Burnout and Osteopathy
Burnout is becoming more and more common, most notably because it is claiming more and more victims.
In fact, burnout or professional exhaustion syndrome is the slow and insidious process that establishes itself in an individual and causes a disengagement in one’s professional and personal life.
Most people who suffer from burnout claim that they never saw it coming.
Who is affected by burnout ?
It generally strikes professionals who are conscientious, motivated, enthusiastic, creative and ambitious. Their mistake: they have high expectations of their capabilities and become limited by the fact that they don’t see to their own personal needs. This is where they get their remarkable drive for hard work.
First described in the medical and teaching communities, burnout can affect workers in almost any field today. Farmers, artisans, store owners, CEOs, anybody can burn out.
The different stages before reaching burnout
Warning Stage
This first stage of burnout is defined by chronic stress (signs that appear in a recurrent manner over a long period)
During this stage, the body is plagued by what we call the physical alarm response (muscular pain, lower back pain, stiff neck…)
Resistance Stage
This phase is characterized by a habituation of the individual to the permanent state of stress and the physical alarm response of the organism.
This stage in the establishment of burnout is considered as the critical stage because this is when the individual enters denial.
Rupture Stage
The patient’s mental and physical state progressively reach their limits and the symptoms that “disappeared” at the resistance phase reappear.
Consultation with a specialist (doctor, psychologist…) is highly recommended to set up an adapted care strategy, and therefore to avoid serious consequences for the individual.
Burnout
The final stage of this long process in which all dimensions of the person are affected: psychological, emotional and physical.
This is often the stage of depression. It’s total destruction.
The patient feels irrepressible incomprehension and brutal injustice.
Eat Slowly
Always in a rush, stressed out and constantly under pressure, our lifestyle requires us to skip meals or to eat them in a rush, without thinking about what we’re doing- although it is the very act of eating that is essential to our organism. Let’s look at why eating slowly is beneficial.
To Lose Weight
By eating more slowly, you consume fewer calories, and therefore, you lose weight in the long run. If we eat too quickly, our brain doesn’t have the time to get the signal that you are full !
Fight stress
Eating slowly and appreciating what you are eating also allows you to diminish stress significantly and therefore reduce all the effects that this condition brings along with it (nervousness, anguish, digestive problems, etc.).
Better Digestion
Eating more slowly means that you chew your food better, which improves digestion and allows you to avoid stomach problems such as acidity, reflux and bloating.
Eat Less Fast Food
Forget “fast food” and “living life in the fast lane.” Eating slowly becomes a whole philosophy : its living life to the fullest by making small changes, like just taking charge of the way you eat!
Moving
External Motivation
The first months are the most important because, if it is practiced in a regular manner, it is during that period that a new habit will become established for life.
Motivation comes from your environment (encouragement from family and friends) and the rewards that are tied to this new behaviour (health, well-being, weight loss, etc.)
Internal Motivation
If the active way of life is continued for more than six months, then the critical period has passed, and the physical activity has almost become a habit.
At this stage, the motivation will become more and more intrinsic, which means it will arise directly from the pleasure derived from the activity itself. Therefore, external reinforcement will become less important.
It is essential to be physically active to reduce the risk of heart disease, to feel full of energy, to relax, to take your mind off things and to conserve the energy, endurance and flexibility you need to accomplish your daily tasks all on your own.
Change your work habits
The be all and end all of work sometimes gobbles up everything else, to the point that we sometimes lose our private life. This is particularly true for those who work at home in the evenings or on the weekend, for they must adapt to ever growing demands.
Do you find it hard to turn down more work when you are already overwhelmed? Making yourself more available, connected, reachable and reactive is not the answer. You must learn to protect yourself. This is more easily said than done for often we are our own worst enemy.
Where osteopathy fits in
Osteopathy is a manual therapeutic approach to the patient as a whole. It treats the functional issues of the body by discovering their origin. In this case, stress, incorrect ergonomics, and poor posture when using the computer will all cause a mechanical imbalance in the body and bring on musculoskeletal tension.
Osteopathic Treatment Methods
SOFT TISSUE MANIPULATION
Soft tissue manipulation can be used in many different ways. This method is used to evaluate the condition of tissues, ease restrictions, help the body’s fluids (blood, lymph, etc.) flow smoothly and restore function.
Optimal neuro-vascular flow helps to reduce harmful fluid retention and allows the body’s immune system to work more effectively.
Throughout the treatment, Osteopathic Manual Practitioners will continuously check on the state of the body’s tissues. The goal is to gently guide the tissue back to health without over-treating.
CRANIAL OSTEOPATHY
As the gentlest osteopathic technique, Cranial Osteopathy is also one of the most significant.
It is used to assess and treat the mobility of the skull and its contents. It may also be used to assess and treat the spine, sacrum and other parts of the body. The goal of this technique is to adjust the body’s physiology by restoring balance and optimal neuro-vascular flow surrounding the Central Nervous System and all of its autonomic centers.
VISCERAL MANIPULATION
Visceral Manipulation is used to effectively treat organs and viscera of the body, including the lungs, heart, liver, spleen, kidneys, stomach, pancreas, intestines, the bladder and the uterus.
Osteopathic Manual Practitioners will gently move the structures themselves and the fascia that surrounds them to restore full movement.
Applied with gentle pressure, visceral manipulation corrections can improve the mobility of an organ, improve neuro-vascular flow surrounding the organ and ultimately help maximize organ function.
OSTEOPATHIC ARTICULAR TECHNIQUE
The osteopathic articular technique, involving gently moving two joint surfaces, is used to reduce muscle spasms, ease neurological irritations, assist in joint mobility and help reduce pain and discomfort.
It is a less forceful technique than joint manipulation.
Osteopathic Manual Practitioners will carefully prepare the soft tissues around the treatment area, positioning the patient so that there is minimal (if any) force needed to perform the maneuver.
