Burn Out Caused By Stress
A few months ago, I was sitting in my office on a Sunday evening when I got an email from one of my clients. They told me that they were concerned about me and wanted to know if everything was okay. As we talked on the phone, something clicked in my brain and suddenly, I realized what was wrong with me: stress. The effects of too much stress were becoming obvious -- I wasn't getting as much work done (I had actually stopped writing for two weeks), I wasn't sleeping well, and my eating patterns had been affected -- but the truth is that it took me a while to realize that there was something wrong with how I dealt with stress. I was unwittingly causing my own stress.
After that realization, I started taking action to reduce my stress levels and found out that there are several things you can do to effectively handle your daily stresses.
I've always been the type of person who gets stressed about everything. Anything from a simple task such as paying bills, preparing for a flight or even starting an exercise program filled me with anxiety. That anxiety made it difficult for me to handle tasks in a reasonable manner. I remember that I once had so much anxiety over a flight that I ended up canceling the flight and going to the airport at the last minute. It's not an effective way to travel and it causes you to lose time and money.
All of my stress came from being an "achiever." My need to be perfect, to do everything right and never make mistakes led me to feel tremendous pressure on a daily basis. But aside from the obvious effects (anxiety, stress), being stressed out was causing me some serious physical problems. I developed GERD (Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease), a condition where my stomach would literally push up into my esophagus whenever there were certain triggers. I also had acid reflux which caused me to get heartburn several times a day.
So, what was I going to do? Laser hair removal of my stomach and upper chest weren't an option. Anti-inflammatories weren't the answer either -- they always made me feel worse. Instead, I decided to take action to reduce stress in my life in the only way I knew how: writing a book .
In the last few months, I've hired an editor and a cover designer. I've started writing this book and it's been very fulfilling for me as I usually work on books for 4-6 hours every day. I've also given lectures on the power of writing and how to write a book in both public and private health and fitness conventions.
The best thing I've done is to stop trying to be perfect and being anxiety-ridden about everything. Being anxious just causes more stress in your life, so you need to put some boundaries in place to deal with your stresses without harming yourself. (This website has plenty of information on how to learn how to "stop worrying" about your health.)
What tends to happen when we feel stressed or anxious is that we focus on one or two things that are stressing us out. Usually, we focus on the things that cause us stress in order to prevent them from happening again. It's a normal human response and it's something we should all practice. However, what most people don't realize is that focusing on these things just makes things worse. When you try to prevent something bad from happening (stress or anxiety), you only make it happen sooner.
The best way to deal with your everyday stresses is to write them down and identify the causes. Then study up on how to relieve the stress so that you can reduce the amount of time you spend worrying about it. (Looking at how others handle their stress can also help. The website, The Anxiety Guy , is a great resource for this.)
But how do you write out your daily stresses? The best way to figure this out is to take an hour and make a serious journal entry (one where you really understand what each stressor is). You want to make it as detailed as possible so that you know exactly what's bothering you.
If there are any mistakes in the actual writing of the entry, don't worry about them. All you're trying to do is identify each source of stress and then find a way to relieve it or prevent it from happening again. Afterwards, you can go back and edit these entries so that they look like something else.
Here are some examples of ways I've written out my stress:
1. I had too many changes in my schedule. My day would be starting with a meeting, then I would have to go to a different location for meetings, then I had an appointment at the gym, then I had another meeting at the restaurant. Every day was different so no matter how much I tried to prepare, it was impossible to get everything done.
2. Every day brought more and more emails and texts that were stressful and annoying. It started with only two "texts" of this type each week but by the end of the year, it seemed like one text message every hour -- sometimes even more than that!
3. I just couldn't stand to be around people for long periods of time. I would go to parties and the first thing I would do was find a quiet corner to read or work on my computer. The last thing I wanted was to be talking to people endlessly.
So, if you're having any difficulties dealing with everyday stress, try writing out your stresses in a journal entry. Remember that it doesn't matter how you write it, just make sure that it's detailed enough so that you understand what each stressor is causing you. Also, make sure you understand everything about the stressor (how it happens, why it happens and what makes the stressor go away). That way, you can start to formulate a plan about how you're going to handle your stress.
You can also become a better writer by reading more books. Want some recommendations? Here are 10-best-selling self-help books you can read to improve your communication skills and become a better writer:
1. Never Eat Alone : And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time (Keith Ferrazzi)
2. How to Win Friends & Influence People (Dale Carnegie)
3. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change (Stephen R. Covey)
4. The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living (The Dalai Lama, Howard C. Cutler)
5. Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny! (Anthony Robbins)
6. The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment (Eckhart Tolle)
7. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Happiness (Don Miguel Ruiz)
8. How to Win Friends & Influence People in the Digital Age (Dale Carnegie & Associates Inc.)
9. The 48 Laws of Power: A Manual for Successful Living (Robert Greene)
10.
Conclusion
If you're like me and have been suffering from stress or anxiety, you need to take action to reduce it. The best way to do is to identify and figure out the causes of your stress so that you can determine what steps you need to take next. Trust me... no one else can help you with this problem but yourself. So get writing!
If you have some tips or information that you would like me to include in this article, please email me at tim@tbahealthandfitness.com . Alternatively, if this article was helpful for your situation, please share it with your friends by clicking on the Facebook or Twitter icons below.