Battle Fatigue

LOSING THE FIGHT TO WIN THE BATTLE

Too much battling against the world makes us hardened, unfeeling emotionally and unable to appreciate the finer things in life. It numbs our minds, halting the creative thoughts from flowing freely and keeps us in perpetual fight/flight stress mode.

One of my new year's resolutions is to avoid having so many drawn out battles any more. The fight has taken it's toll. I'm weary and apart from the physical manifestations, I find it difficult to fully enjoy what's there in front of me or muster the energy to invest in the pursuits that will enrich myself and others.

We all have our personal battles. There's a constant pressure from work, family duties, relationships, moral duties and internal struggles as we and try to take pleasure from life. Good things are worth fighting for so we need to make this a priority - the rest, we have to assess and let go if it's not worth our using up our energy on.

One such battle that I've fought in 2015, is against a large corporation that has been all-consuming for pretty much the whole year. Has it been worth it? In some regards it has. I have learned so much about myself, the symptoms of stress and how they affect our wellbeing - and the irony is that this teaching has all been through constant battling with this large adversary. I have a lot more to learn, but maybe this has all been a gift for me to now use my newfound knowledge and pass this on to others.

Shell Shock
During the First World War, when trench warfare took the lives of so many in battle, many more soldiers were suffering stress through the constant shelling from above and the threat of being blown up from below. This is when we first head of the term 'Shell Shock'. A lot of soldiers, displaying the symptoms - disorientated and confused, were actually executed by their own because their actions displayed a lack of moral fibre in the superior's view and often thought to be a deliberate tactic for desertion. Interestingly, the soldiers deserting their posts were shown little remorse - but higher ranking officers showing similar stress-related symptoms were often excused as their diagnosis related to a seemingly 'higher, more cerebral and upper class' affliction of the nerves.

This nervous disposition diagnosis has been shown to exist in the highly competitive business environments of the 20th and 21st century, notably among city traders, bankers and professionals working is a mostly sedentary role - but can also be said to afflict any of those working within the monetary system.

Back To Basics
The Japanese have discovered a form of therapy early on in the 20th century that can help rehabilitate those suffering with emotional stress. The process is to remove the sufferer from any stimulation through isolation with only their thoughts to deal with for a week. Following on from that, a programme of only light processes (like writing a blog) are given, to allow the thoughts to flow. After a period of reflection, heavy physical processes are introduced (like garden clearing or chopping wood). Tools on how better to deal with the emotions are introduced throughout and the satisfaction/rewards gained through enduring arduous tasks allows the individual to move forward into the final stages. It is at this point where re-integration into society facilitates the rehabilitated person to partake in regular life again but with the new tools of mindfulness, meditation and pulling on purpose-driven responses as apposed to the emotional ones, that allow greater harmony and internal peace to prevail.

Satisfaction Working

LOVING YOUR WORK

Allowing time to produce good work can benefit us all. Yet it's a fundamental fact that seems to get overlooked an awful lot in the workplace. 

In my many years of working within the advertising/media sector, I've spent a considerable amount of my work time under pressure to deliver on a deadline - and worked many (mostly unpaid) additional hours through lunch breaks, late into the evenings and over my weekends. This has been necessary for getting the work done. Often, producing this extra work under pressure has been at the detriment of my health and social life. 

Speculate To Accumulate

I've mostly enjoyed my work over the years but there's been far too many late nights and high-pressure moments when I've grudgingly produced loveless work. Employers not being able to get the best results from this way of working, may in part be down to the fact that those clients looking critically at the end product, can see/feel or pick up on the energy levels that's been put into the work. Maybe the finesse just isn't there or the lack of detail clearly shows through. Whatever the case may be - loving what we do for a job and working hard to always strive for the best we can be...this is what is needed for success in business.

Pay Peanuts - Get Monkeys
So, not only do companies need to invest in good people and pay decent money for the right outcome/product, they also have to allow adequate time to produce it. That way, the employees will be much more happy to dedicate their time - and, being given adequate time/space to do what they love doing well, this will not only enrich them emotionally/spiritually/financially but, in the process, inspire their colleagues to do more and win more business. A win-win situation for all.

