Learning to Thrive After Burnout
For the second part of our series on burnout, we have the pleasure and honor to talk to Dr. Rola Hallam. A physician who specializes in anaesthesia and global health, Rola has worked in the UK, Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as Syria through over a decade of war. Not only is she a TED Fellow, Rola has helped build seven hospitals in Syria, and founded CanDo, a humanitarian organization helping frontline health workers in the midst of war.
What Is iThrive?
We couldn’t think of a more qualified person to discuss what it’s like going through burnout and coming out the other side into the light. Dr. Rola Hallam's most recent project is a new program that begins with a free online app, iTHRIVE, which she created to help healthcare workers and other first-line responders to assess their lives, their goals and their careers. Rola developed this app after coming through burnout and her own personal trauma last year.
I – It all starts with me
Personal prosperity must begin with you. Before we can help others, Rola says it’s vital that health workers and other agents of change learn to address their own needs and not just the needs of those they care for. This is the “I” in the iThrive acronym, and that it comes first is singularly important.
“Unless we remember to put the oxygen mask on ourselves first,” she says, “we are not going to be able to create the impact we want to create on the world.”
Once you’re able to accept that you need attention too, you can begin to examine what needs attention.
T – Trauma and Tension Release
T stands for Trauma and Tension release. Until they are addressed, trauma and tension cling to the body, creating anxiety and a host of other issues. “We end up in a state of severe nervous system dysregulation,” Rola explains. Relaxing this tension from our bodies allows us to return “to a state of calm confident connection and creativity where we are able to think and learn and connect to each other again.”
H - Healthy, Holistic Habits
H stands for Holistic, Healthy Habits. Just as an athlete requires regular practice to stay on top of her game, we each have to look after ourselves – body, mind and spirit – to give our best to those we care for.
R – Relay Mindset
R stands for Relay mindset. Too often, we are told that life is a marathon, not a sprint. Unfortunately, Rola says, “this is entirely the wrong message.” It has led to a 24/7 work life that has become toxic.
In fact, she explains, we are all part of teams. “So it’s much more like a relay. We run when we have the baton, but then we have to hand it over. So that we can recharge and play and train. That’s how you keep going – not by going on nonstop, but by appreciating and recognizing your boundaries. We need to recognize that we’re all in it together and we need to help each other.”
I – Inspired Action
I stands for Inspired Action. When work gets busy, we tend to go on the defensive, reacting to every situation that presents itself to us, Rola explains. “This can put us into a state of victimization. Instead, we need to act proactively.” Acting from an empowered state allows us to work towards a better future for ourselves, as well as for the collective good.
V – Vision and Surrender
V stands for Vision and Surrender. It’s difficult to act from a place of inspiration if you haven’t connected to that inspiration. It’s easy to lose direction, she says, especially in the face of trauma. When we react and fall back on our heels, one day bleeds into another, and we look up to realize we have lost our sense of purpose and maybe even fallen out of love with our work.
“For someone who is always on purpose,” she says, relating her own personal experience, “it was really a scary place to be. I suddenly had no idea where I wanted to be. When you lose that vision, you need to take the time to ask, ‘who am I?’”
Trauma is transformative, she says, so it’s likely that you are a different person coming out of an experience than you were going into it. So it’s important to ask what is your vision of yourself today and what vision of life that you want now. “Once we’re clear on that vision and those values, we’re able to live those everyday and prioritize the actions we need to take to bring that vision into fruition.“
E – Emotional Alchemy
E stands for Emotional Alchemy, or (for those with a less esoteric approach) Emotional Intelligence. “Sadly,” she says, “we still live in a world where emotions are generally thought of as weak, something to be transcended. This is rather ridiculous because it completely ignores what it means to be human.”
Healthcare professionals must deal with negative emotions on a daily, and often hourly, basis. Trying to ignore, turn off, or numb those emotions can create even more pain and suffering. This goes beyond obvious problems, like overeating, or drug and alcohol abuse, she says.
“There is so much evidence that this can manifest in chronic disease, autoimmune disease, insomnia, anxiety – that’s just a handful of things. Instead of being magicians trying to magically hide it, how do we use it like an alchemist does and turn the lead of these emotions into gold? How do we use it to fuel us forward to keep doing the work we do? By embracing these so-called negative emotions of sadness and anger, we need to embrace them so that we can then let them go.
“Then,” Rola says, “we can cultivate positive emotions of joy and gratitude.. Instead of letting the negative emotions fester within us.”
The iTHRIVE assessment tool helps you to determine where you are at, diagnose your biggest problem areas and identify your barriers so that you can prioritise your needs and know your greatest area of leverage. It will give you valuable insights and practical suggestions that will help you move out of the rut and towards a more balanced, thriving life TODAY!
It's free and takes less than 4 minutes to complete.
