I share my tips for dealing with burnout.
Hello friends! I hope you had a wonderful morning. We have a few dates today and it’s back to school and the *real world* after a glorious winter break. We slept in almost every day, watched tons of movies, played tourists in Tucson, had takeout, caught up with friends and family, and just enjoyed our time together. I’ve barely touched my laptop, but I’m excited to get back to it today!
For today’s post, I wanted to talk a little bit about burnout, which is a bit of a burning topic. So many of us know exactly what burnout feels like, and it’s horrible. I picture myself in a state of complete exhaustion and how drained and completely exhausted I felt, and I just want to embrace my former self.
I was a type A, super anxious kid who spent my childhood until my 20s on flight or fight. Then I got married, started this wild adventure of military life (almost done!!) and became a mom. It was such a beautiful time, but it was a tough time — I feel like I missed out on a lot of the girls’ childhoods because I was dealing with postpartum depression/anxiety and I was completely burned out.
I know this led me down the path to mysterious health problems and autoimmune symptoms.
Although I have not fully recovered from the exhaustion, I am now symptom free and feel a million times better. I’m always a work in progress and learning as much as I can, but I wanted to share some of the things that helped in today’s post. As always, this is not medical advice! I’m just sharing my experience and if you’re experiencing burnout, reach out to someone who can help you on a path to wellness and peace. you deserve to feel great <3
How to deal with burnout
Let yourself become a little more Type B
This was huge for me, and it was also the hardest. I just learned that I can’t be everything to everyone all the time. I can’t do everything, I can’t be perfect, I can’t have a perfectly clean house 24/7, wear makeup and look cute all the time, and say yes to the million social activities and children’s events.
Sometimes now I’ll leave dishes in the sink until morning, leave clothes on the chair for an extra day, go out in public looking hot, and say no to events and invitations. I was also working 24/7, but I stopped answering emails after hours and tried to shut down my computer at a reasonable time.
A messy house is a stressor for me, so I still try to clean every day, but I will set a timer. When it goes off, that’s it. Also, the kids are older now and can help more!
Build things into your day that you enjoy, that are just for you
This is SO important. It’s so easy to feel exhausted when your entire day is consumed with tasks for other people. You should* make some time for something you enjoy every day, whether it’s a walk outside, a bath, time in the sauna, reading a book, a phone call with a friend, a juice from your favorite spot, anything that brings you a little joy. Even if it’s just 5-10 minutes, it’s worth it.
Set your future self up for success
Try to do small acts of care for your future self, like taking time to leave leftovers to enjoy for lunch the next day, making reservations for something you’re looking forward to (like a facial or massage), ordering something that you regularly use before you run out, filling your water bottle for the next morning, etc. Sometimes the only person looking out for you is YOU, so take care of yourself. <3
Outsource where you can
I’m a big believer in outsourcing anything worthwhile to you that would make life easier that your budget and life allows. We have a house cleaner that comes every two weeks and it saves my life. I’ll get rid of a lot of stuff in the budget before I get rid of this one lol. Maybe order some healthy meals like Sakara, grocery delivery, laundry service, car cleaning, mobile pet grooming, anything that makes your life easier.
Make a list of things you love to do and a list of things you HATE doing and try to outsource some of them!
One of the biggest components of burnout is feeling like you’re drowning, so find some people who can help you feel like you’re getting a handle on things.
Focus on the basics
The basics are fresh air, exercise, nutritious food, fresh air/water and stress reduction. Try to get a little of these things every day. I haven’t walked that much in the break and I feel it. I feel more balanced and energized when I do these things every day.
Functional test
Functional testing was a game changer for me. When you’re burned out, you’re likely depleted of nutrients (stress burns nutrients!) and dealing with toxicities, which can affect gut health (they affect the function of neurotransmitters that affect mood!) and how we absorb the nutrients.
When I did functional lab testing, I was able to see the impact stress was having on my body and work on replenishing from baseline. If you are interested in testing please email me gina@fitnessista.com subject TESTING. My new schedule starts in February, which will also include functional testing! To get first access, make sure you’re on my newsletter.
So tell me, friends: what helped you with burnout? Are there any books or resources you love?
xoxo
Gina
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