Emotional Fatigue

If you've ever been emotionally fatigued by work, a relationship, or a significant life event, you're not alone. If left unaddressed, emotional tiredness can significantly affect your mental and physical health.

Anger, lack of drive, helplessness, and hopelessness are all described as emotional exhaustion. Chronic stress in our personal or professional lives causes emotional weariness, resulting in burnout, triggering emotional fatigue. It can reduce your capacity to cope with complex events and raise your stress levels to unhealthy amounts.

4 Indicators of Emotional Fatigue

Stressful jobs, long-term relationships, or chronic sickness can cause burnout, and it's easy to ignore early warning signals of exhaustion. Other variables in your life might also affect your stress resilience, preventing you from realizing when you’re due for rest.

Here are four indicators of emotional exhaustion to watch out for:

1. You Have Fatigue and Sleep Issues

Fatigue is one of the principal signs of emotional exhaustion. When dealing with burnout, you're probably also running on empty. It is the most prevalent physical symptom linked with emotional exhaustion. 

Emotional exhaustion interferes with your ability to sleep because of the stress you are experiencing. It can also lead to insomnia because you're well beyond the point of your body being able to unwind and relax at the end of the day.

2. You Get Dragged Down So Easily and Have Severe Mood Swings

Sometimes emotional exhaustion can make you feel overwhelmed by the smallest of things or even by happenings that used to bring you joy. When you're exhausted, your brain is too tired to focus instead, resulting in a feeling of being constantly distracted. You will also tend to feel frustrated more quickly, and you have a more challenging time bouncing back from setbacks.

Your fluctuating mood is another big red flag. If you have erratic mood swings, it could be a sign that you're really struggling. Feeling down once in a while is unavoidable, but if you feel like your mood is on a roller coaster and you can't make sense of it, this could be a sign that you're exhausted.

3. You Lack Motivation

Feeling like you have a hard time getting motivated for things is an indicator of emotional fatigue. The sense of exhaustion is natural, but if you're experiencing it frequently, it may indicate that you need to slow down.

The kryptonite of exhaustion is motivation, so if you feel like you're on the edge of burnout, you might be finding it really hard to get up for even the things you used to love. In addition, your ability to dream big and work hard has shifted from being your go-to to being something that brings you down.

4. You Feel Helpless

When you're emotionally exhausted, you can feel trapped in your circumstances and feel you don't have the energy for the things that used to bring them joy. 

You might feel you're not in control of the situation, causing you more stress and diminishing your ability to deal with things effectively, leading to hopelessness and helplessness.

Conclusion

The signs of burnout are not easy to recognize when you're caught in the midst of it. Nevertheless, paying attention to your own body and your mind can let you catch these signs in time to save yourself some serious stress. Thankfully, there are numerous ways to recover from stress once you’ve realized your condition.

At Stephanie Lyn Wellness, we provide Ketamine therapy and holistic health to transform emotional pain and regain happiness. We aim to help you reclaim control of your life and rediscover your love for yourself. Stephanie Lyn Coleman MD is a licensed physician trained in the traditional western medicine culture. Start your Ketamine therapy in Los Angeles today!

What is "The Container"?

Learning About Containers in Psychedelic Integration

Starting your journey with psychedelic integration therapy can be rather eye-opening, especially when you do it within a safe environment with the right supervision. However, being a beginner and undergoing your first sessions or even earlier on, you may start to hear about certain terms that are just completely foreign to you.

For instance, what psychedelic therapy container suits you best and how to curate that container is often discussed when beginning psychedelic integration. If you want to learn more about containers in psychedelic integration therapy, continue reading.

What is a Psychedelic Therapy Container?

Container is a term that most psychedelic facilitators, clinical providers, and physicians use to refer to the kind of experience that they want to deliver to a patient. As implied above, an experience is often curated in order to provide psychedelic integration. There’s plenty of prep work involved before the actual administration of the medicines.

Each psychedelic therapy container varies in different components, and every individual would need to have their own personal variation of the container. The better the compatibility, the more ideal the outcome from psychedelic integration.

What are the Different Types of Container?

