Burnout And Why You Should Be Kinder To Yourself
It’s been a while but I’m back with some word vomit filled with observations, contradictions and honesty. Let’s kick things off with two points I would like to make before I go any further with this post:
I feel overwhelmingly sad & deflated that we’re in ‘lockdown’ again meaning we had to put the launch on hold.
I love lockdown weekends more than you could possibly imagine.
So now we’ve got that out of the way, hopefully the rest of this will make a teeny bit more sense. Welcome to the mind of Sara…
LOCKDOWN [THE SEQUEL]
The world has been turned upside down, tipped sideways and shaken about so many times that I’m sure we must be pretty much back where we started… soon at least?! We’ve been told to stay in, go out, eat out to help out (queue hokey cokey memes) and now we’re back at home confused about the new rules. To be totally honest, I’m not that fussed about lockdown in general, I can still work, I have a nice home & a loving partner to share it with, plus the best pets around. But it’s the things it affects that gives me the blues.
On Friday last week I bumped into a local resident who I chat to but don’t know that well, whilst walking our dogs. She lives alone & is pretty happy that way, she’s active, loves the outdoors & is always up for a chat. But on Friday she told me when she woke up that morning she just wanted to put her head back under the covers & not come out again. I wanted to cry.
Naturally, of course, we get so wrapped up in our own reality that it can sometimes feel as if we are the only person struggling with this. When in truth, everyone you know has had to take a few days to readjust to what this means in their life. And for some people that adjustment period is far longer.
BURN OUT
As you know, we’ve been prepping for our studio opening since August (well since October 2019 actually but we won’t count that for now…) and it’s been a whirlwind of excitement, stress, anxiety & wall paint. We’ve had people in and out of the building transforming it into the most spectacular, welcoming place. We’ve worked 7 day weeks, 10 hour days (and then some) pouring our heart & soul into every single moment. And then it stopped.
Do you know what happens to the human body when it has a surge of adenaline for a period of time? It burns out. Quite literally. It’s as if you take a full tank of petrol (your body’s entire adenaline bank) and use it all up in one five minute journey (preparing for an event or restructuring your entire business/home life). What would happen to the car? It would rapidly give up, exhausted & drained, spluttering it’s last drop of fuel as it tried to go a few extra metres but eventually it’s going to grind to a halt.
That’s us. And it might be you too.
When lockdown (the first season) was lifted & things started to return to a semi-normal, we all went IN! We were overjoyed to do stuff again so we did it BIG. Perhaps you run a business that launched something new & boosted sales in a few weeks, or you’re a parent who suddenly regained daytime freedom & made the most of it, or maybe you’re a student who had to work overtime to play catch up on what you missed… We all experienced a joyous surge of energy & adrenaline for a few weeks before someone (Boris) hit pause again.
This means that if you’re feeling:
tired
anxious
depressed
sad
cynical
worried
self-doubt
scared
stressed
angry
irritable
drained
lazy
demotivated
grumpy
resentful
hopeless
OR ALL OF THE ABOVE…
Then you, my friend, are a normal human being. And you are coping with this situation in the best way you can. It’s going to take some time to get that energy back up & to recharge your adrenaline stores. [For more detailed, medically accurate, information on burnout please click here.]
WHAT NEXT?
So what can we do to tackle this & start to make ourselves feel better. Well it leans towards point number two of my introduction & something I’m keen to explore with you.
How can we make the most of this situation?!
When we’re feeling upset or disappointed by a situation we often talk from a place of lack.
‘I’m so gutted we can’t go away like we planned’
‘It’s such a shame that we had to close again’
‘I just wish I could go for dinner with my friends’
Now I don’t know about you but I saw a similar trend of comments when we came out of the original lockdown AKA O.G. LockDOWN.
‘I just wish I had time to finish the garden again’
‘I miss not having any plans’
‘I so prefered working from home every day’
In both instances we’re always focused on the things we missed from our previous arrangement. BUT NOW WE HAVE THE GIFT OF HINDSIGHT & A SECOND LOCKDOWN TO USE IT!
So, I challenge you to write a list of things you have spent the last few months missing about lockdown life, or jobs you wish you’d finished while you still had all that time to yourself. Here’s a few of mine:
I wish I’d explored more of the local countryside instead of sticking to the same walks
I wish I’d visited the closed golf club field again, that place is a damn paradise (no idea if we’re actually allowed to 🤷)
I wish I’d cleared out the clutter in my house because all my time was spent sorting the garden in the sunshine
I miss writing blogs & writing in general
I REALLY missed having weekends off
I missed making pancakes on a lazy sunday morning
I missed having more time to be creative & inventive with work stuff
I missed reading & learning
I wish I’d completed my course while I had the time to
The list goes on… and on… and on… And I’m sure yours does too. So grab a pen & paper (or open your phone if you’re under the age of 20) and start noting down the things you have been wanting to do ‘if only you had more time’.
Because guess what, mate?! You’ve got time. A whole lotta time.
Let us know what you’re going to focus on for this round of LockdownLife! We would love to hear about it.
Sending you so much love & happy vibes,
Sara & Alice xx
P.S. Depending on where you’re at emotionally right now, it can be really hard to see out of the darkness. Try to reach out to someone if you can, or maybe write down how you’re feeling if you don’t feel ready to share it just yet. Be kind to yourself. Always.
