Burnout: The Burden is Real
BURNOUT: THE BURDEN IS REAL
Burnout. If you’ve ever felt burned out, that word probably has you shuddering (and maybe even shedding a tear, because it’s so miserable to exist this way).
I struggled with burnout for years. And years. It got to the point that it felt so normal that I didn’t know what it was like to live without stress. To have time to myself (even 30 minutes was too hard to find). To feel productive.
Even worse, I realized one day that I’d been existing like this for SO LONG that I forgot —FORGOT — what it feels like to be happy.
I tried to remember a time when I was happy.
With the exception of rare moments over the last 30 years (seriously: for me, this went back to childhood) where I was away from the grind with friends, family or loved ones — people I truly love and enjoy — I realized that I’d been pretty miserable. Or at least, unhappy. Unsatisfied. Stressed and on edge.
Not only that, but I was also dealing with
Unrelenting, unnatural brain fog (why can’t I remember a first name, a meeting, an errand anymore?)
The extra weight that just won’t budge (and just keeps growing, slowly, over the years)
The crazy food and mood swings: Depression. Anxiety. Never feeling hungry, then being so famished that I would consume anything (especially anything with salt or sugar) that can’t outrun me
Digestive issues
Dull, dry skin that made me feel much older than I was
Feeling tired All. The. Time. I was haunted by that fatigue that comes back like an unwanted guest within hours of waking, although many, many mornings found me waking up with it.
Burnout is awful. We don’t get here overnight. It’s usually caused by a combination of mental, emotional, and physical/biochemical stressors that over time wear down and deplete our body’s ability to handle them. Because it happens slowly, over time, we don’t always realize how far down this dark rabbit hole we’ve already gone.
That’s the danger with burnout.
I’ve heard it said that “if you want something done now and done right, ask a busy woman.”
THE PROBLEM WITH BEING THAT BUSY WOMAN (AS I DISCOVERED FIRSTHAND) IS THAT SHE TAKES A LOT OF PRIDE IN HER ABILITY TO EXECUTE WITH EFFICIENCY AND ACCURACY. BUT THE COST OF THIS ADDS UP AND IT WILL TAKE HER DOWN WHEN SHE’S NOT EXPECTING IT.
Burnout is a serious problem that will deplete your health, resilience, even your joy if you let it. I think of it as a “pre-illness”: there’s nothing wrong yet, but if you don’t change course soon, there will be. A woman living with a pre-illness like burnout may talk about how she’s feeling with her doctor. Often, doctors will simply reassure the patient, the woman, that she’s fine, maybe even that “it’s all in your head” (I love to hate that line). Perhaps a routine blood test will be done that shows the doctor, who shows her, “See? You’re fine. There’s nothing wrong here.” The doctor may recommend she get to bed an hour earlier, “reduce her stress” (which is a “can’t see the forest for the trees” situation), or he or she may offer a medication, often an antidepressant.
None of this is helpful for the patient, the strong and capable woman who is buckling under the weight and pressure of joyless obligations who now must add to that burden this question: “Is it really all in my head?”
This is not helpful, and it’s not a way to heal.
However, there is a way to get around this, a way to get better.
It’s all about figuring out what’s going on below the surface, and addressing it. Finding the root cause, and healing that while also rebuilding her resilience to stress and pressure so she can succeed in her career and life, so she can again experience joy. So she feels healthy in her body. So she can get her life back.
No one gets to burnout overnight. And it also takes some time to come back from this. The good news is that our bodies are strong, resilient, and wise: when we give them what they crave (nutrients, sleep and rest, digestive support etc.) and remove excess pressures (proper stress management, toxic burdens, those thoughts on repeat that keep you up at night), the body does what it is built to do. The body begins to heal. And with it, the mind and emotions heal and grow too.
I know because this has been a big part of my journey. Because of that, I’ve made it my mission to help smart, successful, driven women get their lives and their joy back.
If you’re struggling with burnout, schedule a complimentary 20 minute discovery call with me to see how I help women like you get their lives back through individualized medicine personalized exactly for them. Tap here to schedule now.