If I Experienced Burnout Again, This Is What I Would Do Differently | & 10 Signs of Burnout
A few weeks ago, a low energy and mood waltzed in seemingly out of nowhere. I suddenly found myself having a hard time being in my body and going about my days. Prior to that, I had been thriving, if I say so myself. So, what was going on?
At first, I thought it was a couple of days’ sadness - you know, life sometimes throws you a curve of mental and emotional afflictions, and you just stay in them until they pass. Or maybe it was pre-period symptoms, due to be gone when my moon time arrives. After a week of this, a podcast I was listening to mentioned that the cosmic energies at the time may create a sense of burnout. Burnout! - That was it!
I relaxed because I was finally able to name what I was feeling. Yet, this didn’t fully solve my problem. Burnout from what? I wondered.
It was time to take stock. What was I being invited to reflect on? What was bubbling in the background that required my attention?
Coincidentally, I was sharing posts on Instagram on how I worked through my job burnout over the last years - the events, mindset shifts and practices that got me to the other side. Maybe this wasn’t so coincidental, after all. Could it be that these posts were medicine for me, too? I began to ask myself: If I had to go through burnout again, what would I do differently?
What were my biggest lessons? Which things could I have done more or less of? What would I say to my past self?
Those questions circulated in my mind one evening, as I struggled to sleep, and I carried them into my morning journalling. My pages and pen, indeed, had answers for me. Today, I’d like to share them with you.
Firstly, with the wisdom gained from experience (for we can intellectualise all we like, but experience is a special teacher), I now know that you can’t control these waves of adversity. They come through divine timing and leave your body the same way. We simply need to allow them to complete their movement. Last time, I searched for every reason for my low mood until, finally, I realised that I was experiencing job burnout and I let go into the suffering. Now, I had just began the same way - looking for logical reasons, instead of surrendering and accepting the burnout.
If you’d asked me 3 years ago what was wrong with my life, I would have said nothing… and found a list of things to be grateful for. Resisting the hard truth is an endless loop with no answers or forward-motion. Lesson 1: Don’t analyse logically.
Secondly, then, if I had to experience burnout again… Scratch the ‘if’ - I was experiencing burnout again (albeit, it would be gone very swiftly this time), I would not search for an answer. I would tell myself that this is a drop-in by Mr/ Mrs Hard Time and He/ She blocks our mind so skilfully that we can’t find the light switch. We can pick, prod and tilt our head this way and that way, but it won’t help. We just have to be in the darkness and know that no ‘Aha’ will bypass this this life’s season. The transition to the next will come when Mr/ Mrs Happy Time is ready to take over.
With those realisations, we can relaxxxx. Let go, loosen up, lower our expectations of ourselves, and just surrender to the hardship. Your head will feel foggy, your energy will be low, you won’t be as motivated to do things and the tasks that were once easy will be hard. It might start to feel super laborious to take care of ourselves; washing our hair becomes the most back-breaking task. Let yourself cry, and acknowledge the heaviness in your chest. We can’t rush this process, so we might as well fully be in it. Only this way can we gain the gold needed for the person (us) who comes out on the other side.
The amount the we are willing to experience difficulty is equal to the amount we reap once we are out of the tunnel. Lesson 2: Surrender.
Thirdly, don’t forget to be there for yourself. Show up to your journal, make time for gentle movement and exercise, and make plans to do things. Moving your body will be key because you might find the foetal position your favourite; however, emotions can get lodged in our bodies, so release them through yoga, pilates, a walk or a solo dance party. Make plans to leave your house so you don’t forget there is a whole world out there! You don’t even have to do it with people - simply drive to a hill or a place in nature, sit and look out at the land. Breathe in, cry and be with yourself. Lesson 3: Take care of you.
Fourthly, and in part contrast to lesson 3, don’t forget to occasionally make plans with other people. Yes, honour your winter, but don’t completely shut yourself off if you can. Even if it feels like dragging a bear, take yourself to that yoga class. Connect with people, be physically around others and say ‘Good morning’ to the passers-by on your morning walk. We don’t need to completely hide during our lows.
In fact, I often find myself wanting to hide not because I have a need to be alone, but because I want others to only see me in “my best” (in quotations because what does that even mean?!). Deep down, we desire to be seen in our pain, because we want to be witnessed in our truth and to have our reality confirmed. It makes us feel supported and less alone. Suffering can make us feel utterly isolated, but we are not. We all suffer, or have suffered, and we can help each other. So, go outside, let people see you and forgive yourself for not being the most perfect, upbeat person right now. Stay in the back of the yoga class if you need, or don’t volunteer to be the one who orders drinks, but still show up in your own way. Lesson 4: Show up to life, even in small ways.
Fifthly, ask for help! This was a major one for me during my job burnout. I asked for help by seeing a therapist, I asked for help by sharing my daily struggles with my parents, and I asked for help when I told friends that I was having a hard time. You could ask for others to take over some of the home chores, or for time off work. You can also ask to be listened to without being given advice.
Speak out what is inside, even if you can’t find the right words. Express what’s heavy on your heart with a trusted friend or family member, or sign up to mentoring, coaching, therapy or an astrology reading - these can all help us to move through burnout and difficulty, and find some purpose and release in it. Lesson 5: Ask for help.
Sixthly, create something from your suffering. Draw, write, sing, cook, garden or build something. Remember how inventive you were as a child? Do something that honours your inner creative and weed out the torturous feelings by turning them into art. It doesn’t have to be beautiful, perfect or shared. It can be something you keep for yourself, or it can be gifted to the bin. Just create and transform this deep, deep experience into something tangible. Lesson 6: Make art.
Finally, this time round I knew that I wanted to pray more. Meditation, prayer to the Universe and God, and using all of the cosmic help for strength to get through this. Difficult times are not for shutting off from a belief in a higher power. It is when we use that belief to ask for help, support and trust. Of course, the Universe doesn’t want us to suffer; so, there must be some gold in this. Feel it, let the experience cleanse and awaken you, and know that everything is sacred. And if it feels hard to look at things that way right now, then at least remember that you are so much more than your body and this hard experience. You are a beautiful, strong being, and you will be able to get through this. Lesson 7: Pray and remember you are divine.
As it turns out, my feelings of burnout may have been due to cosmic energies, or my period, or simply divinely timed to invite me to create this post and appreciate my journey, as they passed quite quickly. (Clearly, Lesson 1 still needs integrating in me. :D)
If I was to genuinely go through a long period of burnout, though, I would be coming back to this post and using it as my guide.
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Signs you might be burned out:
Your energy is lower
You sense a lack of clarity on what’s wrong
Your motivation is lower
Things that brought you joy don’t do so as much
Things that were easy now feel hard
Taking care of yourself feels like a burden
Being in your body feels challenging and uncomfortable
Being fully present with yourself and grounding into your feelings fills you with dread
You find yourself crying often
There is a heaviness in your chest, and maybe your whole body
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Whatever situation this finds you in, I am sending you love and I want to remind you that everything always happens as it needs to because something much bigger than us is in control. I trust that you already know that we’re only sent what we can work through, but I’m reminding you anyway.
Hugs and light for your journey xxx
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For background, I went through burnout in my corporate job in my recent few years. This eventually lead me to leaving my job, but it was no small feat! Through therapy, coaching, yoga, journalling and a variety of spiritual teachings, I was able to shift my thinking and values, and develop the self-trust I needed to begin a new path. If you find yourself in a similar situation, my 13-week Align My Life Program may be a good fit for you.
