Burnout Recovery Begins When You Protect Your Precious Energy
Burnout recovery does not mean doing more. Telling ourselves we need additional self-care, exercise, and healthy eating habits isn’t working. And what about sleep? It feels luxurious these days! Burnout recovery often starts with protecting your energy.
Think about filling up a bucket with water. If there is a hole at the bottom, adding more water doesn’t fill it. As a result, it’s one continuous leak, dear Liza! There’s a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza.
I realized there was a fence that I had never recognized.
Boundaries.
If you lack boundaries around your time, energy, or attention, recovering from burnout can feel overwhelming, adding yet another task to your already long list. How is that helpful? It’s not.
For me, burnout recovery started looking like protecting what little energy I had in the moment. Growth will begin when you start, even if it’s imperfect.
It’s not about adding more; it’s about protecting what you need.
Why Protecting Your Energy Matters During Burnout Recovery
We have become accustomed to saying yes to more responsibilities, and it’s become our default answer. According to Sunita Sah, MD, PhD, MBA, “under pressure, we often comply because it is our natural default, and we need to rewire our brains and train ourselves to say no”.
Constantly saying yes to things you are not sure you can actually fulfill is draining on your mental wellness and physical resources. You are draining your own tank. This leads to burnout, and by this time, you are out of resources. Your inner peace is nowhere to be found.
Recovery becomes difficult if your energy keeps leaking out of that bucket with the hole in the bottom. Protecting your energy is essential, for example:
- Preventing overwhelm
- Enhances focus
- Encourages rest
- Improves productivity
- Builds Resilience
Your energy is finite, and you need to stop the leaks before you can recover.
Burnout Signs Before Recovery
People-pleasing is a significant issue. Agreeing to things you don’t truly want or need only deepens that emptiness.
Resting can often lead to feelings of guilt. However, prioritizing your need for rest promotes well-being without causing overwhelm. Burnout recovery will open up to this space when you remove those feelings of guilt.
You constantly respond to messages and requests. Does this sound familiar? This can be a great safeguard for preserving your energy. Your focus will be on tasks that matter to you.
It’s rare you have uninterrupted time for YOU. Protecting your energy will strengthen your ability to cope with whatever lies ahead.
These aren’t personal failures. There are often signs that your energy needs more protection.
The Invisible Energy Leaks Many People Overlook
Have you ever thought of your energy as invisible? There are many leaks with this invisible inner light, despite your trying to fulfill everyone else’s needs. Given that you need things to be “perfect,” this perfectionism is wearing you down.
The invisible energy generates your flow. How you handle too many requests, doing all these things yourself because no one else will do it right, and given that, it influences your decisions.
Overcommitting is a common issue, especially when saying yes becomes a default reaction under pressure. This behavior often stems from a desire to please others, which can lead to sacrificing the quality time and energy you need for yourself. Ultimately, your own needs are overshadowed by your willingness to take on more than you can handle.
Doomscrolling Affects Burnout Recovery
What is this doomscrolling? Are you familiar with this term? To explain, you are spending a lot of time online, watching the news, social media, and browsing content. You feel like you have to watch, search it out for fear of missing out, and constantly need to know what’s going on.
I’m sure we can all agree that the news is mostly negative and hard to turn away from, with breaking news on our phones and tablets all day long. Constant scrolling without limitations impacts the burnout recovery.
If you are feeling depressed, according to Dr. Abers, we hunt for information that confirms how we are feeling. “And once you do it a few times, it can easily become a habit, locking you into a loop of feeling bad and then reading the news to confirm that you should be feeling bad”.
Doomscrolling, along with lying in bed, leads to sleep issues. Comparing your life to others’ and disconnecting from others can increase loneliness. Your mind doesn’t shut off easily, and it’s hard to fall asleep or stay asleep. I’ve linked this one to my own habits.
Halt Doomscrolling
News is a double-edged sword. It’s helpful and can be harmful. It’s ok to watch the news and stay in the know, but limit yourself. Watch the news in the late morning or afternoon; it’s best to avoid the late-night news before bed (it makes it harder for your brain to shut off).
Try getting up without immediately reaching for your phone. Start your day with something positive, such as quiet time, enjoying your breakfast and coffee with peace, or reading devotionals. Arise to your phone being within immediate reach. And after you’ve had your quiet am time, you can check the news or social media.
Personally, I get out of bed, get my coffee, and breakfast first. Then I read my devotionals while eating. I feel this habit has provided me with positive love and a sense of fulfillment to start my day. Then, I choose to read my emails or social media. This has been my practice for many years now. It works for me to assign my schedule toward burnout recovery with this pattern.
Review your habits and be mindful of your present awareness when on your phone. Begin with your thoughts and feelings as you feed your brain. A few other ideas, such as these, may help you make some adjustments:
- Limit your scrolling time, set a timer
- Review your feeds, choose positive ones
- Eye strain or neck stiffness, get up and stretch, take a break
- Check your phone consciously, not obsessively
Boundaries Protect Your Energy
Setting boundaries is not any type of punishment. They are not selfish and are designed to protect you. Your energy is precious, and you need to embrace your significant beliefs and values. Be honest with yourself. Once in a while, I like to say, “I need to have a meeting with myself,” and examine what needs adjusting.
Remember that invisible fence I didn’t know I needed? I realized a fence is built to protect what matters most to me. It’s not built because something is wrong, or I want to keep others out of my yard.
Boundaries help you to translate what you honestly want to say and feel confident. This is your boundary recovery onset. Taking a few minutes and pausing.
It’s perfectly acceptable to say, “Let me think about that and get back to you”. Take the time to think it through and be honest about your energy level, your schedule, and whether you truly want to do whatever is demanding your time and energy.
Ensuring you focus on what matters to you helps preserve your valuable energy.
Gentle Protection
With attention to burnout recovery, energy conservation, and openness to new challenges, boundary setting becomes essential.
Maybe this week you can delay a response. Say “not this week” or take a walk before making a decision. Weave some peaceful quiet time into your day and turn off your notifications for an hour. Delegate and ask for help as needed.
Small, realistic habits to experiment with will help you regain the energy you lost.
That’s A Wrap!
Burnout recovery doesn’t always begin with one more thing; it begins with protecting the precious energy you currently have and managing it for your wellness.
Ready to recover from burnout? Join The Gentle Reset Letter for empowering wellness insights and practical strategies to safeguard your energy, all while keeping your journey effortless and positive!
This is for educational purposes only. If you are in a crisis or have any thoughts of hurting yourself or anyone else, please call the crisis hotline 988, 911, or go to the closest emergency room for evaluation. This does not replace professional help.
References:
https://www.apa.org/topics/psychotherapy/better-boundaries-clinical-practice