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During the heart of the pandemic, Joshua Rosenthal noticed—as we all did—the toll it was taking on overworked doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals. Burnout was understandably rampant.

They’re doing everything in their power to take care of everybody else, he thought, but who’s taking care of them?

That’s what inspired the Institute for Integrative Nutrition founder to write his latest book, Heal the Healer: A Self-Care Guide for Wellness Workers and Caregivers. The book seeks to help caregivers, healers, and helpers find balance in their lives, decrease their stress levels, and set boundaries and limitations.

“So many graduates of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition —including doctors and nurses — have a persona in which they kind of like being a hero, being giving and kind and thoughtful to other people,” Rosenthal says. "But often, self-care is not something high on their priority list.”

Establishing Boundaries and Taking Time to Recharge

In the book, Rosenthal provides practical advice and lays out actionable exercises that wellness workers and caregivers can do to protect their energy, find greater work-life balance, and experience more joy.

But the overarching theme is taking time away from work and feeding yourself in other ways, so you can come back to work refreshed, energized, and inspired to make change.

“For all of history, there was a Sabbath,” Rosenthal explains. “In all cultures, it was built in that people need to pause. Today it's go, go, go. People often are working through the weekends. They’re not working 9 to 5, they’re working 9 to 11.

“It’s important to have a good boundary between work and non-work, so people can fill in their primary food and Circle of Life. If you do that, you have more time for cooking, eating well, taking care of yourself, exercising, and spending time with family and friends.”

Read More: How the Circle of Life Exercise Works

Rosenthal is certainly a proponent of meditation and yoga, but he explains that there’s a reason people don’t do them regularly. The go, go, go mentality — which is especially pervasive in the United States — prevents people from taking the time to stop, take a breath, recalibrate, and center themselves. That’s the first, and most critical, step to avoid burnout. And it’s most essential for caregivers and wellness workers, who spend so much time and energy giving themselves to others.

Read More: 8 Ways to Avoid Burnout at Work

The Better You Take Care of Yourself, the More Effective You’ll Be

Caregivers and wellness workers understand how important it is to slow down, take a moment, and make time to take care of themselves. And because of their extensive health education, they’re generally knowledgeable about how to practice self-care.

So why is it sometimes difficult for them to implement it?

Rosenthal believes that those who enter this field—from doctors and nurses to Health Coaches and life coaches—are generally wired differently than the rest. Their mission is to help and take care of others, and that becomes their sole purpose. They put others before themselves, in many cases to their detriment.

“Human beings can often be selfish, but the people who go into healthcare are often the opposite of that,” Rosenthal says. “They’re very unselfish people who, from their heart and soul, really want to help and care for other human beings. And it's very rewarding.

“I remember the first time I did health coaching and someone got well after having seen doctors. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I did that.’ You feel like a rock star. You feel so great, and it can be addicting to help more people and make a big difference in the world. It feeds itself in a certain way, and we need to set boundaries.”

Rosenthal also says that wellness workers and caregivers need to remind themselves that the better they take care of themselves, the more effective they’ll be at caring for others. If your personal care suffers, your work will take a hit, too.

“It's like when you’re on a plane, and they say, ‘Put your safety vest on first before you put it onto your child,’” he says. “Health coaches need to learn and understand that you're not going anywhere if you don't take care of yourself. You could do it for a year or two or three, but eventually, it will catch up with you.”

Reflecting on 30+ Years of IIN (+ the Future of Health Coaching)

More than 30 years after Rosenthal first founded IIN, the bestselling author has seen it evolve from a small New York City kitchen into a global online health and wellness education platform with 160,000 graduates in over 175 countries. He’s also witnessed health coaching go from a niche offering to a mainstream service.

And with the ongoing shortage of doctors and nurses, Health Coaches are, in some cases, becoming the first line of defense in the healthcare industry. As a result, their demand continues to increase (and the need for self-care becomes even more critical). Doctor visits are often quick and hurried, whereas Health Coaches have more time to dedicate themselves to your well-being. 

“It's a real luxury in today's world to have someone be with you for an hour,” the healthcare pioneer says, “to really get deeper into what's going on. To address not only the physical symptoms, but also the mental, emotional, and spiritual ones.”

Looking ahead to the future, Rosenthal hopes that more insurance companies will cover health coaching sessions. Partial coverage—if not full—would go a long way, as would a fixed fee or an arrangement in which you get x number of sessions covered per year before you pay out of pocket.

“I think everyone would go see a Health Coach if it was covered by insurance,” Rosenthal says. “That would be the biggest breakthrough for health coaching.”

Learn from 95+ of the world’s leading holistic health, coaching, and business experts in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition’s comprehensive Health Coach Training Program. Discover how to nourish your body and mind, on and off the plate, and how to empower others to do the same as a Certified Health Coach. Enroll now.