Career burnout: Root cause is loss of purpose

Physician and mindful living expert Romila “Dr. Romie” Mushtaq, MD has a unique perspective to discuss career burnout; not only is she a neurologist specializing in mind-body medicine, but she also used the mindfulness-based techniques she teaches to heal herself from career burnout as a physician.

Career burnout is characterized clinically by loss of passion, physical and emotional exhaustion, cynicism and detachment, and feelings of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment.

“Career burnout can lead to stress-related illnesses such as insomnia, anxiety, and ulcers. The Center for Disease Control estimates that 80 percent of doctor’s office visits are due to stress-related illnesses,” Dr. Romie noted.

In her recent TEDx talk in Fargo, N.D., “The Powerful Secret of Your Breath,” Dr. Romie discusses the root cause of career burnout.

“Career burnout arises when our external world is not in alignment with our internal soul compass. The way we find our life purpose is being aligned with our internal soul compass; this is the place within us where all the answers reside – some call it your intuition, your gut instinct, or your internal wisdom.”

Mindfulness, being fully present in the current moment, is as simple as one thing: breathing, Dr. Romie said.

“Being stuck in the past can lead to depression and a feeling of hopelessness. And when we lose hope we cannot heal. When we are worried about the future, we fuel anxiety. Only in the present moment are we truly connected to our dreams and life purpose.”

Dr. Romie combines her expertise and professional experiences in neurology, mind-body medicine and meditation to help individual and corporate clients contend with their stress-infused lives. She teaches how to take mindfulness from the meditation mat into a mindful way of living — and breathing — to prevent or to heal from career burnout. She illuminates the medicine behind the mindfulness and how to connect to life purpose in her TEDx talk: “The Powerful Secret of Your Breath”