What is Burnout?

Burnout is technically classed as emotional, mental and physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress. The problem isn't caused by the experience of particular events themselves, but by our capacity to cope with them. It's a moment in time where enough is enough and change is demanded by the body and mind. 

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Burnout is a stress-collapse response caused by prolonged or repeated pressure and stress and can include a complicated mix of unconscious mind patterns, practical issues, and somatic, or body-based responses. It is important that it is seen and treated as a spiritual, emotional and physical problem and needs to be addressed on all of these levels. When it is, the level of personal freedom experienced in the next phase of life can be immense, joyous and uplifting. All too often however the tendency is to paper over the cracks just enough to carry on as 'normal' inviting a cycle of life that includes the maladies of modern living such as anxiety, depression and health issues related to the shutdown of the emotional and physical body.

 

The invitation in working with me is to experience a true and inspired difference that will change your life and those around you. 

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The Approach

There are two ways to approach a burnt out state: Working with what needs to change on an emotional level and what needs to change on a practical level. 

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Both are needed. 

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Using a tool box that works directly on the unconscious mind, the somatics of the body and also supporting you into conscious positive life-changes that make the difference, we will go deep into what is needed to create the most beneficial level of change and to craft a path forward that can uplift and inspire you towards a future that really works. There is no set way of doing this. Each package is carefully crafted for you as an individual and may include in-person or online one-to-one therapeutic work and coaching, relationship work, retreats at our centre in Spain, a workplace audit and onsite training, or something else that emerges as being important in how you can craft your life going forward. There are simple packages and more supported ones. What we do is completely guided by what feels right to you and what you need in this particular moment in your life. Do get in touch and we can find time for an exploratory call to see how I can help. 

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All About Burnout

Burnout Triggers

You are an individual with your own particular alchemy of how you got here. Everyone is so different in how they respond to life and what the mind perceives as a stressor, but there are commonalities in the things that become the tipping point, and often burnout triggers can be made up of some of the following: 

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• A high pressure or stressful job. 

• A lack of a feeling of control over your experience. 

• Constant or prolonged exposure to a stress or threat or something the mind perceives as one.

• Divorce or breakup. 

• Single-parenthood.

• Money worries.

• An illness of yourself or someone you love. 

• Being a carer. 

• Having had a difficult, unstable or abusive childhood. 

• ASD/Aspergers (particularly if you are a high-level masking individual).

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Although incredibly common amongst people in high stress careers (often called executive burnout), a system burnout can happen to anyone in any situation, in any walk of life.

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We class burnout as a system shutdown. It occurs as the body, mind and energetics - the whole system of self - reaches a point of being unable to hold any more of what is being thrown at it. We may think that the solution is just about being able to increase capacity, but in fact it's the opposite. What is actually needed is to learn how to empty out and let go - in mind, in body and in practical ways by designing a life that really works for what you need. 

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With the right support, dealing with burnout is actually an invitation to learn how to live a more inspired and connected life, filled with purpose and passion rather than stress and strain. 

How to Know if You Are Experiencing Burnout?

Burnout is far more common than you might think and with symptoms far more diverse than has been previously been recognised. Burnout is not stress, all though stress leads to burnout. A mix of unconscious patterning and habitual ways of doing things, coupled by additional external stressors might begin to undermine how you do life. You might notice the effect of societal patterns and expectations placed on you, habitual, restrictive ways of breathing and moving, the body starting to react and the mind becoming low and more depressive; the more subtle signs are often missed and people can go for years without knowing what is happening to them until extreme symptoms occur. 

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I call it the whisper that starts to shout, and the shout that starts to scream. Burnout can often be more experienced as the uncomfortable ,silence after the storm as the body and mind look to create a shutdown. 

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How to know if you are experiencing burn-out, or are about to? Most people start with noticing they are doing things to keep going in-spite of the small signs that something is wrong. Addictions can start or become more prevalent, sleep becomes affected, relationships suffer. Below is a list of some of the signs. If these apply to you please do know that lots can be done to help. Making a change early is important. If you are suffering from any of the list below, the chances are that you may have an emerging or well established pattern that could lead to burnout and it is important to do something about it sooner rather than later. ​

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• Feelings of Stress or Overwhelm

• Lack of Energy or Feelings of Exhaustion

• Loss of Motivation

• Difficulty Concentrating

• Sleep Issues

• Lowered Sense of Satisfaction at Work

• Problems with Concentration or Memory

• Feelings of Having a 'Short fuse' or Irritability or Anger

• Detachment or Feeling Remote

• Feeling Alone

• Feeling Overly Negative or Pessimistic

• Excessive Self Criticism

• Disillusionment and Loss of a Sense of Meaning or Purpose

• Feeling anxious

• Excessive Tiredness or Lethargy

• Finding Yourself Not Returning Calls or Emails or Not Showing Up For Commitments

• Withdrawal From Social Situations

• Work Absenteeism or lateness

 

Some of the Physical Symptoms Include: 

• Chronic Fatigue

• Heart palpitations

• Relationship Problems

• Weight Loss/Weight Gain

• Aching, Tired Body

• Low Energy

• Frequent Illnesses due to Lowered Immune System

• Brain Fog

• Loss of Libido

• Insomnia

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The Difference Between Stress and Burnout

When the mind and body experiences a situation which is perceived as stressful, the sympathetic nervous system is activated and there is a release of the body's stress hormones, including cortisol and adrenaline. This is known as the 'Fight or Flight' response. Under a perceived threat we will fight, flight or freeze in order to stay safe, and ultimately, alive.  We tend to have one more predominant response that can be noticed in situations of stress. Which is yours? Perhaps you can know which you're most likely to do in an argument or when you're in a situation that doesn't feel good to you. 

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The Fight or Flight response is designed to be activated quickly and efficiently and then switched off again once the threat is removed (or you are removed from the threat). Think a car that comes out of nowhere as you are crossing the road. You will have a quick shot of cortisol and adrenaline which will make you pull back fast, and will then dissipate and your system will return to normal. 

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But the way we are living now leads to little and often stressors, slow-dripping their way into our lives. Companies are even harnessing this response to sell more and influence us (think social media scrolling). Fast moving traffic, long work hours, a lack of connection to the natural world, constant email checking perhaps even when you're on holiday, social media scrolling, high use of caffeine and other stimulants, smart watches that monitor our hearts and our sleep and tell you how well you are doing (or not), stressful work-lives, busy social diaries... All this keeps the stress response more switched on than off. 

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Stress is the mind/body response to external stimulus, perceived as a threat or danger of some kind. Stress creates movement and action. A panic attack is a topping out of the stress response (too much to hold). And Burnout is the mind and body shutting down when all this goes too far - often creating physical symptoms as a result and flipping into what can ultimately become a physical and mental breakdown or activation of a firm 'off-switch'.

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What Can Be Done

Some experts will talk of 'countering' burnout as a solution, but I advocate a more holistic and permanent path which includes creating a deep shift of the mindsets and emotional responses that helped to create your particular form of burnout, deepening your connection to yourself and to your own particular needs, learning how to let go of the things in your life that are creating stress and system overload - both on an unconscious and conscious level - and teaching you how to craft a life that really works for you. 

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The first step is to get in touch via the contact form and we can schedule an initial call to explore more about how I can help. Following that I will be able to suggest how we can work together either with a package of one-to-one sessions or a private immersion and perhaps an invitation to a small group retreat help at our centre in Spain. 

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