Unwind Your Mind: Navigating Stress and Burnout in the Post-Pandemic World

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health concerns and stress levels have surged to unprecedented heights across all age groups. According to the Ipsos Global Health Service Monitor, mental health now outranks cancer as the number one health concern, with stress following closely behind. Per the American Institute of Stress 80% of workers feel stress on the job and nearly half say they need help in learning how to manage stress. Despite these alarming statistics, the question remains: why aren't we doing more to support those in need?

The pandemic ushered in a wave of new responsibilities and challenges, particularly for working parents, while also exacerbating feelings of isolation and financial strain. As remote work became the norm, the traditional boundaries between professional and personal life blurred, with the commute to the office replaced by the constant presence of work in our homes. While remote work offered some the luxury of flexibility and more time spent at home, it also demanded a newfound level of discipline and boundary-setting that many were unprepared for. This often led to a pervasive sense of being constantly connected and available, fueled by the relentless advance of technology. As a result, the expectation of immediate response times and constant availability became the new norm, even encroaching on personal time and vacations. Today it’s not uncommon for people to check and reply to emails, and take meetings while on vacation. If this is the new work culture, how does one truly disconnect? 

Proactive boundary-setting is crucial in today's fast-paced work environment. By openly communicating expectations and setting clear boundaries with managers, coworkers, and teams, individuals can regain control over their time and prevent feelings of overwhelm and burnout. This is particularly important for those who struggle with people-pleasing tendencies, as the pressure to always be available can exacerbate feelings of stress and burnout. However, implementing boundaries is no easy task and often requires support and guidance. This is where a coach can be invaluable. Coaches offer education, strategies, and accountability to help individuals navigate this transition effectively. With the right support, individuals can learn to prioritize their well-being while still achieving success and maintaining high performance.

Stress, the body's natural response to external pressures, demands, or challenges, can take a toll on both physical and mental health. While short bursts of stress can be beneficial, chronic stress can lead to a myriad of health problems, including high blood pressure, heart disease, gastrointestinal issues, and anxiety disorders. Burnout, a more severe condition resulting from prolonged work-related stress, requires comprehensive interventions to address symptoms such as emotional exhaustion, detachment, feelings of cynicism, and a diminished sense of accomplishment. 

The good news is that there are simple and effective strategies to gain awareness, mitigate, and even control stress to minimize the effect it has on your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. You don’t need to spend hours exercising or meditating to live a stress-free life, simply spending a few minutes per day on activities that calm your nervous system and refuel your energy can make a significant difference in your day to day stress levels. 

Let’s review a few of my favorites:

1. Exercise - even short bursts of movement can be effective (walking, running up the stairs, jumping jacks, dancing to a song)

2. Breathing - just a few deep breaths can move you into a relaxation state, and you can literally breathe ANYWHERE

3. Fuel your body with good nutrition and hydration vs. using food or alcohol as a coping mechanism

4. Connect with people - no time to make plans, simply thinking about good memories with the people you love can help, especially if it makes you laugh!

5. Get outside - nature is medicine

6. Manage your mind - more about this magic below :)

So how exactly do you manage your mind?? Here is one strategy that I find to be helpful.

Circles of Influence:

This model was created by Steven Covey and helps you focus on controlling what is within your sphere of influence. It opens your eyes to just how much you have control and influence over, and helps you let go of and not worry about the things that are outside of your control.

• Circle of Control: Things I control

These are things you are in direct control of related to a specific situation, such as your thoughts, your words, your actions, inactions, and reactions, your choices, your attitude, your mood, etc.

• Circle of Influence: Things I can Influence

These are things you can influence, but not control, such as whether people like you or not, your children's future, your future health, where you work, whether you get promoted or laid off, your reputation, other people’s thoughts, other people’s actions, other people’s choices, etc.

• Circle of Concern: Things I have no control over

These are things you have no control over, such as your past choices or behavior, the weather, politics, death, traffic, the economy, the media, other people’s behaviors

When you think about it, most of the things that we stress over are things that are out of our control, so why are we wasting our time and energy worrying about them? 

I encourage you to set aside 30 minutes and go through this exercise for your top 2 stressors. Post the output in a place where you will see it regularly, and use it to remind yourself to focus on the things that you can control and not worry about the things that you can’t.

In my recent webinar, I dived deeper into these topics and shared an additional strategy for managing stress and promoting well-being. Click here to access the recording and take the first step towards reclaiming your peace of mind.