I’m Burnt The F#*K Out! Are You?
We are digging deep today and having an open and honest conversation about burnout. I recently talked with Dr. Brooke Weinstein about the science behind burning out and what we can do about it. We got out our golden sh*t shovels and figured out what we can do to reduce those feelings of burnout while going through our midlife remix.
Dr. Brooke Weinstein is a professional mama/woman coach, burnout expert, and Doctor of Pediatric Occupational Therapy. While creating and running a thriving business, coaching, and being a mom, Brooke realized that she was being stretched too thin...an issue that so many moms face every day. Brooke helps moms, women, and families get out of the constant burnout cycle and find joy in their lives again.
We are talking about rewiring your brain, reducing burnout, and recapturing your joy and purpose in life. We are going to figure out what it is that we want and how to make it work for us. If you are feeling like you are on the hamster wheel of life and you don’t know how to get off…this is for you. Let’s start digging through our multiple layers of midlife sh*t!
Signs You Might Be Burnt Out & What To Do About It
Why the f#*k we are burnt out. We get to the point where we are in sensory overload and then we continue in this vicious cycle of burnout. We just keep getting up every morning and doing the same sh*t over and over again. Maybe it's screaming toddlers or running your teenagers from one thing to the next…but by the end of the day, we can hardly function due to WAY too much sensory overload.
Are you snapping? At the end of the day do you just feel crazy, like you can’t take one more “mom”, and you eventually snap at your kids or husband? You may be experiencing sensory overload. We NEED those moments of downtime for ourselves to reduce feelings of constant depletion. It’s time to find yourself and understand how your body and brain work.
Dump the feelings of shame. We end up in this burnout cycle because we constantly shame ourselves. We have intrusive thoughts telling us that we are the ones that need to be “doing better”. If only we could just “get more organized” or “manage our time better” then everything would be great. But in reality, you need a f#*king break! If we don’t realize this soon enough our body is eventually going to let us know in ways that are not so fun.
Have you tried to read all of the books and listen to all of the podcasts and you still just can’t seem to get your sh*t together? Dr. Brooke explained how we have so many networks and connections in our brains. It can take about 62 days to rewire any one connection. However, we are constantly having new experiences and those connections are constantly changing. So we can read and listen all we want but that’s just a one-time thing that doesn’t stick - it’s not going to give us lasting change. All it does is put more pressure on us about how we should be showing up.
How we can be ENOUGH! Start acknowledging that you are enough as you are today. We try to implement all of these new things we’ve learned from reading and listening to better our lives because that “other mom” seems like she has her sh*t together. You then realize that you don't have time and you guilt and shame yourself because you haven't shown up in the way that this book/podcast told you to.
We need to learn sensory regulation through brain rewiring. You have to tell yourself that you are enough over and over again to the point that you own it. It’s going to feel uncomfortable putting yourself first, but check in with yourself regularly and ask yourself, “What do I need?” You can feel seen and heard by yourself and that’s enough. You don’t need external validation anymore to know your worth. You matter and your feelings matter.
What do you have to lose? Is what you are doing now working for you? Probably not if you are here reading this. For so long we have put others before ourselves. We have conditioned our brains this way and it can be extremely hard to break. The biggest thing is knowing that this is possible. You have the ability to get out of that burnout cycle and start showing up as your best self. This is our time for self-reinvention ladies!
Check-in with yourself. How do you feel today? We hardly ever take the time to even check in with ourselves to see how we are feeling. Are you angry, sad, or tired? Ask yourself and see where you are at.
Can I really put myself first? What about my kids? Is your body screaming at you to take a break? If so, why do you have to feel guilty about this? We need to recognize when this burnout cycle is starting and know how important it is to take care of ourselves so that we can be present for our family.
How can I start my self-reinvention and reduce burnout? First, know that it’s possible. You have to want it and you have to spend the time and energy on figuring this out. You have to decide that you are worthy of this. Give yourself the gift of telling yourself that you are enough and take the damn break! Conditioning your brain to start thinking this way is going to be a lot of work…but you can reinvent yourself as many times as you need to.
Give yourself permission to take a break. I can only speak for my husband…but he tells me that he’s going to go downstairs and take a break, that he just needs 30 minutes to himself. But I feel like women don’t think they have that option and it’s heartbreaking. We are constantly running from one thing to the next and don’t get me started on how our brain never shuts off and is keeping a daily to-do list running in our head at all moments. It’s exhausting and you need to give yourself permission to take a break too.
We dug deep to figure out what burnout and sensory overload mean. Dr. Brooke gave us a lot of helpful ideas on how to break the burnout cycle so that we can create more meaningful lives. Start thinking about what you can start doing today to reduce burnout. Remember it starts with knowing that you are enough and we should kick the guilt to the curb. This is hard work, but if you step outside of your comfort zone to work on yourself you will see how your midlife remix can change your life!