Article Time

For millions of parents around the world, the day does not end with the school bell. There are still pictures to be painted, songs to be sung and games to be played. This all adds up to keeping children happy, safe and out of trouble. But, parents have to steer away from going overboard.

After school is not baby-sitting:
After school activities thrive only if it is backed by sufficient parental involvement. What would a soccer match be without parents cheering their little heroes from the sidelines?.

Research and choose:
Instead of convenience being the decisive factor, find out things that will interest your child. Once you select a program, get the fine print and find out what you have to contribute.

Free time:
Many children attend piano classes, followed by ballet and squeeze in some time for play dates in between just before they rush home in time for bed. This rigor is too much for a child. So, go slow.

When to quit:
Often, parents enroll their child in an activity to discover that he may not be the prodigy they thought he would be. This is the time to let go. Your child may not become the next wonder-kid. But, let him cultivate an interest that he enjoys. Remember, happiness and fulfillment are all that matter.

BR Web Marketing
www.bosandkvist.com

PREVENTING BURNOUT
by Rhoberta Shaler, PhD

We get burned when we stay too close to the heat source for too long. Wise
folks move away before they get burned, but, some are so focused on other
things that they fail to feel the heat! When the heat finally gets their
attention, they can barely crawl away to safety. They suffer from burnout.

Too much, too little, too late, too long. Those are what define `burnout`.

TOO MUCH

You do and you do and you do. You are the one who can be counted on to stay
late, come in early, skip lunch and pick up the pieces when others let them
fall. In fact, people begin to count on you to do just that! This is a
recipe for burnout.

You`ve read in my other articles that you are one-hundred percent
responsible for teaching people how to treat you. Have you taught them to
treat you like the safety plug?

Oh, and you thought that `indispensable` was a sure-fire strategy for
promotion? Wrong. It is a strategy for burnout.

You thought that going the extra mile was just good exercise. It`s
exhausting done daily. Save it for times when you will be appreciated, not
taken for granted.


TOO LITTLE

I was working with a coaching client recently and she said, “I`ve given my
life to this company and my reward is a pink slip.” Oops! Mistake. She
only has one life and she needs to keep it for herself. Work is only a part
of life and it must be kept within the confines of values and goals.

I don`t know one person who has consciously set the goal to be the first in
the company to experience burnout. Yet, paying too little attention to
maintaining healthy balance is the equivalent. Any good manager wants you
to be living a balanced life. Why? So that when a little extra is
required, it`s available. If you`re running as fast as you can every day,
you have nothing left for an occasional sprint to a deadline.


TOO LATE

Sometimes you don`t realize all that you are giving until it`s too late!

The greatest weapon you have against burnout is a simple one. Gently pucker
your lips, open your mouth and speak that self-saving word. Whether it`s
work-related, family-related or expectation-driven, you have to learn to say
`NO!` before it is too late. You cannot be all things to all people all the
time.

Practice on small things. If a person asks you to go somewhere that you do
not want to go, thank them for wanting to do something that includes you and
say, `NO!”. If you haven`t tried this, it takes a little practice…and no
one has ever died from doing it. Just practice. It gets easier. Remember,
too, that you never need to give a reason or an excuse. A simple `NO,
THANKS!” is all that is required….with a smile.


TOO LONG

The body and mind are resilient and forgiving….to a point! You can push
on through a whole night`s work and recover quite quickly in a day or two of
rest. No problem. Burnout occurs when pushing becomes a lifestyle. Do
more. Be more. Have more. Rescue more. Work more. Accommodate more.
Push, push, push. The body simply cannot handle the demand and the fuses
blow.

A medical dictionary says that burnout is “An excessive stress reaction to
one`s occupational or professional environment. It is manifested by feelings
of emotional and physical exhaustion coupled with a sense of frustration and
failure.” Those feelings come from the blown fuses.

Physically, you can go into seeming meltdown. Your adrenals are distressed.
Your skin is rebelling. Your stomach produces excess acid. Your sleep is
disturbed. Everything is stressed beyond reason and all you want to do is
crawl in a hole and pull the hole in after you for a long, long rest.

GOOD NEWS! You can avoid all this. It`s a choice.

So, if you recognize a too much, too little, too late, too long kind of
build-up in yourself. STOP! Choose health instead.

** Call Dr. Rhoberta Shaler for a free half-hour coaching consultation and
prevent burnout. Of course, she`ll also help you define your values,
purpose and goals and support you on the path to success on your own terms.
http://www.optimizelifenow.com/coaching/intro.htm



(c) Rhoberta Shaler, PhD All rights reserved.

