Create a Stress-Free Life Without Burnout with Tami Berry, M.D.

“How could I even possibly do all of the work I need to finish?” That’s the million-dollar question every working individual has faced at least once in their career. Whether we realize it or not, too much stress can take a toll on our life.

If you always find yourself thinking about your tasks and responsibilities and worrying over how your to-do list seems to have no end, you can easily be overwhelmed by stress. If this sounds like you, we invite you to take a breather.

In this episode, Dr. Tami Berry joins us to talk about her experience dealing with stress and how she became a stress resilience coach. She shares how to recognize when we have a stress problem and what to do about it. You’re better than you think you are, and you already have what it takes to be successful! But first, you need to take a break. 

If you want to know more about running your business without burnout and living a stress-free life, then this episode is for you.

Here are three reasons why you should listen to this episode:

  1. Recognize if you’re constantly affected by stress. 
  2. Learn how to change your life and shift from a sympathetic state to a parasympathetic state.
  3. Discover a simple tool to help you start managing stress. 

Resources

Episode Highlights

Tami’s Career as a Surgeon  

  • When Tami was in medical school, she expected to become a cardiologist.
  • She then realized that she prefers to be a surgeon because she likes fixing problems. 
  • While being a surgeon was a natural fit, she grew increasingly angry and frustrated by the external forces in the industry.

Her frustrations and stress led her to negative coping mechanisms. Eventually, she walked away and never looked back.

  • Tami then ventured to help people struggling with perfectionism and burnout. 

How We Experience Stress 

We’re often led to carry stressors that are not even ours to carry. Our core beliefs can make us feel like victims of stress and pressure. All types of stress have a common endpoint, where it activates our sympathetic nervous system linked to the fight, flight, or freeze response.

We can strengthen our parasympathetic nervous system to overcome chronic stress.

Tami: “There are so many warning signs that the body gives you that says, ‘Timeout, you need to pay attention to me, [and] this sympathetic overload is hurting me.’”

The Rise of Burnout  

  • Human beings are designed to experience stress for around 5% of our waking hours.
  • However, studies report that people in America spend around 70% of their waking hours in a sympathetic activated state.
  • Being in this activated state is highly detrimental to our bodies.

How to Recognize If You Have a Stress Problem

  • Learn to observe your warning signs, including full-on panic attacks, indigestion, libido issues, and sleeping difficulties.
  • We need to take care of our nervous system.

Tami: “The nervous system is the master communicator for the entire body. That's why our thoughts are so influential on our bodies because it's being transmitted through the nervous system.”

  • If you don’t have a distinct physical ailment, overreactions and persistent negative thoughts are also warning signs.
  • You also need to be careful when you become temperamental.  
  • Chronic activation of our sympathetic nervous system can alter how your brain functions and lead you to be disconnected from love and joy. 

Tami: “If we stay in a chronic sympathetic state, we literally lose our lives. We lose our life force energy that [can be] replenished to us on a cellular level through the parasympathetic nervous system.”

You Can Change

  • Staying in a chronic sympathetic state will drain your energy. We can balance our nervous system in as little as 6 minutes each day. 
  • Don’t lose hope — our brain is highly malleable and can be rewired. 
  • You can use a biofeedback monitoring system to help you become parasympathetic dominant.
  • Being in an activated parasympathetic state can help you process emotions without being reactive, as well as optimize energy and cell use. This can also help you be a better parent!
  • It’s been shown that 3 minutes of practice can give results that last up to eight hours.  

How to Start Managing Stress

  • Depending on your situation, mindfulness and mindful breathing may not help. These practices can instead remind you how stressed you feel.
  • Tami recommends using a biofeedback monitor to objectively measure your different states.

Tami: “A lot of people have tried things like mindfulness. The problem with that is if you're deep in this chronic sympathetic activation, that practice just reminds you how crazy you really feel. The benefit of the biofeedback monitor is it gives you something to focus on.”

  • Remember that time contracts when you’re affected by stress.

Tami: “You become hypercritical of your environment, and everybody around it. And nothing can happen fast enough. So if that sounds like you, give yourself a break.”

  • Learn to give yourself a break and take a few deep breaths. 
  • Your deep breaths should go down the diaphragm and expand your belly.

Benefits of Mastering Stress    

Tami: “Stress is a lot less about what is happening around us and more about what we're letting it do to us.

  • You don’t necessarily need to change your life for everything to change.
  • Often, what’s more important is how we let stress affect us.
  • When you master stress, you will become calm, confident, and courageous.  

Tami: “All of the positive qualities that people are working so hard to have are actually inherent to who they are. What we need to do is chill out.”

Tami’s Advice To Be Stress-Free

  • You’re better than you think you are. 
  • We are often so hard on ourselves. Give yourself a break. 
  • Be compassionate and kind to yourself.

Moshe: “Allow your parasympathetic system to take control — [to] really show up in a different way on a routine regular basis. Consistency is key.”

About Tami

Tami Berry, M.D., is a stress resilience expert and coach who has helped professionals and leaders use stress as a powerful source for renewed energy and confidence for a successful and fulfilling life. She is the Principal Owner of Tami Berry, LLC and Vital Works, LLC. Before becoming a resilience expert, she used to be a staff physician and general surgeon at Main Line Health.

Want to learn more about Tami’s work? Check out her website.

You can also connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.     

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