247: Avoiding Burnout: Finding Emotional + Mental Rest Despite Everyday Overwhelm
Last Updated on August 29, 2024 by Alicia Michelle
Tired of living exhausted from life’s everyday chaos? We’re each responsible for finding rest (mental rest and emotional rest) but how? Listen, we need accountability and community to create these new rhythms of rest, and today I’m sharing practical tips for mental rest and emotional rest, and also several powerful ways to create self-care rhythms in order to avoid burnout.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:
- [01:21] Alarming statistics about burnout
- [08:48] What is emotional rest?
- [13:35] How is mental rest different from emotional rest?
- [22:45] Three ideas for emotional rest – let’s build rhythms together!
- [28:36] Tools you can use for mental rest – let’s take back control of our thoughts!
- [33:54] Need support in creating rhythms of rest? Join us in “The Onward and Upward Group Coaching Program”
[01:21] Alarming statistics about burnout
First, I am not sharing these statistics to shame you if you are dealing with burnout but to show you how prevalent it is. I have gone through many periods of burnout throughout my life and I want to bring up this topic because it's on the rise in our culture.
In March of 2023, CNBC found that workplace stress was at an all-time high and that burnout was on the rise with Gen Z, young millennials, and women being the most stressed.
In October of 2023, ABC News reported that there was an increase in burnout among healthcare workers.
In January of 2024, Forbes released something that said “Make 2024 the year to avoid burnout by actually processing your stressors.” It also talked about how the rate of stress and burnout among women has been growing at an alarming rate.
Most recently, in February of 2024, George Washington University found that women in healthcare occupations endorsed significantly more stress and burnout compared to their male counterparts.
These studies are not surprising to me. I have seen many of my clients experience burnout and I have walked it myself. There is also a shame that we carry when we are burnt out because we feel as if we should have prevented it or done something different to avoid it. We need to get serious about addressing this so our mental health does not affect our ability to show up well for our families and for the sake of being able to accomplish the purpose that God has for us.
We do not need any more quick fixes, I tried them in 2017 and ended up experiencing a major medical crisis. Getting to the root of perfectionism, people-pleasing, performance addiction, and processing the emotions underneath was the first step. I also needed to develop spiritual, mental, and emotional rhythms of rest which I want to help support you with!
[08:48] What is emotional rest?
A great definition of emotional rest is permitting yourself to take a break from sitting in the emotional chaos of life. For example, when you allow yourself to be free from performing, pleasing, and holding it all together so that you can authentically deal with your emotions. Emotional rest could look like stepping away from a situation or being willing to look at it from a different lens.
Looking at emotional rest is important because if we do not release our emotions and allow them to build up in our bodies, stress can end up damaging our organs, tissues, and impact our hormones. This is what I believe happened to me in 2017 when I had my vertebral artery dissections.
When we can approach our emotions from a calm sympathetic state instead of a parasympathetic state, we can make decisions with a clearer mind and recharge our emotional battery. I want to remind you that the marathon of life is not going to stop. We need to learn how to bring calm in and effectively deal with our emotions.
Bible Verses on emotional rest
In Matthew 11:20-30, Jesus invites us to take rest, to come to Him with our burdens, and to release them to Him. He says “When you're weary and you're burdened, come to me for rest.” He understands and has compassion for us when we feel those emotions.
Philippians 4:6-7, encourages us to give our requests to the Lord and to let that be released from our body so that we can rest in peace so that we can rest and surrender. That is how God wants us to live.
Psalm 62:1-2 reminds us that God is our rock, He is our emotional place of rest. He is our steady place to stand in and our cave to hide when the storm is raging outside. He is our place of refuge when our emotions are going crazy.
[13:35] How is mental rest different from emotional rest?
Mental rest means we are giving our mind a break from the constant worry, stress, and decisions that we have to make. There are all of these voices inside our head at any given moment and we need to learn how to take control of these voices and decide what is going to happen. We have to have practical ways to notice when we are in mental chaos and be able to work through that and surrender. This is not just for our sanity but for our entire body. When our mind is rested, we are better at problem-solving, we are more creative, and we are less prone to stress.
I recently heard a speaker talk about the idea of being bored. Many of our children are living in a world where there is very little boredom because we always have access to games, TV, social media, and everything else on our phones. A scientist was talking about how we lack boredom and this in turn makes us lack creativity. We do not dream about the future as much because our minds are always in this thinking, processing, and receiving state – and for our minds to be in a creative state, we need to surrender and let those things come to the surface. Things like creativity and dreaming can be affected by our ability to learn how to better manage what is going on in our heads.
Developing rhythms for mental rest is an anchor that helps us stay grounded, step away from the noise, and gain a clearer perspective on processing life. So many of us cannot hear God’s voice because we are wrapped up in the chaos of our thoughts. We have not allowed ourselves to take control of these thoughts or given ourselves the space to be silent enough to listen. Some of us need to let go of the reins and make plans in our schedule to receive from the Lord.
