Happy 2010! It sure has gotten off to a very fast start. I feel like it just rolled in and we’re getting ready to turn the page on the calendar to February. One of the most significant things that has happened in my life as a female chiropractor, is the 2 new chiropractors that have joined my team at Hillarys Chiropractic.
When The Teacher Is Ready, The Student Appears
I have taken on a mentoring role in the practice with 2 new associate chiropractors. They are both vibrant, enthusiastic and eager to learn. I am committed to assisting them while they embrace and develop into being the best chiropractors that they can be. With the experience and wisdom of my years in practice, I plan to share and nurture that chiropractic spirit in them to love, give and serve the patients to the best of their ability.
When the Student Is Ready, The Teacher Appears
One of the new mentorees has been a wellness patient of mine for many years. His understanding of the chiropractic paradigm and commitment to helping people is from the heart. The other mentoree I had the pleasure of meeting through the other, as they went through the chiropractic course together. His heart and commitment matches the core values, mission, vision statement of our practice.
Mentoring is a mutually beneficial relationship that involves a more experienced person helping a less experienced person to achieve their goals.
Mentoring provides a unique opportunity to contribute to a student’s career development by sharing knowledge you have acquired through years of experience.
Effective Mentoring
focuses on the needs of the person being mentored
fosters caring and supportive relationships within the workplace
encourages the person being mentored to develop to their optimum potential
As a mentor, the role is one that instructs, helps and guides another in the process of gaining knowledge, understanding and skills. I want to take this a step further – pointing to something that is already present in the student. It is like teaching someone to have shoulders. You can’t really teach someone who already has shoulders, to have shoulders. However, you can make them more aware of the shoulders they already have.
A mentoring relationship is usually where one wiser and more experienced person assists another person to grow and learn. Humans from the beginning of time have learned norms, values and behaviours by the example and coaching of others.
New adaptations of mentoring allows individuals to interact as colleagues in a helping relationship, on a more equal basis which can cultivate growth and learning to mutual benefit.
Experience, skills and a genuine desire to help are more valuable assets in a mentoring relationship than age or position. Open and assertive communication and the trust of both parties are essential.
Benefits to the Practice
• Greater productivity
• Discovery of talent
• Development of leadership for future survival and prosperity
• Communication of values, goals and plans
• Increase in morale and motivation
• Demonstration of personal and professional standards
• Achievement of excellent service
• Implementation of equity initiatives
• Fostering of shared values and team work
• Enhancement of leadership and people management skills
• Revitalised energy
• Increase in staff satisfaction
• Building a learning organisation
Benefits to the Mentoree
• Development of potential
• Increased knowledge about the practice
• Flexibility – Mentorees negotiate with their mentors to work within available time and other commitments
• Self directed learning – Mentorees choose specific learning objectives
• Give and receive feedback
• Receive encouragement and support to achieve goals
• Develop new networks
• Develop new and/or different perspectives
• Get assistance with ideas
• Demonstrate strengths and explore potential
• Develop visibility within or outside an organisation
• Be challenged to use talents and share expertise
• Develop and increase self confidence
Benefits to the Mentor
• Obtain a greater understanding of the barriers experienced at lower levels of the practice
• Enhance their own skills in coaching, counselling, listening and modelling
• The sense of being needed and recognised professionally
• Develop and practise a more personal style of leadership
• Gain additional recognition and respect
• Learn new perspectives and approaches
• Contribute something to others in the organisation
• Extend professional networks
• Demonstrate expertise and share knowledge
Both partners in the mentoring relationship benefit. Learning must be a lifelong process and one of the most effective ways to learn is to assist in the development of others. The best teachers learn much from their students, counsellors constantly learn from clients and partners in any successful relationship grow and develop along the way.
I look forward to our journey ahead, and trust that all will benefit in many forms.
Posted by chiropam on Nov 30, 2009 in Chiropractic
One common cause of pain down the leg or leg pain is Piriformis syndrome. Piriformis syndrome is named after the piriformis muscle. The piriformis muscle is located in the lower part of the spine (sacrum), connects to the thighbone (femur), and assists in hip rotation. The sciatic nerve runs beneath the piriformis muscle. This muscle is susceptible to injury from a slip and fall, hip arthritis, or a difference in leg length. Such situations can cause cramping and spasm to develop in the piriformis muscle, thereby pinching the sciatic nerve – causing inflammation and pain.
