How do we heal overwhelm and burnout? This is the question I often hear from my clients. However, I believe the biggest thing those women come to me with is the feeling of being depleted, like a worn-out rag or a dried-out husk.
Also, when I hear this particular word ‘heal,’ I start thinking in medical terms of symptoms and their possible causes. And I can’t help wondering if overwhelm and burnout are just symptoms of something else.
You know what they say: When you know how to heal the cause, the symptoms take care of themselves. So, the real question is, Do we know what is causing burnout and overwhelm?
Of course, the answer is Yes!
Join me for this episode, and let’s dive into the real cause behind burnout and overwhelm and how to heal it.
Overwhelm and Burnout – Definition
Overwhelm and burnout are not the problem – they are the result of whatever is causing it. But first, let’s define both of the terms.
Overwhelm is an indication that you’re future tripping. You are trying to handle next week’s problems today or trying to get ahead. When you’re overwhelmed, you’re worried about next month (or in three months). This feeling robs you of your power and strips you of the joy of the moment.
Burnout is the sense of being all dried up. An online dictionary defines burnout as a physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress. I believe all of us can raise our hands relating to some (or all) of these things for sure.
But both overwhelm and burnout are actually indicators of one important thing (and whatever is causing it) – that you’re out of alignment.
My business mentor said this not too long ago when we were at her two-day event. And I picked up on that like a bulldog to a bone! Because she was soo right – overwhelm and burnout are really indicators that you’re out of alignment.
So if we want to stop being overwhelmed and recover from burnout, we need to get back to alignment.
The Meaning of Alignment
It’s so important to understand the meaning of the words. The older I get, the more in love I am with words and their definitions. Many times when I read what a word actually means, I realize that I’ve been giving it the wrong meaning all the time.
So let’s talk about the meaning of alignment.
According to the dictionary, alignment is a position of agreement or alliance. If we apply this to our topic, it means that if you’re overwhelmed (and too much overwhelm for too long leads to burnout), you’re not in agreement or alliance with what you want.
You’re out of alignment with the outcome you desire. That’s what overwhelm and burnout are all about – you’ve been working too long, stressing too long, and you’ve been in masculine for too long!
So rather than treating or masking the symptoms of overwhelm and burnout, we’ve got to treat the cause – misalignment. Because once you get aligned, the symptoms will take care of themselves.
Why is it so essential to stop dealing with the symptoms? Because living under too much stress, overwork, overwhelm, and burnout leads to escapism. We start shutting down, eating our emotions, scrolling for hours, and mindlessly numbing to life. Actually, it robs us of our life.
If we’re just trying to get out of overwhelm and end the burnout, we often get self-destructive. You can recognize that if you start to blow up and leave relationships. Maybe you’ll get the idea to torch your businesses.
But once you’re out of the overwhelm or burnout, you’ll realize that you made some pretty important life decisions when you were not in the right energy for significant changes. So that’s why we might go to the cause rather than trying to mask the symptoms.
Causing the Effect
You can see we’re not taught to heal the cause or get back into alignment – we’re taught to get rid of stress, overwhelm, and burnout. But if you realign, the overwhelm and burnout will take care of themselves.
This is what Joe Dispenza calls causing the effect. Instead of living [by] cause and effect, you are causing the effect you want – tuned in, turned on, feeling completely empowered.
So how do we do this in a feminine way?
Remember, desire is feminine. We should always be leading with our desires and vision. So we got to reconnect with our desire.
(Reminder: The desire needs to be more specific than, “I want to get out of this overwhelm.” Because then you’re just connected to overwhelm.)
It’s sometimes tempting to go into overwhelm. But instead of trying to end the overwhelm, leave the place where you’re feeling overwhelmed. For example, if you’re in your kitchen, go into your bedroom, lie down for a few minutes, close your eyes, and just think about what you would love.
Make it simple:
- I would love a nap
- I would love a foot rub
- I would love to spend time reading a fun book
It’s about getting you back aligned with your desire. Now imagine what you would feel if your desire is fulfilled – what’s the outcome you want? If you said, I would love a good foot rub. How would that feel?
- Relaxed?
- Supported?
- Like letting go?
- Like somebody’s taking care of you?
This shouldn’t take very long. I’ve been playing around with it – it only takes a few minutes. (Of course, you can spend some more time doing that). The point is to feel what you want at that moment, to experience what you desire.
Let the Masculine Support the Feminine
It may seem super simple, but when you’re asking yourself what you would love and how you would feel when you have it, you’re getting into alignment. And you’ll see the overwhelm and the burnout fading away.
But, you can’t just keep lying on your bed with your eyes closed, declaring what you want and how you would feel all the time. Because we need to let the masculine support the feminine. The project you are on isn’t going to do itself – it requires you.
That’s the action part of the creation process, which is necessary and beautiful because it helps you feel powerful.
Now you can go to your to-do list and pick one thing that feels lightest and easiest for you to do at that moment. (You feel overwhelmed because you have too many tasks and not enough time.).
See – five minutes before, everything felt like it would push you over the edge. Now when you got into alignment with your desires, something on your to-do list will bubble up to the surface, and you’ll feel excited about it.
It sounds like, Yeah, I could tackle that! Yeah, I can do that!
Because now you’ve just pulled your power back. Being aligned with your desires helps you stay focused and present in the moment. Even if your desires have nothing to do with the items on your to-do list – it doesn’t matter. You’ve already realigned!
Burnout Recovery
I would recommend the same thing for burnout. Usually, what you would love is a vacation. So where would you love to go for a weekend? Or a week? Go there. Or do whatever works for you.
And after the vacation (or the weekend), look at the projects you should work on and pick what feels lightest for you to push the needle forward. This will heal the overwhelm and the burnout because you’ve got back aligned.
I hope that this is helpful. It has made a world of difference for me, and if you are diligent at it, I know that it will do the same thing for you as well. If you found some gaps hard to close by yourself, connect with one of my Team Prosperity members.
They are here to help you tweak your way to the life you were born to live!
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