Happy Dance

DANCING TO THE SAME DRUM

When we dance, we express ourselves, and when we dance with others, we connect with each other. Feeling the sounds & rhythm of music, channelled movement in our bodies, allows the release of endorphins that can make us happier and which also have been shown to have positive effects on our health. It can even keep us active into older age and promote longevity.

Stress affects our health and ability to enjoy life. So, socialising with friends, having a few drinks and a bit of a shake on the dance floor can work wonders for bringing back our joy. Hence why thousands flock to places like Ibiza for a bit of hedonistic cutting loose.

There's evidence to show that moving in crowds with synchronicity to a beat, can help us to form bonds with others and as this link suggests, dancing gives our bodies greater connections to the soul.

Shirking Responsibilities

HOT POTATO

In yoga they teach us how to avoid getting caught up in the emotions and sways of everyday life. It's difficult to remove ourselves from the day to day roller coaster, especially when we're caught up in the rush hour, stressed through delayed/cancelled public transport or crushed with someone's armpit in our faces - the things that are mostly out of our control. That's why it's important to practise methods for detaching ourselves to the negative things that potentially harm us and deplete our energy.

I get the impression that yogis don't negotiate their way on public transport in rush hour that much and I don't think they spend much time in office environments either. Maybe that's why they chose being a yoga instructor over an office based career, because they wanted to detach themselves from that daily assault that most of us have to put ourselves through...

So, if we can endure the daily commute during rush hour without getting affected, we are already using avoidance techniques. It's these methods that we can also employ for use in other situations too. One of the big stresses in our lives is work and that's where we need to find our best methods for detachment away from stress created and multiplied by others involved in the projects we collectively work on.

One of these techniques for detachment used by certain individuals in the work place, I call the hot potato. This is essentially where someone shirks their responsibilities by diverting the work onto their colleagues. This is not a helpful technique for those on the receiving end and arguably one of the greatest stresses we'll encounter - especially with those really hot potatoes!

It's a bit like the game of pass-the-parcel from nursery school. But instead of a toy in wrapping paper, imagine a hot ball of energy, that we all carefully take turns with. As we pass on hand to hand, each turn partially diffuses the heat as we all take our role holding it. Now picture when one person essentially bats it on to the next recipient without skimming some of the accumulated energy. Without energy being dissipated through the group's collective responsibilities, the energy ball grows hotter as it gains greater momentum. This creates an energy 'spike' and a potentially stressful situation for the following person/people to try and manage. More energy is used up and because the recipient wasn't prepared - their energy reserves are tapped into and depleted.

I witnessed this phenomena first hand in a group where I was working yesterday. One person's role was compromised, likely because they are now leaving their job for a new one. They had shirked their responsibilities and taken a day off without taking enough care to ensure their part within the team had been completed or covered with extra resources. This obviously affected the next two people further along in the chain. But everyone in this collective was affected to a degree as the stress-bomb hot potato takes it's toll on all that are close to it.

Some people can help avert a stress-bomb like this - whereas others will just pass on the potato making it even hotter. It's important to have advance awareness of these types of stress situations and know the people that potentially cause them. Because recognising when this situation arises and averting the damage caused well before the hot potato comes hurtling our way, will be one of the greatest stress avoidance techniques we'll master in life.

Stress Relations

MANIFESTATIONS OF STRESS

Back problems can be a manifestation of stress, called Mind Body Syndrome or TMS. American doctors are now talking more about the symptoms of back pain being originating from psychological issues and there's been a few latching on to the idea now here in the UK too.

Those suffering with chronic back issues, and wishing to avoid surgery (often not required anyway), have been looking inward at any psychological factors that may be causing the symptoms. 

