Chronic Stress and Burnout: Natural Remedies for Burnout

In this blog we will be discuss:

A. What is burnout?
B. What are the signs and symptoms of burnout?
C. What are the natural remedies for burnout?

A. What is burnout?

Stress puts a lot of pressure on the body. This can be manageable in the short-term, but if it's constant, it can be bad for both your physical health and emotional wellbeing. Eventually, too much stress on your body over a long period of time can cause you to burn out.

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest and motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place.

The term burnout was coined in the 1970s by the American doctor Herbert Freudenberger. He initially used the term for the people working in ‘helping’ professions like doctor and nurses. Nowadays, the term is not only used for health professionals, but it seems to affect anyone from stressed-out professionals to overworked employees and homemakers.

As per International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) burnout is defined as follows:

“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.”

B. What are the signs and symptoms of burnout?

The symptoms of burnout are general and may manifest as showing signs of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion as a result of stress related to their job or workplace. Burnout is a gradual process. The signs and symptoms are subtle at first, but they get worse as time goes on. If you pay attention and act to reduce your stress, you can prevent a major breakdown. If you ignore them, you’ll eventually burnout. The stressors of a job or workplace may affect a person’s life in a variety of ways. A number of possible physiological and psychological symptoms may develop, and these will significantly affect their overall quality of life. There are four categories of burnout symptoms – non-burnout, disengaged, exhausted and burnout. As the employee progress through these stages, a variety of specific symptoms will emerge. These include:

• Anxiety
• Headaches
• Lack of sleep
• Fatigue
• An increasingly cynical outlook on life and work

C. What are the natural remedies for burnout?

Sustained overproduction of cortisol hormone leads to chronic stress and eventually burnout. The result is chronic exhaustion, lack of stamina for exercise, more allergy symptoms, lack of concentration, sleep disruption, blood sugar imbalance, weight gain, depression, increased cravings and weakened immunity. Although it will take time and patience, adopting following natural remedies for burnout could be a good starting point:

• Having a regular sleep wake cycle. Going to bed and waking up at the same time creates a good circadian rhythm which optimizes cortisol levels.
• Limiting alcohol intake.
• Regular exercising and meditation keep a check on cortisol levels and relaxes the body.
• Consider taking natural health supplements containing herbs like St. John’s wort, Lemon balm, L-theanine which help reducing stress levels naturally.

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References:

1. World Health Organization. (2018). International classification of diseases for mortality and morbidity statistics (11th Revision). Retrieved from https://icd.who.int/browse11/l-m/en
2. Stevens WD. Burnout: signs, symptoms, causes, and cures. J Dent Pract Adm. 1984;1(2):64-68.
3. Roy I. Le syndrome d’épuisement professionnel : définition, typologie et prise en charge [Burnout syndrome: definition, typology and management]. Soins Psychiatr. 2018;39(318):12-19. doi:10.1016/j.spsy.2018.06.005