When it comes to psychedelic integration, the two main types of container that any patient may encounter is recreational and intentional. Recreational container refers to the self-treatment of psychedelic medicines for the purpose of pleasure and potential connection. This experience is usually can be less therapeutic compared to other containers.

Intentional containers are recommended since the exploration of this kind of experience is more distinct and offers further support. A patient is instead taking medicine with intent and attention to healing.

What Makes Up a Container?

An intentional container is created for psychedelic treatment, but, even then there are several differences. A container is made up of different parts to become suitable for the patient undergoing psychedelic integration. Discussing it with a trusted professional who will administer and supervise the experience is a must.

Here are the different pieces that make up a container:

• Intake. A client must feel safe when intaking the medicines during psychedelic integration, so there’s a bit of testing and discussions beforehand. Information regarding the intake will be given before a patient consents to the other aspects of a container. 

• Program. Aside from the intake process, the overall program structure should be clear and concise for every party to understand what goes on during the session. This includes certain boundaries that are not under the scope of the program.

• Quality. The quality of the medicine and the services provided should be up to par to deliver an excellent intentional container. Patients should always seek out quality assurance from their psychedelic medicine providers.

• Support. Most programs may take longer than traditional medicine treatments since most people may need months of integration or multiple psychedelic sessions over a longer period of time. The plan varies per person and the providers should support the client throughout the journey. The level of support needed should always be fulfilled.

• Setting. A safe and ideal setting should always be given to ensure the best experience possible. After all, the environment that’s being structured for a patient is paramount for the psychedelic container.

Conclusion

In summary, the psychedelic containers are the experiences provided by those supervising your treatment session. Many components go into a patient’s container, so be sure to discuss them with a professional. 

Interested in psychedelic medicine? Stephanie Lyn Coleman MD is a licensed physician trained in traditional western medicine culture, delivering ketamine therapy, psychedelic integration, and more. Schedule a call today!

When is my Anxiety Too Much

Have you ever felt tired lately that you can’t find any other way to make yourself feel better? Some people tend to work too much, forgetting to have enough time to relax or socialize. It could result in excessive and prolonged mental, emotional, and physical stress when it persists. This overwhelming feeling can emotionally and physically drain anyone. Does it sound familiar? If you can relate to that description, you are most probably experiencing burnout.

What Is Burnout?

In today’s fast-paced world, people, specifically employees, are expected to show up when needed and do more work than necessary. Even the work-from-home setup has this implied requirement to be present and accessible at any time. With these factors and the different struggles that happen all around us, it is only natural that a lot of us feel swamped. 

Coined by Dr. Herbert Freundenberger in the 1970s, “burnout” is a type of psychological condition. It shares the same symptoms as other mental health diseases like anxiety, PTSD, and depression. It also has three classifications. These are:

• Overload Burnout - Characterized by complete physical and emotional exhaustion caused an intense drive to work hard for success

• Lack of Development or Under-Challenge Burnout - Caused by the lack of opportunities for professional development or personal growth; often associated with cynicism about work

• Neglect Burnout - Feeling ineffective, helpless, inadequate in the workplace, or having no accomplishment to be proud of

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Burnout?

Here are some signs that you are already experiencing burnout:

Physical Signs

• Feeling drained and tired all the time

• Frequent illness due to low immunity

• Recurring muscle pain and headache

• Changing sleeping habits

• Changing appetite

Emotional Signs

• Feeling like a failure

• Feeling helpless and defeated

• Feeling alone, detachment

• Lacking motivation

• Having a negative life outlook

• Having decreased sense of accomplishment

Behavioral Signs

• Isolating from others

• Procrastinating

• Withdrawing from responsibilities

• Skipping work

• Taking out frustrations to other people

Ketamine as an Effective Mental Health Treatment for Burnout

Instead of waiting for things to get better or for a new motivation to kick in (which is not a guaranteed method for a mental health situation), there is a new solution the experts in the field are looking into. Researchers are now eyeing ketamine treatment as an effective solution to treating burnout symptoms.

Ketamine therapy is now gaining popularity as the solution that can quickly reverse any symptoms caused by burnout. However, experts do not see it as a treatment that should be taken lightly. Still, it has shown remarkable results since its inception.  

