How to avoid burnout by managing stress

Stress fuels burnout, so if you want your business to last for life and avoid burnout, you need to understand what triggers stress. When we take a close look at managing stress, the first thing to realise is stress is actually a response.

When you feel ‘stressed out’ you’ve actually triggered a body function known as the stress response, also known as the fight or flight response. The stress response creates physical changes in your body systems to keep you alive in life threatening situations.

An example of it in action. You’re walking to a client’s office and a car mounts the curb and veers towards you. Your stress response will be triggered: your heart rate, breathing rate and blood pressure will rise in order to give you extra strength and speed to jump out of harm’s way. In this way the stress response can help save your life.

Thoughts trigger the stress response

The stress response is triggered by thoughts related to the event, not by the event itself. When you saw the car, you thought, “Danger. Going to get hit. Run!” Your brain processed these thoughts and triggered the stress response. Once the threat passes you tell yourself that you’re safe and in response to these new thoughts, your body systems will eventually return to their natural state of balance.

Why stress can be bad for your health

The brain is poor at distinguishing between real and perceived threats. Perceived threats include problems with finance, health, relationships and business. They are perceived threats because in most instances they can’t immediately kill or hurt you.

The problem here is that unlike the curb-mounting car, these threats don’t go away in a short time; they hang around for weeks, months and even years. As a result the stress response is being constantly triggered and in some cases, is continually ‘on’. This causes numerous health risks including high blood pressure which increases the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke.

In this way, the very response that serves to keep you alive can actually be life threatening.

Managing stress - the good news!

Stress can be managed and there are numerous strategies to help you do this. You’ve made a key learning today: that stress is triggered by thoughts and not by the event itself. Knowing this, you can change your thoughts in order to change your response.

Let’s look at an example. You’re stuck in traffic on the very day you’re due to see a new client.

Choice 1: You think: “The client is going to be fuming. I’m going to lose their business. Look at this bunch of idiots on the road.” You trigger your stress response and with adrenalin coursing through your bloodstream you start honking the horn and bashing the steering wheel. You feel totally stressed out. You eventually speed to your client, nearly killing yourself in the process.

Choice 2: You take a few deep breaths and challenge your negative thoughts. You say to yourself: “I have no control over this. I’ll call the client and apologise for being late.” You may still feel uncomfortable about the situation, but at least you’ll get there in one calm piece, rather than a million harried ones.

Be kind to yourself

This is just one strategy for managing stress that works in conjunction with many others and while it seems simple in theory, it is of course much harder in practice.

No one manages their stress effectively all the time, so don’t set yourself up for disappointment. Aim to do your best and remember that every new moment is another opportunity to put your best thought forward.

So, what stresses you out? And how do you deal with managing stress?

By the way for more advice on managing stress, have a look at the advice that Andrew May gives Robert Gerrish on the video How to avoid Burnout.

Lucinda Lions is a Writer and Relaxation consultant. Her popular CD’s Growth: Positive Words and Affirmations for Small Business Owners, and Guided Relaxation for Busy People help people to stress less and soar more.

10 comments | Add your own 1 2 | Next» View all»

I deal with stress along the lines of Choice 2 - I ask myself whether there is anything I can do right now to resolve what is causing the stress. If not, there is no point worrying about it. Easier said than done though. :) Scott Carpenter from Brisbane
Hi Lucinda - a brilliant practical summation of the work of Dr Hans Selye regarding stress Vs distress. My take on it is that stress is good (doing a crossword, lifting weights), distress is bad (no examples needed?).
As I sit here having breakfast "al desko", I'll confess to being a serial phoner "a few minutes late, but on my way" for trying to cram too many things in before hitting the road - is there real distress in that?
No, because as I was taught a long time ago, who'll remember or care? Only the stressheads and they're too hard to deal with. My clients appreciate that if I have to be on time (eg a presentation/training course) I'll be early and also that they always get great value for their money!
Live and let live............. Grant Hyman from Sydney | Read my articles
HI lucinda,
Great post on what is probably an epidemic in our modern lifestyles with caffeine, traffic and the other pressures we throw into the pressure cooker!
I started meditating daily a while back and have to say that since then I really am a lot more removed from the dramas.
What is funny is when I miss a day how much more reactive the mind is.
Any way thanks for the post
Rich Richard Muir from Australia
Great article Lucinda!
If you're looking for something meaty to read on the body's chemical and biological response to stress; check out: "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers" by Robert M. Sapolsky. Fascinating read. Totally in line with what Lucinda is saying. The impacts of stress can't be underestimated; both in the immediate and long term contexts.
Something to keep in mind also - we feel stress, but our children absorb stress from us. So, if you aren't managing your stress effectively; you are passing the emotional burden of it on to your children. You can't hide the stress, and put on a happy face - it just doesn't work that way. Greg Pritchard from Sydney | Read my articles
Thoughts can also turn off the stress response.
For example, if the driver in front of you is doing 80kph in a 100kph zone and that normally gets you in a rage you can lower you stress levels by thinking things like:
"Maybe that driver is returning from a visit to the doctor where she was told she has an incurable illness"
OR
"Maybe that driver is returning home from attending the funeral of their child".
There could be a legitimate reason for going slow and if you assume the reason is in the shape of the ones I have described above then you'll probably be more sympathetic and less stressed. John Townsend from Coffs Harbour
Yes controlling your thoughts and what you focus on can effect your stress levels. You can also come at the stress a different way by working with your energy system (i.e. the meridians that the Chinese have used for 5000 years). By doing some simple tapping with the finger tips on different acupressure points you can change your energy system, changing your feelings, and subsequently your thoughts change as a result. See http://www.squidoo.com/eft-stress-relief-1 to try this out.
Turns the conventional model upside down Rod Sherwin from Melbourne, Australia

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