Beneath the Surface: Unearthing the Roots of Male Burnout and One Small Mindful Solution with Guest Laney Jones – Episode 169

Hola amigos! Welcome to One Small Bite!

Hola y bienvenidos to the One Small Bite show!
Burnout in men is a chronic problem, and the worst part is how it hides beneath the surface of masculine norms. In this episode, I bring on to the show my amazing dietetic intern Laney Jones to uproot the various culprits that lead to burnout in men, how they show up in men’s mental and physical health, and One Small Bite that leads to a nourished life.

You won’t want to miss this in depth analysis of the effects of burnout, and the one small mindful solution one client took that changed his health.

The fun stuff in this episode…

• Hear about Allen’s story and his challenges with burnout
• Understand what burnout really is and means
• Learn about the three main culprits of burnout in men
• What the evidence shows and doesn’t about burnout in men
• Find out what the opposite of burnout is a how it’s important
• One small mindful solution that helped Allen, and can help you

Episode Show Notes:

Laney Jones
In this episode I bring on a special guest, Laney Jones. Laney was an intern with Morrison Healthcare finishing her dietetic internship and with me for two weeks. I ask most interns to do research in a specific area of interest for my audience, you! This is also part of their requirements to complete their internship in order to sit for the registration board exam to become a registered dietitian nutritionist.

Therefore, I asked Laney to do a deep dive into burnout in men, and to come up with one small solution that you can implement right away to live a more nourished life. And she did an amazing job!

Allen’s Burnout Journey:
In this episode Laney gives us an example of a fake male client modeled after some of the male clients she observed me working with during her rotation. His name is Mr. Allen, and he’s dealing with burnout. Mr. Allen is dealing with increased burnout, social and emotional exhaustion both at home and at work, and this is starting to affect his diet, his physical health, and his mental health. Listen in to get a full understanding of the forms of depersonalization and emotional exhaustion Mr. Allen is dealing with, and how his story applies to the evidence Laney finds in the research.

What is Burnout and What Happens?
Burnout in men is the mental and physical exhaustion that occurs with chronic stress at work and in other areas in life that is characterized by an emotional withdrawal and exhaustion. It can lead to a variety of emotional, health, and mental challenges including cardiovascular diseases, poor sleep patterns, depression, loneliness, and low motivation for self-care. Laney provides examples of Mr. Allen and how his condition mirrors these very same characteristics.

The 3 Critical Burnout Culprits in Men
Laney discusses the research on burnout in men, which in the US is quite limiting. Ok actually, it’s nonexistent. However, she finds research done on both men and women, and tells us about the three main culprits that lead to burnout in mens.

• Emotional Exhaustion – this is the withdrawal mentioned above. This is where men have difficulty connecting with the emotional state, or mask, avoid, ignore, or simply don’t understand their emotional state. In addition to this emotional exhaustion, we learn again about Alexithymia and the challenges men face expressing or understanding their emotions.
• Depersonalization – this is when men start losing their strong social connections and support. They might see asking for help, going to the doctor, or paying attention to their emotions as a sign of weakness. This further isolates men, and can lead to further loneliness or depression and have a very negative impact on a man’s health.
• Personal Achievement – this is the drive to perfection, performance at work or in their minds, acceptance in social groups related to their accomplishments. This in turn creates greater pressure to succeed, playing the comparison game, working endless hours, and not taking breaks.

What Does the Evidence Show
Laney provides a variety of studies that look at these culprits and draws the connections to men’s mental and physical health. She describes each study carefully, providing us with the pros and scrutinizing their limitations in order to help make the connections to the culprits described above and how that relates to men in our society.

Links to studies:

• Noor Dalila IZA, Rosnah I, Ismail NH. Psychosocial stressors at work and well-being of male employees. Med J Malaysia. 2019 Apr;74(2):160-167. PMID: 31079128. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31079128/
• Houkes I, Winants Y, Twellaar M, Verdonk P. Development of burnout over time and the causal order of the three dimensions of burnout among male and female GPs. A three-wave panel study. BMC Public Health. 2011 Apr 18;11:240. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-11-240. PMID: 21501467; PMCID: PMC3101180. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3101180/
• Verhavert Y, De Martelaer K, Van Hoof E, Van Der Linden E, Zinzen E, Deliens T. The Association between Energy Balance-Related Behavior and Burn-Out in Adults: A Systematic Review. Nutrients. 2020 Feb 2;12(2):397. doi: 10.3390/nu12020397. PMID: 32024269; PMCID: PMC7071204. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7071204/
• Esquivel MK. Nutrition Strategies for Reducing Risk of Burnout Among Physicians and Health Care Professionals. Am J Lifestyle Med. 2020 Dec 2;15(2):126-129. doi: 10.1177/1559827620976538. PMID: 33790697; PMCID: PMC7958213. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7958213/
• Salvagioni DAJ, Melanda FN, Mesas AE, González AD, Gabani FL, Andrade SM. Physical, psychological and occupational consequences of job burnout: A systematic review of prospective studies. PLoS One. 2017 Oct 4;12(10):e0185781. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185781. PMID: 28977041; PMCID: PMC5627926. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5627926/
• Maslach C, Leiter MP. Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry. World Psychiatry. 2016 Jun;15(2):103-11. doi: 10.1002/wps.20311. PMID: 27265691; PMCID: PMC4911781. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4911781/

Engagement: The Opposite of Burnout and How It’s Important
Alright, till now we have heard all about the three main culprits that lead to burnout in men. Now, Laney sheds a light on engagement – the opposite of burnout. Yes, it means what you think, or partly…engaging with people and reconnecting to our social environment. This is extremely important, without a doubt. But, Laney provides us with the evidence of the second, and probably more important step of engagement. And that is engaging and confronting our emotions. Being present with what we are feeling to avoid the traps of Alexithymia. We need to engage by creating boundaries and paying attention to old habits that need to be changed.

One Small Mindful Solution to Overcome Burnout
At this part of the show we head back to Mr. Allen. After hearing how emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal achievement is leading to his burnout, he hears us. He wants to engage. We guide him to finding the one small bite that will help him make changes. He really likes the idea of mindful eating. I mean, he came to us for help with his cholesterol, and he feels that mindful eating had helped him in the past. He knows this has power for him.

What’s key here is that Mr. Allen engaged with his burnout through mindful eating, but it wasn’t some magic sauce, or Jehdi mind trick. By eating mindfully just one meal a day, there was a domino effect created. He took the time to eat lunch a few days a week. He’d open his office door. He went to lunch with coworkers, and he forced himself to re-engage.

This led to various changes. This one small step was all it took. But, I’m not going to lie. He had to work at. He had to pay attention to his schedule, be conscious about bring lunch or planning his meal, and it wasn’t easy at first. But one change led to others.
His burnout started to drop out. He had more time with family too.

What Can You Do to Uproot Burnout and Live a Nourished Life
Find one small change. Listen to episode 167 of this show to learn about and apply the recipe for habit change. And, keep at it. It will lead to incredible changes and living a nourished and fulfilling life.

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Chop the diet mentality; Fuel Your Body; and Nourish Your Soul!