In this episode, LZ and I are talking about burnout and energy management with Mary Brooks, the owner of Sustainable Nutrition and the Fuel Better Formula.
Mary has a Master’s Degree in Nutrition and is a certified Integrative Nutrition Coach. She has more than 28 years of experience in health coaching and helps people get to the root cause of low energy, fatigue and burnout.
Navigating the new normal in a post-pandemic world has been a lot for some of us to juggle emotionally and physically. Mary’s own burnout experience led to health complications which inspired her to make some radical changes in her life. She wants to help you do just that.
Here are some takeaways:
1. Body has to come before business.
Between the high expectations of the workplace and your own drive to be successful, it can be difficult to tune it all out long enough to set some boundaries for your own well-being.
One of the best things you can do for your body is prioritize your health in the morning. Before you turn on the “work switch,” take some time for yourself – anything from a short meditation to a brisk walk or a full-blown workout.
The important thing is that you give yourself some time before you enter into the frenzy of the day. This will help you get started with a healthy mindset, which will have a positive, long-term effect on your body.
Stress isn’t all bad. We have a stress system to help us, but we should only be living in it about 20% of the time. Unfortunately, most of us are in that hormonal high cortisol overdrive more like 80% of the time. So we need to seek the reverse.
2. Be aware of what's happening around you when you're experiencing anxiety.
If you really think about the things that stress you out, you don’t want them out of your life. You want those things. You want your job, you want your children. You just don’t want the anxiety.
The number one thing we need to learn to do is to observe how we are reacting to that stress because what we often do is escalate it.
It’s so easy to read a not-so-positive text and begin the anxiety spiral. It triggers thoughts like, ‘Oh, that person is always negative.’ or ‘Okay, that’s going to get worse and that’s going to get worse and that’s going to get worse.’ And pretty soon you’re off the deep end.
A lot of it is just being honest about what makes you anxious.
It’s important to stop and focus on your environment and the context of what’s causing you to be anxious. Then, look at the truth of the situation and ask, ‘Am I having a normal reaction to this?’
Take a moment, pause, and breathe. By stopping in the moment and understanding what’s going on, you take control of the situation instead of allowing your anxiety to control you.
3. Reducing anxiety starts with taking care of the basics of health.
The key to reducing anxiety is treating your body right. This means doing something for your body before the day even starts because how you start your day determines how you end it.
Our bodies produce melatonin to help you sleep, but cortisol levels have to come down for you to sleep. Starting your day with things like movement and eating breakfast is teasing you up to fall asleep at night.
Drink more water. Get more sunlight. Eat the right things at the right time of day (for example, protein in the morning and carbs in the afternoon). And get more sleep!
You’ll be amazed at how much you can reduce anxiety and mental fatigue by simply doing the common sense basics we’ve known most of our lives.
Are you ready to maintain your energy levels and operate at a higher level?
Download Mary Brook’s guide, Amplifying Energy. This guide will teach you how to have more energy so you can not only be your best but bring your best — at work and home.
And as a next step, consider these questions.
1. What is one area in which you could improve your body's health? Is it more exercise, more sleep, better eating habits, more water? How could some changes in those areas help?
2. What are some of the key catalysts that cause your anxiety? What steps have you taken or can you take to reduce it?
3. Think about a time you were experiencing emotional burnout. What caused it and how did you eventually come out of it?
4. How have the last fews years and the pandemic affected your emotional health in negative and positive ways?