Stress and burnout are a normal response from our brains and bodies when we need to make changes in our lives. The key is to listen, says Rochelle Mills
As a busy working mum of two, I am acutely aware of the importance of a good work/life balance, having suffered from burnout in the summer of 2021. This episode followed two years of covid lockdowns, homeschooling and working from home in a full-time managerial role. Mixed with isolation from family and friends and a lack of boundaries when it came to work (an extra hour always turned to two, checking my emails when I wasn’t supposed to be working and regularly working longer than I should), was a recipe for disaster. I had a constant feeling of dread and anxiety and a sense that I was beyond busy all the time. I could not switch off, ever, and my sleep suffered terribly.
Eventually, I saw my GP and was signed off work. In the days that followed, I could do nothing. It was as if I had finally given my brain permission to shut off. And it did. I couldn’t read, watch TV or think of anything. All I could do was sit quietly with myself while my mind, brain and body healed.
Since then, I have become a qualified solution-focused hypnotherapist and work regularly with people suffering from burnout due to a lack of work/life balance. Using solution-focused discussions, I help clients identify where the imbalance is and what is causing most stress. I might ask the client to consider their values and what is most important to them.
I teach clients about their minds and different areas of the brain, and how these work in response to stress. We consider what happens in the body during stressful times and how this can play out physically, maybe through anxiety, panic attacks and disturbed sleep. Importantly I reassure clients that these are normal responses our brains and bodies use to try to protect us and often occur when we need to make changes in our lives. The key is to listen!
This information is an important piece of the therapeutic jigsaw in solution-focused hypnotherapy, clients begin to understand themselves and feel empowered as they gain new knowledge and a sense of control. Sleep is always addressed, particularly the importance of rapid eye movement sleep during which our brains process events – an important and natural way of undergoing overnight therapy!
During discussions, clients are encouraged to begin to identify small steps they can take to begin to regain the balance they need in their lives.
Finally, I use hypnosis to help the brain switch off and relax, asking the client to positively visualise the small steps they have identified during the session whilst listening to the empowering words being spoken. Clients are also asked to listen to the recording regularly at home to support our work together, which consistently reduces stress levels and promotes sleep.
Solution-focused hypnotherapy is a forward-thinking, positive and empowering therapy and I have seen first-hand how people have turned their lives around. My own recovery probably took longer than it should as I aimlessly muddled through alone. If only I had known about solution focused hypnotherapy!!
Rochelle Mills is a solution-focused hypnotherapist working from our rooms in Sheffield