Muscle spasms and/or contraction of the piriformis muscle itself can lead to pain along the back of the thigh, down to the knee, causing a possible loss of sensation or numbness and tingling in the sole of the foot. The piriformis syndrome can often mimic the well known complaint known as sciatica. Because of the similar symptoms, it is often misdiagnosed as sciatica. The main difference between sciatica and piriformis syndrome is the cause. What both of these complaints have in common is that both can produce pain, and/or numbness and tingling below the knee and into the foot.
This has been the ‘special of the week’ in my practice. It can be left or right, depending on the activity that can irritate the area.
Who Does This Affect?
Many athletes are prone to piriformis syndrome. The athlete’s cause is primarily due to improper stretching and warm-up exercises as well as overuse during activity. In this case it is most likely that the piriformis muscle is irritated and usually in spasm.
People who spend long hours sitting are prone to this syndrome. It can be from sitting at a desk, in front of a computer, students, riding in a car or truck for long periods of time, and sitting on a wallet.
People who sit for extended periods of time, especially with poor posture are prone to the piriformis being irritated.
What Causes Piriformis Syndrome?
The primary cause is due to tightness and contracture of the piriformis muscle. In this case the piriformis muscle is shortened and does not allow for the smooth movement of the sciatic nerve during leg motion.
The causes of piriformis myospasm are varied such as overuse, excessive fast walking without proper warm up and stretching, prolonged sitting.
Treatment for Piriformis Syndrome
As for treatment of piriformis syndrome, many variables can hinder your successful recovery: including but not limited to smoking, obesity, job limitations and improper exercise (not warming up and stretching). It is very rare to have a piriformis syndrome from a one-off direct trauma to the area.
Any treatment plan must include stretching of the gluteal muscles as well as stretching of the piriformis muscles.
Chiropractors can assist you by recommending the proper exercises and stretches to perform. Many Chiropractors may also suggest some form of muscle therapy to the piriformis muscle in the gluteal region in order to assist in relaxing these muscles.
Relevant adjustments to the spine, pelvis, sacrum as well as hip may be required to relieve the pressure from the nerve being trapped from the piriformis muscle.
As an American living in Australia, I have seen the American holiday creep into Australia over the years. Now more than ever, there are decorations, costumes, party favours, candy/lollies to get into the Halloween spirit. I must admit that it was one of my favourite holidays as a child. I cherish those memories and really enjoyed celebrating the holiday with other fellow Americans when my daughter was little. The American Women’s Club of Perth was so influential in facilitating the American holidays, as well as an excellent way to mingle with other Americans living in Perth. This year I will be celebrating with some American friends, but not necessarily traditionally. I had some Halloween decorations to use on a pumpkin cake recipe that I modified to call my own. Celebrating with the superfood-pumpkin we will have Pumpkin Spice Cake and Pumpkin Spinach Salad.
Pumpkin Spice Cake (serves 8-10)
Ingredients:
125g butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
180g peeled pumpkin, steamed and mashed
2 cups sifted plain flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1-1/2teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 cup buttermilk
Method
Pre-heat oven to 180C. I used a fan forced oven.
Cream the butter, then add the sugar and beat till fluffy.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one.
Slowly beat in the pumpkin.
Sift all the dry ingredients together, then add some buttermilk, alternating until all mixed in.
Pour the cake batter into the Tupperware Kugelhopf and bake for about 40-45 minutes. Remember, every oven is different so time will vary. Test with cake tester or knife. It should spring back when pressed lightly.
Cool cake in tin on a rack for 5 minutes -this allows for air to circulate around the base of the tin too. Turn onto rack gently to cool completely.
Decorate as desired. I frosted and decorated with Halloween sprinkles. It can be used anytime of year, just sprinkle with icing sugar.
Have a Happy Halloween! Try the cake recipe even if it’s not for Halloween. It’s great all year round, let me know how it turns out:-)
Posted by chiropam on Oct 14, 2009 in Chiropractic
Disc Overview
The bones of the spine are separated by tough cartilage pads called discs. Healthy discs are flexible and thick (like a wet sponge) allowing bending and twisting motions. Unhealthy discs are stiff and hard (like a dry sponge) and prone to injuries such as bulging or herniation. Firstly, they act as the spine’s shock absorbers. Secondly, they allow the spine to move in many different directions. Individually, the discs offer very little movement, but in teamwork with the spinal bones, they give the spine just enough flexibility for various ranges of motion.
What are discs made of?