I've been suffering with lower back, neck, shoulder and elbow pain over the last 5 years. I have been scanned, stuck with pins, had electric nerve conduction studies and all kinds of therapies, some of which have been assessed by some long-standing professionals in the field of medicine. Yet no answers from any experts of how to fix these pains. It's just a part of getting old, I've been told or wear & tear and I've been told to just try and manage it as best as I can. 

After reading about TMS studies and learning more info on some on the common findings in individuals suffering from stress related ailments, I have clearly seen parallels in what my symptoms are and seen how my job & working environment plus other life circumstances have affected me psychologically to such a degree that, even after months of rehabilitation, the symptoms still persist. 

Through yoga, Qui Gong, meditation and having a better understanding of myself, including my character type (which appears to suffer the most from this stress syndrome) and hearing about other people's stories, I am much better equipped to deal with the healing process with the new tools I now possess. 

Stress As A Friend?

Stress affects us all. Stress is also good for us. It readies us for challenges and helps us achieve goals. But too much stress can be a killer. Understanding when stress is good and bad, will help us manage our lives better and we'll know when we are over-stressed. 

Everything has a cause & effect, and we are influenced by everything we see, hear, read and believe. Hence, the the idea that stress can be damaging, according to Kelly McGonigal's video below, is actually more harmful than we realise, as we place so much power on words, we feel stress effects psychosomatically even when the stress we are experiencing is normal and healthy for us to better perform. 

Major Muscles

IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT THE BICEPS...

After the heart for keeping us alive, the Soas is arguably the most important muscle in the body. It's functions are for maintaining good upright posture, allowing full range of mobility between the upper and lower body and keeping us functioning correctly as a healthy physical individual. Also referred to as the hip flexor, it is important in a number of ways but it's key function is to keep us walking upright and when called for - helps flex the thigh and raise the knee forward for running.

Arguably, the evolution of Homo Sapiens owes much to the correct functioning of this muscle and it's very survival, dependent on the necessary quick reaction times required for action in averting danger. In evolutionary terms, it's not that long since we've come down from the trees to roam the plains and there are still very real dangers in our cities. So, this valuable life saving, primal region of our body is still hard-wired to our central nervous system as a first-stage mechanism for fight or flight. Due to it's necessity for being ready to move at all times, it's finely attuned to the environment and warning signals that are picked up from our senses, central nervous system, processed by the brain and sent out to this muscle even before our conscious minds are aware there is a potential threat upon us.

It's been shown through research, where our instinctive reaction times are alert and primed up to a staggering 10 seconds ahead of our conscious minds. Our senses react, the body systems and muscles prepare themselves while our mostly oblivious conscious minds pick up the messages through other signals - like the prickly feeling when our hairs stand on end, the gut feeling of unease or agitation as our blood supply switches away from the gut and cortisol is released from our adrenal gland into the blood stream or from the very fact that we've started running and unsure why that is we are doing it.

Stress Indicators
It appears the diagnosis and treatment for back pain has clearly been somewhere off the mark in many cases over the years. But through breakthrough research into chronic back pain by Dr Sarnos, there has been a lot of success with his treatment into undoing a lot of the problems associated with perpetual stress related symptoms. Key findings have indicted where a lot of stress related pain can be located around the lower back area. This has been shown through studies to be connected with the central nervous system and connected with repressed feelings of anger, anxiety and linked to sustained levels of stress, which in turn are linked and held in the Soas muscles and other related regions of the body - in particular, around the neck. The treatments for improving back problems are focused around directly treating the muscles with massage, pain and muscle relaxing drugs but also through evaluating environment and emotional health.

I believe yoga and meditation have a greater part to play in this rehabilitation therapy, but earlier acknowledgement of the potential stressors, understanding personality types and assessment of suitable environments for positive wellbeing should be considered as a preventative measure against all forms of stress related illness. If we consider that our environment, our moods, the people we surround ourselves with and work situations we put ourselves in are all the modern day equivalents of the Serengeti Plains - with dangers at every turn, either imagined or realised - then we can take preventative measures to stop the fight or flight response from being 'stuck on'.

