What would you do if I told you in one month you would have to run a half-marathon?

Like strength-training our muscles to lift heavier weights or endure longer physical stress, we can train our nervous systems to better manage mental and emotional stress.

When your sympathetic nervous system is triggered and your body is expecting to fight or run, it will remain in this state until your bodily response informs it that you are safe. Unfortunately, our advanced human interpersonal skills do not send a message via body language, informing our sympathetic nervous system that we are safe.

While there are many ways to send the proper message to your body, the trick is to physically exert energy (fight or flight) and then promote a feeling of safety. You can practice methods to calm your nervous system in an immediate moment of stress, and also prepare it for resiliency and quick recovery for moments of routine stress.

Here are some methods to try while in an immediate fight-or-flight...

Burnout is characterized by three key components:

• Exhaustion
• Cynicism regarding work
• Loss of professional efficacy (a sense that you can perform your job well)

... but we all know there are many other manifestations of burnout. Irritability, brain fog, poor sleep, and anxiety (inability to sit still / anxiousness) are all very common signs of chronic stress and burnout.

If you are feeling any of these signs, or recognize your own unique manifestation of stress, try these steps to halt the feeling of burnout.

      1.     Stop the stress response of your nervous system.

• Take a moment to yourself to focus on your preferred method of decompression.
• Think of activities that use the spike in cortisol to fight or run: exercise, tension practice, kickboxing, etc.
• Also consider activities that indicate to your body that you are safe and secure: meditation, yoga, compression blanket, even a long hug with a loved one.

      2.   ...