Discs are mainly made up of water, collagen and proteoglycans – a protein found in human connective tissues which helps to attract water and keep the discs hydrated. The inner gel-like material (nucleus pulposus) contains more water than the outer coat (annulus fibrosus).
This water content is very important because it keeps the discs plump and healthy, which enables them to function more effectively.
How do discs stay healthy?
Unlike other structures in the human body, spinal discs do not have a direct blood supply. Instead they get their nutrients and moisture from a kind of pumping action as the spinal bones above and below move in all directions.
This is really important to understand because it is central to why most disc problems develop, as well as providing the key to reversing disc problems after they have emerged.
Without this regular pumping action, spinal discs are unable to get the mosture and nutrients they need for optimum health.
Why do discs become unhealthy?
Over long periods of time, due to gravity, dysfunction in the spinal joints and accumulated trauma, the discs become starved of adequate water and nutrients and begin to become dehydrated and malnourished.
This process can lead to the discs losing their plumpness, causing them to become flattened in appearance and less elastic – and so affecting their ability to function properly.
This is what is known as ‘Degenerative Disc Disease.’
Also, the outer layer of dehydrated discs can become prone to thinning and cracking. This weakening of the outer layer may result in the inner gel pushing out, causing the outer layer to bulge.
Constant and continual compression prevents much-needed oxygen and nutrients from entering the disc. This ongoing starvation causes the once-tough outer layers of the disc to deteriorate (wear & tear) allowing the disc to become injured or diseased.
Disc damage can occur anywhere in the spine. However, the discs of the neck (cervical spine) and low back (lumbar spine) are the most commonly injured.
Because of the way each disc is attached to the spinal bones (vertebrae) above and below, a disc cannot “slip” as commonly thought. However, trauma or injury to the spine can cause discs to tear, bulge, herniate, dessicate or rupture. This can be quite painful, putting pressure on the nerve roots and/or spinal cord, interfering with their function.
Chiropractic and Disc Problems
The chiropractic approach to disc problems is to help restore better motion and position to the spinal joint or joints involved. Besides reducing disc bulging, better spinal function helps reduce inflammation and begin the slow process of healing the surrounding soft tissues.
While results can’t be guaranteed, many patients have avoided needless surgery or a dependency on pain pills, by choosing conservative chiropractic care. The traditional approach to disc problems often ignores spinal function. If detected early enough, conservative chiropractic care is not only safer, but is often more effective than back surgery.
Last week in practice, the ‘special of the week’ was groin pain. It can be related to hip pain, but is different nonetheless.
Apart from hip pain which is usually caused by a specific injury or an arthritic hip joint, most pains in the hip, groin or top of the leg are caused by a mechanical overload from a problem elsewhere. This usually stems from the lower back or pelvis, but can be from the knee or even the foot.
Recurring groin strains are very common in sports people, especially footballers. A twisted or misaligned pelvis is often the root cause of the problem, which causes a weakness and an overload of the muscles and tendons in the groin.
Pain in the groin area often makes walking quite difficult and patients have a tendency to seize up if they have been sitting for too long.
If a chronic groin or hip problem is not treated, it usually causes problems in the lower back as the patients start to adapt the way they walk. Different muscles end up compensating for the weakened area.
‘Wear and Tear’ is occasionally found on X-rays. This form of wear and tear is called osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative process in the joints which cause them to wear, and occurs in most people as we get older. It is rarely the wear and tear that causes the pain, rather it is the stiffness and muscle tightness. The good news is that this usually responds very well to chiropractic treatment! Adjustments to the areas that are involved can be very effective.
Whichever term you use:
Groin pain
Groin strain
Groin pull injury
Adductor strain
The reality is that it is a very common muscle strain injury that currently plagues sports like soccer, basketball, football, hockey, track & field and racquet sports.
The groin, described as the junction between the lower limbs and torso, is vulnerable to a lot of different injuries. Hernias, stress fractures, and avulsion fractures are all common injuries that affect the groin. One of the most common groin injuries is groin pull or groin strain.
What is a Groin Pull?
Depending on the severity, a groin pull can range from a slight stretching, to a complete rupture of the muscles that attach the pubic (pelvis) bone to the thigh (femur) bone.
A groin pull or strain specifically affects the Adductor muscles. These muscles are located on the inside of the thigh, and help to bring the legs together.
What Causes a Groin Pull?
