Is it Burnout?
Your stomach is in knots. You’re exhausted. Maybe you’re under a great deal of stress at the moment. Or maybe you went through a huge life stressor years ago and, trust me, it’s catching up with you now.
In today’s hustle culture, we are all routinely exposed to stress. How we deal with the stress varies from person to person. If you’re anything like me, you lose sleep, obsess over the stress more, fall out of your routine, lose focus, lose your temper, and struggle to decompress. Oh, and let’s not forget: eating more junk food.
But aside from the mental and emotional toll that the stress takes on the brain, the stomach can also show tell-tale signs of burnout. If you’ve ever felt like your stomach was in knots, it could be that your gut microbiome was communicating with your brain to tell you something was wrong. The microbes in our guts are controlling our mood and also telling the brain how to respond, how to digest, release more (or less) hormones, produce more (or less) antibodies, and so much more. Stress aggravates the microbiome and the microbiome starts the reaction process in the stress cycle.
How to cope with stress
There’s a few ways you can work on how your body copes with stress:
“The idea behind each of these periodic “away moments” is to remove yourself from the dopamine you’ve been marinating in.”
Step away
Taking breaks is critical. And this doesn’t just mean for 20 minutes here and there through the work day. It means every night after your work day ends, shut it all down.
Every day, fill your mind and heart with activities that bring you joy. Take a walk with the dog, read with your kids, turn off your phone and watch your favourite tv show. Get the thoughts of your stressor out of mind. Make dinner and enjoy the process of each ingredient as you include it in your recipe. Eating well is integral to stress relief, enjoying the process of cooking is equally as gratifying as eating it.
But your away time isn’t just daily, it’s weekly - by turning off your phone. That’s right. Try to turn off your phone for a day. Or at least set it down for most of the day on your weekend.
Then plan a weekend away every 3 or 4 months. Think of getting into nature for at least 48 hours at a time.
And once a year, make a week for transformation. Yes, transformation is key in investing in your recovery. Not a vacation, a full week to go through something transformational for you. A course, a retreat, an actual mind-blowing experience. My mind goes to travel, as seeing the world changes me in so many ways. Whatever you choose, ensure you get the very most out of it for you.
The idea behind each of these periodic “away moments” is to remove yourself from the dopamine you’ve been marinating in. As your brain has become so accustomed to craving more and more dopamine, with little reward throughout your working days in return, your threshold for dopamine keeps increasing. It’s necessary to take time away from the dopamine-rushes at work. And if you’re finding this all very boring, that means you have a lot of work to do since your threshold for stimulation is way too high!
Clock out
“When you set boundaries on your work hours, you have prioritized your well-being...”
If your stress is coming strongly with texts, calls and emails after the workday has ended and you live in Ontario, I have good news for you. The province has just passed a “disconnect law” which states that employers of 25+ employees must have a written policy in place to ensure that employees have the right to disconnect from work-related communications after their shift is over. This move by the province will help to ensure that employees rights are protected outside of work hours.
Whether you live in Ontario or not, setting boundaries is most important. Written or unwritten policies have always existed for many companies, but we’ve all found ourselves crossing the boundaries in these after-work hours at times. When you set boundaries on your work hours, you have prioritized your well-being and most employers want this for you. After all, it costs them in the form of profits to repair or replace you.
Clocking out is important to your nutrition habits too. Working longer hours during the work week leads to bad habits in/out of the kitchen; i.e. more junk food or fast food. Finding yourself well prepped with healthy snacks is one way to beat this. But so is stepping away from work when the workday is over. Get into the kitchen, roll up your sleeves and create a healthy and nutritious meal. Here’s a go-to favourite of mine that is quick, easy and so nourishing.
Breathwork & alternative approaches
You’ve likely heard about Wim Hof and his revolutionary breathwork & cold therapy technique. This somatic experience, modulates your nervous system between sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest & digest). Those that are suffering from addiction may find cold water exposure to be extremely beneficial in working through any addiction, including “work addiction”. It works by shutting down the executive functioning in your brain for you to process an accumulated amount of unprocessed stress, trauma, and emotions. Ice baths tend to increase norepinephrine (a neurotransmitter responsible for mood regulation, attention and vigilance) which leads to a state of presence. At the same time, the body also undergoes a reduction in inflammation, key to helping the body deal with any type of stress.
However, just like anything, ice baths alone won’t cure you. It takes dedication to the practice along with breathwork. A practice of guided breathwork can help activate the sympathetic nervous system, while down-regulating the parasympathetic nervous system, and allow for emotional regulation.
If ice baths aren’t in your future, I got you. Heart-focused breathwork is the answer that is easy to implement into your daily routine. It takes dedication and practice, but the rewards are unsurmountable.
Click the button below to book your free clarity call today to unlock the secret behind heart-focused breathwork.
Key Takeaways
Want to find out if it’s burnout? Take the free burnout quiz.
Being honest with yourself about your behaviour is the first step. Admitting to your burnout.
Creating routine and establishing a pattern or interrupting your burnout is crucial. Finding a routine that works best for you is how I can help.
I take a holistic approach with my clients to find the most potent stress-relievers through nutrition, their method of exercise, breathwork and a mindfulness practice. When you’re ready to embark on your freedom from burnout, let’s chat.
Sources:
Eltokhi, A., & Sommer, I. E. (2022). A reciprocal link between gut Microbiota, inflammation and depression: A place for probiotics? Frontiers in Neuroscience, 16, 852506. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.852506
Flux MC, Lowry CA. Finding intestinal fortitude: Integrating the microbiome into a holistic view of depression mechanisms, treatment, and resilience. Neurobiol Dis. 2020;135:104578. doi:10.1016/j.nbd.2019.104578
Mooventhan, A., & Nivethitha, L. (2014). Scientific evidence-based effects of hydrotherapy on various systems of the body. North American Journal of Medical Sciences, 6(5), 199–209. https://doi.org/10.4103/1947-2714.132935
Ticinesi, A., Lauretani, F., Tana, C., Nouvenne, A., Ridolo, E., & Meschi, T. (2019). Exercise and immune system as modulators of intestinal microbiome: implications for the gut-muscle axis hypothesis. Exercise Immunology Review, 25, 84–95. http://www.eir-isei.de/2019/eir-2019-084-article.pdf
