When You Feel Yourself Burning Out, You’re Allowed To Slow Down
Everyone goes through periods of stress -- but you don't have to fight through the discomfort. You don't have to keep going until you collapse.
When you feel yourself burning out, you’re allowed to admit it. You don’t have to pretend you’re fine and keep going about your life as usual. You don’t have to worry about making other people uncomfortable with your truth. You can be honest about your mental state. You can come clean about what you’ve been going through. There’s no reason to be embarrassed about your internal struggles. Everyone goes through periods of stress — but you don’t have to fight through the discomfort. You don’t have to keep going until you collapse. You can allow yourself to cool down. You can step away from work for a while. You can give yourself a well-needed rest.
When you feel yourself burning out, you’re allowed to say no to favors. You’re allowed to turn down friends when they ask to see you. You’re allowed to tell others that you don’t have any more room on your plate at the moment. You shouldn’t feel bad about putting yourself first. It’s not selfish to make sure you’re standing on solid ground. The better you treat yourself, the more capable you’ll be of supporting others in the future when they ask for your help. But for now, don’t let anyone guilt trip you into doing more than you’re comfortable doing. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad about taking care of your mental health. You deserve to treat yourself like a priority. You deserve to rest when you need to rest.
When you feel yourself burning out, you’re allowed to go easy on yourself. You’re allowed to stop pushing yourself. Even though you’re determined to reach your goals, even though you have your heart set on pleasing everyone around you, you have to remember there are more important things than success. Your mental health matters more. Your sanity matters more. Besides, you are never going to see success if you feel like you’re only seconds away from falling apart at any given time. You will raise your chances of succeeding by putting effort into self-care. Treat yourself. Pamper yourself. Respect yourself.
When you feel yourself burning out, you’re allowed to take a step back from the hard work you have been doing. You’re allowed to take a break, to slow down, to relax. Don’t feel bad about how unproductive you’re being. Don’t assume you’re wasting time because you aren’t crossing anything off of your to-do list. Resting can be productive. Giving yourself time to recharge can be productive. If you never give yourself a chance to unwind, if you’re always going going going, then you’re doing yourself a disservice. After a little bit of rest, you’ll have a clearer mind. You’ll feel better than you have in a long time. So please, don’t deprive yourself of the rest you deserve.
When you feel yourself burning out, you shouldn’t push yourself harder. You shouldn’t feel like a failure. You shouldn’t feel like you don’t have enough time to relax. You should stop, put everything else aside, and take care of yourself. 
