The main reason for burnout is sustained stress over weeks, months and even years.
There comes a point where it becomes unmanageable for the body and so exhaustion, as a form of compensation, is the result.
The stress response is designed for situations where we feel in danger, threatened, and the way we deal with this is with three mechanisms: fight, freeze or flee. If we imagine that we have a lion in front of us, our response would be one of these three, and once safe, the stress level would decrease. That is, it would not stay in our body, because the reaction would end the emotion.
This is the step we miss every time we feel stressed, the one that releases the stress and lets our body know that we are no longer "in danger". Then, days, weeks, months, years go by, and this "you're safe now" moment doesn't come. The stress builds up and suddenly you realise that things you didn't react to, were irritated by, or annoyed by before, start to cause these emotions.
So how do we give ourselves this message of safety in a practical, actionable way, such as today? Understanding that stress is reflected in physical ways, the best way to relieve it is to respond in the same language:
- Get moving: Run. Go for a walk.
- Take a tour of the development.
- Dance to your favourite song.
- Do 20 squats.
- Stretching.
Nothing that generates more stress just thinking about doing it, of course. Something simple, pleasant.
It sends the message to your body that "the warning situation is over" and you can take your attention away from the problem.
If you can't at that moment, tense all the muscles in your body: start with your feet, legs, abdomen, arms, back, neck, and then relax them.
Breathing exercises: as I have already said, breathing is one of the first things to speed up when there is stress. Inhale for 8 seconds, exhale for 8 seconds. Repeat until you feel calmer. Call someone you love. And if you have them close to you, hug them for 20 seconds. This creates a sense of security. Watch funny videos. Laughing works magic. All these things close the stress cycle. They end the process. " I got stressed and I relaxed. "It started and it's over.
Now, if you feel you are past the stress stage and into burnout, fill out this form from Program We Take Care of You and request a session with a coach or therapist. They will put you on the right path to healing based on what you need.