Competitors that participate in sports that require a lot of running or rapid change in direction are most susceptible to groin injuries. Other activities like kicking, jumping and rapid acceleration or deceleration also place a lot of strain on the groin muscles. Another activity that puts a lot of strain on the groin is any movement that results in a sudden pressure being applied – such as a fall, landing awkwardly, twisting, or bending while stress is applied to the groin muscles.
How to Prevent a Groin Pull?
The basis of prevention comes down to two simple factors: a thorough warm-up and physical conditioning; flexibility & strength. Firstly, a thorough and correct warm up will help to prepare the muscles and tendons for any activity to come. Secondly, flexible muscles and tendons are extremely important in the prevention of most strain or sprain injuries. When muscles and tendons are tight and stiff, it is quite easy for those muscles and tendons to be pushed beyond their natural range of movement, which can cause strains, sprains, and pulled muscles. To keep your muscles and tendons flexible and supple, it is important to undertake a structured stretching routine. Stretching is one of the most under-utilised techniques for improving athletic performance, preventing sports injury and properly rehabilitating sprain and strain injury. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that something as simple as stretching won’t be effective.
Posted by chiropam on Aug 27, 2009 in Chiropractic
New Foliage
Yesterday was an amazing day outside. In Perth, we are nearing the end of our winter. Now winter here doesn’t even come close to the winters I remember in Michigan where I grew up. Now if you saw the sky yesterday, it was a brilliant blue with no clouds. It spoke of life. I felt like it would be such a waste to not take the time to breathe in some of that fresh air. I remember speaking with a few different patients, just the other day about taking time to ‘smell the roses’. We have all heard that expression, and of course the phrase is not literal, as the rose bushes here have all been pruned! But taking it further, taking time to smell flowers, or enjoying a cup of tea or coffee, and just stop and be in the present. We all can let the busyness of life steal away from a beautiful day. I took a photo of my rose bush outside with a new bud growing. This is actually quite significant in my life right now. I have pruned different aspects of my life professionally, in order to have more beautiful flowers result in different areas.
New bud
In my ‘life as a female chiropractor’, that is actually my ‘special of the week’. No specific symptoms, but actually acknowledging today for what it is, what it brings. I have a dear friend that reminds me and inspires me to smell the roses as his story is the opposite. He has time, but not the health or ability to move around the way he used to. The reality of my life is that I am able to walk and use my legs to exercise my physical body. This is a gift that we can take for granted as not all people have the physical health. More than a handful of patients brought this theme to their visit, and it was quite exceptional. Wisdom does come with age, but who wants to wait until we are 80 or 90 to realise these things and start living. The time is now – not yesterday, not tomorrow.
“Life is a gift, that’s why they call it the present.”
After I picked up my daughter from school, I asked her if she wanted to go for a walk. She looked at me with a strange look, so I painted a picture of how the walk would be. I explained that it was an opportunity to breathe in some lovely fresh air, have quality time for conversation, and get daily exercise in. The alternative was coming home and diving into the computer and getting on with the usual routine that comes after a normal school day. Well after that walk, she still got her homework done; dinner was still cooked and this blog post was written.
I felt so revitalised after and it was a nice change from the gym which is indoors all the time. Our Spring officially starts next week and with that brings real flowers. Let me encourage you as I will continue to remind myself to stop, and smell the roses…
A wellness approach to health incorporates a variety of healthy habits for optimum function on physical, mental, social and spiritual levels.
Why It Is Wise To Have Chiropractic When You’re Not In Pain
Many people think that if they don’t have pain or symptoms that they are healthy. Chiropractic care focuses primarily on the nervous system. The nervous system controls virtually every aspect of our body’s functions. In order to be your very best, it is essential to have a properly functioning nervous system. Chiropractic care can be a very important choice for a wellness lifestyle, as well as exercise and good nutritional habits. Those who want to be at their optimum health add regular chiropractic care to their health choices. The health benefits include more vitality, endurance and the ability to enjoy life to the full.
Chiropractic Helps More Than Just “Bad Backs”
Wellness and maintenance care are often thought to be the same thing. However, the objective or goal in these types of health care are actually very different as are their results and benefits. What is most important to understand is that if we want areas in our life to continue to function properly – they require regular maintenance.
Our car, our house, our teeth, our health, our relationships, and yes…our spines! So in any aspect of our life that we are not applying regular maintenance (adding energy and organisation) over time it will breakdown and lead to a crisis. If you don’t maintain your kitchen…crisis! If you don’t maintain your bathroom…crisis! If you don’t maintain your relationships…crisis! And of course, if you don’t maintain your spine…crisis!
