Amidst the fun and frivolity of the festive season, many feel stressed and overwhelmed in the attempt to ‘do it all.’ Due to social, emotional and societal pressures, we race to meet end-of-year deadlines, complete work and personal projects, and plan elaborate holiday celebrations. December is also busy in practice, finalising clinic for the year. While supporting patients is a primary focus, it is vital to also prioritise practitioner health and wellbeing through this often-hectic period.

The Unsolicited Consequences of Care 

Like other care-centric professions, natural health practitioners are susceptible to work-related stress and burnout.¹ The therapeutic relationship with patients requires an ongoing and intense level of personal, emotional contact and while these relationships can be rewarding and engaging, they can also be quite stressful.²

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion induced by prolonged exposure to stress.^3,4 Exhaustion and sleep disturbances reduce the capacity to cope, intensifying the stress response.³ Emotional demand at work is a driving factor of burnout in healthcare workers and has been associated with increased risks of hypertension, cardiovascular disease and musculoskeletal problems, as well as sleep disturbances and mental health problems including depression.³ Prolonged stress also impacts immune regulation and is associated with autoimmunity and other inflammatory conditions.^5,6

Care for Yourself as You Would Your Patients

Natural healthcare practitioners are experts in treating patients with stress and fatigue and helping them implement diet and lifestyle strategies to optimise wellbeing. While practitioners endeavour to ‘walk the talk’, this may be harder to maintain during times of stress or burnout when self-care is needed most.

Be proactive about sustaining vitality and resilience by writing yourself a prescription for self-care. Better still, pair up with a trusted colleague as accountability buddies to honour a mutual commitment to support practitioner health and wellbeing.

Look out for the warning signs that you need extra support. These may include mental and/or physical fatigue, lack of emotional resilience, reduced coping ability, sleep disturbances, mood imbalances, changes in appetite and/or weight, and feeling disengaged (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: How to Avoid Burnout.

Valuing Rest and Relaxation

Healthy food choices, regular exercise and restful sleep lay the foundations for good health to help you function at your best. Sleep is a physiological restorative process that helps the body maintain homeostasis, particularly in the neuro-immunological, cardiometabolic, and neurocognitive systems.⁶ Resting may not be fashionable in a world obsessed with ‘doing’ however its importance cannot be underestimated in preventing and managing stress and burnout. Proactively scheduling time for rest and relaxation and setting reminders to go to bed early can help set new routines.

Moments of Mindfulness

Positive psychology holds promise for improving the wellbeing of healthcare workers. In a review of mindfulness- and gratitude-based interventions (2 days-8 weeks), researchers noted reductions in depression, anxiety, burnout and stress. Interventions also increased wellbeing, job and life satisfaction, self-compassion, relaxation and resilience.⁹

Mindfulness is associated with diminished activity in the amygdala, and when practised regularly can have profound effects alleviating and managing stress. Mindfulness may reduce overall cognitive load, increase working memory and improve executive attention.⁹ Workplace mindfulness-based interventions reduced cortisol production, improved heart rate variability coherence (reduced sympathetic nervous system reactivity) and reduced inflammation in a systematic review and meta-analysis.¹⁰

Mindfulness Exercise: The Five Senses11 Calm a busy mind by taking time to notice what you’re experiencing with each of the five senses. Take 5 deep mindful breaths. Notice 5 things you can see. Bring your attention to 5 things you can see but don’t normally notice. Notice 4 things you can feel. E.g. the texture of clothing, breeze on your skin. Notice 3 things you can hear. What distant sounds can you hear? Notice 2 things you can smell. Bring your awareness to smells you usually filter out. Notice 1 thing you can taste. Take a sip of a drink, eat something or notice the taste in your mouth.

What do I really need in this moment?

Some simple self-reflection techniques can help you step out of stress and overwhelm to focus on your own personal needs. Asking ‘What do I really need in this moment?’ brings awareness back to yourself and allows you to tap into what your mind, body and spirit most needs to restore balance. This is an exercise in valuing yourself enough to stop and listen, accept where you’re at, and heed the gentle reminder of what steps to take for yourself first, so you can best support others.

Are you craving creativity? Time alone? Or fun connection time with others? Is muscle tension prompting you to book a massage? Or is it time to immerse yourself in nature and enjoy the many benefits (reduced nervous system arousal/anxiety, lower blood pressure, enhanced immune function, and increased self-esteem)?⁷ Maybe you seek the steadiness of mind and body that comes with a regular yoga practice (reduces physical and mental stress, resets the HPA axis, improves emotional regulation)?⁸ Your needs are as individual as you are, so listen to your body and put strategies in place to support yourself each day.

Giving Back to Self

As another full and rewarding year comes to a close, remember to prioritise self-care and be proactive about sustaining your own vitality, resilience and passion as a natural health practitioner.

‘Self-care is giving the world the best of you, instead of what’s left of you.’ (Katie Reed)

References

1. Catapano P, Cipolla S, Sampogna G, Perris F, Luciano M, Catapano F, et al. Organizational and individual interventions for managing work-related stress in healthcare professionals: a systematic review. Medicina (Kaunas). 2023 Oct 20;59(10):1866. doi: 10.3390/medicina59101866.
2. Maslach C, Leiter MP. Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry. World Psychiatry. 2016 Jun;15(2):103-11.
3. Baek SU, Yoon JH, Won JU. Association between high emotional demand at work, burnout symptoms, and sleep disturbance among Korean workers: a cross-sectional mediation analysis. Sci Rep. 2023 Oct 4;13(1):16688. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-43451-w.