Pressure Management & Burnout

PRESSURE MANAGEMENT & BURNOUT PREVENTION

Warren Birmingham, director of Unlimited Potential

Why is training / workshopping On this topic needed?

High stress levels and burnout are very common among high achieving workers. High stress levels are, obviously, bad for individuals, for those close to them, and for the organisations in which they work. Turnover can become high, with loss of skilled and experienced people.

Stressed people are not effective and can often create conflict and contribute to low morale. They also often act in ways which make it unattractive for new members to join the organisation. Cynicism, negativity and rigid thinking are side effects of chronic stress. Serious anguish and long term physical, emotional and motivational effects that are suffered privately are not unusual amongst people who have achieved for several years..

Taking care of the part of the environment over which we have the most control – that is, ourselves, is a vital part of effective individual performance. Putting some attention into managing pressure, personal expectations and physical, emotional and life balance renewal is absolutely essential to your future productivity and wellness.

Prescription for Burnout Definition: According to New York psychologist Herbert J. Freudenberger, PhD., who coined the term, burnout is a state of fatigue or frustration brought about by a devotion to a cause, a way of life, or a relationship that failed to produce the expected reward or continued reward for the individual.

Etiology: Burnout is a problem born of good intentions, because it happens when people try to reach goals that may have become unrealistic, and end up depleting their energy and losing touch with themselves and others. Symptoms: The onset is slow. The early symptoms include a feeling of emotional and physical exhaustion; a sense of alienation, cynicism, impatience, negativism and feelings of detachment to the point that the individual begins to resent work involved and the people who are a part of that work.

In extreme cases, the individual who once cared very deeply about a project or a group will insulate himself to the point that he no longer cares at all. The irony of burnout is that it happens to the same person who previously was enthusiastic and brimming with energy and new ideas when first involved in a job or a new situation.

This type of person generally has a very high expectation of what can be accomplished. As time goes by and if all of the goals aren’t achieved, the enthusiasm dies and a sort of listlessness sets in. Instead of sensibly lowering objectives or accepting reality, frustration is bottled up and the individual tries even harder. The result is burnout.

SYMPTOMS OF LONG TERM STRESS AND BURNOUT

Physical

• Chronic tiredness – sleep does not refresh

• Decreased immunity – susceptible to colds, flu, allergies

• Aches and pains in joints, muscles, stomach or back

• Sleep affected – hard to get to sleep or wake early

• Weight loss / weight gain

• Decreased interest in sex Behavioural

• Withdrawal and isolating oneself from friends and colleagues

• Rejecting help • Lack of effectiveness

• Paranoid reaction, overly suspicious of others

• Not turning up to work / keeping commitments/decreased responsibility / professionalism

Mental / Emotional

• Depression

• Rigid thinking, lack of problem solving ability

• Resentfulness

• Negative mind set and irritability

• Crying or getting angry easily and inappropriately

• Forgetfulness

• Anxiety

Spiritual

• Cynicism about previously valued things

• Devoid of joy and unable to laugh

• Sense of futility and loss of meaning

• Inner sense of emptiness – nothing left to ‘give’

Which of these symptoms if they occurred in your life would you certainly pay attention to and motivate you to change the stressful pattern that caused it?

For more information contact UP and I will forward it to you

Genes , Weight Control and Fitness

Designing your Diet around your Genes Some cars run well on 90RON fuel, others on 98RON while racing cars require a far more exotic fuel mix to achieve their full potential. In much the same way, every human being will respond in their own unique way to a wide variety of foods – their fuel – and they will do that due to the uniqueness of their own genetic blueprint – their DNA. You will be aware from TV crime shows that each person’s DNA is unique and so it should come as no surprise that each person’s ideal diet – the diet most readily utilised by their digestive and metabolic systems – is likely to be equally unique. If you are to reach your true performance potential, then you begin by understanding – and respecting – your body’s unique dietary needs. DNA & Diet Unlimited Potential has been at the cutting edge of corporate and elite athletic health for over two decades and uses innovative science to avoid the one-size-fits-all approach to improving personal health, fitness and wellbeing. We specifically test-profile 15 genes which are directly associated with fitness and nutrition – unlocking your body’s metabolic and anabolic secrets. Because your genes do not change with exercise, they are a constant controlling factor in how your body responds to exercise and nutrition, and therefore have an enormous impact on the quality of the results you will experience from your efforts. Why Profile your Genes? Your genes are the foundation of your ongoing heath. Because they don’t change they form the basis around which your Nutrition, Exercise and Pressure Management must be built.

A Question Of Intensity

A question of intensity: Aerobic Training Vs Anaerobic Training

There is often debate over the topic of aerobic training Vs anaerobic training. Which method is best and when do you use each intensity within a training plan, for me the important aspect is the philosophy of quality over quantity.

Very few athletes (at various levels of competition) are undertrained, many are over trained and more often than not it is due to the excessive amount of time training at a level of low/moderate aerobic type training in the pursuit of increase levels of fitness. This happens not only in the field of athletic performance but also in the fitness industry. You can walk into any commercial gym around the world and you will notice many individual, running, riding and rowing at low level intensities just accumulating time on their chosen machine in their quest for fitness or fat loss and many wonder why they don’t get the results they are after or why their body shape never changes. [Read more...]

Vitamins

What are Vitamins?

Vitamins are organic substances necessary for life. Vitamins are essential to the normal functioning of our bodies, and except for a few exceptions, cannot be made by our bodies.

Vitamins are necessary for growth and vitality. They are found in all natural foods. We must obtain vitamins from foods or dietary supplements. It is impossible to sustain life without all the essential vitamins. [Read more...]