The vast majority of people today were not aware of the necessity of spine and nervous system maintenance from birth, therefore it is very likely that even with regular maintenance that a person will still experience the occasional relapse. Why? Imagine trying to maintain your teeth if you hadn’t brushed them for the first thirty years of your life. Of course you would need to go through an extensive process of correcting the problem first just to get your teeth to a place where they can be maintained. Even then with regular maintenance it is likely that you would still experience some problems over time.
Let’s introduce wellness! The main difference between maintenance and wellness is that maintenance simply looks to “maintain” the current state by adding just enough energy or organisation to try to maintain the current state. Whereas wellness looks to find even better states of organisation through a process of “constant and never ending improvement”.
Let’s use our kitchen as an example. We can look to maintain our kitchen in its current state of organisation and over time we will realise that it requires more and more energy to simply maintain the kitchen in its current state. Now if we use a wellness approach toward our kitchen, we would not only be maintaining its current state but we would continue to look for ways to improve the level of organisation, which in turn saves on the energy needed for maintaining it.
The exact same rule applies to every aspect of our lives. If we simply look to maintain our car, our home, our health, our teeth, our relationships, as well as our spines – we will find that over time it will naturally require more and more energy to simply maintain its current state. With wellness care we can continue to look for and implement new strategies to actively organise our lives.
When we look at this in terms of our spine and nervous system we realise that using a wellness approach toward our care is not only a wise investment, it is a better way of life. When we look at what today’s research says in relationship to wellness care we realise that maintaining the spine in a wellness model offers our body the opportunity to learn new strategies for dealing with all the natural stresses in life. In fact, people who have been actively maintaining their spine in a wellness model show increased healing and repair processes at levels which are not seen in otherwise healthy people.
Where do you see your health in 5 years? In 10 years? Do you simply want to maintain you current level of health or would you prefer to see your health continuing to improve every year for the next 10 years?
Posted by chiropam on Jul 21, 2009 in Chiropractic
Of all the tips for working mums, top of the list has to be taking care of yourself. Mum’s needs often seem to come last – after the kids, their dad, the job, the pets, and endless errands, that is. You can’t always stay on the back burner. Whether it’s exercise or meditation, massage or coffee with a friend, take time out to avoid the superwoman trap.
Here are 4 reasons for women who are headed toward the superwoman trap to look after yourself:
If Superwoman Isn’t Happy, Nobody’s Happy
When mum is stressed or burnt out, everyone in the house suffers. Even a baby gets fussy when the mother is tense or upset. Older children may respond by acting out.
If you take an hour or two to yourself, with whatever nourishes you, the rest of the day (or week) will be easier and more fun. Your family will enjoy having an energetic and refreshed mum, even if they complain about your absence. The bottom line here is: by paying attention to your own needs, you’ll actually be better at meeting everyone else’s.
Stress and Sleep Deprivation Make You Fat
Stress and sleep deprivation release cortisol into your bloodstream, which triggers fat storage around your waist.
It is unhealthy to carry more weight than your ideal. It increases your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and arthritis, as well as other conditions. Having good quality of life will allow us to live long enough to play with our grandchildren, and maybe even see them get married.
The next time you may be tempted to stay up until midnight sorting, folding, and putting away everyone else’s laundry, go to sleep instead. You can dress the kids out of baskets of clean laundry. Also, taking your work lunch break to exercise can actually give you a burst of energy and make the afternoon more productive.
Other People Are Capable, Too
So many working mums fall into the superwoman trap, thinking we have to be in charge of everything because we’re the only one who will do it right. That mentality not only overloads you with work, it doesn’t give enough credit to your other family members. Even worse, it prevents them from learning skills that can lighten your load and make them feel more capable.
Try leaving the kids with their dad or grandfather for a Saturday morning while you have brunch with your girlfriends. He may not change the nappies as often as you would, or feed them perfectly balanced meals, but I bet they have fun regardless. Not only will he feel rightly proud of his caregiving ability, your children will develop a different perspective, seeing that they’re all right without mum always needing to be nearby.
At work, see if there’s a junior employee to whom you can delegate some tasks. Again, they won’t be completed the way you would, but you’ll have more free time for yourself. You’ll also be assisting someone who could use the experience.
