During the process of recovery, I came to the realisation that burnout didn’t just affect me but that others connected to me were also impacted. This realisation was quite confronting. When pain is intense we lose sight of what is happening in other people because typically we are focused on ourselves. Burnout by nature has three components or indicators—high depletion

Lost Sight of Self and Others When we are physically sick, it is hard to pay attention to the needs of others. Depending on the severity, we focus on getting ourselves well. Similarly, when we are not well emotionally, we lose awareness of what is happening in us and around us. At these times our emotional sight is impaired. I

What damages self-integrity? Burnout damaged my self-integrity. A fault line appeared in my foundations. A divide came into view between my actions and values. Like Paul in Romans 7:18 the longings to do what is right are within me, but will-power is not enough to accomplish it. My love for people and desire to engage with them was overtaken by

Heading into to burnout, most areas of life were getting smaller. The emotional tank was emptying, effectiveness declining and connections were diminishing as I increasingly withdrew. But I was growing where I didn’t want to grow. I constantly felt hungry even after eating. Now I understand it was to do with emotional depletion. My body craved food because it made

Losing self-control I didn’t know that I was approaching burnout but I felt the muscle of self-control losing strength. It felt like all the fence posts and personal boundaries I had built in as a Jesus’ follower for 43 years became wobbly. Constantly I felt hungry, so I began to consume more food and gained weight. I often had a

Remember the nursery rhyme – mirror mirror on the wall…. Well the trouble is that most of us don’t see our true reflection but rather our experience is like looking at a mirror fogged by the shower. We see some shape but not the true person. Unless you realise this, you will think the foggy shape is you. Self-reflection is

How’s your ability to bounce? How is your ability to bounce back to the bumps of life? Stuck in a rut not able to do new things? Lost the ability to innovate? A few years back that was me, approaching burnout. Resilience was damaged. Damaged resilience is one of the key indicators of emotional depletion. Depletion shows in three ways;

Resilience is not only the ability to absorb the shocks we encounter. It is more than adapting or being able to deal with difficulties. Resilience is seen in our ability to push back on the difficulties. It shows in our capacity to grow. Matt Bloom’s definition gives us great insight. He says “Resilience–our capacity to adapt, change, and respond to

When resilience is damaged One of the most disturbing feelings in burnout is that of numbness. Colour faded from life. Everything turned gray. It was as if the tune had become the constant hum of a sole note. I became numb to the good things of life, physically, emotionally and relationally. This made me look for greater stimulation. Nothing seemed