Bible Verses for mental rest:
Psalm 46:10 says “Be still, and know that I am God!” This is a reminder to make space to be bored and remember that the Lord is in charge. We are called to live in the moment and enjoy life versus processing over and over again.
Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep in perfect peace, those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you.” Allowing our mind to have those times to rest but also using the power of our mind to focus on the truth of God is another powerful way to control that ongoing dialogue of chaotic thoughts. When we keep our thoughts focused on God, that is when the peace comes.
Matthew 6:34 says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” This encourages us to take hold of those thoughts to actively decide that we are in control of what we focus on and ruminate over.
[22:45] Three ideas for emotional rest – let’s build rhythms together!
I want to say that building rhythms of rest is unique to every person. You have to find what works for you in every season of life. Understanding how you get filled up, what you need this season, and having the willingness to experiment is important. I am going to give you examples so you have an idea but I encourage you to experiment.
- Bringing our emotions regularly to God via journaling. Something I regularly use with my clients is “morning pages”. This was originally termed by Julia Cameron in the book “The Artists Way”. Every day you take your journal and write out 3 pages. It does not have to be anything profound, it is just getting your thoughts out and onto paper. We feel so much better when we get these thoughts out of our minds. This is a different way for our brain to process and we can use it as a way to treat our emotions.
- Building in rhythms of Sabbath. Whether this is one week, one day, or 15 minutes in the morning before everyone else wakes up. Even just 15 minutes to be quiet in the stillness before God can set the tone for the day. This does not have to just be in the morning either. It can be an hour after you finish your chores in the afternoon or right after you get home from work. It can also be a regular ritual that you do to welcome God in and to make space.
- Do something that fills your soul! I love to paint, draw, and explore which are all things that fill me up. This can help you step out of your emotions and allow your body to rest in the sympathetic nervous system instead of the parasympathetic nervous system.
[28:36] Tools you can use for mental rest – let’s take back control of our thoughts!
- Intentionally slow down. Have intentional activities throughout your day to stop your mind from racing This is where meditation, especially meditating on God’s word, can be helpful. My resource, “Christian Meditations for Daily Calm”, is a great way to spend 5-7 minutes. Meditation does not have to be a long drawn-out process. You can also set a timer for 5 minutes where you focus on deep breathing which can help when the chaotic thoughts come in and try to take over.
- Getting the thoughts out. This is honestly something that I do every day. I am full of ideas and need a place where I can store all of them. I use an app called Evernote to help me with this. I like Evernote because it is on my phone and on my computer. But you can also just use your phone notes app if that works for you.
- Separating what we are thinking about. We need to identify what we are thinking about and ask ourselves “Is this something that I can address right now?” Something that helps me is seeing a door close as I am walking down a path. This means I am actively deciding that I am not going to think about this right now, I am going to live in the moment. This does not mean that I do not deal with it, but it allows me to deal with it at another time.
There are moments when I have to use these tools 10 times a day. You are not going to get to a point where these things completely go away, but when you have these tools, they become a habit and you can move through the spiral of thoughts.
[33:54] Need support in creating rhythms of rest? Join us in “The Onward and Upward Group Coaching Program”
I understand that this is not easy to begin to welcome these things in our lives but we need to take control of this. It is so important to have a support system behind you to keep you accountable and stay committed to making these changes in your life.
I would love to be able to help you in The Onward and Upward Group Coaching Program. It is all about wanting to change in certain areas, asking God for help to make those changes, and being practical about what that looks like in terms of taking specific steps forward. In this program, we address the obstacles that keep us from making these changes. It is really difficult to make these changes without support. It is easy to have it be something we talk about and not something we implement. If you are interested, fill out an application and have a quick call with me to see if you are a good fit.
Looking for an opportunity for an extended time of rest? Join me in Italy in Sept 2025 for my Christian Women’s Travel Retreat!
If you are looking for a life-changing travel retreat to help you create some space in your life, please join us in 2025 in Tuscany Italy! Imagine unplugging and tuning into what God is calling you to do. You will be completely taken care of and will have emotional and mental rest for 10 days. Listen to this episode to learn all about it, or go here to get all the details and save your spot.
I pray that you will take action in some way to begin to make emotional rest and mental rest a true priority in your life. And if you are stuck n burnout, I pray that you will take action and get help through joining something like our coaching program, getting counseling, or taking a trip like this trip to Italy!
RESOURCES:
Ready to refresh your mind, body, and spirit as you explore one of the world's most beloved regions? Join Alicia in September 2025 for a life-changing travel retreat to Italy!
Check out Alicia’s Christian Meditations for Daily Calm to refresh your spirit when life is overwhelming and stressful.
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231: Italy Trip Recap! When A Dream Comes True (All the Feels + Surprising Challenges)