Life Is for Living
This is your life, right now. Would you rather spend it rushing around to finish your ‘to do’ list, or actually enjoying yourself? Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you’ll relax once you reach the bottom of the list – there will always be something more to do. Instead, ruthlessly prioritise and eliminate tasks that don’t absolutely have to get done.
If you are having trouble taking out time for yourself, start small. If you always wanted to meditate, wake up five minutes early for some deep breathing and visualisation. If you miss exercise regularly, schedule a once-a-week power walk during lunch. If it’s on your calendar, you can plan work around it.
Remember, the next time you have some breathing space, don’t fill it with errands. Instead, ‘just breathe’.
Posted by chiropam on Jul 16, 2009 in Chiropractic
Ladies, have you fallen into the Superwoman Trap? Are you a woman who operates on overload because you spread yourself too thin? Or if you are a male reading this, perhaps this sounds like your wife, sister or mother?
Women are well known for trying to be all things to all people. We are cooks, maids, chauffeurs, teachers, and on top of all that, many of us also have careers outside of the home. Why do we feel the need to be Superwoman? We superwomen are so determined to do everything perfectly, we lose sight of the physical and mental toll it takes on us. I know how difficult it can be to relinquish control. However, if you want to hold on to the last bit of sanity you have left, you must allow others to take on some of the household and work responsibilities.
The bottom line here is we’ve all got to juggle competing priorities – work, family, personal goals and so on. But it is equally important to remember to take time for self. As women we don’t take time for self as often as we should and we pay for it big time. We pay with our health, peace of mind, emotional well-being and the quality of our relationships.
If you are a superwoman who needs to take off the cape, I invite you to take some time out this week and think about one thing that you can do to take off the superwoman cape – or at least put it down for awhile. Try to get in the habit of taking 15 to 30 minutes each morning to get back in tune with you. When you put yourself at the top of your ‘to do’ list you feel less ‘dazed and confused’ and life becomes more manageable.
The ability to delegate tasks is equally valuable at home and at work, and it is a vital skill employed by many successful managers and mothers. There is a significant amount of guilt felt by mothers who work away from the home. We beat ourselves up about not spending enough time with our children, and worry that the lack of time we spend with them will keep us from forming strong bonds. We often feel the need to compensate for having children by bringing work home or pushing ourselves harder. We need to prove that raising young kids will not harm our career. We’ll work from our children’s bedtime until the wee hours of the morning, or get up before everyone else and get a few things done before taking the kids to school. Sometimes we aggravate our spouses or partners by working in the evenings or over the weekend.
Many women push themselves too hard to do something that can wait until another day. They seem to get into situations that created more stress than could really be handled, placing unnecessary physical and emotional strains on themselves as well as others.
Why do we do these things? We either fail to realise or don’t want to believe that it is physically impossible for us to accomplish everything we task ourselves (or have been tasked) with. To stay mentally and physically healthy, we need to learn how to better manage our time. It has been said that the best way to manage your time is to prioritise and delegate.
A good friend of mine helped me begin the process of letting go of the need to be Superwoman. She advised me that other people may not do things the way I do them, but that only means they do things differently, not poorly. For example, the father might not bathe the kids the way you would, but they get clean and probably have a lot of fun in the process. This is also true at the office. A co-worker might not present to a client the way you would, but they can probably articulate the company’s message in a manner that could lead to getting the job done effectively.
Pushing ourselves to do everything can lead to frustration, resentment, poor performance, and illness. Not to mention the constant guilt we feel when we are thinking of things we need to get done at work while attending to our children’s needs. When we acknowledge that we may not have the ability to complete all the tasks on our ‘to do’ list in the time we would like, and we put our trust in others to assist us, we give ourselves a chance to do the most important tasks well and keep our sanity in the process.
How can we honour our lives in the moment, identify what’s draining us and retrain friends and family to respect our energy constraints and priorities? Stay tuned for next post on some tips to avoid the superwoman trap.
If you want a less stressful and more balanced life, then addressing BOTH externally-imposed and self-imposed pressures are essential. There are times when you can’t change stressful circumstances such as a demanding workload or an annoying co-worker, but you CAN minimise the negative effects of stress by counteracting attitudes that perpetuate stress and limit attention to self-care.
Key To Preventing And Counteracting Burnout
Self-care strengthens your resiliency, which can reduce susceptibility to burnout. Self-care is not just making healthy lifestyle choices. It also includes self-compassion, having healthy boundaries, being aware of your needs, and staying true to your values. Self-neglect takes a toll on your health, relationships, and your effectiveness. Therefore preventing burnout and understanding how stress plays a role is essential.
