Embracing Authenticity, Overcoming Burnout, and the Power of Friendship
INTRODUCTION
We’re exploring all the depths and the realms of burnout. The facts, the fictions, and all of the goodness that comes from leveraging this platform to ensure that if you are experience burnout, think you are experience burnout, or are recovering from it, you are not alone.
Today I am excited to host my dear, dear friend Karissa Schlaht. Karissa is an incredible storyteller and a brilliant light in this world. She is going to touch on her story of burnout, and we’ll just see where the conversation takes us and share some of our insights that we’ve learned along the way.
SIGNS OF BURNOUT
One of the initial signs of burnout for Karissa was struggling to sleep, and having wild dreams if she did sleep. She knew she should book an appointment with her doctor, but she was scared to admit it, worrying her career would be on the line if she wasn’t strong enough to stay. Eventually, she made the appointment and found the help she needed, but it required being vulnerable.
IDENTITY AND VULNERABILITY
The hope is that people listening can find at least one nugget to relate to; that’s what helps people not feel alone in this. During my own experience with burnout, I felt like I was known for being resilient, and because of that I no longer like this word. We can’t always bounce back quickly, and that’s ok.
As Karissa so aptly put it, maybe a better definition for resilience is shedding skin. When that old skin no longer fits, we don’t need to cling to that false sense of security and predictability, but rather to trust and let go, and wriggle out of that old skin in order to grow and make new skin.
WISDOM THROUGH REFLECTION
Knowledge is one thing, but when you combine knowledge and experience together, you come out of it with wisdom. The value lies in that wisdom and how it changes you as a person. Age or work experience isn’t indicative of how much wisdom you have, but how much time you’ve spent reflecting on your own experiences, on your own learnings, on your own darkness, and even on the good times. After Karissa hit the stop button and found courage to sit in the quiet and reflect, she began to feel things turning around.
COMMUNITY AND COURAGE
Building a community of supportive women becomes an essential aspect of navigating burnout. The hope is that having courageous people like Karissa sharing their stories, people will find a small sense of community, understanding, and the assurance that they are not alone. If you are on the cusp of burnout right now, let us as a community encourage you with some wisdom – being yourself is a radical act, and if the position you are in doesn’t allow you to be your authentic self, then leaving is also a courageous act that honours oneself.
CONCLUSION
Let this conversation be a source of comfort, community, and courage for those navigating the complexities of burnout. As we mentioned before, you are not alone in your struggles. Together, we can be courageous, and live our lives lit! 🔥