The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes BURN-OUT as an occupational phenomenon. “Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” (1)
Some questions to ask yourself if you deal with burn-out:
Are you eating enough protein and fibre? How is your digestion?
Are you having deep, restful, uninterrupted sleep? Do you wake up feeling rested?
Do you have enough energy to get through the week? A day at work?
What are you doing to truly REST? Are you doing it enough?
Are you moving your body? And is the right type of movement for what you need?
Are you engaging in a mental practice such as prayer, meditation or deep breathing?
Do you need to seek counselling to digest what’s going on at work?
Are you hydrated? (Or are you simply jacked up on coffee?)
Do you have social supports to discuss your workplace stress with?
What measures do you need to take at work in order to effectively work through that stress while at work? (ie. I spend some time doing deep breathing between patients if I’m feeling anxious or stressed out!)
What do you really need to help yourself overcome workplace stress?
Reference:
World Health Organization: Burn-Out an “Occupational Phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases. May 28, 2019.
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Pregnancy loss is a common concern I see in practice. And there are a number of factors that a Naturopathic Doctor will want to consider when working with individuals who are struggling with recurring pregnancy loss.
Melatonin is a ‘neurohormone’ which can be used to regulate sleep-wake cycles. Endogenous (what’s made in your body) melatonin is released by the pineal gland, found within the brain. Production and release of endogenous melatonin is activated by darkness and depressed by external/environmental light sources.
If you’re looking to get a better understanding of your cycle, and/or want to learn how to chart your cycle – this is worth the read. I don’t have a ton of time to walk patients through all of this during our visits, so this is the book I refer them to.
If you’re anything like me, you’ve excused yourself from exercise because of your period. The last time I did this, I pondered it. Would it make me feel better? Or would I actually just continue hanging out with Aunt Flow in misery?
Mittelschmerz – the lovely, weird name for the physical sensation experienced during or directly after the release of an egg from an ovary (ovulation). This pain is felt in the lower part of your abdomen and is often one-sided (but can alternate between sides, month-to-month). Some women will experience this ovulatory pain as a mild, dull, aching sensation and some women may even experience even greater discomfort. Some won’t experience it at all.
Androgens are often referred to as ‘male sex hormones,’ but they’re present in both men and women. When it comes to women, we hear the most about testosterone, DHEA-S and DHT.
Birth control is NOT the only option for painful (dysmenorrhea) and/or heavy periods (menorrhagia). And before jumping on a medication or supplement your HCP should always look into potential causes of extreme cramping – ie. endometriosis, fibroids, etc.
Prostaglandins are a major factor in menstrual cramps – once a month (when Aunt Flow comes to town) they cause uterine muscles to contract in order to release the uterine lining (endometrium). Prostaglandins aren’t bad (they are important for blood clots, inducing labour, etc.), but if certain prostaglandins are high in your cycle – this can predispose to more painful menstrual cramping.
I have seen great variation in the amount of time it takes for a woman’s period to return and regulate. To start, prolactin is the main hormone responsible for milk production. And when elevated (hence, for breastfeeding) it works to prevent ovulation.
Amenorrhea: the absence of your period.
And then amenorrhea is divided into 2 categories: primary and secondary.
We’re going to talk about secondary amenorrhea, which can be observed as: the absence of a period for 3 months in women who had previously had REGULAR cycles, or the absence of a period for 6 months in women who had already been experiencing IRREGULAR cycles.
I talk a lot about cortisol, but it doesn’t exist as a lonely hormone. If you look closely, you can see that the thyroid (see TSH, T4, T3 and rT3) and adrenal glands (ACTH, cortisol) are tightly connected. The (+) and (-) icons indicate positive and negative feedback throughout this entire axis – how fascinating.