels of stress include headaches, insomnia, digestive disturbances, PMS, neck and shoulder or back tension, and TMJ.
Some burned out people want to give up and never get out of bed, while others want to escape and make huge life changes, like quitting their jobs and moving to another state. It’s important to double down on the self-care and really take care of yourself right now.
Whether you need fresh motivation or are newbie to the world of self-care, these three resources belong in your arsenal.
How to Be Well: The 6 Keys to a Happy and Healthy Life By Frank Lipman, MD. I read his previous book about recovering from burnout, called Revive: Stop Feeling Spent and Start Living Again. This is an updated version with the same six steps. I appreciate his books because he addresses the many aspects of health we need to consciously nurture in order to feel our best. He keeps it simple and covers all the bases.
90 Seconds to a Life you Love By Dr Joan Rosenberg. This book is empowering and motivating. It’s logical, easy to ready, and written by an actual psychologist. Are you stuck in negative emotions and unpleasant feelings? Are they blocking you from success, confidence, and happiness? Dr. Rosenberg will teach you what these “Eight Unpleasant Feelings” are, why we avoid them and how that basically makes everything worst. If we are stuck in the emotion and don’t know how to process it, we try to distract ourselves from them instead. This can then lead to anxiety and depression. Instead of going down this path of avoidance, numbing, and pushing emotions down deeper, she will teach you how to handle unpleasant emotions by feeling them and letting them go, knowing that they only last for 90-seconds if you let them run their course. She also teaches how to use our brain's reward centers to build better habits and create the life we want.
The Adult Chair by Michelle Chelfant. I’ll be honest, I haven’t read the book. But, I do listen to her podcast and am a member of her monthly membership program, so I feel 100% confident in recommending anything from her. The basic idea of her work is that we are made up of many different parts. Some parts of us are younger versions of ourselves that never healed through a trauma and are stuck in the past. When we are triggered by a similar situation as the original event, we become that younger self. For example, have you ever noticed that when some people are told what to do, they become angry, defiant adolescents instead of reasonable adults? They are triggered and go into their adolescent chair and will continue to do so until they go inside themselves and work on their issues. We ALL have triggers that take us out of our current age, adult selves. Michelle's work a great way to learn how to deal with your triggers. And this helps because so much of burnout exhaustion is on the mental and emotional levels. Here's a link to her podcast https://theadultchair.com/podcasts/ For a crash course on the adult chair model, go here first. https://theadultchair.com/adult-chair-model/
If you are truly struggling with burnout, you don't need to do it alone. Acupuncture can help soothe your nervous system and bring you back to a calm, centered state. I'd love to help you feel like your best self again.