.png){kind=small}
2020 was a year full of surprises, as you might agree. Filled with change, insecurities and not knowing what will happen, globally as well as personally. I found for myself that this year was a key life changer year. After the first lockdown, I connected to my inner creativity and started creating. Working on my own personal project for self-employment and starting something that would spark my light, since the corporate world rather dimmed it. While I felt like more connecting to who I truly am, the more my life around me started crumbling. Crumbling. Crumbling. Until burning high alert on fire, and finally exploded and came shattered down around me. This was my July 2020. Ashes.
I just separated from my husband, then going back full-time to my corporate job, supporting my parents with their moving houses, no time to myself to breath and digest what is happening to me. I completely hit rock bottom. Unable to sleep at night. Stress flashbacks. Feeling unable to cope with my environment and responsibilities. I felt helpless. Ending at the doctors and being told I reached the minus area of me energy reserves: BURNOUT. I was off work and got time to heal, but it was not enough. After 6 weeks I went back to work, just to have a fall back within 2 weeks. I ended up in the darkest place of places. Numb, empty, helpless. My head and body were like two separated entities. They were no longer talking with each other. My feelings were numb. I could cry for days, but at the same time feel nothing but emptiness. My head was empty. Unable to make sense of anything. So, I just went into autopilot for a few more weeks. I decided to wave goodbye to the corporate world and leave my corporate job by end of October. Which I did. I managed to get through those weeks, with long working hours, sorting a divorce, planning my new chapter and move. I moved countries and this November month hit home. I finally had time for myself, to be by myself, in a completely new environment. I was completely burned to ashes. Feeling nothing. When I thought I was in a dark place before, then I came to understand, I was in an even darker place now. But while I was working with a psychotherapist this year already, this time I decided to re-do what she told me be back then and add my own little sprinkle of healing input to it. After all I am a coach and energy healer, so cannot be that hard to help myself, can it? (at least that is what I told myself) What helps restoring yourself, when being burned out holistically? I will share this with you shortly. First, let me just tell you the three stages of burnout.
Three stages of burnout
Emotional instability and feeling of constant stress – you struggle to let stress go and relax, also your emotions are instable and can lead to extreme reactions i.e. screaming, shouting, sudden crying etc.
Distancing from others and depersonalisation from oneself – you not only withdraw from other people and your work or daily tasks but also from yourself. It is hard for you to understand yourself and you moved into a deep autopilot of doing, thinking and tendency to not feeling much at that stage anymore.
Constant failure and inability to do your daily tasks – feeling of numbness, inability to cope with your daily tasks at hand from small things like taking a shower over to driving a car or going to work.
Healing remedies
Healing remedies can vary from person to person, as the reason what lead you to burnout can be multifaceted. Especially, it would be great to get some therapy in, if you might have experienced quite some trauma in the past, that needs healing. However, on a general basis, here are some holistic approaches of things you can do that will help you when dealing with burnout as well as great tools for burnout prevention – those are also the most common ones, I recommend my clients:
Give yourself time
Understand it took you more than a month to get into the situation you are in right now, so don’t expect healing to take place within 2 weeks. Give yourself, your body and mind and soul time.
Take time out
Get a sick note, be off work. Go to a place in nature. Disconnect from all the business and familiar surroundings around you. Take a break. When I was during my first burnout phase staying with my parents, as much as they were lovely and caring, it just didn’t serve me. What I needed was space just for myself and own healing. Away from all the stuff that could stress me out or disrupt my healing journey.
Spend time in nature
Spend more time in nature, forests, parks. With nature and animals. These things allow us to ground ourselves and just be in the moment. It gives us some energy back to recharge. Besides nothing beats fresh air and body movement.
Lifestyle factors
Your lifestyle plays a huge role in healing any mental health problem. May it be burnout, depression, anxiety, or overall health.
Are you eating healthy? Are you getting enough fruits and veggies in? Your body needs the vitamins and minerals for your nervous and endocrine system. But also, healthy carbs, fats and protein.
How is your sleep? Try to avoid napping in the afternoon and rather aim to sleep only at night. I did the reverse until my therapist told me not to nap, which really helped with a better sleep at night.
Move your body. It can be walking in the park, every day for 30 minutes. OR better add some other form of exercise to it that helps with balancing the cortisol levels in your blood and elevating your feel-happy-hormones serotonin.
Spend time doing things that make you happy. Painting, gardening, reading, knitting, fishing, no matter what you feel does your soul good, do it.
Don’t push yourself, be kind and understanding to yourself.
Do not do something you don’t want to do. Go with the flow and do whatever feels right for you. Maybe you want to walk for 1 hour and after just watch TV, and then later paint and then in the evening go for a walk again but this time with a friend. IF you just feel like doing nothing, it is okay. You can just sit and be in the moment. Just know it will all get better. IF you feel like crying, cry. Crying is great because it releases some stuck emotions from your body, physically and emotionally. Be kind to yourself.
Meditate or any meditative form of doing
It is a great form of re-centering yourself, your mind and reducing stress. Great tool to create balance, inner peace and to ground yourself. Meditation might not be for you, no problem there are many forms of meditation like gardening, breathing, bird-watching, exercising, walking.
Practice Yoga or any other forms of body movement.
Surround yourself or spend time with people who understand you.
Spend time with people, where you feel comfortable to be around with, where you feel comfortable being around with, without any expectations or feelings to have to be or do something to be accepted.
Who understand that you are going through a rough time and are here happy to listen to you or do things with you that light you up. Like watching funny movies, going hiking, eating ice-cream etc. Avoid people who make you feel wrong or pressure you to feel any other way.
Find a coach or therapist to work on limiting or negative beliefs and mind-set
Be the most authentic and truest version of yourself.
Stop pleasing others, stop trying to fit in and be accepted. Just be who you are, and your life will adjust to your needs and desires.
May this help your healing and know that you can always reach out if you need more support in burnout prevention or healing!
With love,
Claudia
Comments