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From Burnout to BalanceBy Gill Molteno
Educational Psychologist & Director of Study for Success
Email: [email protected], Twitter: @Gill_Molteno
What is burnout? Burnout: extreme fatigue, manifested physically, emotionally & spiritually (‘The Joy of Burnout’ by Dr Glouberman)
Symptoms:Extreme tirednessPoor attentionAn increase in TV, junk food, alcohol etc.Closing downAn increase in physical problems
Burnout/Adrenal Burnout:
Adrenal glands secrete stress hormones (eg. adrenaline) to prepare body for acute emotional & physical stress
When you keep pushing yourself, adrenal glandswill fatigue & won’t be able to produce enoughadrenaline
Adrenal fatigue causes fatigue, cravings, weight gain,mood swings & other health problems
Pinktober The immune system’s capacity to deal with
cancerous cells is thought to rely on Natural Killer cells (the thugs of the immune system)
The level of these Natural Killer cellshas been found to be low in those under acute psychological stress
Finding ways to express & deal with stress is crucial
A typical burnout candidate: high energy & ambitious often perfectionistic a high need for approval & achievement a tendency to put the needs of others first
The profile of an entrepreneur:Driven & very ambitiousOften tries to do all aspects of the business very wellA high need to be successful: to pay bills & grow
businessFemale entrepreneurs: a tendency to put
the needs of others first…………….ie. a burnout candidate!
Arianna Huffington
“The world goes about its business in all the wrong ways-
Instead of being indicators of ambition & success, 16-hour work days, 7am meetings & Blackberry addictions are having a profound effect on people’s wellbeing & costing companies billions of dollars in absenteeism & below-par performances…
The old model of success has led to a world fuelled by burnout, sleep deprivation & bad decisions”
(The Sunday Times, “Zen and the art of working much smarter”, Sunday 13 October 2013)
Stages of burnout:
Burnout Self-Test: www.mind-tools.com (Go to ‘Stress Management’, then ‘Burnout Self-Test’)
Top 10 tips: Work boundaries:1. Take a one-hour lunch break (& sit down to
drink a full cup of tea/coffee mid-morning & afternoon)
2. Don’t work 3 shifts a day (ie. morning, afternoon& evening)
3. Set yourself strict work hours (take weekends off; apply working hours to when you check email & use Twitter)
Top 10 tips cont.Putting YOU first:
4. Put your well-being first (rest if you are tired; Is saying Yes to a person saying No to yourself?)
________________________________________________1 5
10 OK
Top 10 tips cont. Putting YOU first:5. Identify people who will support you to put
yourself first (talk to them when you feel overwhelmed or stressed)
6. Self-talk. Remind yourself: You don’t HAVE to do anything
& It’s OK if you don’t finish everything today
or if you postpone a deadline
Top 10 Tips cont. Stress-reduction techniques7. Have Downtime every day:
20-30 mins is recommended during stressful times
3 Types of Downtime:a. Rest: time when you just let yourself be (bath, snooze, listen to calm music on bed)
Top Tips cont. b. Recreation time: activities that recharge
you & feel like fun/play (reading, cinema, walking in nature/neighbourhood, art classes, weekends away, cooking/baking, dancing)
c. Relationship time: with family, friends & pets
Top tips cont.Stress-reduction techniques cont.8. Abdominal breathing
& Peaceful Scene& Progressive Muscle Relaxation
10 Tips cont.Managing difficult situations:9. When you have to deal with difficult
clients/situations, sleep on it. It is often best practice to phone the person to address a difficult situation.
10. Avoid Energy Vampires
Resources:The Joy of Burnout by Dr Dina Glouberman, Hodder
and Stoughton, Great Britian (2003)
Tired of Being Tired by Dr Jesse Lynn Harley and Nance Deville, Penguin Group, USA (2001)
Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff… and it’s all Small Stuff by Richard Carlson, Hodder & Stoughton, Great Britain (1997)
Q & A________________________________________________
Gill MoltenoEducational Psychologist & Director of Study for
SuccessTel: 021 686 1231Cell: 082 303 8616
Email: [email protected]
2 Rose Cottage,Rouwkoop Avenue, Rondebosch
Cape Town, South Africa