Managing Burnout & Anxiety
Burnout is not about needing a holiday.
If it were, a week off would fix it. For most people it does not.
WHAT IS BURNOUT
When the nervous system is under sustained pressure — long rosters, emotional labour, chronic stress, caregiving, financial pressure — the HPA axis becomes dysregulated.
The HPA axis is the body’s stress response system. When it is working well, stress hormones rise when needed and return to baseline when the pressure passes.
When it is dysregulated, the baseline shifts. The nervous system stays in a state of activation even when nothing threatening is happening. Many people have mentioned they can identify with this (during 1:1 sessions, or during our Yoga & /or Mindfulness Teacher Trainings)
This is burnout. It is physiological before it is psychological.
WHAT ANXIETY IS
Anxiety is not a thought problem. It is a nervous system state.
The amygdala — the part of the brain that processes threat — stays activated. The prefrontal cortex — the part responsible for rational thought and decision making — goes offline. I often describe this in laymen’s terms as ‘The amygdala – a little almond shaped area (literally goes off its ‘nut’ – excuse the slang)
This is why telling someone with anxiety to think positively does not work. The thinking brain is not in charge when the threat response is running. An analogy – If all you have is a hammer – everything begins to look like a nail.
WHAT YOGA AND MINDFULNESS CAN DO TO HELP US REGULATE OUR NERVOUS SYSTEM & BEGIN TO SEE MORE CLEARLY
Both yoga and mindfulness work directly on the nervous system. The combination of regulating the breath and moving the body to release tension has a significant impact.
Longer exhales activate the vagus nerve and shift the nervous system toward the parasympathetic state. Heart rate slows. Cortisol drops. The prefrontal cortex comes back online.
Slow sustained and mindful movement — particularly Yin and restorative yoga — can help us regain a sense of safety sends safety over time. The body learns that it can rest and it is safe to do so.
Mindfulness practice — specifically attending to present moment sensation without judgment — interrupts the threat loop that keeps anxiety running. It is like getting a record ‘unstuck’ from a ‘sticky’ track.
WHY A HOLIDAY IS NOT ENOUGH — AND WHY REGULAR PRACTICE CAN BE
Research consistently shows that the benefits of rest are real — but temporary without an underlying change in nervous system capacity. It also verifies that our flight fight response is and should be a temporary coping mechanism at best – not a state we should be in day in day out.
Have you ever had that feeling after a holiday of a healthy perspective, positive thoughts, great energy physically and mentally – only to find it fade off into the distance not long after you return to work? A 2018 study found that the positive effects of a vacation on wellbeing disappeared within three to four days of returning to work. (Hartig et al., 2018, Annual Review of Public Health).
The nervous system returned to its dysregulated baseline because nothing had changed in its fundamental capacity to regulate. This is where regular ongoing practice over time comes into it and is why it is useful for longevity and stress management – because it is regularity in practicing that helps create and sustain new neural pathways. It is physiology.
There’s a great poem / reading I share during Mindfulness & Yoga Teacher Training and with my 1:1 Mindful Mentoring / Coaching clients called ‘Autobiography in Five Chapters’ I fondly refer to it as the Pothole Poem. There are plenty of Mindful Metaphors that help paint a picture for clients and teacher trainees as to how and why the brain can change itself. For those who would love a great book recommendation – “The Brain That Changes Itself” by Norman Doidge is well worth the read.
I recall the first time I read this – was an exciting and inspiring time to realise how our knowledge was evolving over time – compared to what was previously taught in Medicine and Nursing. Hence it is important to be discerning yet open to new information and remain curious.
WHAT BUILDS LASTING CAPACITY
A meta-analysis of 209 studies involving 12,145 participants found that mindfulness-based programs produced significant improvements in anxiety, depression and stress — with effects that persisted at follow-up, unlike passive rest alone. (Khoury et al., 2013, Clinical Psychology Review)
A 2020 review confirmed that regular yoga practice produces measurable changes in brain structure and function — including areas responsible for emotional regulation, stress response and self-awareness. (Gothe et al., 2020, Brain Plasticity)
THE THREE LAYERS THAT MATTER
Lasting resilience requires three things working together:
The body — movement, breath and somatic awareness – also known as the first foundation of Mindfulness. Simply put – body and breath sensations.
The mind — evidence-based Mindfulness tools that interrupt automatic stress responses and build cognitive flexibility. This can relate to the second foundation of Mindfulness – noticing if something is pleasant / unpleasant and neutral.
Emotional understanding — education about why we respond the way we do, so we can meet ourselves with curiosity rather than judgment. This response can be associated with the third foundation of Mindfulness that prompts us to ask “How are you with things” Pleasant / Unpleasant or neutral.
This is why a trauma informed approach matters. Trauma — including the everyday trauma of chronic stress — can live in the body – hence the popular phrase by Dr Bessel Vanderkirk “The Body Keeps The Score” Often the body holds a history that the logical mind cannot always find answers for. A regular practice that integrates body, mind and emotional education builds something a holiday cannot — a nervous system that understands itself.
WHO THIS MATTERS FOR
Everyone!
We can all be impacted by stress, anxiety and burnout.
People like myself (if you are a nurse, shift worker, FIFO worker, frontline staff – for example finishing a night shift) who cannot switch off.
The workaholic whose mind is still running at midnight – problem solving instead of sleeping.
The parent who feels like no matter how much they give – it is never enough.
The FIFO worker whose roster leaves no time to decompress.
The allied health professional who absorbs other people’s pain and suffering all day.
THE EVIDENCE BASE
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness Based CBT (MBCT) are among the most researched psychological interventions in the world — with consistent evidence for reducing anxiety, depression, burnout and chronic stress.
All programs at Yoga NRG are grounded in this evidence base — delivered &/or overseen by an AHPRA-registered Nurse and Certified Clinical Trauma Health Professional with 30 years of clinical experience.
REFERENCES
Hartig, T. et al. (2018). Nature and health. Annual Review of Public Health.
Khoury, B. et al. (2013). Mindfulness-based therapy: A comprehensive meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 33(6), 763-771.
Gothe, N.P. et al. (2020). Yoga effects on brain health: A systematic review. Brain Plasticity, 5(1), 105-122.
FIND OUT MORE
Mindfulness & Meditation Teacher Training