E-Book Excerpt: Addressing Symptoms of Burnout

Solutions to burnout and skillful strategies to prevent and manage situations that could lead to burnout are at hand. Each person’s situation needs to be assessed on its own merits. The gift of success is in the understanding of the unique aspects of each case.

The most successful strategies lie in evaluating the person in the burnout phase:

• What makes you tick?
• What makes you sick?

Standard burnout tests offer information to proceed with. Consultation on the emotional, mental, and physical symptoms must be undertaken to remedy the underlying dysregulation of the whole system.

We, as humans, are adaptive network systems. We have the capacity to adapt to interventions that are able to restore us to right function. Interventions from the fields of nanomedicine, nutrition, exercise, lifestyle, and behavioral modifications, mindfulness meditation, and yoga are most effective strategies. Building spiritual capital is extremely important, as research shows that meaning and purpose in life predicts resilience under stress. Compassion, self-compassion, selective attention, and loving-kindness are skill sets that need to be understood, cultivated and tended to grow your garden of well-being. Grace under pressure is a character trait that serves you and the ones you care for. It is a learned behavior. It is a phenomenon that radiates to others. It is a virtue and a presence of light, the light that burns brightly but does not burn out.

Skillful strategies are at hand for you to burn brightly, to learn to simmer down, to tend to the embers below. Cultivate techniques that allow you to keep the heart light, pilot light, and eternal flame alive while you go about the business of being you.

Take a preventative approach to burnout and stop symptoms before they worsen. It’s commonly known that irritability may lead to anger, which will eventually lead to burnout. Therefore, at the first sign of irritability, stop the bleed, so to speak. Identify the source, the trigger, and start to ground yourself by beginning to breathe. Allow the angst to settle at the bottom of your feet. Activation of the vagus nerve occurs through conscious breathing, with the exhale being a bit longer than the inhale, inviting the body’s relaxation response to kick in.

Select skillful strategies from The Triumvirate Technique, developed by my colleague Lorraine Gahles-Kildow, PhD, and me. A triumvirate references three pillars of support, usually describing three people holding power. In our definition, the

Preventing Burnout

Burnout and compassion fatigue are often caused by factors in the workplace. Today, an increasing number of organizations are taking burnout into account when recruiting new employees. For those looking for a job or looking to switch jobs, finding the best fit starts in the interview process. When interviewing for a job, ask them how they position employees to prevent burnout and achieve balance. Inquire about the corporate culture, and whether administration is supportive and flexible. Walk around as though you were about to be admitted as a patient and ask the following questions:

• What does it feel like here?
• What is the nurse/patient ratio?
• How much of your time is allocated to paperwork/electronic health records?
• Are colleagues and staff friendly—do they work well together?
• What is the turnover rate?
• Am I suited for this?
• Is this my tribe? Can I thrive here?
• Do they have a designated “rest room”, a space to meditate, a garden, a chapel?

Check your pulse rate, your breathing and your gut feelings. What makes me tick? What makes me sick? Is this place a deposit in my health account or a withdrawal, and can I afford it? Going into a situation with awareness is a predictor of success.

Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from the e-book, Burnout Syndrome and Compassion Fatigue: A Self-Care Guide for Integrative Practitioners. To access the full text, click here.