****************************************
International speaker, facilitator, coach & author Rhoberta Shaler, PhD, is
an expert motivator helping businesses prosper & people flourish. Visit her
website for ezines, teleseminars, books & CDs, free articles, online
community, and more. www.OptimizeLifeNow.com.

Job burnout is common. In fact, more common than we think. It can come not only from a day job, but from being a work at home mom, or by being a caregiver to someone. The definition of burnout is – exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration.” Job burnout can creep on us insidiously. You may find yourself waking up and not feeling like going to work anymore. If it happens long enough, it may lead to a chronically negative state and self concept.

Signs of burnout are common and here are some signs that may indicate that you may be suffering from job, career or carer burnout. You may find yourself identifying with one or more of the following symptoms of burnout. Feelings of frustration, of anger and criticism. Feeling that one is overwhelmed or that there is no reward commensurate with the amount of effort put in. Feelings of depression, sense of helplessness and ability to see a way out of problems. A sense of being overwhelmed- feeling angry with yourself and criticize yourself. Feeling physically run down, tired, and feeling like there is a a lack of energy.

To overcome burnout you must realize the causes of burnout. It can often arise from the following:
1. Working at a job that does not resonate wholly with your personal values.
2. Boredom. There are no new challenges or excitement.
3.Having unrealistic goals for yourself or high expectations of your work.
4.Having too much to do that you have no time to do the things you really want.
5. Not having enough work life balance.
6 .Working under conditions that do not allow personal freedom
7. Feeling trapped from the need to do this job due to lack of choice.
8. Not being appreciated for the work you do after all the effort.

Here are some steps you can take think of how to overcome burnout. Take time to think of how you can overcome this problem.
1. Take a break from your routine.
2.Reassess your goals. It may have changed from when you last thought hard about your life
3. Be assured of your ability in yourself to change. For the better.
4. Face your fears; don`t avoid your fears, or mask them in an addiction
5. Think about what you really want.
6. Clarify your values. Who you really are and who you want to be. What is important to you?
7. Reclaim your dreams.What do you dream about that you want to do in your lifetime? What are the things you want to do, places you want to visit? What does the good life look like to you?
8. Think about your relationships. Are you spending enough time with the people you want to spend time with and are important to you?
9. Think about how you want to plan your financial future. Have a broad picture. The details will come sooner.
10. Reclaim healthy habits. Are you eating healthily, sleeping adequately? Exercising? Rest and relaxation?
11. Have fun. Are you able to have fun?

To overcome burnout you must know what you really want to achieve. Then go for it .

——

May is passionate about helping people achieve the life of their dreams. Inspirational resources at: http://www.successinspired.com . Get free report on attracting success at: http://www.wisdomofgettingwealthy.com/AttractionAccelerator

Stress and burnout are often seen as the same thing. But they are not the same.

Stress happens to everyone every single day! Each person experiences and copes with stress very differently. What is stressful to you may not be to me… and vice versa! And how you react to stress and cope with it will be very different to the way I do.

Burnout is a topic close to my heart! … I experienced burnout 24 years ago… and then, more recently, towards the end of 2007 I found myself heading there again.

Most people see burnout as only happening to high-powered, overworked business executives. But the reality is, burnout can happen to almost anyone — it is not reserved to a select group of people in a select area of work!

Burnout can occur in caregivers (for example, a someone who`s sole caregiver for a chronically or seriously ill person over a long period of time e.g. with Alzheimer`s disease), executives, stay at home mums or dads with several young children, health care workers (e.g. doctors, psychologists, nurses, vets)… to name a few.

In other words… it can happen to anyone doing too many taxing things over a long period of time.

So… what is burnout? And what is the difference between burnout and stress?

Well… according to Wikipedia, “burnout is a psychological term for the experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest.”
And according to Wikipedia, “stress is the condition that results when person-environment transactions lead the individual to perceive a discrepancy, whether real or not, between the demands of the situation and the resources of the person`s biological, psychological or social systems.”

There is a huge difference between burnout and stress. Stress is a normal part of daily living… every single person experiences some degree of stress in their lives each day. Burnout, on the other hand, may be the result of unrelenting stress, but it isn`t the same as too much stress.

Stress is an overload of pressure that demands too much of you both physically and psychologically. People experiencing stress can usually see that they will feel better when they can get everything under control.

