The #1 health epidemic: stress & burnout

The Covid-19 pandemic has tremendously challenged our resilience and our healthcare systems. Thankfully, biotechnological innovation will apparently save humanity with vaccines.

But there is another killer epidemic, a silent one, that will not disappear with vaccines: neurocognitive disability caused by stress, anxiety and burnout.

A 2016 WHO mental health report was speaking of the greatest health epidemic of the 21^st century, with, on a global scale, 615 million people affected and $1 trillion in annual productivity loss.

But despite these astounding figures, mental health was still viewed as a taboo topic in the workplace

Then in 2019, WHO officially recognized Burnout as a medical diagnosis, finally giving a legitimate voice to this epidemic and in 2020, Covid hit.
And it all started to change.

With a July 2020 study reporting that up to 70% of workers in the USA are reporting burnout symptoms, it is estimated that the stress and burnout epidemic has now claimed more than one billion people.

Companies cannot ignore mental health anymore.

But how did we get there?

In the 1980’s the Biophilia hypothesis suggested that humans are hardwired to connect with Nature. Without Nature connection, people seem to be more disease-prone, as observed in cities.

In 2021, it has been scientifically proven by more than 900 publications that when our five senses reciprocate with “active ingredients” in Nature, deep restoration of our health happens.

And this only proves what indigenous peoples have known for thousands of years…

As Humans, we thrived and pushed the limits of our development thanks to our sensory awareness in Nature.

However, with urbanization and the pervasive use of technologies, we have been uprooted from our home and have dis-connected from Nature.

This dis-connection from Nature leads to dis-connection from others and dis-connection from ourselves, our purpose.

And this cascade of dis-connections leads to mental dis-ease and this epidemic ravaging us.

What is the antidote (or vaccine) to this epidemic?

We may have forgotten our home, but our senses haven’t, and they yearn for the “active ingredients” that they are hardwired to reciprocate with.

Science has shown that to avoid burnout, we need to act on both levels whereby stress harms us:

• Physiological stress
• Behavioral stress (mental fatigue)

Recent clinical evidence points to Forest Bathing as the most powerful practice for both: physiological stress recovery and executional attention restoration.

A recent article in Wall Street Journal recently coined Forest bathing “the new 10,000 steps” that doctors are recommending to tap into Nature’s therapeutic effects and restore mental damage inflicted by Covid. 

However, just “being” in Nature is not enough to fight stress and avoid burnout effectively. Connecting through our senses in a Forest bathing walk has been demonstrated to fight both types of stress that lead to burnout:  physiological and behavioral.

So if you’re thinking that just putting aside “relax” time is a solution, think again.

It has become increasingly clear: this dis-connection leads to dis-ease and such dis-function in the very workplaces we keep aiming to optimize.

By 2050, 70% of humanity will be living in urban areas, thereby accelerating the feeling of dis-connection and dis-ease that Humans are suffering from.

As urbanization accelerates, and technology leapfrogs, this dis-connection will only get worse.

…And, simultaneously, we are running from the most powerful ally Humans and Business Leaders could hope for,

Nature.

The harsh reality is that any company designed for success in the 20^th century is doomed to failure in the 21^st century.

So how can we navigate successfully and thrive in the VUCA world, especially as Business Leaders?

By cultivating Purpose, Resilience, Agility and Innovation at the core.

And this is the perfect time to rediscover our innate alliance with Nature, the most powerful ally a Business Leader could hope for in the VUCA world.

~ Richard Branson

And once we have rediscovered this innate alliance with Nature, we can share that secret with our teams.

As “taking care” means “tending to the needs of”, Nature connection is an asset that leaders can gift their organizations.

This is a new, deeper, 21st century way to take care that particularly touches those who grew up in an era where “connection” means technology, such as Millennials.

Whether it is signs of burnout, stalled team dynamics, poor retention, stifled innovation, an organizational transition challenge, or even challenging family dynamics, Natural Leadership is here to let a different leadership mindset emerge for you.

Natural Leadership addresses the problem of dis-connection that lies at the root of the VUCA world we have entered, and draws on the wisdom of Nature to equip you with the tools to restore health and thrive as leaders.