POPULAR MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS

TOO MUCH STRESS

There is some truth to this statement.

Everything that affects us induces stress. Any event can generate happiness or excitement, anticipation, or fear, anxiety, and aggravation: to which our body reacts the same way.

Your body comes up with exactly the same answer when you're proposed to, or if you are presenting in front of your colleagues or when you narrowly avoid hitting a cat or when your favourite team wins.

Moments before you step onto a stage, whether you are excited or scared, the response of your body is the same: adrenaline surges, your palms sweat, your heart rate increases, your pupils dilate, and blood is redirected from less vital to more essential organs.

Your body is preparing for action.

Due to cortisol, an extra amount of sugar is released into your bloodstream, enhancing brain function and focus, while ?????suppressing your digestive system and your sex organs, because you don’t need them at the moment.

It’s only your mind that labels them good or bad. After receiving a standing ovation, you will be in a liberated, elated mood for a while because it is finally over and done with. Meanwhile, your body is retreating: the "danger" has passed. Everything is slowly getting back to normal.

If you start drinking water - or, a celebratory glass of champagne - you will soon get rid of the hormones caused by the accumulated stress response because you will pee them out.

However, burnout often stems from the body being in this constant state of readiness, being stressed all the time while insufficient recovery periods are insufficient or non-existent. Your reserves will be depleted by stress. And then self-blame follows suit: I can’t even???? ?pull myself together! And while you keep murmuring this to yourself stimulating your body’s adverse response with self-deprecation, stress hormones kick in yet again.

?TOO MUCH HATE

?"If you love your job, you won't work a day," the adage goes. Suggesting that a job you love will never feel burdensome or as a chore, thus you won't burn out. This conclusion is misleading.

Studies across various industries, including healthcare, indicate that those who are most dedicated and passionate about their jobs are often the ones who burn out the fastest.

They are the ones who throw themselves into it and put everything else on the backburner. Their family and friendships also suffer the consequences.

This is also typical for those active in the creative field. Artists create when they are kissed on the forehead by their muse, when the light and space are suitable for their ideas, when the performance begins, or when their deadline looms. The inner fire and passion that drives them knows no time or space and often no other limits either. However, the same fire consumes them if they do not take time to???? ?rest and recharge. These periods of relaxation or inspiration are vital. Their social relationships are mostly guided by usefulness. They spend time with those who represent value for them from the point of view of their work. Their minds are always buzzing with thoughts on how to create, reshape, and rethink the next best thing. This results in serious mental, physical and emotional stress. A road paved with passion and strain leads to their burnout.

TOO LITTLE LOVE

Workaholics are a peculiar bunch. They are certainly driven by the pressure to perform. However, this is not imposed onto them by their bosses, the drive comes from within. Workaholics want to prove something - usually to their parents.

The root cause being they only received recognition and love as a child if they brought home good grades, if they won the poetry recital competition, or earning a medal - preferably a gold one -??at the karate championship.

The same desire drives them as adults. They strive to prove their value to climb higher on the corporate ladder, just to be patted on the head, to be acknowledged that they are doing well, that they are good and worthy of love. They are victims of a vicious psychological trap. While they pursuit conditional love, they neglect their spouses, their children, their friends and solely exist to please by means of working their asses off 24/7.

When researchers studied workaholics and concluded that it was difficult for them to relax, they introduced a meditation program for the participants. How many do you think turned up for it? You guessed it: none. Because "they had work to do".

They fight for love until the very end. Sometimes quite literally.

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