Burnout, on the other hand, is prolonged stress and pressure. It is emotional and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It results in feeling empty, totally exhausted, very overwhelmed, and devoid of motivation.

Burnout reduces your productivity and saps your energy… it may leave you feeling increasingly helpless, hopeless, powerless, often cynical and resentful. People experiencing burnout very seldom see there is any likelihood of feeling better. They begin to lose interest and motivation that led them to take on the roles and responsibilities in the first place e.g. being caregiver.

The unhappiness burnout causes can eventually threaten your job, your relationships and your health.

Another major difference between stress and burnout is: usually you are aware you are under a lot of stress, but you usually don`t notice burnout when it happens. The symptoms of burnout including total exhaustion, feelings of detachment, hopelessness, often take months to appear.

It is not uncommon for someone else to point out you may be experiencing burnout… many people with burnout don`t see it in themselves. More often than not, work colleagues, family members, partners, friends, or doctors will see the signs of burnout long before the person sees it in him or herself.

If the signs are recognised in time… burnout can be prevented or alleviated.

Please note: I`m not saying for one moment that everyone will experience burnout… far from it!

But burnout does exist… it is real and its effects can be devastating if not recognised and dealt with effectively.

Jeanne May of Aspirations Plus, works with spiritually minded people providing them with information, inspiration, guidance and support to achieve their goals and dreams. Receive a complimentary copy of “#1 Ingredient To Fast Track Your Success!” by subscribing to Aspirations Plus at http://www.aspirationsplus.com

In essence, burnout is emotional and physical exhaustion caused by prolonged stress and can occur when you feel very overwhelmed and unable to meet constant demands.

But how can you recognise burnout? Here are 10 typical and common signs that it may be happening:

• a person with burnout often experiences overwhelming feelings of hopelessness, powerlessness, isolation, feelings of being trapped, and often strong feelings of despair
• a person with burnout is much more irritable and edgy than usual. He or she can be very “snappy” and cynical… much more than usual
• a person with burnout often experiences major disruption to sleep… insomnia is quite common but some people with burnout sleep for much longer and have great difficulty in waking up
• a person with burnout often feels detached and disconnected from what he or she is doing… whether that is with work, relationships, or even with him or herself
• a person with burnout typically experiences absolute total and utter exhaustion
• a person with burnout may experience increased drinking (alcohol), drug taking (e.g. sleeping pills, painkillers, aspirin or disprin), smoking, sexual activity, or increased shopping (for unnecessary and often expensive items)… all in an effort to escape what they are experiencing and to escape from the negative feelings they have
• a person with burnout often experiences major changes in eating habits… some may experience a complete loss of appetite, regularly skipping meals, picky eating… whereas others may increase their food intake and eat more comfort food and therefore put on more weight
• it is not uncommon that relationships fall apart for a person with burnout… relationships with family, friends, work colleagues, partner and children often tend to become strained and difficult
• the person with burnout frequently becomes unmotivated and appears to be very uncaring
• a person with burnout has an overriding feeling that he or she cannot take any more!

Please note: everybody experiences some or all of these signs fairly regularly but that doesn`t mean it is burnout. The big difference is that these signs of burnout are experienced over a long period of time — many weeks or months.

Sounds heavy… well it is for the person experiencing burnout and also for those close to the person.

But the good news is… lots can be done to prevent burnout from happening in the first place… but if it has happened… lots can be done to alleviate it!

Jeanne May of Aspirations Plus, works with spiritually minded people providing them with information, inspiration, guidance and support to achieve their goals and dreams. Receive a complimentary copy of “#1 Ingredient To Fast Track Your Success!” by subscribing to Aspirations Plus at http://www.aspirationsplus.com

Burnout is emotional and physical exhaustion caused by prolonged stress.

Burnout happens as a result of extreme overload over an extended period of time.

Burnout is not something that only happens to high-powered, overworked business executives. Caregivers also can experience burnout. And they do!

A caregiver maybe someone who is primary carer for a terminally ill loved one, or primary carer for a family member with Alzheimer`s Disease, or a severely disabled child, or perhaps a chronically ill
family member.

Usually the caregiver is juggling many roles within the family, for example, other family members to look after, running the house including cooking, and perhaps working as well.

The person requiring care often has many medical and treatment needs and appointments, may require special food, which all needs to be done by the caregiver. Taking on the role of caregiver involves many extra responsibilities.

It can be extremely emotionally and physically taxing providing care for someone you love.

