Co-author of a book on burnout, Amelia Nagoski, discusses societal clashes with the human spirit, stress response cycles, and quelling burnout's effects. Topics include burnout signs, stress bragging, managing burnout, gender roles in health, and misconceptions around self-care.
Burnout goes beyond fatigue to emotional exhaustion and paranoia.
Stress bragging in workplaces can decrease likability and competence.
Addressing burnout involves completing the stress response cycle through various activities.
Deep dives
The Nature of Stress and Burnout in Individuals
Stress and burnout manifest differently than commonly understood, going beyond tiredness to include emotional exhaustion and an empty, wired feeling. Burnout can lead to paranoid ideation, feelings of personal failure, and an ongoing state of being overwhelmed. Research by Amelia and Emily Nagoski explores the stress response cycle, highlighting the impact of unexpelled stress that can lead to burnout. The mismatch between societal demands and individual identity can further exacerbate burnout.
The Impact of Stress Bragging on Work Culture
The phenomenon of stress bragging in workplaces, where individuals boast about their stress levels to appear hardworking, can have negative effects. Studies suggest that stress bragging can make individuals seem less competent and likeable, potentially leading to burnout in coworkers. The glorification of stress and overwork can create a toxic work environment, deterring others from offering support and fostering unhealthy competition.
Addressing Burnout and Managing Stress
Understanding and addressing burnout involves completing the stress response cycle through physical activity, laughter, creative expression, or imagination. It is essential to separate addressing stress triggers from processing the stress response physically and emotionally. Gender stereotypes and societal expectations shape how individuals, especially women, perceive and manage stress, influencing pain tolerance and reactions to stressors. By recognizing these factors, individuals can adopt strategies to prevent and manage burnout effectively.
Importance of Validating Women's Pain
Women's pain tolerance is observed to be higher, but when women, particularly women of color, express pain, it's often not taken seriously due to societal norms influenced by misogyny and hierarchical systems. Acknowledging and validating women's pain experiences are crucial, as they are frequently made to feel guilty or inadequate in a world that places undue stress on them, propagating self-blame and unrealistic expectations of perfection.
Understanding Burnout and Self-Care
Burnout is fueled by societal pressures emphasizing overwork and self-blame, especially prevalent in fields like medical care and teaching. Capitalism perpetuates the idea of endless productivity at the cost of well-being. Self-care, often misrepresented in popular culture, is more about meeting basic needs for survival and managing stress rather than indulgent treats. Proper self-care involves recognizing individual worth beyond productivity and conforming to societal standards, emphasizing connections with supportive communities for holistic well-being.
Chronically stressed? Emotionally exhausted? Depleted to the point of physical suffering, dissociation, and paranoia that things will never improve?? Welcome to today's woefully relatable topic, burnout, which is not just fatigue or boredom but rather what happens when our bodies fail to complete the "stress response cycle." That's according to our brilliant and delightful guest, Amelia Nagoksi, co-author of the bestselling bookBurnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. With wisdom and charisma, Amelia joins host Amanda (@amanda_montell) to soothe our thought spirals about how American capitalist society is fundamentally clashing with the human spirit... and what we can do to quell burnout's negative effects.
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