Why You Need Spiritual Self Care to Master Your Burnout
Listen, in the past when people suggested meditation or yoga to me for my own burnout I didn’t know whether to scoff or stab their eyes. At that point I wasn’t ready to address that part of my burnout journey. I was too deep in my own survival mode to be able to think about my creativity and higher purpose through mindful activities.
But today I’m going to eat my words.
First, let me say upfront that spiritual wellbeing may or may not have anything to do with religion. Your spirituality is about your connection to what lights you up on the inside. It’s about your connection to yourself, your joy, and your purpose in life.
Second, while I frequently say things like meditation or journaling alone aren’t enough to heal burnout, they do have numerous benefits when performed in conjunction with the fundamentals of nutrition, sleep, and stress management that promote long term health and wellbeing.
Now, on to eating my words…
Spiritual Burnout and Self Care
Burnout affects every part of you. It is physical and mental exhaustion that manifests as inflammation, IBS, stubborn metabolism, sleep dysregulation, and whacked out sex hormones. What is talked about less often is spiritual exhaustion. This could look like:
You have started to have less work/life balance and that has resulted in feeling unfulfilled in both aspects
Your social stamina has decreased and because you are connected less with individuals in a meaningful way your relationships are starting to be impacted. You also start to experience an overall lack of empathy.
You are unable to effectively communicate what or why you are feeling what you feel and that leads to sense of isolation and an overall sense of being soul crushed.
You are at the pinnacle of your burnout and feel like you have nothing left to give. Your baseline is a loss of self and a general feeling of emptiness.
In summary, burnout is a joy thief that keeps you trapped in a cycle of survival and apathy.
But I’m here to tell you, you can and deserve to have the energy and mental clarity to show up for your life and THRIVE. Healing takes time but it is possible with self care practices that set the foundation for a more stable stress response.
If you are crawling out of your burnout trauma, establishing spiritual self care practices can help you turn the lights back on and guide you toward a healthier relationship with your body and energetic needs.
What Does Spiritual Self Care Look Like?
Proper self-care is an active process that lays the foundation of health and wellbeing - it's not all manicures and bubble baths. This is about the real work of building a life that you don’t feel the need to run away from. This is about prioritizing and valuing your energy, time, and ability to thrive. This is about establishing daily sustainable long term habits and practices that promote long term health and wellbeing.
Getting your groove back takes intentional steps to heal your spirit. If you need help getting started, try any of the following:
MEDITATION
While I frequently say meditation alone isn’t enough to heal burnout it still has numerous benefits on top of the fundamentals of nutrition, sleep, and stress management. It has been shown to help manage anxiety, connect to your inner self, restore your mind body connection, and improve sleep.
Getting started: There are many free, guided meditation and mindfulness exercises available on YouTube. You can also try apps like Calm and Headspace.
YOGA
Yoga is a great form of spiritual and physical self care. I used to really hate yoga. At the time, I felt it was too slow, I wasn't getting a "real" workout and to be honest, I wasn't any good at it. The thing I wasn't considering was that, just like anything else, yoga is a practice. You don't get good at flexibility (mind and body) or still or strong by not having a consistent practice. You don't get good at consistently making healthy choices by accident. It is practice in acceptance, mindfulness, and repetition.
Getting started: I love Yoga with Adriene which is an incredible free resource available on YouTube. Daily Yoga is another app I really enjoy. Depending on your energy level, you may also enjoy the community offered by an in person yoga class.
SPEND TIME OUTSIDE
Natural daylight exposure calms the nervous system and boost mood. It also supports circadian rhythm for more energy during the day and better sleep quality at night.
Getting started: Take a 20 minute walk outside. If that is too much, do a 10 minute walk. If that is too much, just go outside and sit. Meet yourself where you are and just keep showing up.
POSITIVE SELF TALK
Self Talk: It’s important. It reinforces the mind body connection and help us feel safe and strong and confident. I find mantras or positive affirmations to be really helpful in this regard because they give the mind a productive thought and help you be more in the present.
Getting started: If you don’t have a mantra right now, think about one you can adopt today. Check out this article for some ideas.
BREATH WORK
When you’re stressed or feeling anxious, the body thinks it’s in danger so it responds by increasing your heart rate, your breath rate, and your blood pressure. Deep breathing exercises are some of the easiest ways to calm your body down and reduce that stress response pathway. When you methodically breathe, it sends a message to your brain and your body to chill.
Getting started: If you have a smart watch, you may already have a resource right on your wrist. Apple watches the Breath app and certain FitBits have a feature called Relax, which offered basic breathing exercises. Check out this post for another 5 breathing exercises that reduce anxiety and stress.
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Research has shown that having a spiritual practice significantly enhances resiliency to the emotional and physical effects of stress. If you want to learn more methods for working with your body's hormones to support fertility, better hormone balance, energy levels, and mood, join Science of Self Care!
Science of Self Care includes 12 self-paced educational modules that teach you flexible, science- backed nutrition and lifestyle practices AND 3 1:1 nutrition coaching sessions to address your individual needs. Learn more or sign up using the link below.
