WHAT DO STRESS AND MENTAL HEALTH HAVE IN COMMON?

It took two burnouts before I realized I had it all wrong. I believed I had to choose between being a high performer at work and taking care of myself. The first time, I thought I needed more sleep, better eating, and more time off. That is what self-care is all about, right? That kind of self-care is a good basic routine and supports our basic well-being, but it doesn’t prevent burnout.

Two findings stand out in my research on the relationship between peak performance and burnout.

First, we don’t just burn out from working too much; we burn out from worrying too much and feeling like we don’t matter and are not safe.
Secondly, our health and happiness have little to do with titles and money. They come from our connection with others, our continued growth, and doing work we care about.

In this newsletter we will take a look at “worry” and over the next weeks we will dive more into the other factors. Since May is Mental Health Awareness Month and April was Stress Awareness, let’s look at the relationship between the two first.

Stress can come and go, and last month, we talked about the good, the bad, and the ugly, as well as some tools to work with stress. We cannot expect to avoid stress, nor should we attempt to. I don’t believe being stress-free is the goal, but rather being able to identify and work with the stressors because what we worry about is also what we care about and what we care about grows us stronger.

“What we worry about is also what we care about”.

Read the full article here.

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Originally published on May 9, 2024 at JeanetteBronee.com.