2020-04-01_Health_&_Fitness

‘

hen I was at

university,my

energy wasal

over the place

and I wanted

to understand how I could sort

this out by eating the right foods.

After uni, I signed up for a four-yea

course at the Institute of Optimum

Nutrition and graduated with

a nutritional therapy diploma in

2010. I was full of enthusiasm for
      helping people eat more healthily,
      so I started my business, Miss
      Nutritionist (missnutritionist.com),
      straight away, hiring a business
      coach for the first six months to
      helpgetmeupandrunning.
      ‘MybusinessgrewandI startedto
      seeloadsof clientsoneonone,plusI pu
      onmyowntalksandbeganworkingwith
      largecorporatecompanies.I wasworking
      allhoursat maximumspeed,feeling
      stressed,noteatingwell(ironically!)
      andignoringthewarningsigns:I felt
      exhausted.I didn’twantto seemyfriends,
      andit gotto thepointwhenevenbrushing
      myteethwasreallychallenging.’

EXHAUSTION HITS

‘Then,in 2014,aged30,I waswalkingin

theparkwithmypartnerafterlunchone

daywhenI collapsed.I gota taxihome

andwentstraightto bed,butI didn’tget

betteraftera fewdays.I wasbedridden

forthreeyearsandcouldn’tmove,talk

orevenliftmyheadoffthepillowat the

beginning.It wasterrifying.

‘Aftertwoweeks,I hauledmyselfto

thedoctor,butallthetestscameback

as“normal”andtheythoughtI was

depressed.I sleptfor 14 hoursa nightin

thefirstmonth,nappingduringtheday

andstillfeelingexhaustedandlikeI had

themostawfulhangover.Afterthree

earthatI hadburnout.SoI identifiedmy

esses(workstress,emotionallydraining

ationships,moneyworries,fearof being

oneandfearof mybusinesscollapsing)

d sloweddownmylife.

alsooverhauledmydietasI’d

developedsomedeficiencies– I took

potassium,sodium,magnesium,amino

acids,B vitamins,CoQ10andadrenal

supportsuchasSiberianginsengand

ashwagandha.Cognitivebehavioural

therapyhelpedmefeelI wasn’talone

withmyconditionandenabledmeto put

everythingintoperspective.I gradually

starteddoingsomegentleyogaand

meditation,too.

‘Today,I feelthatI amabout 90 per

centrecovered.Myenergyis back

andI havestrongboundariesthatkeep

meburnout-proof.I nowspecialise

in burnoutin myworkandI usemy

experienceto helpotherstransform

theirenergybymakingappropriate

changesto theirdiet,lifestyleand

mindset.I’mpleasedthatTheWorld

HealthOrganizationhasaddedburnout

to itsInternationalClassificationof

Diseasesandthatit willbeglobally

recognisedasa diseasefrom2022,as

it’sa seriousconditionthatneedsto be

properlyaddressed.’

‘I beat burnout and now

help cure others’

Rosie Millen, 36, collapsedonedayin

the park but is now a burnoutcoach,

helping others overcomethisproblem

HOWTOSPOT

BURNOUT

1. Youfindsmalltasks
   challenging.


2. Youwakeupaftera
   goodnight’ssleepand
   stillfeeltired.
   3.Socialinteractionsfeel
   likea chore.
   4.You’velostyourdrive
   andmotivation.
   5.Yousnapatthe
   tiniestthing.

WORDS: Emma Lewis

Rosieusesherexperiencetohelp

otherstransformtheirenergy

Rosienowsetsclearboundaries

topreventburnoutsettingin

Women

sF’

itness

WORKOUT HANDBOOK:

READER SUCCESS

months, I forced myself to run my business

from my laptop in bed, to keep it going.’

MAKING A CHANGE

‘From my studies, I knew that the adrenal

glands produce stress hormones and

that these glands can burn out after a

while if they’ve been working overtime,

so I started testing myself and filling out

symptom questionnaires. It became pretty