How to Heal from Burnout
Hello, dear friends!
I am still alive! In case you wondered. Apologies for my radio silence. There have been many factors to account for it. One of them is that I have been going through a tough time which has shaken a lot of perspectives and resulted in some inner deaths and rebirths and now I am finding my two feet again. I took my time because when I show up here, I always want to make sure it’s from the right place. Not to vent, to judge, to ego-trip or to negate guilt. I want to show up from a genuine desire to do so, to spread love and meaning and to make it ripple through your inboxes.
For a long time, I didn’t feel like I could live up to that. And when I am quiet, please know it’s not because I have forsaken you, it’s because I am filling up my glass, so I can pour out from it full-heartedly again.
A less sexy reason for my silence has been…burnout. That familiar, three-headed monster that we all learn to live with, because our sick society doesn’t give us much choice.
Some people, though, do have a choice, and that’s a big privilege.
One of the things I have been learning over the last few months is that rather than rejecting that privilege because of guilt, you can accept it with gratitude. And that it’s important that you do. Because in that way, you empower others to do the same and honour those who can’t. With that in mind, I thought I’d pop on here and ease my way back by sharing a few tips that I have found useful in healing said burnout. Hopefully, they can help some of you too.
• Listen to your body. This sounds quite intuitive, doesn’t it? But actually—as dear sir Ken Robinson says—in our current day and age when we use our bodies mainly as means of transportation for our heads, it’s surprising how disconnected we can be from it. So often we do things because our mind tells us it’s the right thing and beneath it we have the body screaming, ‘Nooo! Nooo! Not this bowl of flaxseeds again!’ But who’s there to hear it? No one. So show up. Make the time. Sit with this body of yours. Try to listen to it. Let its hushed, ignored voice get louder. It has so much to say.
• Spend time with mother nature. See it, feel it, connect to it. It’s hard to feel alone when you realise you are a part of something so big, so powerful, so resourceful, so alive—in many ways, reflecting who you are back at you.
• Do all the things that you have been postponing for another time. Read the book that’s been calling your name from your bookshelf, send the text drafted in your Notes, get rid of the bag of old, fuzzball sweaters, sign up for pottery class. When will the ‘time’ come anyway? When you are finally free? Rich? Dead..?
• Reconnect with friends. Nora neglected her friends for a while. Nora is now sorry. Don’t be like Nora. Be a wild, social creature that recognises humans are wired for connection and friendships are a blessing upon Earth.
• Play. Some of us have no idea how to do that. But here’s a cue: what was your favourite way to play when you were a child and there was no one watching? Mine was to put a princess dress on and dance. So, I do.
• Don’t rush. Do everything s-l-o-w-l-y. If something will require you to do things mindlessly, say no to it. We have a saying in Bulgarian ‘бързата работа срам за майстора.’A translation of it might be ‘haste makes waste’ and a personal edit: ‘haste makes a busy mind and a sick body’.
• Prioritise joy over pleasure…i.e., instead of binging a new series on Netflix, play with a dog, pick wild berries, or… I know! Meet a friend! When you notice yourself feeling joy, pause and let yourself reeaaally feel it. Where does it feel strongest? Does it have a shape? A colour? Let it sink in from the tips of your fingers to the arches of your toes.
• Take all advice with a pinch of salt. Unless it comes from your own body. In that case, listen.
Here’s to rest and healing,
With all the love,
N.
