Have you ever realized that the very thing you are trying to explain to others is what you yourself need to know? That old saying, “You teach what you need to learn,” is real in a big way for me right now.
I was inspired to write this post when I was finishing the article I published last week about fertility: Preparing the body and mind for a healthy, happy baby.
It was the 3rd in a three part series. I covered how decreasing the toxic burden, and increasing the nutritional state of the body can improve chances for pregnancy.
The 3rd one was all about stress.
And man, did I need to heed those words. To be clear I’m not trying to create babies, but I am busy creating other things to bring into the world, and the same rules apply.
Last week I realized that I was burned out. I’m not just talking about a bit of low energy. I was clinically adrenally fatigued. I must have had my blinders on because I didn’t realize it was sneaking up on me.
Just keep working. Just keep working.
More and more niggly, nagging symptoms until BOOM! I felt way too weird to continue pretending I was fine. It was the day I took a nap on my treatment table at work during my lunch break that I finally took a step back. My naturopathic colleague took my orthostatic blood pressure which is a measure we commonly use to assess how the body is handling stress.
And there it was. Me. Clinically stressed.
My first thought was, “Gosh? Am I a fraud? Or. Gasp. Worse! A hypocrite?”
And the truth is no. I’m not a fraud or a hypocrite. I’m just human. I’ve had a lot going on in the past few months. None of it bad, but all of it piled up.
And slowly my bucket was filling up, even though I was doing my best to look after myself. I should have clued in when my sugar cravings were driving me around (literally driving me to the store to buy chocolate.)
But nope! I kept plodding along. Meeting my deadlines. Completing my commitments.
I’m not sharing this for pity, or even superfluous self indulgence. I’m a big believer that my body is one of my greatest teachers. So I share this so that you and I BOTH can learn from my mistakes.
You teach what you need to learn.
Here are 25 of the things I did to overcome burnout
They are tight and to the point, because I know how much brain power it can take to comprehend things when you’re burned out.
1. go to sleep before 10:00 pm
2. sleep into until 8:00 or 9:00 am. The hours between 7:00 and 9:00 am are particularly restorative.
3. eat full meals (with healthy fats, protein, and fiber) regularly
4. avoid fruit in the morning
5. avoid sugar
6. avoid caffeine
7. avoid alcohol
8. take fish oil
9. take 100 deep breaths per day
10. do gentle exercise: walking, stretching, yin yoga
11. journal
12. meditate
13. walk barefooted on the earth
14. take 5 deep breaths before eating
15. chew slowly, as many times as you can
16. say, “No.”
17. speak kindly to yourself
18. take naps
19. reframe stressors
20. ditch the guilt
21. don’t take on new projects
22. read a frivolous novel (not books on productivity, business, health or any other things that may be interesting.)
23. add sea salt to your water
24. eat seaweeds and kelps
25. spend time outside, rain or shine
26. (bonus!) And for gosh sakes, ask for help
Wanting more on stress? How about checking out:
7 ways to know if your body needs a break
Hopefully this was useful. If you know someone who might benefit from it, please pass it along.
Here’s to your thriving, delightful life,
Dr. Tonia
Think I will get burnout just from trying all those things 😛