The Millennial's Guide to Rewiring Your Brain from Burnout

Review and Recap:

1. To create meaningful change, one must be fully aware of a problem and ready to solve it.

2. The stress response is a natural physical reaction that prepares the body to avoid or overcome potential dangers.

3. Strong neural pathways can form based on emotional memories associated with the stress response, leading to automatic responses to similar stimuli.

4. Chronic stress can have negative effects on the body, and ways to manage stress include identifying and addressing the source of stress, practicing relaxation techniques, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

5. In order to ensure that stress does not become repetitive, it's critical to also understand and reprogram our mindset, or set of beliefs, that is more self-serving.

Reflection:

1. How do I typically respond to stressful situations? Do I have any automatic responses or habits that I use to cope with stress?

2. What triggers my stress response, and how do I know when it has been activated?

3. What are some healthy ways that I can manage my stress and prevent it from becoming chronic?

Review and Recap:

1. There are two types of stress: innate (based on genetics) and controlled (based on external circumstances and reactions)

2. A stress response typically lasts about 90 seconds, but can last longer due to subconscious mind and default emotional reactions

3. Negative thoughts and rumination can create longer stress responses

4. Beliefs and thought patterns can be identified and shifted to reduce stress

5. Examples of stress-inducing thoughts and beliefs include: fear of judgment, fear of failure, and fear of not being enough

6. To reprogram beliefs, focus on awareness and understanding of the underlying fears driving the thoughts, and take action to shift those beliefs

Reflection:

1. What are your default thoughts and behaviors when you are feeling stressed? Do these responses help or hinder your ability to manage stress effectively?

2. Is there a common theme or underlying fear that drives your reactions to stress? How does this belief serve you in the short-term and long-term?

3. Have you ever noticed a difference in your stress levels when you adopt different thought patterns or behaviors in response to stress?

Review and Recap:

1. Mindset is shaped by our beliefs about the world and ourselves.

2. The brain has three main functions: regulation, learning, and selection. Selection relates to what we focus on over time.

3. Our Reticular Activating System (RAS) filters in information to our brain based on our values, beliefs, and past focus.

4. Our belief systems and mindset over time create the structure of the walls of our mind.

5. We can change our belief systems and mindset by consistently focusing on new, positive thoughts and experiences, but it takes time and effort.

Reflection:

1. How have my past experiences and focus influenced my current belief systems and mindset?

2. What are some negative belief systems or mindsets that I have, and how have they been reinforced over time?

3. What would I want to change about my belief systems and mindset to be more positive and productive?

Review and Recap:

1. It is important to take time to recover and regulate your nervous system before figuring out the next steps after experiencing burnout.

2. To overcome burnout, it is necessary to learn how to regulate your nervous system and unlearn any limiting beliefs that contribute to a mindset of burnout.

3. The physical stress response takes about 90 seconds to move through the body; in this time, it is possible to pause, feel the emotion without attaching thoughts to it, and take back control over nervous system regulation by activating the parasympathetic nervous system .

4. Vacations and other short term solutions may provide temporary relief, but to achieve long-term gain, it is necessary to focus on creating sustainable habits based in neuroscience.

Reflection:

1. Take some time to reflect on your current mental and physical habits.

2. Which habits are serving your intentions, and which are working against your intentions?

Review and Recap:

• Chronic stress is caused by a sustained activation of the sympathetic nervious system (fight or flight), which becomes a default operating mode.

• Chronic stress reduces the volume and activity in the hippocampus (learning and memory).

  
  

• Chronic stress causes an imbalance in good neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin.

  
  

• It's easy to feel stuck when in burnout mode because your decision making is impaired, you have a loss of energy to pursue goals, and negative self-talk tends to be a default mindset.

Review and Recap:

1. The brain cannot distinguish between physical and emotional stress, and the response to both is the same

2. Cortisol is released during stress, but when there is no physical outlet for it, it can build up as tension in the body

3. Exercise can release stress and tension by activating the frontal regions of the brain and releasing norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin

4. Yoga specifically has been shown to increase GABA production, which can help calm the brain and reduce stress and anxiety

5. Any type of exercise is better than none, so it's important to find a form of exercise that works for you and start small.

Review and Recap:

1. Spending time in nature can help to reduce stress and anxiety, and can improve mood and overall sense of well-being.

2. Being in nature can provide a break from the constant stimulation of modern life and can allow the mind to rest and relax.

3. Physical activity in nature, such as hiking or walking, can also have a positive impact on mental health by reducing stress and improving mood.

Review and Recap:

1. Purposeful breathing techniques can help regulate the nervous system

2. Stimulating the vagus nerve through deep abdominal breathing can bring the body back to a state of calm and homeostasis

3. Meditation can calm the mind and increase GABA levels

Review and Recap:

1. Engaging in activities that align with our goals and passions, such as volunteering or hobbies, can increase dopamine release and motivate us.

2. Setting attainable micro-goals can help maintain dopamine release and drive.

3. Incorporating self-care and setting boundaries can help decrease unhealthy dopamine release that can result from unmet expectations.

Review and Recap:

1. To get unstuck from burnout, it is important to regulate the nervous system and change limiting and destructive beliefs.

2. Our habits of thought and action create our mindset and reality, and negative thinking patterns can become habituated over time.

