wisewords
The Benefits of Burnout An oxymoron?
Not according to psychologist Joan Borysenko. by Linda Sechrist
oan Borysenko, Ph.D., a pioneer in integrative medicine, is a renowned expert on the mind-body connec- tion. Her work has been foundational in an international health care revolu- tion that recognizes the role of mean- ing and the spiritual dimension of life as integral aspects of health and healing.
J
Most recently, the Harvard-trained biologist and psychologist explored the anatomy of burnout with Facebook friends in her latest book, Fried: Why You Burn Out and How to Revive.
What does it mean to physi- cally, emotionally and spiri-
tually burn out? When you’re stressed out, you keep chasing the same old carrot, whatever that may be for you. But when you’re burned out, you eventually give up the chase. The hope that you can create a meaningful life fizzles and you find yourself sitting in the ashes of your dreams.
Natural Awakenings 1/4 H 7.5 x 2.25
In a culture wedded to positive thinking, burnout and its first cousin, depression, are thought of as disorders in need of a fix. What if instead, we see them as losses of naïveté, false identities and faulty assumptions that are making way for a more authentic life? What if we viewed burnout as an
invitation to come into alignment with a more elegant expression of our gifts, relationships and overall life energy? The late psychologist Herbert
Freudenberger, Ph.D., who first popularized the concept in his 1980 book, Burnout: The High Cost of High Achievement, believed the condition is a painful affliction of good people try- ing to give their very best. He defined it as “the extinction of motivation or incentive, especially where one’s devo- tion to a cause or relationship fails to produce the desired results.”
Why do we burn out even when we regularly use self-
care practices? Many people are shocked to learn that even though I’m a positive person, with a regular yoga and meditation practice, as well as healthy eating hab- its, I have burned out more than once. Ironically, but predictably, I was trying to do and be my best. For me, burnout means that my most loving, creative self goes missing; I contract into the smallest, most negative version of my- self, which is not a pretty picture. I find that for many people that intellectualize a great portion of their lives, burnout doesn’t become real until they are not only physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted, but are also in pain. Knowing ourselves and our limitations is essential, because our tendency is to become complacent and think we’re too busy to tend to our well- being, or else believe we can do even more because we practice self-care.
www.SoftWindsCenter.com 20 San Diego Edition
Cost: $10 for adults, $5 for students and children. Center opens at 8 AM
Classes 9:30 – 11: 30 AM
* Must be accompanied by a parent. EFT – Emotional Freedom Technique
www.na-sd.com
Tessa Cason is a Life Coach, EFT Practitioner, Intuitive
Counselor. She is the author of the EFT Workbooks.
www.eftstatements.com
photo by Charles Bush
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44