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Beyond burnout

I have the honour of hosting an amazing group of ladies (The G8 Ladies), we meet each month to share knowledge, learnings from events and support each other.

In July 2017 our fabulous member Mary-Leigh Scheerhoorn shared her experiences of burning out, tell-tale signs to look out for to avoid burnout & move from exhausted to energised.

Another name for Burn out is Adrenal exhaustion, It's multi-factorial & many things can affect the adrenal glands

  • Trauma

  • Major infection

  • Work related stress which can result from extreme expectations, & not all aligned to your own valuesIn life, what we do needs to give us a sense of coherence, if it doesn't make sense & if you don't have control then this can lead to dis-stress.Symptoms of burnout

  • Sleep dysregulation

  • Inflammation

  • Dizzy spells/vertigo

  • day time sleeps

  • AF Atrial fibrillation

  • Mood swings - irritability

  • Inability to focus & memory loss

  • Hypertension

  • Gut issues

  • Mental health issues eg depression, anxiety, apathy, feelings of hopelessness

  • Concentration - inability to focus & memory loss

It’s important to note that everybody’s body will be different in the signs it gives so this list is not exhaustive. Many who experience these feeling keep them a secret & put on a brave front

Definition of burnout:

  • Emotional exhaustion

  • Physical exhaustion

  • Cognitive weariness

You usually have a feeling of ineffectiveness, of not enough-ness

So, what does Burnout look like? let’s take the analogy of a car:

  • When you turn the key, the lights go on but the engine doesn’t start

  • It feels like you’re driving with the handbrake on

  • With first generation turbo engines, when you turn off the car the engine keeps going - the motor has stopped but the turbo keeps running

  • You put in high octane fuel (coffee, carbs, alcohol) & it doesn’t make a differenceBurnout creeps up on you slowly & is hard to diagnose. Recovering from Burnout is even harder than burning yourself out.It’s essential that you have a mindset change:

  • Put yourself first

  • Be ok with you & where you are

  • Homeostasis – get to the situation where your body starts to heal

  • Assess your priorities

  • Fuel your body with nourishing foods

  • Give it the sleep/rest it needs

 

Contact Mary-Leigh to discuss the Integrated Nutritional Medicine path

M: 0415288928

T: @ML_NutMed

 

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