5 MIN TAPPING FOR BURNOUT

We live in such a busy world, where people feel like they need to be switched on 24/7 so it’s no surprise that more people are feeling burnt out than ever. Anytime you feel stressed or anxious your nervous system goes into high alert. In short doses this is fine but when you’re being continually triggered with choric stress (which is what Burnout is) your nervous system can’t cope and your brain quite literally can’t function properly.

Are you feeling burnt out today?

Tapping is the perfect way to quickly bring your frazzled nervous system back into balance and prevent full burnout. It doesn’t take long to take yourself out of that fight / flight response so take 5 minutes now and see how you feel.

For more support please get in touch kim@happyheads.me or check out the Happy Heads Burnout Programme I would love to hear from you xx

Would you like Happy Heads in your Workplace?

After suffering complete burnout 8 years ago now I was forced to find ways to transform my mind. Meditation and Tapping helped me to do exactly that and overcoming burnout was actually one of the reasons I started Happy Heads. It’s also why I’m so passionate about teaching in companies because I know how stressful corporate life can be.

The workshopsand talks I run cover a wide variety of topics including:

* Prevent Burnout 

* Befriend Your Inner Critic 

* Reduce Stress & Anxiety

* Manifest The Life You Want

* Emotional Resilience

* Calm Your Nervous System 

* Improve Sleep

* Overcome Limiting Beliefs

* Leadership Team Support (various topics)

* Improve Focus 

* Resilience Toolkit 

* Grief Support 

* Pregnancy Birth & Beyond

* Refresh Your Energy

I specialise in teaching children and families so as well as being a mum of two, supporting parents (especially working mums) is something that I’m really passionate about.

The workshops I run cover:

* Parent & Child Wellbeing

* Teen Wellness 

* Teaching Children Meditation 

* Mindful Parenting    

There are many company testimonials you can check out HERE.

If you are interested in adding some wellbeing into your workplace please get in touch kim@happyheads.me xx

TAPPING TO RELEASE YOUR STRESS

WHAT IS STRESS?

"A state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation" World Health Organisation

Stress is a normal part of being a human being, it's a natural response that prompts us to address challenges and threats in our lives. The problem is we live in such a fast paced digital world where people feel like they need to be switched on 24/7 so there are many things that can stress us out.

Endless access to world news, social media, busy jobs, the cost of living, parenting juggles, mobile phones, and the general day to day stress of life...it's easy to see how a normal amount of stress can quickly lead into chronic stress.

Stress can be brief, situational, and a positive force motivating performance, but if experienced over an extended period of time it can become chronic stress, which negatively impacts health and well-being.

WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING WHEN WE'RE STRESSED?

Anytime you feel stressed your amygdala (brains fear response that contributes to emotional processing) sends out a distress signal to your hypothalamus, which is like a mini control centre in your brain. Your hypothalamus then starts to send out stress hormones (adrenaline, cortisol, and norepinephrine) which then trigger the ancient fight or flight response. Your nervous system then gets your body gets ready for the perceived threat - muscles tense, heart rate quickens, breathing speeds up, digestive system slows down.

This response was designed to protect your body in an emergency by preparing you to react quickly. But when the stress response keeps firing, day after day, it could put your health at serious risk.

WHAT DAMAGE CAN STRESS DO TO YOUR BODY AND MIND?

Short doses of the stress response are ok as your nervous system has the time to go back to a place of rest and relaxation but when you're body is in a constant state of high alert the long term exposure to cortisol and other stress hormones can negatively impact nearly all of your body's process's.

This puts you at higher risk of many health problems, including:

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Digestive problems

• Headaches

• Muscle tension and pain

• Heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke.

• Sleep problems

• Weight gain

• Problems with memory and focus

HOW DO WE MANAGE STRESS?

Managing your stress levels is an essential way to look after both your mental and physical health but it's important to remember that life doesn't have to be completely free of stress for you to be able to effectively regulate your nervous system. We can't control what life throws at us, but you can control how you react.

Tapping

Tapping is a wonderful way to bring your nervous system back into balance anytime you feel stressed, try this 10 Min tapping sequence above and notice how it makes you feel with no judgement.

Pepare your Nervous System

The start of the day is really important to get your nervous system ready for the day. Set an alarm (something calming like a bird sound) to wake you up 10 mins earlier and do something that calms your mind. That could be a listening to a meditation, doing some tapping, some breathwork or moving your body like a short yoga sequence. If you’re a mum like me then THIS is how you can meditate in the morning.

Regulate your breathing

Take time throughout the day to bring your breath down into your belly. This is the best way to engage your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and relaxation) and THIS is how you do it:

Be mindful of how you use your phone

Mobile phones can be a big cause of stress and anxiety so be really mindful about how you use your phone throughout the day. Reduce the amount of time you spend on social media, stop reading the news, silence your notifications, don't feel like you need to reply to endless Whatsapp messages, never look at your phone first thing in the morning and last thing at night and physically put your phone away when you are doing another task or sat at the dinner table.

