Burned out? Crying helps.
Recently, I was interviewed for an article in The Blade about the psychological benefits of crying and I mentioned that crying can help with symptoms of burnout. I figured this deserved a full blog post since most people I know are burned out or have experienced burnout at some time in their lives.
A helpful definition of burnout is the exhaustion felt mentally, physically, and emotionally during and after a period of significant stress. Burnout is a whole body event— our bodies, minds, and spirits experience negative impact when we stay in prolonged periods of stress without successful stress management.
The most helpful resource I have encountered when learning how to combat burnout is the book Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily and Amelia Nagoski. My most important takeaway from the book is that we must complete the cycles of stress daily to avoid burnout and keep ourselves well.
Emily and Amelia make an important distinction between stressors and stress. Stressors are environmental factors that cause the physical and emotional response of stress in our bodies. They describe stress as “emotional stew” . If we get stuck in the stress, we get burned out. Removing the stressors will not make us less burned out. That’s good news! We don’t have to solve all of our stressors to start feeling better! But that leaves us wondering what we can do to resolve this stress.
Their solution: complete the stress cycle in our bodies.
The Nagoski sisters recommend a few things in order to complete the stress cycles in our bodies aka getting “unstuck” from stress:
Physical activity. It is “the single most efficient strategy for completing the cycle” (p. 28). Physical activity can be crying, exercise, dancing, jumping up and down.
Affection from your community. Hugging a loved one, laughing with friends and family, or sharing a kiss with a partner all can help complete the stress cycle.
Creativity. The sisters encourage self-expression, stating “writing, drawing, singing, whatever gives you a safe place to move through the emotional cycle of stress” (p.28)
Brene Brown has a great podcast episodes with the authors to discuss their book and more practical strategies for help us live our joyful and stressful lives. You can find the episode here.
Here’s to crying, laughing, singing, and hugging to avoid getting stuck in stress!