A Guide For Overcoming Burnout
It's 10am, I'm clutching a cup of coffee and rubbing my head, wondering why I cannot shake this feeling of exhaustion. Everything is making me feel so agitated, I'm way snappier than usual and I don't like it!
I'm burned out - which is a phase I don't actually like, especially having just blow out a candle and see how final being burned out is for a candle.
But for us, it doesn't have to be. We can pick ourselves up from here. The fastest way to do that is actually to ...
drumroll, please.
dundundundundundundundundundundundundundun.
Be Still and Get To Know Overwhelm
... to sit still right where you are and allow yourself to really feel this feeling of overwhelm.
Getting to know exactly what you feel like when your nervous system is overwhelmed is a helpful way to begin to monitor yourself and cater to your needs.
Learn to understand what it means when your mind, body and current reality are speaking to you in the Languae of the Subconscious.
So as you are, sitting in the middle of overwhelm, reading these words know that you are not alone. As I type these words, I am taking a look at what it feels like too. I also am learning to decode the Subconscious to understand it and harness the power it brings.
For you, right now, in this space of overwhelm- does it feel like tension in your body? Do it feel like a racing mind? Does it feel like a very noticeable heartbeat. Is it all of the above? Is it none of the above? Perhaps it's a sense of detachment? Numbness?
Overwhelm can show up differently for different people AND the way it shows up for one individual can change overtime.
Ultimately it is a sense or a feeling that you cannot keep up with life as it is. Which translates from Subconscious to Conscious as, "something needs to change".
Change just one thing, just for today.
Change something. Just one thing. And it will lead to you changing more and more things. For example, if you are feeling burnout from your work load - takes space
From family - take space
From financial strain - switch perspective
From health - change food
Do these is short challenges.
But so as not to take of the insurmountable pressure of having you whole life transformation on your shoulders while you're already not feeling your best, use this powerful phrase. "just for today, I am going to ..." and now add what you're going to change just for today."
Tomorrow if you fall off, back slide, front flip, side kick, twist out... you get it, that's totally okay. It's just for one day that you make this change and you see how you go afterwards.
It's all about being kind to yourself and recognising that this is a process, it has to take time for it to take effect, and so, while time is being took you do what you can just one day at a time.
The power behind this phrase?
Reportedly, "Dr. Crane Says”, by Dr. Frank Crane is an article The 1921 Boston Daily Globe which focused on a list of ten, “Just for Today” suggestions for his readers to use on a daily basis.
“Just for Today, I will try to live through this day only, and not tackle my whole life-problem at once.”
Because we tend to face behavioral change by breaking the behavior into smaller more manageable chunks (partializing) we can see ourselves completing a small task. When you can see yourself doing something, and intention has been set and this gears your brain the help you actually make this vision a reality.
What are some simple activites to welcome small powerful change quickly?
here's some super simple things you can implement right away.
💧 drink more water
🧘🏾♀️ sit still
👄 say no
🫁 deep breaths
✍🏿 journal
👄 express how you're feeling
📱 go offline
🤒 take a sick day
📄 brain dump your worries
🌳 go for a walk
🪞 reflect on life recently
Pick a time frame, set a time and do one of the above for that long.
1 minute
5 minutes
10minutes
Let Your Truth Guide You; Express Yourself
Express yourself. You have to let the people around you know how you're feeling.
Go ahead, do it right now, these words will be here for you when you're back.
Send a text
Make a phone call
Send an email
Know of that office door
Get on you knees and it play room and tell your little one
Whoever need to hear it, who ever you need to express it to - go now and do that for yourself. Like I said, this is a guide. You follow it and you'll feel better. You read it and ... you'll know what to do, but you just won't be doing it.
Making your needs known is how you set boundaries and expectations. Boundaries and expectations, once met, create your reality. Make your needs know and begin to create around you a life that serves you.
What did they say? If it was a baby you were talking to, how did you feel? Did you feel heard? And more importantly, do you feel empowered?
Using your voice to speak your truth is an ancient form of medicine and healing. Your own voice is healing to your mind, body and soul.
It's nice when the people around us can hear and accept our boundaries, expectations and needs. It's better when we accept them, no matter how other people respond. If you went ahead and spoke out your truth, you are now in a position to reach for your rejuvenated self.
Now, Get up and Go do what you have to to heal
I'm gliding around in my room, tapping away at the keyboard getting these words out and smiling because I can feel the weight already falling off your shoulders.
So far we have sat with our overwhelm and begun to really get to know it - as an experience in its own right.
We've decided to make some change 'just for today' so as not to perpetuate the sense of overwhelm.
We have express ourselves our needs and our hopes to our loved ones
And now it it time ...
To take some action.
Get up right now and go lie down.
Get up right now and go for that walk.
Get up right now and go clear that laptop.
The empowered feeling you got from telling someone how you feel, take it with you, and know that where this empowered feeling is going to lead you to more empowered places.
How long does it take to heal from Burnout?
Recovering from burnout can take anywhere from 6 weeks to 5 years. When you've reached a place of true burnout your nervous system is so out of flow that it needs to be reset and this takes repetition and time.
Overcoming burnout isn't something that happens overnight, it's a shift in your lifestyle, which means a shift in the way you treat yourself, your space, your time and how you allows others to treat those things to. You should come back to this guide everyday for 28days - but I'll let you off if you come back just when you really feel like you need it!
You've got this and I've got you!
As always I'm sending you so much love, light and good energy.