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I am often asked what I did all day when I had a burnout, how did my days go? Well, for the first few months I was mainly a bear in hibernation, all I did was sleep and sleep again, I was so exhausted. I was awake for a moment and then I fell asleep again. Fortunately, I eventually recovered and my ‘hibernation’ came to an end and the days started to take shape again.
My psychological condition required me to walk a lot, but that didn’t work out very well at first. I had now temporarily moved in with my parents because I was single at the time and I really couldn’t take care of myself anymore. I didn’t even dare go outside, let alone go to the supermarket. And if I had showered myself, that was already a big step, let alone I also had to do my housework or cook. Anyway, I was with my parents and I went for a walk with my mother, well, we hadn’t even left the street yet and I was already half panicking, so back inside. Thanks mom for your patience :).
So walking wasn’t really possible, the psychologist didn’t allow me to sit in front of the TV and watch series or films, so what did I do all day?! Fortunately, I persevered and the walk finally went well. And although it may seem like you are not making any progress, you are indeed making progress. When I woke up in the morning I took a shower and had breakfast (mega victory!) and then I often received Reiki. My mother gave me a lot of Reiki treatments and that calmed me down. After such a treatment the restlessness and unease were somewhat less. Then it was time for lunch again (keep in mind that everything went very slowly). After lunch I went to sleep for a few hours. In the afternoon I would wake up again and do a puzzle, read something, meditate or walk, then we went to dinner and in the evening I watched some TV until it was time to go to bed.
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Sounds quite relaxing when I read it back ;). But it was anything but relaxing, because in between the crying fits, the nerves, the knot in my stomach, the extreme fatigue because at one point I couldn’t sleep anymore and the enormous uneasiness were always present. But fortunately in this case time heals all wounds and the days slowly became less gloomy and heavy.
When I think back to that period, everything went very slowly, where you normally shower, get dressed, do your make-up and have breakfast within an hour, it took me about 2.5 hours.
And I had a number of regular activities:
- Walking (when I got stronger I started running)
- Meditation (I really couldn’t live without it, because over time meditation really helped me calm those nerves I always had)
- Puzzling (from jigsaw puzzles to Sudoku, as long as it was quiet)
- Reading (I found it a relaxing outing to go to the library and leisurely select books that I could read that week)
- Cooking (eventually I moved back to my own apartment and tried many new recipes)
- Baking (I also found this very soothing and delicious!)
- Blogging (when I slowly started feeling better again, I started writing and later this turned into blogging and now there is herhealth.nl )
ALSO READ: My Journey to Recovery: How I Ultimately Overcame Burnout
Eventually you will notice that you can do a little more, that you need less and less sleep in the afternoon and that your discomfort becomes less and less. Be patient and accept that you are in this situation, everything will turn out fine! Some people take a little longer than others and some people are more sensitive than others. But accept your situation and keep faith!
How did you get through your days when you had a burnout or now that you have a burnout? And do you have any tips for people who are currently in this situation?
Love Josine
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