For the person who is experiencing profound stress over a prolonged period of time, here are 10 suggestions to keep in mind which may prevent burnout from happening:

• make sure you eat properly. All too often caregivers neglect themselves because they are too busy being caregiver. It`s important to make sure you get proper food and drinks. You will become rundown if you neglect yourself over a long period of time and when you become rundown you are more susceptible to getting sick and staying sick for a lot longer than you usually would

• you are not indispensable. Although the burden of care may fall on you it is important to remember, and to remind others around you, that if you get sick you will no longer be able to carry out the roles and responsibilities you are doing now

• recognise your limitations — everybody has a limit of what they can and cannot do. For a short period of time it is OK to stretch yourself but you cannot do this indefinitely

• ask for help — even though it may seem no one can help you, many people are often willing to do something if they only know what. It could be anything from asking someone to do your shopping, pick up something, bring something, water the garden, babysit, cook a meal, or take over for a little while

• on the other hand, sometimes people don`t offer help because the caregiver has given a clear indication that he or she doesn`t want or need help. Sometimes caregivers can be too independent! When someone offers help… say “yes please”!

• make sure you get regular time out — for example, meet up with friends for coffee or lunch, see a movie, go for a walk around the block. Go somewhere or do something that will give you physical and emotional breathing space

• offload to someone — it is important for everyone to have someone they can talk to, someone they can offload to. Offloading can go a long way in preventing burnout from happening

• almost every community in the world has a voluntary telephone counselling service where people can call and talk to someone on the other end of the phone. This service is usually free and anonymous. Such places are often listed in the front page of the telephone directory

• if you have no one to talk to, and you cannot use a telephone counselling service, write out your thoughts and feelings. The important thing is to get your thoughts and feelings out in whatever way you can

• you may benefit from talking with a doctor, counsellor or social worker who may be able to get outside services to provide assistance to you. There are many agencies and places within the community you can access for all kinds of assistance e.g. financial, practical support such as voluntary transport which can reduce some of pressure for you

Burnout can happen when you are overloaded. But there are many things that can be done to prevent the stress and responsibilities turning into burnout.

Remember… you don`t have to do it alone!

Jeanne May of Aspirations Plus, works with spiritually minded people providing them with information, inspiration, guidance and support to achieve their goals and dreams.
Receive a complimentary copy of “#1 Ingredient To Fast Track Your Success!” by subscribing to Aspirations Plus at http://www.aspirationsplus.com

Before looking at how success mentoring can help you escape the rat race, what precisely does being a part of the rat race mean?

Before looking at the second part of my question, I thought I`d check out the phrase “the rat race” Google and when I did I found the following definitions:

* “A rat race is a term used for an endless, self-defeating or pointless pursuit. It conjures up the image of the futile efforts of a lab rat trying to escape whilst running around a maze or in a wheel.”

* “A mad scramble or intense competitive struggle, such as in the business world.”

* “An exhausting routine that leaves no time for relaxation.”

For me the first definition is the best; the rat race is an “endless, self defeating pursuit,” like a rat in a wheel. This definition of “the rat race” pretty succinctly describes what having an ordinary job while trying to gain some financial freedom is all about – running like crazy and “getting nowhere fast.”

As an employee you will be paid a monthly salary and in most cases the amount you are paid is set by the employer and not by you. It is a simple trade: you swap your time for money each day in order to get your hands on the bare necessities of life and perhaps even the occasional luxury from time to time. If you want to increase your income, “all” you have to do is increase the number of hours you work.

The fact is that if you increase you working hours then you tend to have less free time for yourself and your family because following an exhausting routine that leaves no time for relaxation. Over the long term it is just not a sustainable nor an effective strategy. It leads to burnout, or a fate worse than burnout; anybody who has lived in Japan for any length of time, as I have, will be familiar with the Japanese word “Karoshi,” which translates as “death from overwork.”

Ouch!

Another way to increase your income in the job market could be to improve your productivity within your regular working hours. In other words you could seek to become more efficient, learn new skills and improve your ability to do your job, in short, to do more work in less time. But while such a strategy may secure a salary raise, what also tends to happen is that you will land yourself more work, additional responsibilities, or both.

