Burn out. It is a hot topic nowadays in the Western world. The media is speaking of a “burn out epidemic”. What if you are one of the people who has fallen victim to this epidemic? What can you do to overcome your burnout? Since I’ve had a burnout myself and I work with people who have suffered the same, I can tell you a thing or two (five) about this.
1. Ask yourself what caused you to burnout?
What I often hear, is when people get the diagnoses “burnout” the advice is to take six months rest. That’s it.
Yes, getting rest is super important when you feel burned out, but it is just as important to discover why you got burned out. What caused this?
The quick and most obvious answer to this question in most cases would be “I worked too much” or “I experience too much stress, and this made me burnout”. This is true, but this is the effect, not the cause.
When I got burned out, the underlying reason was my youth traumas in combination with my harsh and hierarchal work environment. At that time, I was working as an employment law lawyer. It was a tough and stressful work environment. I was constantly pushed, in a pretty harsh way, to step over my boundaries. This triggered my childhood traumas. At some point, the stress that this created got so bad, that I couldn’t function anymore.
Just saying that I got burned out because of stress and that I needed to take rest, would have been too simple. There was way more creeping underneath the surface that caused the burn-out.
Chances are that in your case it is the same. So take the time to start digging. What caused your burn-out.
2. Meditate
Meditation is always good for you, but especially when you are feeling burnout. Meditation will make quiet your mind, and you can really benefit from this quietness when you are burned out. The fact that you got burned out is a sign that you weren’t in touch with yourself anymore. Because of this, you pushed your limits, with your burn-out as a result.
In the silence that you will find in your meditation, you can get back in touch with your intuition. That inner voice that is your inner guidance system and that you might have been ignoring in the past. Getting back in touch with your inner voice will help your recovery because you will get in touch with who you are and what you truly need.
It could very well be that when you first start meditating, your mind isn’t quiet at all. Know this is normal. Keep meditating, and the silence will come. You can always decide to go to a yoga or meditation class, so you are being supported and guided in your meditation.
3. Journal
Another way to get in touch with your inner guidance system is by journaling. Writing down your thoughts and your feeling will help you get clarity on what is going on and what you need to move forward.
4. Practice self-love. Lots of it.
When you are burned out, it is often a result of pushing your boundaries time and time again. Because of this, you haven’t taken care of yourself enough. To start feeling good again, start practicing self-love. And lots of it as well!
With practicing self-love, I mean taking care of yourself. Putting yourself in the first place. Doing what makes you feel good, and not worrying about what others would say. So, if you don’t want to go to a birthday party, for example, then don’t! If all you want to do is Netflix all day, PLEASE DO!
Taking care of yourself will help you to get your energy back and to get back in touch with who you are and what you need.
5. What do you need to change to feel better again?
Ask yourself what it is that you need to feel better. You might discover that you need to make some changes in your personal life. Or, as I did, in your professional life.
There is really nothing wrong with having to conclude that the way that you’ve lived is no longer serving you. If you need to make changes to feel better, do it! Even if they are drastic changes like a career switch. Your future self will thank you for this!
Need any help?
If you need help with figuring out what life will look like after your burn out, I offer a free 30-minute Purpose Breakthrough Session in which, we’ll uncover what it’s currently keeping you stuck, what you need to step into your purpose and what kind of an impact knowing your purpose could have on your life. Use the button below to book your free session.
