Healing & Preventing Burnout
Burnout is a phenomenon that’s becoming increasingly common for modern individuals. Though alternative practitioners have known about and treated burnout for years, it has recently been recognized as a diagnosable condition by the World Health Organization under the heading “occupational phenomenon.”
Many women experience debilitating fatigue, chronic lethargy, and feelings of overall depletion. This is a sign of the times but is also related to women’s giving/nurturing instincts. To prevent burnout, an important place to start is to remember to prioritize what's really important in life and to drop the rest – to take some stuff off your plate, essentially. Women tend to take on too much these days, wanting to “have it all” and to be Wonderwoman. Between kids, family obligations, work, a social life, and wellness practices, it quickly becomes unsustainable. It’s important to remember that having it all simply isn’t possible, and that we must choose what’s truly most important to us (and of course, this will naturally change and doesn’t need to stay static!). There are things that we can say NO to, delegate, or pay someone else to do, for example.
Taking care of yourself doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, some of the most nourishing things you can do for yourself every day are quite simple. Most of us are living at an unsustainable pace & in order for healing and restoration to occur it's helpful to integrate some of the following into our daily, weekly & monthly routines:
Spend time in nature daily + practice mindfulness meditation. Spending time in nature may be the #1 remedy for exhaustion. Being in nature helps to reset our biological clock, regulates circadian rhythms, and balances cortisol levels. These effects can significantly reduce depression & fatigue symptoms and lift mood, while also grounding and restoring the nervous system.
Try: Many find that spending just 15-20 minutes in nature or outdoors every day has profound benefits. Mindfulness meditations in nature can be incredibly healing. Start by simply getting into nature and becoming aware of and in tune with your surroundings. Look for a trail or park nearby, walk on the beach, or simply spend time in your backyard.
Get 10-20 minutes of sunlight daily. Sunlight often gets a bad rep, as excessive sunlight can be quite damaging to our skin. But daily sun exposure is actually quite healing. It can improve our mood, increase our energy levels, and help reset our circadian rhythms. Sunlight is also needed to synthesize vitamin D. In fact, vitamin D is most bioavailable and easily used by our bodies when we absorb it through our skin, as opposed to when we only ingest it.
Try: Getting 10-20 minutes of unprotected sun exposure first thing in the morning will help regulate your circadian rhythm and elevate your vitamin D levels.
Drink plenty of water daily: ½ your body weight (in lbs) in ounces of water. Water is needed for nearly every process in our body including digestion, nutrient transportation, joint lubrication, and detoxification. When we are properly hydrated, our minds are clearer, our digestion is more regular, and we perform better in all aspects of our lives.
Try: Aim to drink ½ your body weight (in lbs) in ounces of water a day, preferably filtered water out of BPA-free material, such as glass.
As women, it’s helpful to add in supportive foods supplements & herbs high in iron, zinc, vitamin D, vitamin B12, vitamin B9, iodine, and selenium—along with omega 3 fats like DHA and amino acids from proteins.
Add in: Nettle tea, lentils, spinach, sesame, sunflower, flax & hemp seeds, garbanzo beans, olives, chard, kidney beans, dark leafy greens, spirulina, chlorella, chlorophyll, shiitake mushrooms, fatty fish such as salmon, pasture-raised eggs, organic greek yogurt, nutritional yeast, seaweeds, nuts & seeds, citrus fruits, sweet potatoes, sprouted brown & forbidden rice.
Have regular meals + regular mealtimes. Eating at regular intervals throughout the day ensures that your blood sugar is balanced, which is incredibly important for managing anxiety and maintaining energy levels. When our blood sugar is balanced, we feel sustained energy throughout the day, as opposed to the peaks and valleys that can come with insulin spikes and crashes, and which result in exhaustion and fatigue. And while it may seem tempting to skip meals when things get busy, this is sure to cause trouble with sustaining energy levels later on.
Try: Prepare yourself some balanced, easy to digest meals full of protein, fat, and fiber to eat throughout the day. If you have a really busy schedule, plan ahead & choose 1 day a week to meal prep, find healthy options near your home or work, and opt for meals that are simple and can be layered with multiple ingredients like salads, soups, and smoothies.
Get gentle daily exercise. Movement is incredibly important for our bodies and minds. But high-intensity exercise, like sprinting or boot camp classes, increases cortisol, the stress hormone. This can be problematic if the body is already under a lot of stress, leaving you fatigued and more prone to injury. Instead, try exercising in gentler ways, like walking or hiking in nature. This decreases inflammation, boosts your immunity, calms the nervous system, and can help you recover quicker.
Try: Walking daily on a trail in a forest or near a park for 30 minutes, preferably in the sun or natural light if possible.
Take tech breaks as often & as much as you need! Excessive blue light exposure, particularly at night, is contributing to a number of different health issues including insomnia, disrupted sleep cycles, depression, depletion, eye strain, and macular degeneration. The constant cycle of checking emails and social media notifications has also been directly linked with poor mental health, as it makes us feel like we need to constantly be “on” and responding, increasing feelings of anxiety, pressure, and tension.
Try: Limiting your daily screen time, limiting social media use to 30 minutes a day, taking days fully off of tech + wearing blue light glasses if your work requires lots of computer time. Signing off 2-3 hours before bed is also helpful to support restful sleep.
Practice deep breathing throughout the day. Deep breathing through the nose has been shown to calm the nervous system, relax the body, and improve our mental state. It can reduce stress and anxiety as well as alkalize the body and decrease inflammation.
Try: Taking a few moments to breathe deeply into your diaphragm is an amazing way to stay grounded and level-headed throughout the day. Start by breathing in through the nose for a count of four, pausing at the top, and exhaling through the nose for a count of four. Repeat this as many times as needed until you feel relaxed and serene. 10-15 rounds is a powerful way to come back into your body.
Prioritize sleep. Try to stick to regular sleep & wake times and take naps as needed. Every bit of our being benefits from regular, restorative sleep.
Try: Setting a routine that includes 7-8 hours of sleep that starts before midnight is key for restoring harmony.
Sip herbal infusions. Herbal infusions are made by steeping herbs for 4-8 hours to make nourishing, healing, nutrient-rich brews to drink all day long. Infusions can be enjoyed hot or cold and can be made from a variety of herbs, depending on what you may need. You can also do short brew infusions for 20 minutes & then add more water to the remaining herbs & let them steep overnight.
Include a variety of herbs that help to nourish & restore the body + help the body adapt to and heal from excess stress. Try: Herbs like holy basil, oat straw, nettle, red rasberry, ashwagandha, schisandra, skullcap, and burdock for a wide range of healing benefits and daily nutrients.
Potentially supportive supplements: Vitamin B12, vitamin D, various adaptogens, and CBD are all supplements that can help the body adapt to stress and heal burnout.
If you’re experiencing burnout, it’s important to test for vitamin & mineral deficiencies, plus blood sugar & hormone imbalances (including cortisol) that may be adding to exhaustion. It’s always best to work directly with a holistic practitioner for individualized recommendations & support.