Simply recognising the importance of taking better care of yourself is not enough. You also need to address the psychological obstacles that limit attention to self-care and foster stress. For example, putting pressure on yourself to always perform with excellence at work while being critical of your mistakes can cause you to become overextended and overlook your needs. This may stem from being judged harshly and having unrealistically high expectations of you.
Self-care practices like meditation or tai chi are great, but won’t stop self-criticism or perfectionism; nor will it address attitudes that foster burnout and undermine self-care such as defining yourself by the good you do for others, an exaggerated sense of responsibility, and difficulty tolerating discord.
Stress Is Unavoidable – Burnout Is
You can take courses on time management and attend seminars on stress management techniques and still suffer from burnout. These strategies are often helpful, but will not lead to lasting changes if you do not address personality traits that foster stress. Much of the literature on burnout focuses more on external pressures than on self- imposed stress. While external pressures such as a demanding workload, juggling personal and professional life, unclear job responsibilities do contribute to stress and burnout, so do beliefs and personality traits. Worries about uncertainty and lack of control can drive to burnout. Even authors who write about personality characteristics that cause stress tend to emphasize overt and extreme behaviors such as the type A personality- overly driven, highly competitive, aggressive and obsessed with work. There are many burnout prone people, however with personalities who do not fit this profile. The most prominent personality characteristics that contribute to burnout are exaggerated responsibility, self-judgement and self-definition.
Perfectionism
Late at night Jacqui lies in bed restlessly, unable to sleep. Two weeks into her new job, she is feeling nervous day and night. She is obsessed with trying to make sure that nothing goes wrong and that no one sees her make a mistake. She has to prove to everyone, including herself, that she is worthwhile. Jacqui believes that she is a failure if anything goes wrong. She needs to realise how never being appreciated growing up causes her to think that self worth comes from perfection.
If you are a perfectionist you push yourself, get overscheduled, promise too many things to too many people, or take on too much work. You judge yourself harshly when you fall short of your expectations or when you make mistakes. You probably would not treat someone you care about in the harsh manner that you treat yourself. You learn to measure your worth by your performance and equate excelling with deserving attention or praise if your parents rewarded you primarily for excelling.
The pursuit of excellence is different from a relentless need to be the best. When you seek perfection and are unable to measure up to your ideal, your self esteem decreases. Developing realistic standards and self- compassion go a long way to counteract stress that leads to burnout.
When you make mistakes, notice how you feel about yourself. Take notice of the ways that you talk to yourself when you fall short of your ideal. You may not recognise that your standards for yourself are excessive. Pay attention during the day to the ways you tell yourself how you did not do something well enough or how you could have done things better. Has anyone else ever spoken to you in this way? You may have internalised the ways that your parents spoke to you. Now picture someone else talking to you the way you speak to yourself. Chances are you would not tolerate them talking to you in this same manner.
Remember, you can’t always control the circumstances that may cause stress, but you can control how well you take care of yourself. Taking proper care of your body, mind and soul can keep you in optimum health and wellness.
Chiropractic is an art, science and philosophy focusing on a nervous system free from interference to allow the body to reach it’s optimum potential, naturally.
Chiropractic is a main passion and interest in my life. Not only is it my profession, but a way to connect the mind and body; a lifestyle - a natural way to allow your body to heal itself, and so much more. It is about looking at the entire body. Our bodies act as a whole unit - from Above, Down, Inside, Out! I love serving the community and being pro-active in making a difference…both individually and collectively as a whole.
As an American living in Australia, I have seen the American holiday creep into Australia over the years. Now more than ever, there are decorations, costumes, party favours, candy/lollies to get into the Halloween spirit. I must admit that it was one of my favourite holidays as a child. I cherish those memories and really enjoyed celebrating the holiday with other fellow Americans when my daughter was little. The American Women’s Club of Perth was so influential in facilitating the American holidays, as well as an excellent way to mingle with other Americans living in Perth. This year I will be celebrating with some American friends, but not necessarily traditionally. I had some Halloween decorations to use on a pumpkin cake recipe that I modified to call my own. Celebrating with the 
Pour the cake batter into the Tupperware Kugelhopf and bake for about 40-45 minutes. Remember, every oven is different so time will vary. Test with cake tester or knife. It should spring back when pressed lightly.
