Stress and Burnout

Instagram vs. Reality

We are a society that is absolutely obsessed with, “the hustle.” People burnout left and right because they lose sight of what’s important and let the possibilities steam roll them. We value work over our family and friends and luxury items over making memories. How did we get here?

How did an instagram picture become the reason to adventure rather than just getting out there and having a really good time. On top of work and real life stress we have the virtual reality we keep in our pocket that many of us find ourselves comparing and competing with. Some of you may even begin to think is there even a way to avoid stress and burn out?

The pressure to hustle harder

Now let me be clear, I’m not completely against a good old fashioned hustle. But, here’s the thing, you absolutely don’t need to hustle harder. What you do need to do is hustle smarter. My number one tip to get your hormones back on track is to manage stress. That’s right! If you’re not doing that effectively, I don’t care how much kale you’re eating,  you are not going to feel better and your hormones will remain out of whack. If you try to just hustle through your stress and burn out, you are going to take 10 times longer to yield the results you’re looking for and you’ll probably feel pretty shitty along the way.

How do I manage stress?

But isn’t that just about the worst advice you’ve ever gotten? Manage stress! Okay great, perfect, thanks for telling me, I am now stress free! Before you start managing your stress, manage your expectations. You are probably not going to become akin to a zen Buddhist overnight. Managing stress can be hard. Things that work for some people, may not work for you. You may need to spend some time finding your rhythm. Managing stress isn’t a one size fits all yoga mat.

So for me, stress management looks like nature walks/runs, meditation, yoga, and a big hug from my husband. Stress management for you may be a bubble bath, face mask and journaling. Or maybe it’s a drive in your car, stretching and deep breathing.

So stick with me here, maybe we can do a little less instagram and a little more adventuring. A little less work and a little more play. And maybe, just maybe, we can be more productive in less time.

So the next time you feel a deadline crashing down over you, instead of pushing through the anxiety-riddled pain to finish, try taking a minute for yourself to calm the nervous system. You may find even taking a few cherished moments can lead you to more clarity. A tool I like to use is something called ocean breathing. Or at least that’s what I call it. This is a technique using the breath and visualization to calm the mind when things begin to feel out out of control. It goes a little like this:

Ocean breathing technique

Visualize a rough ocean. Waves raising high and crashing into the shore with wild vengeance and power. As the waves barrel down and crash onto the beach,  your breathing will be loud and deep. Use your breath to control the ocean. As your breath slows and quiets, the ocean begins to calm, until you are seeing calm seas with water gently lapping up onto the sand and then being swiftly taken back out to sea. At this point your breathing should be quiet and easy, and hopefully your mind should feel quiet and at ease as well.

Let’s do a little less stressing and a little more living.