Lifestyle tips to help burnout

Chronic stress, burnout, adrenal fatigue - sound familiar?!

It's estimated that up to 80% of doctors visits are due to stress related causes - with society getting busier, people having less time for self care, social networks and communities breaking down due to urbanisation, pressures from social media, and the unprecedented demands of the recent pandemic and more

Burnout is becoming increasingly common, especially in areas such as health care.

So talking about how to recognise, and simple ways to help counteract it has never been more important!

Symptoms of chronic stress can include:

✔️feeling on edge, unable to relax, irritable

✔️trouble falling asleep, early morning waking

✔️fatigue that doesn't improve with rest

✔️recurrent infections

✔️muscle pain/tension

✔️unexplained weight gain

✔️blood sugar spikes and crashes

✔️craving carbs or sugar

✔️missed or irregular periods

✔️racing heart or palpitations

( please see your doctor if any of these are new or severe, to rule out other causes)

We've covered how stress affects the body in another post - so this one is how to manage it!!

Diet can have a big impact, things that help us physically cope better with stress include :

✔️eating balanced meals with adequate protein and healthy fat (balances blood sugar) 

✔️including complex carbs with each meal (reduces cortisol and helps gut health) ie wholegrains, legumes

✔️avoiding high GI refined carbs and added sugar (exacerbates blood sugar issues, fatigue and cravings and adds to inflammation )

✔️limiting alcohol and caffeine

✔️focus on including lots of whole plant foods (contain magnesium and b vitamins, both of which are needed in higher amounts during times of stress)

✔️add fermented foods and prebiotic foods (improve gut health and may reduce stress levels)

✔️consider time restricted eating (not eating after 7pm for 12-16h), may counteract effect of cortisol and reduce inflammation (note that for some people this can be too much of a stress on the body though, as it works as a micro stressor)

✔️green tea /matcha may also help as it contains EGCG, a compound which can help to counteract stress

In addition to diet, there are lots of practical ways to reduce stress levels and improve our ability to cope with stress:

✔️gentle exercise (this reduces cortisol and adrenaline, relieves muscle tension, improves vagus nerve function)

✔️spending time in nature (can reduce cortisol by up to 60%)

✔️switching off screens for a period of time daily (these create microstress due to constant stimulation and attention switching, which is highly demanding for our brain)

✔️setting boundaries ie clear times for work /home , and saying no to non essential commitments

✔️prioritising sleep (sleep deprivation raises cortisol, worsens fatigue and cravings) 

✔️practicing self compassion, and trying to give yourself a break if you're feeling overwhelmed (rather than trying to do everything all the time)

✔️deep breathing (switches off the 'fight or flight' response )

✔️writing down stressors creates a feeling of control, and helps you prioritise and manage them

✔️make a list of what makes you feel relaxed, and try doing something daily

✔️meditation (changes brain function,meaning it reacts less to stress). Walking meditation is great if you find it hard to sit still

Some of these things are obviously easier than others, and it can be challenging to set boundaries for example. Yet becoming aware of how different things are affecting us, and starting to prioritise those which build us up, rather than drain us, can make a huge difference!