From \"Just Stressed\" to Burnout: When to Listen to Your Body
by Noemi P Coaching
About me
Hi there π My name is Noemi P, I'm the maker of this blog, a Life Coach & Holistic Healer, and a serious foodie. :)
Have you ever woken up tired and hopeless? With zero motivation to do anything, just dreading the day in front of you and looking forward to the time you can go back to bed at night. Yet, you kept pushing through as this is what you βSHOULD DOβ. Telling yourself it's "normal" to feel drained, stressed, and numb, that you shouldnβt be lazy.
That was me. As a life coach, I was supposed to have it all figured out, right? But here I am, dealing with (another) severe burnout. It's been hard to acknowledge this, as it hit very differently from the first one. It was more subtle in a way, and whenever a new burnout symptom presented itself, what I kept saying to myself was:
- Noe, it's normal. You're making too much of a fuss.
- This is just YOU not being able to handle it.
- Oh gosh, Noe, youβre so lazy!
- Everyone experiences this, it's just your fault if you can't make it.
- Feeling tired and drained every day is normal.
- Feeling this stressed every day is normal.
- Feeling always on the edge and snapping every time at your loved ones is normal.
- Avoiding people (including your family!) and social situations is normal.
- Not having time and energy for your personal life is normal.
- Stopping taking care of yourself or spending time on what you love is normal.
- Not enjoying a single moment of your life is normal.
- Waking up tired and hopeless is normal.
- Feeling numb and an empty shell is normal.
- Waking up in the middle of the night thinking about your problems is normal.
- Having every day strong headaches that even painkillers can't stop anymore is normal.
- Your eyes and fingers twitching is normal.
Basically, every cell in my body was screaming: "STOP."
And yet I kept pushing through and blaming myself for what was happening. Until the burnout symptoms became so strong and severe that I had no other choice than, actually, stopping.
And probably, from the outside I kept looking like the life coach and corporate professional who had everything figured out. Nothing could be more far away from the truth.
This is my second month off work...
...and I can't lie about the fact that I have been feeling extremely guilty, ashamed, wrong, and a total fraud for what's happening. And it took me a long time to accept the fact that burnout and mental health issues are like any other disease. And they deserve to be treated as such, without hiding them or lying about them.
If I had broken every bone in my body, probably I wouldn't feel guilty for taking time off work. I wouldn't feel guilty for needing time to heal and recover. I wouldn't feel guilty for having people covering for me at work. I didn't break every bone, but every single cell of myself shattered. So why should I feel guilty for having exhausted every drop of mental energy in my brain? I am here now, trying to rebuild myself from scratch. I need time. And rest. And support.
The reason why I am writing this and sharing my situation is to make clear to those of you who are going through burnout or what looks like βsimple stressβ, that it's okay to feel like this. It's okay to ask for help. That you are not wrong or broken. You're a human being who tried to be Wonder Woman and ignore her needs for too long.
Don't make my same mistakes. Listen to your body. Prioritize yourself. And act before it's too late. Burnout is real. And is nothing to feel ashamed of.
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