How I survived post-Covid burnout

I am a pro at pretending I am ok.

Since I was a little girl, I was conditioned to portray this image of a girl who has it together.

My mum and dad, were constantly in the spotlight of public attention and could never show an ounce of weakness.?

Being tired and burnt out was seen as a weakness.

I grew up with constant pressure of being ok, even if I was not.

Both of my parents have been gone for years now. But the conditioning is still there.

In fact, when my dad died five years ago, I felt like a balloon that was floating and couldn’t ground.

It was like finally, I could be myself but I didn’t know who that was. I?was so used to projecting this other persona, I simply didn’t know how to be myself.

The burden of duty and expectation was so real, it became a part of me.

I was very ashamed of not being ok - tired, melancholy, or simply burnt out.

I had this belief that I must be constantly positive. Constantly on high. Constantly active.

Denise DT says that awareness is a path to healing and I totally agree.?

As this conditioning came into my awareness, I took a step further. I started talking about it.?

I reached out to friends who I knew would be able to hold space for me.

I talked.

When you talk, shame can not survive.?

Shame lives in the shadows of bottling up and not talking.

When you talk, you shine a spotlight on it. It runs.

There are seasons for everything.?

There is time to be on fire and there is time to be bored.

There is time to create and there is time to destroy.

There is time to run and there is time to rest.

There is nothing wrong with you.

You simply can’t be in the same season all the time.

If you are tired and melancholy - rest.

Take a few days off and just be.

Listen to your body. Be still. Mediate. Sleep.

Allow yourself to detach and be bored. After boredom comes creativity.

Always.?

Allow yourself to just be.

Being tired and melancholy doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with you.

It means you are in a different season.

You can’t force winter to turn into summer.

You have to go through winter before you get to summer.

Go with whatever season you are in.

Listen to your body.

Trust it.

And if you need permission to take time off and do something deliciously naughty like stay in bed and read a book all day.

And take lots of naps.

Here it is.

Permission granted.?