You may indeed be promoted, and get an increase in salary, but then the process begins again and you may wonder whether you have really made progress or simply jumped inside a bigger wheel? Because your boss considers you to be an effective and reliable employee she might expect you to work longer and harder than ever, which is good from the point of view of earning some extra cash (unless your overtime is “voluntary work” as it often is in Japan); however, working harder and longer is far from good for your health, family and free time activities…

Actually, in my experience of corporate life here in Japan, where I have often had an opportunity to glimpse behind the corporate facade in my erstwhile capacity as a freelance English instructor, longer hours and higher productivity don`t tend to go together… What happens is that many employees tend to work “long and slow” – going through the motions of work to keep up appearances, but freewheeling as much as possible to get through yet another long, tedious day…

So what is the answer I hear you ask? Well in my experience, the answer has to be that you take control of your future by breaking out of the rat race and getting off the wheel. Planning to get out of the rat race, and then taking the leap will be your first two steps on the path to financial freedom.

It may seem difficult, but it is not impossible if you seek to leverage your time so as to create income streams that are not limited by your employer or by the amount of time available to you in a single day.

The most effective way to grasp how to do this is to copy the habits of those successful people who have stepped out of the rat race and proceeded to create wealth in every area of life, both for their families and themselves.

The phrase we use to describe such people is “success mentors.They are men and women of character who have experienced difficulties similar to, or most likely worse than, your own and who have prevailed and are now happy and eager to show you how you too can achieve success on your own terms.

Any mentor worth his or her salt will tell you,

“if I can do it, so can you,”

and then give you the proof that will serve to feed your self-belief and build up your self-confidence so that you too can set out on the path to realize your dreams.

The reason is that the best mentors are “they that have come through much tribulation.” Their testimony is that they have been tested and not found wanting. The tests they have undergone to achieve their successes are unique to each of them and give each of them a powerful facility to inspire.

Moreover, every one who is a mentor today was once mentored; truly, if you want to succeed you must find a mentor.

Do not underestimate the power of being mentored. My favourite example of outstanding success through excellent mentoring is Tiger Woods.

Success mentoring is therefore the most powerful single process to help and encourage or empower someone who has a dream, or who at least is seeking an alternative to the rat race, to get off the wheel of “just getting by” and begin to live life at an entirely higher level.

So if you haven`t got at least one success mentor, go and find one today as you take your first steps off the never-ending wheel that is the rat race.

——

David Hurley is the owner of http://grasp-the-nettle.com. Visit his site for more information about success mentoring. Subscribe to his free Internet Marketing Start-Up Newsletter and grab a bundle of high quality business ebooks – FREE!

Old-school traditional cold calling can take a toll on a person’s self esteem over time. It’s just not natural to have somebody hang up on us, or to experience rejection over and over each day. Because of this, many of us tend to recoil at even the idea of cold calling. It’s a fear-laden experience that’s often depressing.
You see, most of us have a mental block around cold calling. We associate cold calling with the worst of what selling is about — the “going to war” concept where we put on armor and play a mind game with someone we’ve never met.
All this can be avoided by simply shifting your frame of reference. Once you do this, you’ll actually look forward to the adventure of cold calling. You’ll overcome those moments when you find yourself sitting at the telephone physically unable to make a cold call because “burn out” has robbed you of the energy.

I’m suggesting that you do cold calling in a new way — in a conversational manner. And without thinking about making a sale.

In order not to focus on “getting the sale,” you must first surrender to the outcome of your call. From this place and only this place, can you finally connect with your prospect at a human level.

When you do this, you’ll find yourself more relaxed. And the person on the other side of the phone will not feel like you’re there to make a sale, but to simply have a conversation with them to see if you can help in some way.
So the way to do this is to become someone who is genuine and helpful. You’ll be amazed at how people respond to you. What’s more, at the end of the day you won’t be burned out. You’ll be energized and truly happy.
So how do sales occur when you’re not thinking about making them? It’s all about a new human-to human mindset. Here are 4 important steps to releasing your focus on “making the sale” so you can invite new business relationships without having to be calculating or manipulative.

1. Adjust your cold calling goal

Before you make a cold call, think to yourself, “My goal is not to make the sale, but to create a conversation based on how I can help the other person.”

With this in mind, then, you begin cold calling by stepping into the other person’s world. Rather than starting out with a mini-sales pitch, you ask a question based on what problem your product or service can solve for them.

For example, if you’re offering computer programming, you might say, “I’m just calling to see if your company is having issues with lost data because of paper-based filing systems.”

2. Avoid changing who you are when you make your cold call. 

Remain yourself without hiding behind the “salesperson” persona. There’s no need to be on “stage” or to sound enthusiastic. Just be your everyday relaxed self, as if you’re calling a friend. People know when you’re being genuine, and when you’re not.

