What happens to your brain under stress and burnout?
Under stress, your brain is spending too much time in what’s called high amplitude beta. It’s a state of chronic stress and anxiety. Cortisol is being pumped through your body.
Stress feels like you don’t have control over or a break from the pressure.
This state feeds on itself, because in high amplitude beta, you’re cut off from the other resources of your mind and consciousness.
You’re disconnected from things like creative problem-solving when you need them most.
Your brain might still produce theta and delta frequencies – you just can’t access the essential information of those states.
As chronic stress becomes acute stress, you start moving into survival mode.
It’s like a car running in overdrive. It can only go so long like that before you start to fry the engine.
We’re very adaptive as humans. That has benefits, obviously.
But it can be a problem when it comes to stress.
When you go through a long or intense period of stress, your mind and body adjust to help you keep going.
Your depleted state can become your new normal.
Even though you’re not functioning as well anymore – not thinking as clearly, body in distress.
It’s easy to not notice that you’re running at half mast (Or not to know what to do if you do notice).