Burnout, Meditation And Rising Like A Phoenix From The Ashes

One third of people struggle to cope at work because of depression, stress or burn out…. and 80% feel isolated or lonely as a result.

The research carried out by Target Depression has highlighted just how many of us in the UK are suffering from work related stress and exhaustion. Our modern day working lives can be difficult enough at the best of times. Alarm clocks demand that you wake up before the sun has even bothered getting out of bed, jobs mount up faster than your can attempt to ignore them, mobile phones ensure we’re “on call” 24/7 and the daily commute can feel like a game of sardines taking place somewhere just outside of hell. And that’s on a good day.

Add to this an angry or demanding boss, a personality type that demands perfection or feels unbearably guilty when you’re simply trying to enjoy your evening; then the stress of work can hit unbearable levels. If experienced for a prolonged period of time it can frequently result in poor productivity, depression, anxiety and in some cases a complete break-down.

While typical solutions are rest and at times medication, there is building evidence to suggest that meditation can help us rise from the proverbial ashes in a much shorter space of time and with no adverse side-effects.

Whether you are finding it difficult to cope at work, or are anxious about the idea of going back after a period of absence, meditation could good be a good addition to your daily routine to help you deal with these apprehensions.

How Meditation Works
Meditation works by providing a counter balance to the inbuilt “fight or flight” response that has developed in humans over millennia of evolution. Back when we were lounging about in loincloths and pursuing mammoths, we relied on this response to kick in when we were faced with imminent danger, usually in the form of something that was looking for dinner.

Faced with slavering jaws and certain death, the body’s nervous system would kick into action and alert the part of the brain called the amygdala. We would then find ourselves flooded with stress hormones such as cortisol and all our energy, usually reserved for keeping our systems happily ticking over, diverted into either throwing punches or running for our lives.

The problem for modern humans is that, despite the fact we are only likely encounter an animal that wants to eat us if the local zoo has a very lackadaisical fencing policy, our flight or fight response is triggered all the time. The body can’t tell the difference between a missed assignment and a life or death situation, so reacts in exactly the same way for both. With work piling on stress and worry on a daily basis, we can find ourselves living on a permanent state of high alert, which causes all kinds of issues.

This stress can be relieved by meditation. When we meditate we rest in a significantly more profound way than even the deepest sleep, breaking the cycle of constant background stress. With this relief we experience the release of more happy hormones, the stress hormone cortisol is reduced by up to a third, and the brain develops in such a way that leads to variety of benefits.

Reducing Guilt And Increasing Compassion
One of the big problems people find with work is switching off from it. When you can take work home with you, and colleagues are connected 24 hours a day with smart phones, the guilt of your half ticked to do list can stalk you into the areas of your life that are meant for relaxation. Meditation has been shown to reduce feelings of shame, and can allow you to enjoy time off in the way it’s designed for.

An increase in self-compassion also means you react more calmly to those around you and are less likely to snap irritably. The guilt of having upset someone and worry that you may have alienated them can add ever more stress at work, and even if you never express annoyance carrying around unspoken grievances can be just as taxing. Meditation can help alleviate this effect, making you more empathetic and naturally understanding, as well as less hard on yourself.

Panic Attacks
If you suffer from Panic Attacks, the anticipation of a flare up that could be triggered by pushing yourself particularly hard one day is an extra worry. This stress can then go on to exacerbate the underlying issue, making life twice as difficult.

Using meditation for anxiety related conditions allows our bodies to react in a way that is the exact opposite of our stress response system. With regular practice the feelings of calm that we experience during meditation will permeate through all aspects of our lives.

Our bodies will no longer be in a constant state of high alert, and events that would have normally sent us into a state of panic are now viewed with a calm and more rational perspective. It’s highly unlikely we’re born suffering from panic disorders, but if they develop for whatever reason, it is possible to re-set our bodies to what nature intended.

Re-charging The Working Batteries
There’s not much worse than hearing your alarm and knowing you can count the number of hours sleep you had on a pitchfork. Facing the day without having properly rested leads to a spiral of tiredness and anxiety that never seems to end, and an overreliance on caffeine related stimulants can make the inevitable crash even harder.

Meditation has been shown to improve sleep, which in turn can help ease the symptoms of depression and keep that bone-deep, glassy eyed exhaustion at bay. No more need for coffee, Red-Bull or external stimulants that ultimately make our systems crash.

Creating A Positive Attitude
Perhaps one of the most potent benefits of mediation is cultivating a positive outlook, which is pretty vital in any working situation. Lack of belief in yourself, or a cemented idea that everything is going to go wrong, can be a real barrier to achieving want you want.

The constant feeling that everything will go wrong can lead to you simply not being able to cope with work anymore, but meditation can go a long way in relieving it. As we meditate our brains actually build new neural pathways that can free us from negative thought patterns, allowing us to become happier and calmer, we feel like we can take the challenges of working life in our stride.

Listening To Your Body
People all too often beat themselves up over their jobs, or indeed not having one, but knowing your limits and allowing rest time is ultimately the most important thing. When it comes to handling work, it’s essential to look after yourself.

When we meditate we naturally tune in to what our bodies our telling us. The human body is a remarkable piece of engineering and without telling it to do anything it fixes cuts, bruises and generally wants to create a healthy environment for us to live in. By listening to what our bodies our telling us, it’s able to address the problem and start the rather amazing process of making it better.

Numerous studies have highlighted how the healing process is faster and more efficient among regular meditators. Getting back to work and living the life you want needn’t be a struggle, all we have to do is listen and amazing results can be achieved in a relatively short amount of time.

Meditation is an amazing tool to help us all live the happiest, healthiest and most productive lives we can. All you need is 20 minutes, a chair and you can start to unfurl your feathers and emerge from the ashes.

Author Bio: Holly Ashby is a writer and illustrator who currently works at London meditation centre, Will Williams Meditation. Their aim is to help people live the happiest, healthiest lives they can through the practice of Vedic meditation.

*Posted in collaboration with the aforementioned company.
*Candle photo from shutterstock.

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