When you’re simply being a real person rather than adopting a salesperson persona, you’ll find that people respond to you much more warmly. It’s amazing how being “real” generates real interest from others.

3. Stop trying to drive the conversation towards a sale

Instead, open your cold calls with a problem statement that generates a response like “What do you mean?” or “Tell me more.” And end the conversation with the phrase such as, “Well, where do you think we should go from here?”

This shifts you away from having “tunnel vision” about making a sale. And it opens up a whole world of human-to-human connection. This is not only fun, it has a positive effect on your bottom line. You’ll hear great responses like, “I enjoyed talking with you, thank you for your help.”

4. Let go of thinking “buyer-seller”

View the person you’re cold calling as another person, not as a “prospect.” Recognize their issues and their goals. Fit yourself into their world. And help them out.

If the service or product you’re offering doesn’t provide some kind of help to people, you’d soon be out of business. So determine exactly what kind of problems you have a solution for, and share from that place. And if no sale results, it feels okay because you’re focusing on being helpful rather than on securing a sale.

What I’m suggesting is a mind-shift away from all the old ideas of manipulating, turning, guiding, playing, and closing. Move your cold calling into one simple human act –building a relationship. When you’re making friends and doing business with people you like and whom also like you, then cold calling can become a truly enjoyable part of your day.

Ari Galper, founder of Unlock The Game, makes cold calling painless and simple. Learn his free cold calling secrets even the sales gurus don`t know. To receive your 10 free audio mini-lessons visit: http://www.UnlockTheGame.com.

Burnout is a loose term for fatigue or exhaustion syndrome. It is a situation where an individual is constantly tired and will exhibit signs of extreme exhaustion. Some of these symptoms will include some memory loss, short attention span, some physical pain in the form of headaches or back pain, irritability, lack of energy and poor performance in work and/or school. There are many people who live with this but are unaware that there is something wrong. They might simply feel that life has been busy and stressful, which has left them tire, but it is a problem that can persist and develop into a depression if not treated.

When recognized and dealt with sooner, people could help themselves get out of their state of “burnout” so that they could improve their lives, become more energized and improve their performance at work and/or school. Being in this state can be draining on a person’s mental health and it could easily get in the way of living their life. There are a number of steps a person can take if they feel they might be suffering from fatigue syndrome. The first step is to find out what might be the cause of the stress, which is causing the fatigue, and then try to find ways to avoid the stress. Next, a person should take the time to reflect on their life and sort out what goals and aspects of their life are most important to focus on. After this, making changes that could make one’s life better, such as setting more regular sleeping and eating times in order to regulate the mind and body. Improving on one’s social life, spending more time on hobbies and interests as well as taking the time to relax and exercise can also work to help draw in more energy and lose the fatigue.

In cases where “burnout” has affected a person for a longer period of time and they can’t seem to pull themselves out of it no matter what they do, seeking help from a counselor would probably be a good idea. The online counselor will work with the person to help organize and improve their life so that they can work their way out of their “burnout”. There are also online therapists available for online counseling for anyone who would prefer to have their sessions online from the comfort of their home. The online counselor will work with the patient to find out what might be causing their state and then help the patient to find a way to get out of their fatigue. When suffering from fatigue syndrome, it can be difficult for a person to help themselves get out of it. Most people who have suffered from burnout and consulted a counselor were quicker to get over the syndrome and were less likely to relapse into it in the near future. Online therapy is available to anyone who has questions or concerns regarding fatigue syndrome. More and more people are turning to online counseling for help because it is convenient and successful.

Jennifer Baxt is the owner of CompleteCounselingSolutions.com which offers a variety of online counseling services. If you would like to know more about Jennifer or any of our online therapists, visit our website.

Self-care is an intrinsic, continuous and highly important activity performed by any professional, particularly those involved in health care. Also called the `inner therapy`, this practice aims to ensure that both mental and physical health of the professional is in good shape. So why is self-care for Counsellors important? Essentially, Counsellors have a clear responsibility: their clients. If a Counsellor is not mentally and physically healthy, his/her ability to provide support to clients is limited.

So what are the strategies for self-care in the counselling profession? There are many strategies which vary according to each person`s state of mind. Irrespective of the strategy being used, a Counsellor`s self-care activities are in place for a single purpose: that is, ensuring daily work stress does not result in burnout.

The Problem: Burnout

Burnout is the consequence of excessive work, stress and other related factors. Although the concept of burnout can also be applied to other contexts, for the purpose of this article we`ll stick to the work environment. Many people suffer from burnout for various reasons, and usually the problem is related to several prominent areas of an individual`s life: happiness, health, success, and others.

