June 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 12

WE ARE PARKS AND RECREATION
Mindfulness for Balance Over Burnout
By Katie Garrett, CPRP
W
hen you think about " burnout, " you probably can define it
more with a feeling than words. I like the classic imagery
of a matchstick being burnt at both ends. Burnout happens
when we can't or don't properly recover from workplace
stress. That buildup of stress becomes overwhelming and affects both our
mental and physical health. According to the World Health Organization,
which classified " burnout " as an occupational phenomenon in 2019, burnout
is defined by feelings of exhaustion or low energy, a mental distance
and cynicism related to work, and reduced efficacy. While burnout is related
specifically to work stress, other stressors outside of work also impact
our level of resilience.
Perhaps an image comes to mind
when you think about the word
" mindfulness. " Popular culture has
focused on this term a lot in the past
few years, often with a graphic of a
healthy-looking person in a pretzellike
pose in some idyllic location.
For me, mindfulness is focusing on
whatever I'm doing at the moment.
I also like to practice mindfulness in
the form of meditation as well as in
doing everyday tasks.
You can practice this by bringing
attention to your breath. Can you
feel it in your body? How long can
you keep your focus there? Everyone
gets pulled away by thoughts
many times. The mental fitness
" rep " happens when you realize
you've been pulled away and intentionally
come back to focus on
your breathing. If focusing on your
breath doesn't feel right, try focusing
on your hands or feet.
I like to use a synonym for
mindfulness, " mental fitness, " to
better convey what it is and how
to practice it. We all know we
must flex and work our muscles
from time to time to keep them
strong and in working order. The
same idea applies to mindfulness,
or mental fitness. Every time we
practice mindfulness, we are flexing
our mental muscles, therefore,
strengthening our mental fitness.
Physiology
Our central nervous system has
two parts - the sympathetic (flight
or fight) and parasympathetic (rest
and digest). We've all had our
fight-or-flight
response
triggered
at one time or another - how
does that feel? When this happens,
your heartbeat may skyrocket, you
may get flushed or clammy, or you
might want to throw something
or scream. When our sympathetic
nervous
system
is
triggered, it
sends energy to our muscles so we
can react. Too much of this leads to
built-up stress, causing burnout. To
counteract our sympathetic nervous
system, we want to intentionally
activate our parasympathetic
nervous system through activities,
like
deep
breathing,
stretching,
light movement or laughter.
Our brains have a way of creEvery
time we practice
mindfulness, we are flexing our
mental muscles.
12 Parks & Recreation | JUNE 2 0 22 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
ating pathways when we practice
something new - this is called
neuroplasticity. Thanks to this process,
we can form new and lasting
habits. The best way to overcome
burnout is to build a toolkit of
practices that work best for your
life. Find a podcast, a mindfulness
app, a book or a teacher to help create
this new habit. Practicing mindfulness
will allow us to find balance
and recover faster from stress.
Katie Garrett, CPRP, is Marketing and
Digital Communications Manager at Fox
Valley Park District (kgarrett@fvpd.net).
June 2022 - Parks & Recreation

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