Simple rituals that saved me from losing my shit.
recovering from burnout
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Like you, I am human, and I, too, live under the same systems that keep us constantly plugged in, doing, and moving. If you are anything like me and have a heart that cares too much, you understand the burnout that comes when the world seems constantly on fire and the future is uncertain. You understand that constant output only leads to exhaustion and that not protecting your energy leads to misalignment.
There was a constant stream of uncertainty running through my bones. I would check out without wanting to, and then I would wake up to reality with every news notification, only to lose my life force -drained again and again. The food tasted different, the flowers smelled less flowery, the joy felt forced, and everyday life just became a hampster wheel, one that I could not get off of.
My mask was masking until it wasn't. AuDHD in this climate is like putting your hand on a hot pan and letting it simmer without your consent. My mind, my body, and my spirit felt like it was on fire and not for the right reasons. I was losing all sense of myself, I was slowly dying inside. Numb.
With everything happening, witnessing a genocide, people turning their backs to injustice, people acting like those of us who see the truth are the crazy and problematic ones, losing friends, partnerships, a shit ton of money, and losing my sense of safety. It's the world I told myself was doing this to me, and I was hella convincing.
It wasn't just the chaos of the world that was contributing to me losing my shit; it was also...me.
I not only recovered-ish from the most significant burnout I've ever experienced, but I've also rebuilt my life, piece by piece, intentionally and purposefully.
What I thought was the spiral to doom was the collapse of a life that was not sustainable, nourishing, or healing enough. I was doing too much, giving too much, sharing too much, talking too much, showing up too much, working too much, worrying too much, creating too much, forcing too much, and wanting too much.
Don't get me wrong, I have an extraordinary and abundant life full of joy, love, wealth, nourishment, magic, and connection, but it was all overshadowed by wrongly placed energy.
And in my biggest effort to save myself from losing my shit, I pulled out all of my tools, years of lessons, trials, and tribulations. Years of wisdom, magic, and experience.
There is no shame in admitting I have lost my way there for a moment, strayed off my path because I extended myself out too much. Lost hope and allowed fear to take the wheel. There is no weakness in admitting that I —with all the wisdom I hold and the thousands of people around the world that I've helped, inspired, and empowered, have lost myself in the noise of it all. I am human, just like you, and I share the darker part of my life with you because I want you to see that no one is exempt from hardships and the harsh reality we are living under.
I want you to know that even in the darkest of times, we have the power to alchemize, transform, and thrive.
Although things are still challenging to navigate, I have been able to crawl out of the void I fell into and hold onto the light that was waiting for me to arrive all along.
Here are some simple rituals that saved me from losing my shit, recovered from burnout, brought magic back into my daily life, and brought me closer to my purpose in this season of my life.