Hello everyone,
I am recovering from long term burnout and weirdly feel guilty for it. I recently cut down on alot of work.I quit one of my jobs. I started working more on running business out of my home (I’m a movement therapist). I’m also a dance instructor. Right now I feel so lazy. A year ago, I was training in dance up to 15 hours a week, working at a day job, and hustling at a night club. In December I got maybe three days off total. In January I got one day off. I have been working my behind off for a year at all physical jobs. Three weeks ago I took off. Then called quits on my day job last week. It’s been three weeks without excessive work. I started working on a website but I’m not motivated to rush to finish it. I’ve been reading, working on art, doing yoga, taking ballet classes. But I can’t seem to get myself to get in the right mindset to work more. I’m telling myself I’m recovering. I also just feel guilty for it. Life is now super slow compared to before. I enjoy just being at home but maybe I should get out. I teach dance tonight which is nice so I’ll keep busy. I think I’m also going to sign up for a reflexology course to get out of the summer heat and hopefully get motivated again.
Hey Rosethorn!
I relate to this a lot. Feeling like I need more things to do that are constructive or meanningful. Feeling guilty in idle time, but with too much on my plate I get overwhelmed by all the things I have to do. Is something I have been feeling a lot lately. I really just wanted to stop in here to say that I see you, and relate. I even recently re-launched a website. The slowness when you are used to such a strong and busy routine is probably tough. I’m the opposite in that way. I am building my first strong routine for the first time, the more I am free from my recovery the more I can. The down time from being well is what gives me idle time in my schedule. I hope you feel better! Much Love.
Hey friend,
Burnout is very real and impacts different people in different ways. Compare it to physical workouts - when you condition your body to endure a certain level of stress in order to perform in any given environment it does so in a way that it becomes normalized. When you stop, your body has the urge to keep putting itself in that stress environment even though the environment may not be present.
though, if you keep your body in that stress induced environment for too long, you either plateau or sustain an injury. Thus, it’s important to make sure you get rest. Rest is essential in this case as it actually helps you recover and enable you to perform even greater when you return.
In your specific case, take this time to nourish in the ways you haven’t been able to. Ask yourself questions that are associated with the things that make you happy. Maybe this is indeed what you need for your overall mental and physical health, or this could also be a signal that your body is sending out that is telling you to get back into the thick of things. There are some entrepreneurs that get restless after selling their venture that they worked 100+ hours on a week and are eager to do it all over again just for the love of it.
It really comes down to knowing what makes you happy and what ultimately drives you. Knowing your boundaries and your own mental and physical limitations will help to guide you into what to do next.