Tending Burnout
Let’s reclaim the energy that life in a messed up culture can drain away
It’s exhausting out there
Being an ethical, caring human in these times takes a real toll.
There are so many demands on your attention and your energy. Just in your personal life, there’s enough stress and strain and heartache to run you ragged.
Then there’s the rest of the world, filled with violence against people you love and communities you care for. There’s crisis after crisis, with the promise of more on the way. It’s way, way, way too much for one body to hold.
You’re tending to it all the best you can—fighting to stay afloat in your personal life and searching for ways to interrupt the harm that’s happening in the collective.
You’re squeezing in time for self care when you can. You’re leaning on your people and they’re leaning on you.
You’re trying so hard. But it’s all just. So. Exhausting.
Burnout is a signal from your body, and it’s a wise one.
It says something needs to shift. Your body won’t let you move forward until it does.
It’s easy to miss that message. A culture obsessed with productivity will always tell you to ignore your exhaustion, put your head down, and make it through the rough patch by force of will alone. There’s always that nagging voice that says you’re not doing enough. With so many people hurting, that voice is hard to ignore.
And when you do have a moment to turn and face the burnout, it’s tempting to get caught in problem-solving mode: looking for answers and solutions that can vault you out of the stuck place, ASAP.
It makes so much sense to try to push past it or strategize your way around it. But while those active approaches offer a sense of control, they’re often a subtle way of continuing to exert yourself—and your body is crying out for rest.
That’s like hitting the gas when a car is stuck in the mud. You spend more and more energy while getting more and more stuck.
Don’t look for answers. Call for care instead
Here’s the good news: you don’t need to figure anything out right now. Problem-solving is part of the process, but it comes later. First, you need to call in good, deep, spacious care.
Burnout is a call not just for rest, but also for reconnection to the web of life beyond your solitary self. Good care helps you draw on the wellsprings of guidance and support available to you from spirit, lineage, and the living world.
That kind of care doesn’t just gear you up to get through another day, the way a cup of coffee gets you through a bleary morning (no shade intended—we love you, coffee). Instead, it replenishes your whole system and restores your energy from the roots.
Receiving enough of that care, over enough time, can be transformative. It allows you not just to survive your life, but to shape it towards the real true dreams and longings that are living underneath the stress and strain.
Let’s tend that deeper place
I’d love to support you in calling back your energy. My approach to tending burnout is rooted in four main principles:
Your body sets the pace
Burnout starts to heal when your body has space to release the tension it’s holding and receive the deep nourishment it needs. But that kind of release can’t be forced. It happens at the pace your body allows, based on both your personal history and the sense of safety and trust you’ve built with the space. I’ll support you in tuning into the messages your body is sending, so that we can sync up with the rhythm that’s right for you.
Spirit has your back
It’s not your job to muster up the energy and strength and clarity you need. That’s exhausting! Spirit is the wellspring of that energy, strength, and clarity—your job is just to find the well and draw on what’s there. I’ll help you tap into the care and guidance that’s available from your guides and spirit helpers, and we’ll find small, sustainable practices that can weave more spirit into your daily life.
You’re part of the web
Why are so many of us burnt out all the time? Well, I mean, *gestures broadly at the state of the world.* The thread of your personal challenges always traces back in some way to the broader conditions we’re facing collectively. So does the thread of your healing. Feeling for your place in the web, and aligning your energy with a vision for thriving community, is a big part of staying nourished for the long haul.
Start where you are
What are the real constraints you’re under? What are your safety nets and supports? Are there places where you’ve spilled past your boundaries? Are there places where help is available? It’s easy both to overlook
It gets to be messy
Your doubt gets to be there. Your frustration gets to be there. Your grief and rage and fear and overwhelm all belong. When those prickly, challenging, painful emotions are met with skillful care and held within the vastness of spirit, surprising things can happen. Often, letting a big emotion move frees up space for new energy to come pouring through.
Over time—I recommend at least three months of sessions, twice per month—you’ll notice that fewer days feel like a fight against a relentless current. You’ll realize that parts of your life that had felt stuck have started to move.
You’ll feel your deeper dreams and longings coming back on line. Even better, you’ll find you finally have the energy to follow where they lead.
Wait… why three months?
Spiritual care can work quickly, and a single session can bring real relief. Like a wilted plant finally getting watered, you’re likely to perk right up the first time your need for deeper care gets met. But then you head back into your daily life, and it’s full of all the same challenges. It won’t take long for the demands to drain the taste of nourishment you got.
As I’ve learned as a struggling ADHD gardener: if you only water your tomato plants once all summer, you aren’t likely to end up with tomatoes. It tends to take a full season of consistent care to bring the juicy stuff to harvest. That kind of flourishing is what we’re after. Like a root system growing deep enough that it can get to water even when the surface is dry, you’ll find yourself stronger and more able to draw in the care you need even when things are hardest.
Let’s chat
If you’re interested in working together, I’d love to connect. You can book a free 20-minute consult to get a feel for what I offer and whether it’s a fit. There’s no pressure and no hook.
We’ll talk through what you’re dealing with, and I’ll share more about how the work would flow. And I’ll offer a one-card Tarot reading, to make sure you leave with some good big-picture guidance.