High achievers: Listen up. If you feel you can do it all, or you have to do it all, it will eventually catch up with you. It is insidious in that it slowly reveals itself and you may hardly be aware of what is happening. By the time it hits fully, you may not understand that this is your body's response to years of bruising and unrelenting overwork. Some telltale signs that you are using up your reserves are:
- Total physical and emotional exhaustion
- Cynicism and detachment
- Pessimism
- Desire to escape
- Isolation; Withdrawal from people
- The overwhelming desire to fall asleep
- Irritability
- It can also be reflected in the inability to slow down
- Insomnia with exhaustion
- Spaciness; difficulty focusing
- Memory impairment
- Difficulty processing information
- Inner feeling of emptiness
- Loss of pleasure
- Hopelessness
- Lack of productivity
Prolonged anger, fear and anxiety can cause a myriad of health problems:
- Digestive problems
- Chronic inflammation
- Chronic pain
- Reduced immune function
- Headaches, and so much more
A condition called adrenal exhaustion can result and here are two sources for information about this condition:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/08/27/adrenals.aspx
and
http://www.endocrineweb.com/endocrinology/overview-adrenal-glands
These articles relate to burnout as a medical condition, and it is important to understand our bodies from that perspective. We can also look at our bodies and ourselves from a basic wisdom perspective.
- Do you get sufficient healthy sleep?
- Do you eat foods throughout the day that provide good nutrition and life force?
- Do you drink sufficient clean water?
- Do you breathe fully and deeply throughout your day?
If you are able to address these four principles you will be well on your way to healing your burnout condition. It may still take some time to regenerate but the time to begin is now.
If you find you are unable to stop, to get off the merry-go-round, then you may need a brainstorming session with friend or therapist in order to loosen long held assumptions that you don't deserve self care, that you can't take time to regenerate. What in your belief system allows you to treat yourself like a machine? Remember, even machines break down without regular care. Computers crash when you don't maintain them and shut them down regularly!
Other blogs will follow with more specific recommendations for self care. You deserve it!
Photo by Cynthia M Chase
