Dealing with burnout and stress
2022 is quickly coming to an end, the calendar is about to flip to September in a few days and many of us are feeling burnt out. This late in the year, it isn’t uncommon for many of us to say things like ‘I am burnt out’ after periods of extended stress or workload.
Interestingly, the World Health Organisation recognises “burnout syndrome” as an official condition that can negatively impact health status. However, it is not classified as an actual illness (though the causes of burnout can contribute to illness). Burnout is a ‘syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.’
Symptoms include:
* Exhaustion, energy depletion, insomnia * Anger, sadness
* Apathy towards work
* Reduced productivity at work
Health consequences of burnout are similar to those of chronic unmanaged stress and include:
* anxiety
* depression
* headaches
* insomnia
* memory or concentration impairment
Below are some supplements which can help in managing something like burnout:
Ashwagandha - One of the most studied herbs shown to be effective in improving concentration, fatigue and relieving feelings of anxiety and stress in individuals.
GABA supplements - GammaAminobutyric Acid (GABA) is the calming brain neuro chemical or peptide that gets depleted in burnout syndrome, making it hard for the nervous system to calm down and relax, even when you feel exhausted.
GABA supplements don’t actually cross the blood brain barrier so you need to use ‘precursors’ to help the brain make more GABA. This is a natural preparation that is focused on restoring the balance between the brain’s calming peptides (like GABA) and the excitement peptides (like glutamate). GABA precursors NAC and taurine can help to create a calming effect on the brain and body.
Magnesium - Magnesium becomes rapidly depleted under chronic stress and with caffeine use. So if you drink a lot of coffee like I do and have stress and burnout, chances are you don’t have enough of it in your body naturally. Magnesium deficiency is one of the most under-recognised causes for fatigue, muscle aches, pain and discomfort – especially at night.
The issue is that the magnesium is stored inside the body’s cells so if you measure serum blood magnesium, the levels can appear normal. The only test is to measure intracellular magnesium with a specialised functional medicine panel.
For most people though, supplementing can be helpful if you have no kidney issues. It goes without saying that lifestyle factors (exercise, sleep, nutrition) are priority number one when it comes to managing stress. However, these supplements have some data backing their ability to help.