Good muscle function should be a key factor in our continued quest for retaining peak levels of health. With more focus on the correct movement, agility, posture and balance of our muscles and less emphasis given to the size of say, a bicep, we could all have a better chance of staying pain-free.

Behind The Mask

KNOWING WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT

We place great significance on the tasks we perform daily. The actions we take are used as a gauge for determining our happiness and success. Small wins and easily fixed problems are like little boosters for our soul. They bring meaning and purpose to our lives.

Dealing with minor 'problems', leads us to believe we're being useful in some way. They come to define us. By becoming the 'solutions' finder, we feel important...necessary. If we can identify/fix these problems, and in the process, shift blame to take responsibility for someone else's alleged failings, it helps us feel like we're really tackling what life throws our way. In the process, we offload some pent-up frustration as we continue to divert our nagging attention away from the bigger issues.

Often, far higher levels of importance are placed on these adopted menial problems to better prioritise above and/or mask the real issues at heart. They get actioned first, when in fact they should feature way down the list or hold no significance at all.

Acknowledging what's really important in our lives and placing them near the top on the to-do list, will often uncover masked feelings of frustration and fear. These suppressed emotions keep us from facing life's realities and ultimately stop us from being our truer selves. The challenges can be tough - hence why we tend to sweat the small stuff instead.

Many people place far too much importance on the trivial. They build up strong fixed ideas of right and wrong. These fixations help distract their minds away from what they really should be thinking about ie. what's really important in their lives. The stronger the fixations, the more they are hiding the truth from themselves. Deep down, they are unhappy.

Focussing on the niggles & gripes or little wins & losses, may appear to be an easier mental state to be in. Stressing about the trivial rather than focussing on relationship health, personal growth, physical wellbeing and job/financial satisfaction, can be much easier to deal with in the short term. Busying ourselves with small stuff leaves little or no time to address the much needed life management.

Burden Management
Filling our days with distractions, will help hide the truth from us. It could be said that having children also moves focus away from the self. Having kids can nicely tie up the mind for 20+ years. It's possibly why so many chose to have them when their relationship is starting to wane, only later opting to separate when looking after children ceases to be such a strong distraction.

So having no children and fewer worries to tie up the brain, allows much more time to look inward. This makes for an uncomfortable mindset. It can feel like a heavy sack weighing you down. But, being mindful of this sack is far better than denying it's there. Acknowledging what we're carrying, stripping away what we don't need and managing the weight as best as we can - this will bring happiness. Because, if we allow it to happen, this baggage will become heavier over time and eventually wear us down - it will stop us from moving forward. This is where depression is rooted. 

Lose the Mask

It's when we come up against people with such strong fixated ideas of right and wrong, obsessive attributes on matters like overly-strict time keeping or having strong emotional reactions to seemingly menial concerns, that we should be aware of possible underlined deep rooted issues placed at the heart of these controlling behaviours. 

If we allow it, we can become these broken people. We need to face our demons to overcome them and not just block them out with trivia or create fixations on nonsense. These monsters break through at our lowest ebb, like when we're tired, numbed from too much alcohol or later in life when the burden of carrying the load becomes too much to take. Don't allow these gremlins to grow - be brave and start today. Drop the meaningless and focus on what's important instead. 

Off The Grid

CONNECTIVITY IS A BIG TURN OFF

I've just had a really interesting chat with a psychologist this evening. The reason - I've just been through an extensive period of stress in a job where it's left me run ragged. I'm knackered both mentally and physically. This is not uncommon for someone of my age, particularly for a man, but we are not alone. There is a marked increase in cases for office workers showing signs of burnout and everything I've gone through, the psychologist has been through herself to some degree and so has her husband.

We're all stuck in a modern day burnout nightmare:
The psychologist recognised the symptoms in herself 10 years ago and this has helped her to learn more about ways to help others overcome these problems. I mentioned the modern day phenomena of 'always on technology' and I was surprised to hear that she turns her phone off regularly, either to airplane mode or switches over to 'do not disturb' and avoids using email wherever possible - basically off the grid like I wish to be. This is such a relief - and yet, so simple to fix. Turn off the phone! So now, my partner and I have talked about a holiday where we leave the phone and technology at home. Imagine that.... no smartphone!