During the 2021 American Psychiatric Association Virtual Meeting, Richard C. Shelton, MD, explained how ketamine affects the brain’s functionality. According to him, when a person undergoes a stressful circumstance, they experience reduction and retraction on the neuronal spine and synapses. That makes it hard for the brain to control or even regulate the human’s emotional state. 

When ketamine is administered to a person, it creates an immediate spike in the formation of the much-needed spine and synaptic proteins. Therefore, allowing a rapid return and restoration for the spine and synapses’ functionality. 

That provides a much faster effect than what regular medications can give. Usually, prescribed antidepressants and other similar medications take weeks or months before they start to take effect. 

Conclusion

Ketamine therapy is an efficacious treatment that has produced excellent results so far. It is not only good in treating burnout, anxiety, and depression. It is also considered a solution to alcoholism, substance use, and other related health and mental concerns. Since it is a relatively new treatment, it is still important to be cautious and make sure the treatment is right for you. Therefore, before deciding to have this therapy session, ensure that each session involves a trained physician and possibly a psychotherapist who knows what they are doing. 

Dr. Stephanie Lyn Coleman, conducts a detailed medical intake and evaluation to determine the appropriateness of the procedure to the client. Our ketamine treatment is administered by a trained physician and involves an initial preparation session to talk about your procedure intentions for a careful assessment. If you are considering ketamine as a mental health treatment to explore, schedule a phone consultation with us. 

Burning the Candle at Both Ends

Have you ever felt tired lately that you can’t find any other way to make yourself feel better? Some people tend to work too much, forgetting to have enough time to relax or socialize. It could result in excessive and prolonged mental, emotional, and physical stress when it persists. This overwhelming feeling can emotionally and physically drain anyone. Does it sound familiar? If you can relate to that description, you are most probably experiencing burnout.

What Is Burnout?

In today’s fast-paced world, people, specifically employees, are expected to show up when needed and do more work than necessary. Even the work-from-home setup has this implied requirement to be present and accessible at any time. With these factors and the different struggles that happen all around us, it is only natural that a lot of us feel swamped. 

Coined by Dr. Herbert Freundenberger in the 1970s, “burnout” is a type of psychological condition. It shares the same symptoms as other mental health diseases like anxiety, PTSD, and depression. It also has three classifications. These are:

• Overload Burnout - Characterized by complete physical and emotional exhaustion caused an intense drive to work hard for success

• Lack of Development or Under-Challenge Burnout - Caused by the lack of opportunities for professional development or personal growth; often associated with cynicism about work

• Neglect Burnout - Feeling ineffective, helpless, inadequate in the workplace, or having no accomplishment to be proud of

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Burnout?

Here are some signs that you are already experiencing burnout:

Physical Signs

• Feeling drained and tired all the time

• Frequent illness due to low immunity

• Recurring muscle pain and headache

• Changing sleeping habits

• Changing appetite

Emotional Signs

• Feeling like a failure

• Feeling helpless and defeated

• Feeling alone, detachment

• Lacking motivation

• Having a negative life outlook

• Having decreased sense of accomplishment

Behavioral Signs

• Isolating from others

• Procrastinating

• Withdrawing from responsibilities

• Skipping work

• Taking out frustrations to other people

Ketamine as an Effective Mental Health Treatment for Burnout

Instead of waiting for things to get better or for a new motivation to kick in (which is not a guaranteed method for a mental health situation), there is a new solution the experts in the field are looking into. Researchers are now eyeing ketamine infusion as an effective solution to treating burnout symptoms.

Ketamine therapy is now gaining popularity as the solution that can quickly reverse any symptoms caused by burnout. However, experts do not see it as a treatment that should be taken lightly. Still, it has shown remarkable results since its inception.  

During the 2021 American Psychiatric Association Virtual Meeting, Richard C. Shelton, MD, explained how ketamine affects the brain’s functionality. According to him, when a person undergoes a stressful circumstance, they experience reduction and retraction on the neuronal spines and synapses. That makes it hard for the brain to control or even regulate the human’s emotional state. 

