Interview with Holistic Health Coach, Helen Turner.

 

Flower and Spice recently met up with Helen Turner, a Holistic Health Coach based in Amsterdam, to find out more about burnout and what can be done to help prevent or recover from it.

What is burnout and why are we hearing about it more frequently?

Burnout syndrome is defined as physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress. It can leave you feeling overwhelmed, emotionally drained, depressed and unmotivated. Burnout affects productivity, energy levels and can leave you feeling hopeless and resentful. It has become a lot more talked about in recent years due to the increased media exposure. People are also living more stressful lives and are struggling to manage their health and wellbeing successfully.

You treat a lot of clients with burnout, what are the main causes and why do you think it’s such a problem currently?

I think that the pace of life has rapidly increased in the last decade and many people are struggling to cope. The development of the internet and social media has had a big influence. The cost of living increasing, materialism, more toxic living environments. There are so many different things that can affect a person’s mood and energy levels.

What are the main causes of burnout?

There are many reasons for suffering from burnout and usually, there are multiple reasons combined. Here are some of the main ones: Feeling like you have little control over your work, over demanding jobs, high achieving personality, lack of close supportive relationships, poor sleep, lack of vital nutrients, lack of exercise, not spending enough time outdoors or lack of sunlight. 

Which occupations are most prone to suffering from burnout?

The occupations with high stress and pressure such as: Physicians, Nurses, Health-care workers, Teachers, Lawyers, Emergency Services and people who do monotonous jobs like in manufacturing or retail. Though occupation is only one of the many possible reasons for becoming burnout.

What are your ‘5 Top Tips and Tricks’ for preventing or overcoming burnout this year?

• Get outside as much as you can and get some sun on your skin, if this is difficult try and bring more nature into your home with indoor plants, flowers and natural scented oils.

Eat as healthy as possible, mostly plants and buy organic if you can. Eat a range of colors to get the variety of nutrients that your body needs to stay healthy. If you

• know you are deficient in certain vitamins then make sure to take a good quality supplement to your diet.
• Spend time investing in your closest relationships to build support and positive energy, if you can combine this with outdoor activities even better!
• Try to get to bed earlier than normal and limit the use of electrical goods for at least an hour before bed, find a good book to read or have a relaxing bath with some aromatherapy. A little TLC goes a long way to making you feel better.
• Try and be more organized with your time, make lists of things needed to be done and try and make your day as efficient as possible. At work, think of ways to be more productive with your time, sending an email is a lot quicker than making a phone call. Keep your workspace organized and make a plan for each day and the tasks needed to be completed in order of priority.

Hopefully, this information will help you to prevent a ‘burnout’. If you are looking for some natural skincare to add to your daily routine and bring a little nature into your home you can view the Flower and Spice products HERE.

 Karmen Novak, Flower and Spice

If you would like to find out more information about Helen Turner you can view her website HERE or have a look at her Instagram account @helen_turner_