We'll have to talk at meal times. I'm sure we'll manage. I'm already making changes to my technology use. My email signature now has a sign-off about intermittent checking and I've told family and friends that I may not always be easily contractible as I'm going to start leaving my phone at home or turned off more often. This won't be easy once I start working again though...

It's known that we have a problem within the workplace and yet we continue to make things worse - not better. Until the office environment is improved to allow a more modern way of working without the intense stresses of keeping up with email and the ever-faster turn around times, I'm switching to a completely different job - something where there's high demand with flexible hours but the pay is good too. Maybe I'll become a psychologist!

Healing

HEALING WITH YOGA

Since the beginning of the year, I've embarked on a mission to improve my health, wealth and happiness for a more focussed approach to living in 2015 and beyond. Now three months in to the year, I've firmly established a new, more positive routine, removed some harmful habits - forming more health-enhancing ones in their place - and over this relatively short time frame, already noticed marked improvements in many aspects of my life.

I took a Yoga class yesterday and was talking to one of the attendees about the class afterwards and we discussed how great it makes us feel and how everyone should do it. It's benefits are beyond just the physical. Not only does it help us to move better - giving us more flexibility and core strength, but also, just by the very nature of taking the time to focus on our body and it's movements, makes us more mindful, calms the thoughts away from the stresses of the day and brings us into the moment.

Yoga has saved my sanity
This is true. Working in a high-stress environment for so long has been having an effect on the way I respond/deal with stress. I, hadn't really noticed it until very recently, whilst on holiday last year. I'd had a tough year at work - as had everyone I work with, and the office was taking on a toxic energy that had depleted my reserves to the point of exhaustion. Luckily, I'd saved back enough holiday to take a last minute week-long break to the sun and for the first few days, I just switched off (literally and metaphorically) from the stresses of home. On the third day, I turned on my iPhone and a barrage of emails poured in from work which incensed me so much, that it instantly triggered a state of rage. I was filled with adrenalin, pumped and primed for war to the point where even our holiday neighbours had to come over and say something as my anger was affecting them too - how embarrassing.

What was really amazing to me, was my mood's change from serenity to anger. From the moment it was triggered, to it's intense peak took no time at all, but, calming back down took all day long. I went to bed exhausted that night and took the rest of the week to recover myself back to a serene state of mind. My partner pointed out that I'd been like this before, and suggested I do something about it as it was not good for me or anyone else around me who it also impacted.

It was on my return, when my happiness was tested again. The first day back to work, I made a decision to focus on how best to deal with this issue. I removed anything that could create negative emotion or hinder me from controlling my thoughts. So, I restricted alcohol for the next few weeks, got off to bed early every night and limped through the last few days of work to the Christmas period where I knew I'd have more time away to try and re-capture the serenity in my again. It was over this festive period, with time for reflection that I made a decision to change - and Yoga was first up on my list.

MRI Update

So back in Jan I wrote about my neck and weak bicep. Fixing this ailment has been one of my key motivators for change in 2015. The January post on MRI scans taken 2 years ago, showed a compressed disk and chipped vertebrae in my neck, with some compression on the nerve possibly affecting strength in my right arm. The symptoms have affected my work, sleep and ability to do the hobbies I love, like climbing and cycling. These hobbies have been an outlet to combat the stress at work and without them, I'm unable to properly switch off. So I've been on a mission to rectify the problem to enable a healthier life where I can enjoy these activities again. I've been actively monitoring and healing through doing my own rehabilitation and exercise sever since. 

From the beginning of Jan, I've stuck to a steady routine of 2-3 yoga sessions a week, some Pilates, core conditioning and a bit of light weight training. I had another positive comment from my yoga teacher yesterday who's noticed improvements in my flexibility and overall yoga practice. One of the class commented on how well and peaceful I look too.