“Burnout is not simply excessive stress. Rather, it is a complex human reaction to ongoing stress, and it relates to feeling that your inner resources are inadequate for managing the tasks and situations presented to you. The signs and symptoms of burnout are similar to those of stress, but burnout includes an emotional exhaustion and an increasingly negative attitude toward your work and, perhaps, your life.” (Help Guide Mental Health)*

This concept is well-known in mental health disciplines, particularly counselling. For this reason, many counselling courses include the topic in their training schedule: a measurement to ensure that each prospective professional is aware of their own limitations.

Burnout in Counsellor Training: The Principles

According to Corey, “burnout manifests itself in many ways. Those who experience this syndrome typically find they are tired, drained, and without enthusiasm. They feel unappreciated, unrecognised, and unimportant, and they go about their jobs in a mechanical and routine way.” (Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy)**

Counsellor education generally introduces the concept of burnout to students, aiming to provide sound theoretical material that will help future counsellors to prevent, understand and act upon such a problem. The material commonly refers to the causes, remedies and prevention methods of burnout.

Causes

As cited previously, burnout is the result of a complex human reaction to stress. Such reaction can be so diversified among people that it would require highly advanced mathematical algorithms to actually derive all the possible cause combinations of burnout, and the influence of each of these causes. However, despite the unpredictability of individual responses to stress, there is a set of causes which are common to most people:

- Performance of repeated activities over time which seem to be insignificant; – Lack of appreciation for a certain task or overall effort at work; – Strong pressure to perform at work; – Excessive conflict in work relationships; – Lack of opportunities for expression and improvement; and – Presence of unresolved personal conflicts outside of the work environment.

Recognising such causes is the first step to understanding a series of events that may lead to burnout. The next step would involve the person`s particular responses to mental stress and their capability to recognise certain physical traits that could indicate over-stressed responses from the body.

Remedies

Burnout remedies for professional counsellors will vastly diverge between individuals. Resembling the causes, remedies are effective according to individual traits, particularly when referring to the level of stress each person can deal with.

Some people prefer to deal with their stress-related problems by increasing or decreasing certain individual activities, such as increasing the amount of time exercising and/or decreasing the amount of time working in the office. Interactive individuals may prefer to work through their issues with others, such as participating in workshops, consulting with their supervisors or simply allocating time to talk to a friend or colleague. Many Counsellors would mix individual and group activities to reduce incidence of stress and attempt to eradicate burnout.

Counsellors may also diverge in their perspectives towards stress and burnout. Some people are naturally passive and tend to surrender to their own circumstances, generally putting themselves in the position of victims. This assumption leads to feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness, which increases the difficulty of dealing with stressing factors, resulting in either a delay in eliminating burnout, or increased intensity. However, there are also Counsellors who are proactive towards stress. Such people have a different perspective towards stressful events – they recognise the individual traits which are affecting them, and actively attempt to resolve them through a mix of introspection and scenario analysis. This approach – or active stance – is desired in order to improve stress management skills and avoid burnout.

In an industry where human relationships are so intrinsically related to work, it is sometimes inevitable to experience distress and burnout. On these occasions, it is important that Counsellors effectively remediate burnout in order to invoke balance in both professional and personal lives.

Prevention It is better to prevent rather than remediate – this saying illustrates the need for preventing burnout before it happens. Most people ignore the first signs of excessive stress, and by doing so, become vulnerable to further pressure from work. At some point, Counsellors may find it very difficult to attend counselling sessions, to get to work, and to perform in several other areas of life. Preventing burnout is simply a necessary task to anyone aiming for a balanced and fulfilling career (and life).

There are several burnout prevention principles which can be divided into three categories: physical, mental and strategic.

Physical

Stress is a pattern of physiological responses which are caused by specific events in people`s lives. Such responses include an increase in blood pressure, heart rate, sugar levels and re-direction of blood flow to major organs. With such a complex set of events, it is reasonable to assume that maintaining good health will reduce the incidence of `undesired` stress (distress). In fact, it is more than reasonable. Because stress causes such `explosive` reactions in the body, a healthier body is vastly more capable of dealing with excessive amounts of stress than an unhealthy body.

How do you improve your health? Exercising will play the leading role in improving and maintaining a `healthy status`, allowing your body to be ready for the energy boost caused by stress. A balanced diet will ensure that the body has all nutrients necessary to perform daily activities, including regular stress-related responses. A balanced diet includes avoiding excessive intake of particular stress-related substances, such as caffeine and sugar.

