Self-Care & Burnout

Hello all! So today, I thought it was only fitting to write a post about self-care. The reason for this is because I had to make a choice for self-care this week.
 
To summarize, as you probably already know, I post on my Youtube channel regularly, 3x a week. And I absolutely love doing that! You may have already noticed, if you are subscribed to my channel, that this week there hasn’t been any videos uploaded.
 
I made the decision that I felt was best for me and for all of the people I hope I am helping. I have been incredibly busy these last few weeks between family events, my practice and everything that comes along with that, rescuing a cat (I named him Garfield - pic below, tell me his name is fitting!), continuing education, etc. I have to say this busy-ness has absolutely been filled with all good things, but that doesn’t mean that good things can’t lead to burn-out.
 
As a therapist, one of the major topics covered in grad school is self-care and burnout. Every class had a focus on burnout because it’s something that affects everyone, especially those in the helping professions. It is difficult to help others if you are drained. If we want to continue to be able to give, we need to invest in ourselves.
 
I started recognizing the signs of burnout within myself. I have been feeling exhaustion the last couple of weeks, a bit more irritable (if I’m being totally honest) and noticing that I was starting to cut in to my already deprived sleep schedule to fit all I had to do and wanted to do in.
 
I stepped back and recognized that this was not healthy and I would’ve noticed the signs much earlier in one of my clients. I noticed that I felt an inability to sit still or quiet my mind as I felt I needed to constantly be on-the-go.
 
Having experienced this, I have to say I was a bit frustrated. I was busy with all good things and with things I genuinely enjoy and love doing. I don’t think we talk about it enough, but we CAN get burnt out even if you are loving all that you’re doing.
 
The problem is, if you continue pushing yourself, pushing your body, your energy limits and your mind with a lack of adequate rest, you will stop loving what you’re doing. Upon some reflection, I knew that it would be best for myself and everyone I aim to help if I took a week break from posting.
 
I didn’t want to get burnt out and start resenting the things I love. I didn’t want to half-a** the help I am offering to others. I want to give 100% in all my content so that everyone who consumes it will get the best version of me and what I have to say.
 
I took this week to rest, to work on other things that were falling behind that didn’t overwhelm me, but excited me. With this break, I know when I begin posting again, it’ll be better than if I felt I was continuing to run on a hamster wheel.
 
So what’s the lesson to be learned? I would say there are 3;

1. Recognize the signs of burnout in yourself; exhaustion, irritability, heightened emotional sensitivity, that feeling of running on a hamster wheel, etc.
2. Understand that burnout can exist even if all you’re doing is what you love and enjoy.
3. You won’t be able to help others if you don’t first help yourself. Remember what they say on a plane during the safety briefing; always secure your oxygen mask first.

 
I hope you found this post helpful! You can leave a comment here, E-mail me or DM me on Instagram @StateofBalanceforLife!

I wish you lots of self-care and rest on your journey to finding your State of Balance!

You can also check out my YouTube channel for more inspiration!

​More on self-care here!