Yoga is working miracles and all the feedback I'm getting is evidence of it's many healing benefits! I can see there's much more movement in my joints and my posture is straighter, lower back strength and neck mobility have definitely all gotten a lot better. Compared to before Christmas - I now feel tip-top!

Here's the scan with no significant changes indicated from what I see in the images. But what do these scans really show anyway? It's how WE feel that matters and, the consultant could immediately see more movement and better physical condition as proof. Something else is at work here - maybe he yoga has some part to play? I know I've been able to do more of the activities I love doing, so my self-healing programme is working for me. At the end of the day, we can't rely on MRI scans and a doctor to tell us when we're healthy/recovered. We have to take the initiative for improving recovery success ourselves.

It's only been a few months focussing on improvements and I'm confident that a continued, mindful approach to wellbeing, which includes my new yoga lifestyle, will reverse the damage done by the various stresses in life, promote even more healing over time and keep me youthful for longer. According to yoga philosophy, it's the flexibility of the spine, not the number of years, that determines a person's age.

Another thing I'm looking at and possibly why we feel better on some days rather than on others. Bio-rhythms. Reading up on the body's natural rhythms, I can there may be something in this and according to my generator results, there's confirmation that I'm on my game today!

Take The Pressure Off

PRESSURE GOOD - STRESS BAD

Doing something difficult, dangerous and time-precious and getting good results at the end, will leave us feeling invigorated and satisfied that we are successful at delivering under pressure. I like doing adrenalin sports for the same reason that I like performing at my peak. Mind & body working together in 'the flow' - enjoying the feeling of being focussed & connected to the environment and the task in hand. The thing is, as you do more adrenalin sports over time, the fix will lesson as you become used to the danger situation or your adrenalin levels drop as you fatigue. You need to take a break because constant exposure to high-pressure becomes exhausting.

Adrenalin sports are fun for me - and I don't want to take the thrill away by having too much of the same thing, plus there's a risk of performing in potentially damaging situations when you're tired. It's the same for being in a work environment and having deadlines to meet. You get the buzz of completing a task in record time but if you continue to function in this heightened state, you either flood your system with the stress hormone Cortisol, creating an imbalance or your body starts to weaken as the effects of prolonged release of this hormone take it's toll.

Work is rarely fun and ceases to be enjoyable a lot quicker if the pressure becomes too much. Unlike adrenalin-fuelled pass times that you can stop when you've had enough, work has to be endured until it's finished. So it's easier to move from being under a lot of pressure to being over-stressed if you're putting up with these levels for sustained periods of time.

Cortisol
The hormone Cortisol is secreted by our adrenal glands and helps maintain blood pressure, immune system, blood sugar levels and is important in heightening our systems for responding in survival situations. Cortisol, released by glands forming part of our endocrine system, is also termed 'the stress hormone' and having too much of this in our bodies can weaken our immune systems, cause fatigue, insomnia and a number of other health issues if measures are not taken.

Cortisol levels can fluctuate throughout the day with the circadian rhythm of the body and can be maintained by relaxation (deep breathing, meditation & yoga) and via taking adaptogenic herbal supplements shown to improve//lower/restore cortisol levels.

If you are subjected to being in a stressful environment and are suffering with anxiety, digestion issues, tiredness, insomnia - chances are, you've over-stressed your body and need to take time to relax or get some additional help via having some of these 7 adaptogen herbs in order to bring back a balanced state of wellbeing.

Rhodiola
One of the key herbs for treating stress, anxiety, improving perfomance/stamina and combatting fatigue is Rhodiola and can be found in high street stores like Holland and Barrett. More information on herbs for strength, stamina and stress relief can be found in this comprehensive book by David Winston and Steven Maimes.

Burnout

PTSD

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It's not just the armed forces that get affected. I've been reading some articles today about the effects of being subjected to sustained high levels of stress, the infectuous nature of working with trauma sufferers and fallout from being in this kind of environment for too long. Our front line could be the 9-5, the trauma sufferers our colleagues and the fallout can be the consequences from not dealing with something we're not even unaware of being affected by...