Mental

Relaxation techniques such as imagery, meditation and breathing can at first conjure up feelings of inaction and statis. Music and introspection are also a good combination for improving the state of mind of a person. These are commonly used techniques, however any mental exercises that draw attention away from stressful events, and provide a `relaxed` state to the individual, are useful. Such exercises will depend on the personal preferences of each Counsellor, and the resources that are available at the time.

Furthermore, the role of perception is extremely important in determining the health issues associated with the incidence of stress. Sometimes Counsellors perform a kind of mental `self mutilation` in which they take responsibility for anything that goes wrong in a counselling session, or with a client. In this context, feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness will remain obstacles and can perpetuate to the Counsellor`s personal life. In these instances, the Counsellor needs to re-assess their perception towards certain events: you may call it a self-directed cognitive behaviour therapy.

Strategic

Probably the most prominent cause of burnout in a workplace is the inability of an individual to meet certain deadlines and achieve particular goals which are simply impossible to achieve in the first place. Applying strategy as a form of burnout prevention means ensuring that goals are achievable.

This way, Counsellors will not put themselves under unnecessary pressure. Furthermore, strategic thinking also allows individuals to recognise their personal and professional limitations, and work effectively with those limitations in order to achieve a balanced (and successful) counselling career.

The First Steps: Shaping a Career

In the beginning of their counselling careers, most individuals are much more sensitive to burnout than experienced Counsellors. Why is that? Because their levels of anxiety are peaking as they are about to find out whether this profession is really for them, and if they can handle their clients and support them by effectively applying the theoretical concepts they have learned.

Dealing with the normal anxieties of the first few sessions is part of the process of inner development that the counselling profession requires from all its peers. The fact that it deals with human beings, which can be vastly unpredictable, will affect the Counsellor`s confidence to some extent. The nature of a counselling session, which can have a major impact in a client`s life, also evokes doubts in the Counsellor`s mind. It is important for the Counsellor to simply recognise such doubts as a normal part of their own behaviour, and to understand the feelings which are associated with them. Beginning Counsellors can be so overwhelmed by their anxieties that they will fail to really `see through` the situation. This inability to deal with a client could result in stress and possibly burnout.

Professional Insight: Strategies from Counsellors

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of strategies that can help a Counsellor with self care. Each individual differentiates in the strategies used, and the need for them. Therefore, we`ve decided to get a first hand insight on burnout by asking two experienced professional Counsellors what were their opinions and strategies towards the problem.

“If there are challenges at work, talking with somebody (anybody) immediately after is called de-briefing, and may result in problematic issues not manifesting within the body and causing frustration, anger, hurt, and even illness. For difficult clients, supervision is imperative to access a mind to break the difficulties into manageable parts.

Outside of work, personally, what works for me is to have a regime of care for my body by attending a wellness centre where I involve myself in a class of Aqua Fit and Yoga every week. Massage when I can – preferably once a month or even a facial is good.

Because of Yoga, I have learned the art of switching off in a meditative mode very quickly, so the minute I walk outside of work I am in another area of life (i.e. the going home mode). I look forward to time spent with family and good friends or attending a movie and eating pop corn – to me, that is bliss. Then by the time I go back to work I feel as if I`ve been away for a week. This works really well for me – the art of deceit of your own mind.” (Kathleen Casagrande, AIPC Education Adviser)

“To function effectively as a Counsellor we need to be in good shape personally – physically, mentally and emotionally.

Given that, just like everyone else, we will have times of difficulty in our own lives, it is particularly important for us to recognise the danger signals and take action to deal with any undue stress quickly.

Like many of my colleagues I have a number of tried and tested remedies for keeping my life in balance.

A quick fix which I can use anytime and in any stressful situation is to concentrate on my breathing rhythm and deliberately make it slower and deeper.

Listening to music is a sure-fire way for me to de-stress, as are walking on a beach, playing tennis, being out on the water or getting involved with a good book.

On the subject of reading, I work on maintaining and upgrading my skills and knowledge – having confidence in one`s ability is an important element in avoiding workplace stress.

And my very favourite way to look after myself? A glass of wine on a sunny afternoon with my partner somewhere by the water.” (Wendy Mead, AIPC Senior Education Adviser)

Sources

*Help Guide Mental Health (www.helguide.org/mental/burnout_signs_symptoms.htm).

** Corey G (1996) Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy (p. 44).

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