Create a sleep ritual

The end of the day is an important time to signal to your brain - it's time to switch off. Get off any screens at least 1 hour before bed and do something that calms your mind like tapping, meditation, hot bath, journalling, calming smells… When you improve your sleep, it's much easier to regulate your emotions (and stress response) the next day.

Regularly do these three things:
Release jaw, soften hands, relax shoulders.

Listen to this meditation to deeply anchor your mind in the present momet, reduce your stress levels and create a bubble of protection around yourself.

PREVENT BURNOUT

BURNOUT

"A state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion, caused by prolonged and excessive stress" 

Burnout is a very real and very scary thing to experience. I had it myself over 7 years ago now and in the space of 6 months in the toxic work environment I was in, I completely lost my mental health to the point I had severe anxiety which lead into depression. Overcoming burnout and learning how to nurture my mental health and wellbeing was one of the main reasons I retrained as a Tapping Practitioner, Meditation Teacher and started Happy Heads.

Anytime you feel stressed or anxious your amygdala (brains fear response) has been triggered and your nervous system goes into high alert (also known as the fight and flight response). Your body fills with cortisol which is the stress hormone, adrenalin races through your body, your digestive system slows down, heart races, muscles tense and your thinking brain goes off line - your body is primed to fight what it perceives as a threat.

In short doses being triggered in this way is fine as you quickly come back into rest and relaxation but when you are being triggered constantly (which is easily done in a stressful work environment) your body is flooded with too much cortisol, which has a damaging effect on your nervous system. This creates anxiety, which can then lead into severe anxiety and that can easily lead into depression. Ultimately your nervous system becomes completely frazzled and  your brain can't function properly.

Watch the video above to see how you can use tapping to process your burnout and bring some much needed calm to your over worked nervous system. No matter where you are in your burnout journey, I promise you, the way you feel right now WILL NOT be how you feel forever.

TIPS TO PREVENT BURNOUT 

DON’T look at your phone first thing in the morning, you’ll be flooding it with information that it doesn’t need. Instead connect with your breath – your superpower!

MEDITATE every morning to set your brain up for the day. Regularly tuning in and processing your emotions ensures that things don’t become overwhelming and deep breathing engages your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and relaxation).

SET a clear working day for yourself and be really strict with it. Don't look at your emails outside of working hours!

TAKE BREAKS throughout the day to be fully present in the moment with your breath and body. This helps to reduce anxiety and strengthen your neurological pathways.

RELAX your mind before you go to bed. Don’t look at a screen at least an hour before bed and do something relaxing instead (meditating, journaling, hot bath, listen to music, calming smells…) the brain needs to unwind after a busy day.

WRITE your 'to do' list the night before and never write more than 3 things you absolutely have to get done - everything else will then be a bonus!

REDUCE your intake of the news and social media. The news is inherently negative and social media makes you compare your life to others.

TAPPING is a powerful tool for overcoming negative thoughts. Use Emotional Freedom Technique every day to make sure you are regularly reframing your negative thoughts.

AFFIRMATIONS are a great way to overcome your limiting beliefs. So if you keep thinking 'I'm not good enough' repeat 'I AM good enough' or if you keep thinking 'I'm not clever' reframe to 'I AM clever'.

Sleep is the foundation of your mental health but it's often easily disrupted when you're experiencing burnout. Listen to this meditation before you go to bed to help calm your busy mind and improve those much needed ZZZZ's.

““I contacted Kim while in chronic burnout desperate for tools to support myself mentally. From the initial chat she listened, put me at ease and reassured she could help. The programme was hugely insightful and expertly led by Kim, by the end she had delivered on all aspects from our first conversation and much more. I can not thank her enough for giving me new found confidence, resilience and excitement for what the future holds!””

— Kristina

HAPPY HEADS BURNOUT PROGRAMME

f you would like more support The Happy Heads Burnout Programme has been specifically designed to help you:

• Overcome burnout, bringing calm and peace to your frazzled mind

• Improve your mental and physical wellbeing

• Release negative energy from your nervous system thats built up in the workplace

• Rebuild your confidence and self belief

• Bring your nervous system back into balance (after being under constant stress)

• Reduce anxiety and stress held in both body and mind

• Bring you back to yourself once again!

• Improve your sleep & Focus

• Empower you will a whole toolbox of calm that you can use at home or in the workplace

I always send out some pre questions first and then from that I tailor the programme to your exact needs. 

Each private session includes breathing techniques, guided meditation, and a full round of Emotional Freedom Technique (tapping). EFT is a powerful tool at helping you release negative tension held in both your body and mind and help you overcome any anxious, negative thoughts that you might be having.

I always offer a FREE 20 minute phone consultation so please get in touch kim@happyheads.me I would love to hear from you xx