Numbness

When exposed to high levels of stress for sustained periods, soldiers have been observed to display behaviour changes in the form of; mood swings, anger outbursts, lack of empathy and numbness. There's also been studies to show how these same traits can be found in the office workplace - indicated by a clear increase in stress-related symptoms being diagnosed over recent years. A friend of mine who worked in the stock market, had to leave his job because it was affecting his marriage so much. He wasn't as aware of the changes to his character as his wife and friends were at the time, because he spent a major portion of his time at work. This kind of work, although well-paid, is known to be a hi-paced and stressful job. Being in media, there are known high-stress factors affecting certain roles, but being in an ever-more competitive market, the acceptable levels of stress have increased significantly across a multitude of roles and certainly not just representative of those with the highest salaries. So it's inevitable that more people are now working in an elevated state of stress which is not healthy for long periods and is likely why I've noticed the behavioural characteristics my friend, a high-earner from the stock market was displaying in more of my colleagues who are merely doing a regular job in lower paid roles. 

The signs that we're over-stressed don't show up as much until we're outside of the toxic environment. Our partners and friends will point out to us the times we're clearly out of balance. These can show up with an unexpected outburst in minor stress situations, for example; when driving a car. Other sure signs are fatigue - being exhausted at the end of the working week with no energy for the weekend's activities or isolation - unusually quiet/withdrawn & feeling flat/numb in what are usually known to be fun and upbeat situations. 

The feeling of numbness is hard to describe. You can be doing something fun or not so much fun and there'll be no great deviation from the line of zero emotion. There's no/little spike of excitement when there should b,e or emotion when something bad/sad has happened. It is interesting that I've been able to witness and observe these feelings in myself and mostly rectify numbness quickly & easily by readily having something on hand to jar the dulled brain back into life. For others, where they've not been made aware of their symptoms until they are close to burnout, it's maybe not been so easy to fix. 

Life Mantra

There's a simple way to keep on top of how you're feeling and that's to write things down. I've been doing this consistently since 2010. Every year I make a list of the things I want to achieve at the beginning and evaluate them at the end of the year. This is great practice as there's a master plan in place. But, you'll have some known truths about yourself that will help or hinder your achievements and this is where your mantra comes in. I write down what things negatively affect me - like being in a stressful work environment, dealing with difficult characters or having to repeatedly do things that irritate me. I'll then have a list of positives that I can also get from being in those environments/situations and have some extra known tasks, activities and tricks that I can draw on to help adjust the balance if the day is particularly tough. Some examples of these easy to obtain positivity enhancers are:

- Doing some exercise at the gym

- Riding my road bike

- Going for a walk

- Eating a nice meal

- Watching or listening to some comedy

- Watching an inspirational TED video

- Listening to music or a pod cast

- Sleep

The not so easy to get immediately but best positivity enhancers are things like; taking quality time out, ie. getting away for a weekend break or longer with partners and friends. These need to be factored-in regularly and there needs to be time for assessment and self-reflection. I now make regular checks every day when writing a blog and it's helped keep track of a number of things - in particular, the life/work balance. 

Get out and move on

Whatever your reasons for remaining in a bad situation/environment/job, when you realise that the positivity enhancers are being over-used and their restorative effects becoming weaker/not as long-lasting...it's time to look at options before burnout takes hold or manifests into something even more serious. 

The work-live balance

This article link gives a bit more info on the topic of working in toxic environments. I believe there's a lot more studies required, especially around having increased connectivity periods - the 24-7 smartphone phenomena means we're spending less time away from thinking about work. Certain firms in Europe like Volkswagen are realising the impact of having a poor work/life balance and are now regulating how much time is spent at work either physically or virtually by restricting hours and connectivity times. 

I have friends that are showing signs of burnout written about in here and I've observed some of these symptoms in myself too. High pressure is ok and can actually produce better, more rewarding results but we need to be more aware of the damaging effects that come from being exposed to sustained high-stress situations in toxic environments. If it's making us ill - It's time to get out.