Recovering from Burnout Through Body-Focused Interventions

Burnout is a form of exhaustion caused by constantly feeling swamped, often related to the work situation. It is a result of prolonged, emotional, physical and mental stress, and leaves the individual feeling overwhelmed, emotionally drained and struggling to keep up with work and other daily demands. Burnout manifests itself through the mind and the body: 

• Mind: feeling overwhelmed, difficulty to focus, emotionally drained, cynical, lack of enthusiasm.
• Body: Physical exhaustion, low energy, headaches, neck and back pain, muscle aches, low energy, difficulty sleeping, digestive issues.

The share of people with a burn-out or emotional exhaustion in the Netherlands was 17,3% in 2021. This equals over 1,6 million (!) working people. For people aged 18-34, this number is even higher – 20,9%. The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated this issue because of changes in working environment, job security and other working conditions.

Treatment of burnout is complex, as it strongly affects both mind and body negatively. Traditional burnout interventions offered in some work places include psycho-social support through coaching or therapy, short or long-term sick leave, and adjusted work tasks. Whilst these interventions are certainly important, they often do not adequately address the body-related symptoms of burnout. Body pain, exhaustion, poor sleep and digestive issues are debilitating for the individual, and can hinder recovery. Successful interventions need to address the person as a whole.

The Ogimi Health by Wijs Approach 

We target burnout through body-focussed interventions, in addition to what your company is already doing to protect and rehabilitate your employees. We address the symptoms of burnout through physiotherapy, movement therapy, relaxation and balanced eating. By doing this, we help the person reconnect with their body, decrease pain, improve energy levels, improve sleep and improve eating habits. This helps the person take on the daily demands, and fully engage in other rehabilitation measures offered by your company policy. Since everyone is different and has different needs, each intervention is individually designed based on a thorough intake with our team.

Physiotherapy

Stress can manifest itself through many physical symptoms, including headaches and migraines, back pain, neck pain, jaw pain, joint pain and shoulder pain. We do a thorough intake and develop a personal plan. We treat the issues and educate the individual on how to prevent similar issues in the future. We can also provide ergonomic recommendations for the workplace.

Movement 

Movement is highly beneficial for stress management, better sleep, mental health and to increase energy levels, but for someone experiencing symptoms of burnout, finding motivation for movement can be overwhelming. We work individually with clients to find enjoyable and manageable movement that is beneficial for their unique circumstances, and where they are in their recovery journey. We gently coach and encourage, and help the person succeed at their pace.

Relaxation

When we experience high levels of stress, the body is in a constant fight or flight mode. Chronic stress makes it incredibly difficult to relax. We provide massage, guided breathwork and meditation to immediately help calm the system down to help make the person’s situation more manageable.

Food and Eating 

When we experience high levels of stress, food, eating and digestion is often affected negatively. We may not have the energy to cook nutritious meals, we may not feel hungry, we may eat too soothe difficult emotions or we may experience digestive issues. We provide individualised guidance on how to nourish through food using principles of intuitive eating, self-care and gentle nutrition to support stress management.

References: 

• https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13639080.2021.2018412
• https://www.statista.com/statistics/1058769/share-of-people-with-a-burn-out-in-the-netherlands-by-industry/
• https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/burnout-symptoms-signs