You have been working at maximum velocity. Long working hours mean you have little time to rest, exercise or sit down to a healthy and relaxed meal. When you do finish work, there is peer pressure to head out to play as hard as you have worked.
This has been happening over a period of time now, and you feel physically drained and mentally exhausted. You feel overwhelmed by your workload and are starting to lose the ability to think creatively. In your position, the pressure to perform is great and you may have turned to drugs, alcohol or both to keep you going.
At some point, you’ll reach the breaking point: mental exhaustion, burnout and potentially substance addiction. This is not a great scenario to be living and one that you can’t sustain forever.
How do I know I am reaching burnout?
Serious-stress syndrome or executive burnout is a work-related illness that affects many thousands of executives and entrepreneurs every year.
It’s important to realise that burnout doesn’t happen overnight, it’s an accumulation of ongoing stress, and it’s not unusual to see high performing executives and entrepreneurs pushing their mind and body to this stage.
When they do, there are key symptoms that shouldn’t be ignored.
Ideally, a person suffering from two or more of these symptoms will seek professional help, especially if they are starting to self-medicate with drugs and alcohol.
- Reduced capability
- Feelings of pessimism
- Feel physically and mentally exhausted most of the time
- Using alcohol or drugs to help you perform at work
- Personal relationships are suffering
- You find it hard to prioritise effectively
- And put off tasks because you are not thinking clearly.
We are intricate beings.
As human beings, we are intricately woven into our community of family, friends and workplace. And to really understand the root of any mental health disorder, it’s important to understand the society and circumstances from which we come.
We are influenced by so many factors, such as age, gender, culture, language, heritage, faith, life experience, relationship status, sexual and gender identity, and our beliefs.
At White River Manor, we practice a holistic approach to burnout treatment. Using a combination of traditional therapy methods, cutting-edge science, and ancient philosophy.
When a client first arrives, we spend time learning about the intricacies of their life. What is their community, and what are the circumstances surrounding their burnout? We then personalise the recovery Program around individual needs.
To do this, we move beyond traditional therapy methods.
Bringing together psychotherapeutic treatments, mindfulness, creativity, nutrition, exercise and positive experiences, trips and activities.
What is a holistic approach?
A holistic approach doesn’t just focus on the condition or mental health aspect; it also takes into account a person’s wellness.
It looks at the whole person, taking all factors into consideration, such as a patient’s physical, emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing.
Each of our situations is unique. And our feelings and experiences around burnout and how we cope are exclusive to us; therefore the path to recovery must be adapted to the individual. The only solution is a holistic approach which focuses on our whole being.
What are the benefits of holistic treatment for executive burnout?
When choosing a Program, it’s essential to find a specialist team who can listen and interpret your situation and offer a wide range of treatments which work on the whole person, not just the mind.
Your treatment should follow a holistic and personalised approach because the benefits of treating the whole person are endless.
- Restore a healthy balance
- Recover and build up your life again
- And have the confidence to make significant life changes
- Increase energy
- Stay focused
- Reduce stress
- Improve productivity
- Cutting negative behaviour and bad habits
- Improving mental health
- Get sexual relationships back on track
- Coping with difficult situations
White River Manor Holistic Treatment
The executive burnout recovery program at White River Manor is tailored to an individual client’s specific situation.
We practice a holistic, person-orientated method which focuses on burnout symptoms within the individual. We first look at the root of the problem and treat from the inside out.
This approach helps to shift the sense of overwhelm and to help you break out of the vicious circle that’s impossible to do when you’re stuck in a daily routine.
Our purpose is to get you back on track for a positive and healthy lifestyle, one where healthy habits replace unwholesome ones, and you walk away with a clear mind ready for a more optimistic and successful future.
During a stay at White River Manor, our client’s can participate in a range of treatments. Our approach combines a comprehensive therapy Program with wellness treatments and activities.
Our therapeutic Program
Each treatment plan will include individual and group therapy time. Our world-class team has decades of experience. During your stay, you will have access to addiction specialists, clinical psychologists, counselling psychologists, a professor of psychiatry, a CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) expert, and a behavioural specialist.
The Program features a wide range of therapy sessions. None of the sessions is obligatory, but all offer huge benefits to your mental health and wellbeing.
- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
- Music and Art Therapy
- Solution-focused Therapy
- Introduction to the 12-step program
- Trauma-specific Therapy
- Pastoral-spiritual Therapy
- Spontaneous Healing Intrasystemic Process
Our wellness Program
As important as nourishing our minds, our bodies also need healthy nourishment. When we are working to the limit and prioritising work, we forget the enjoyment that comes with physical activity and experiences that take us out of the norm.
Eating healthily and undertaking regular exercise, getting enough hours of sleep and steering away from negative activities and enjoying positive experiences, all help improve our mental, spiritual and physical wellbeing.
At White River Manor, our wellness program is as important as our therapeutic one when it comes to treating executive burnout. During your stay, we aim to put back balance into your life and restore your motivation through fun and healthy activities.
- Wildlife Encounters at Kruger National Park
- Safari Day Trip
- Exploring South Africa’s Great Outdoors
- Adventure Sports
- Aerial Activities
- Water Rafting
- Quad Biking
- Tennis, cycling, golf
- On-site Spa
- Orphanage Outreach
- Or just kick back with a movie and some popcorn!
Nutritional Health
During your stay, we’ll also focus on nutritional health. Many of our clients have got used to eating on the go, eating unhealthy food, or not eating at all. This is especially prevalent for those suffering from substance abuse.
At White River Manor, our in-house chef team prepares every meal from scratch using fresh local produce and whole foods, which support the fight against mental exhaustion and stress.
Aftercare & Support
Our aftercare plan is the final block in our 360-degree holistic recovery program. We understand that changes you make during your stay at White River Manor will often be difficult to replicate when you get back into the pattern and routine of work and daily life.
Towards the end of your stay, we’ll work together to create an action plan that aims to stop you regressing back to bad habits and where possible we’ll refer you to local professionals when you need added support.
