How Sophrology Can Help Burnout

“If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit.”

– Banksy

Nearing Burnout

I’ve been noticing a lot of the same things coming up in client sessions lately: loss of energy, lack of enthusiasm, dissatisfaction with work, and general anxiety.

Part of this may be due to the ongoing pandemic and the constant pressure it has put on life over the last 14 months. Part of it might just be due to living in this 21st-century modern world.

If you think about it, there’s the constant call of everything related to social media, technology, and – especially since the pandemic hit – a lack of time with friends, true downtime, and simple delights. Even in those moments of calm, the telephone is usually with arm’s reach and tempting us to check it. We rarely switch ourselves off.

Add to that the fact that more of our lives are happening online, with working from home, attending meetings via Zoom, and an expectation to do more work in the same amount of time, and you have a recipe for burnout.

What Is Burnout?

According to the World Health Organization:

“Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions:

• feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
• increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and
• reduced professional efficacy.

Burn-out refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.”

Does any of that ring true for you? If so, you’re not alone! Just this last week I was teetering on the edge of exhaustion, myself.

You see, a few weeks ago, I was asked to fill in for an English teacher on sick leave at a local farming school. At the time, I had more space in my schedule, so I accepted. But school extended my contract and my schedule started filling up rather quickly with new 1:1 sophrology clients.

This past week was the busiest yet, and I could feel it in my body. I knew that if I didn’t proactively work on my wellness, I’d start to really suffer.

Luckily, I’m now more aware of my body and mental state (thank you, sophrology!) and I have a whole toolbox full of tools to use to help me recover.

How Sophrology Can Help Burnout

1. Prevention

When you start practicing sophrology, you begin to change the relationship you have with stress.

By releasing the body of accumulated tension through regular practice, you’re naturally more grounded, both in your body and your mind. Your neural pathways are rewired (through the miracle of neuroplasticity), helping you create a better life experience for yourself.

When stress and burnout start to rear their heads, you are better equipped to reduce its effects through the virtuous cycle you’ve created with your practice.

Not only are you more settled to begin with, but knowing how to take a quick break with a body scan relaxation or tension-busting exercises can be enough to bring you back to a sense of groundedness.

2. Acute care

I first discovered sophrology at a time of crisis. My work was unmanageable (and had been stressful for the past four years) and I began to experience my first-ever panic attacks. I needed urgent care.

In times of emergency, sophrology can help calm the fight or flight state through exercises and guided relaxations. These activities have been shown to help people reduce stress, release tension and see the situation more objectively.

A good sophrologist will also listen and confirm their understanding by repeating out loud what you tell them. You are heard. Sometimes just having someone who hears and understands the situation can be a huge help!

Calming the central nervous system through exercises and relaxations can help bring you out of that state of emergency. With time and practice, an increased sense of body awareness can help to prevent (or at least reduce the impact of) any future episodes.

Other Ways To Recover From Burnout: Inside and Outside

If you’re suffering from stress at work, you’ll likely want to take a two-pronged approach to deal with the stress: inside and outside the workplace.

Inside the workplace, there are several things you can do to diffuse stress and calm your nervous system. It might be simply changing tasks, getting a hot drink, filling up your water bottle or taking a couple of minutes to do some breathing exercises or stretches. It might also mean setting your limits and affirming them with your colleagues.

Becoming aware of when you need a break is a great first step.

Outside the workplace, you can choose to do activities that make you feel good. Granted, our choices have been limited over the last year, but things such as exercising, mindful walking, creating, and learning a new language – anything that’s not work-related and not stress-inducing – is a great way to recover.

There are days and weeks where it seems as if there’s no time for such activities, but even a quick 10-minute reading, stretching or walking session (or 10 minutes of absolutely nothing!) will bring relief.

The Necessity of Stress

Of course, we can never completely rid our lives of stress; the “good” form is vital for a healthy and happy life. But when stress becomes acute or chronic and induces burnout, having an established practice of recovery methods (sophrology included) can help to keep things manageable.

Curious to find out more and experience this for yourself? Check out my upcoming group sophrology  sessions, or download my Mini Sophrology Session down below.