3. It is possible to shift the balance in favor of our conscious thoughts by practicing discipline and choosing a state of top-down attention.

4. It is important to address emotions and physical sensations in addition to changing thoughts in order to effectively reprogram the mind.

Reflection:

1. Take some time to reflect on your current mindset and belief systems.

2. Make a list of at least 5 beliefs that you hold about yourself, the world, and your abilities.

3. For each belief, consider where it may have come from (e.g. past experiences, role models, societal influences, etc.).

4. Reflect on the impact that each belief has had on your actions, decisions, and overall outlook on life.

5. For each belief that you want to change, come up with at least one action that you can take to start shifting your mindset in a more positive direction.

Review and Recap:

• Your conscious mind is what you're currently aware of, while the unconscious includes everything from your entire life. The subconscious is the "in-between", where parts of the unconscious can be surfaced up to the conscious depending on circumstances and environment.

• Your thalamus is the relay center of the brain, passing along all of the incoming stimulus and information to the parts of the brain responsible for processing.

• The amount of focus and attention we give to a specific experience determines how strong the neural network becomes, and how much it affects our beliefs.

• Our beliefs are illusions, based on our generalized internal representations, and guide the programs for the filters of the mind.

Review and Recap:

• Our perceptions are driven by our existing subconscious beliefs and attitudes.

• Our experience of reality is a manufactured perception, based on how information gets filtered to our conscious brain.

• The conscious brain can only process ~134 bits/second out of over 25 million bits/second that the unconscious encounters.

• The RAS is responsible for filtering data based on your previous values, beliefs, and expectations.

Reflection:

• Think about your perception of a recent event in your life. How might that perception have been created based on your belief systems?

• Make a list of at least 5 things that you hold to be true about yourself and your world. For each item, reflect on what circumstances or environments may have influenced these "truths".

Review and Recap:

1. Our subconscious cannot distinguish between an imagined event and a real event.

2. We can control how our brain stores memories, even if we can't change what happened in the past.

3. Imagery rescripting allows us to take control of a situation or belief that is no longer serving us by "reprogramming" our brains through repetition of the revised memory.

Review and Recap:

• Reactionary emotions get processed much faster than thoughts, which is why so many are influenced by our emotions and have trouble shifting thought narratives.

• Human nature is to give a conscious meaning to an unconscious emotion, creating narratives around stress.

• Our beliefs have a tendency to trigger stress before it actually happens.

• Our unconscious is the packing center for emotions, and the conscious is the label maker.

• Recognize fears, but challenge the "worse case scenario" narratives by empowering your conscious brain to promote the best case scenario.

• Your inner state and outcome need to be a match!

Reflect:

• What are some of the situations where you find yourself reacting differently than others to the same scenario?

• What labels do you tend to put on stress to create meaning and make sense of it?

• How might your inner dialogue be contributing to the filters to back up any limiting beliefs?

  
  

Anchoring How-To:

1. Ask what STATE would be required for you to achieve your desired outcome. Create this as your INTENTION.

2. Identify a stimulus you can use as the anchor (i.e. touching knuckle).

3. Recall a time where you felt that emotion strongly.

4. Recreate the memory of the associated state as strongly as possible.

5. Apply the chosen anchor (i.e. knuckle) at the peak of the emotion (which you can experiment with through repetition).

6. Apply the same anchor in other situations to test it out.

Review and Recap:

1. Gratitude journaling can help to program the mind to bring about more positive experiences and strengthen belief in gratitude.

2. Focusing on the body sensations and emotions associated with the things you are grateful for can help to strengthen the neural connections associated with those experiences.

3. Keeping a journal and pen by your bed can help to establish the habit of gratitude journaling.

Review and Recap:

• Our perceptions become our truth, and create our inner state of being, which creates our projection of our future.

• Your unconscious needs a new set of filters to create different perceptions, states, and beliefs.

• The new set of directions needs to come from the conscious mind first to interrupt the existing patterns and filters (and we underestimate the power of the 10% that our conscious mind has control of).

• Not knowing your outcome keeps you stuck living in reaction to external circumstances.

• Your unconscious mind needs a clear and positive intention to work from.

Reflect:

• What directions are you currently providing to your unconscious mind (that creates the filters for your reality)?

• What's your goal, REALLY? Make it as specific as possible, and don't limit yourself (i.e. more money).

• What are the negative "what ifs" that come from limiting beliefs? How can you shift these "what ifs" to be more aligned with your intention?

Review and Recap:

1. You can use "future self simulation" to change your beliefs and habits.

2. You can prime your brain for success and happiness by visualizing your future self in different scenarios.

3. To make these changes effective, you need to take meaningful action and meet the universe halfway.

Review and Recap:

1. Written/recorded affirmations can help solidify current positive beliefs, eliminate negative beliefs, and create new self-serving beliefs.

2. Personalized affirmations are most effective, as they are tailored to an individual's specific beliefs and experiences.

3. Using multiple senses, such as sight and sound, can strengthen the impact of affirmations on the mind and create new beliefs and mindsets.

Now that you have the awareness to take meaningful action, it's your turn to start putting together a plan and a routine that works for YOU.  Use the downloadable action plan to start creating your plan, or visit the link to get your copy of the undated Mindset Makeover annual planner, which includes mindset reflections, habit trackers, and weekly organizers.