When ketamine is administered to a person, it creates an immediate spike in the formation of the much-needed spine and synaptic proteins. Therefore, allowing a rapid return and restoration for the spine and synapses’ functionality. 

That provides a much faster effect than what regular medications can give. Usually, prescribed antidepressants and other similar medications take weeks or months before they start to take effect. 

Conclusion

Ketamine therapy is an efficacious treatment that has produced excellent results so far. It is not only good in treating burnout, anxiety, and depression. It is also considered a solution to alcoholism, substance use, and other related health and mental concerns. Since it is a relatively new procedure, it is still being monitored carefully by experts. Therefore, before deciding to have this therapy session, ensure that each session involves a trained physician and possibly a trained psychotherapist who knows what they are doing. 

Dr. Stephanie Lyn Coleman, conducts a detailed medical intake and evaluation to determine the appropriateness of the treatment for each client. The ketamine treatment is administered by a trained physician and involves an initial preparation session(s) to talk about the treatment plan, your intentions, address and concerns, and to answer any questions. The goal is to create a safe environment and prepared mindset before starting the medicine. If you are considering other mental health treatments to explore, schedule a phone consultation with us 

Recognizing Burnout

How to Spot Burnout and Take Action

Stress is a natural part of life. You experience many stressors at work, at home, and even when socializing with your friends. Small doses of stress are even healthy. However, when all the pressure begins to overwhelm you and you experience bouts of burnout, especially at work, it can leave you feeling exhausted, empty, and unable to cope with the demands of life.

Burnout is a condition you may experience when you’re under long-term stress in your workplace. Let’s break down what burnout is, what causes it and how coping methods like holistic medicine can help.

What Does Burnout Feel Like?

Burnout is practically a state of chronic stress that often leads to exhaustion from work, detachment, or even feelings of ineffectiveness. If you’re constantly fatigued and always in a bad mood, or you find no joy in any task you complete, these signs indicate that you might be experiencing burnout. 

The thing is, burnout isn’t something you see coming. It often creeps up on you because its symptoms can be easily dismissed as a normal part of life. You’ve probably felt those days where you just feel too tired no matter what you do, and you don’t really feel like tackling your workload. While these occasional feelings of exhaustion are normal, when this becomes frequent, then that’s the time burnout is starting to creep its way into your life and your entire disposition. 

Normally, burnout involves psychological elements like exhaustion, feelings of cynicism and detachment, or that uncomfortable feeling of ineffectiveness. While that may seem hard to handle, there are also physical symptoms that you may have to deal with, such as:

• An inability to take pride in your accomplishments

• Being cynical and heavily critical of yourself and others

• Difficulty concentrating

• Being irritable most of the time

• Relying on alcohol, drugs, or food to make yourself feel better

What Causes Burnout?

Burnout is mainly caused by too much pressure building up in your life that your stress response just goes into overdrive. When this happens, your hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) kicks into action. The problem with this is that you can’t really reason with your HPA. Once it’s switched on, you’ll immediately feel a surge of adrenaline and cortisol, which is meant to save you from danger in the short term. However, when this process repeatedly happens in the long term, that’s when burnout becomes too much.

Recovering from Burnout

There are many recommended ways of recovering from burnout, one of which is enjoying some rest and relaxation. Don’t push yourself to the brink of total exhaustion all the time, and just find time to relax. It also helps to find support when you need it. Having your friends and family close to help you cope with your stress helps a lot.

It also doesn’t help to live a sedentary lifestyle. Try to be more active by exercising regularly and eating healthy food. This helps increase the serotonin levels in your body, which is a feel-good hormone that helps when dealing with stressful situations.

Conclusion

Burnout is something that’s almost completely undetectable but very much avoidable by maintaining a healthier lifestyle. By practicing self-care, you reduce the risk of feeling burnout in your career and life.

Don’t let all the stressors in your life overwhelm you and back you up in a corner. Let Dr. Stephanie Lyn Coleman help you free yourself from your emotional burden. If you’re experiencing anxiety or signs of mental health issues, Dr. Coleman and her team can provide mental health treatment and other solutions to help you steer your life back to a happier place. Take control of your life by scheduling a consult today.