Burnout, Rest, and Reclaiming Yourself

In this Mental Health Awareness Month episode, Lara Ashley reflects on burnout: what it looks like today, how it affects us emotionally and physically, and how we begin to recover.

Through personal reflection and insights from Rest Is Resistance by Tricia Hersey, this episode explores the importance of rest, boundaries, and redefining productivity.

Lara also shares accessible mental health resources and a Community Library of books focused on healing and self-care.

If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, or disconnected. This episode is for you.

This episode was lit. ✨

Transcript

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Hey friends, and welcome back to Lit with Laura Ashley. This is your cozy corner of the internet where we talk about books, life, and the moments that shape us, both quietly and loudly. So wherever you are, whether you're resting, working, walking, or just trying to make it through the day, grab your favorite drink and settle in. Because today's episode is a little heavier, but also necessary. In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we're talking about burnout, what it looks like, how it shows up, and how we begin to come back to ourselves. Burnout doesn't always look like exhaustion. Sometimes it looks like scrolling endlessly, avoiding things you used to love, feeling numb, or constantly feeling behind. According to recent data, over 70% of professionals report experiencing burnout symptoms, and younger generations, especially millennials like me and Gen Z are reporting higher levels of emotional exhaustion than ever before. And that's just not work. That's life. Burnout for me has definitely looked like endlessly scrolling through social media. I took a break from social media for about six months because of personal things that were going on in my life, and it really did help. But of course, I had to fill that with other things. So instead of doing scrolling through Instagram, I scrolled through Pinterest, which of course is not, at least I can control what I saw. My timeline was more positive and fashion influenced. But of course, because I suffer through body imaging and stuff, it also hurt because of I was looking at people who didn't have the same body as me. And I reflected on that. Or me feeling like if I'm on Pinterest, I might actively, you know, doing, inspiring to do my work, or being motivated and seeing people even on Pinterest who are living their best lives. And I'm like, what am I doing? I'm just scrolling on Pinterest, and then I felt bad about myself. So that wasn't healthy either. And of course, burnout for me is indulging more of my guilty pleasures. One of my things that I do when I don't feel like thinking or doing or even moving is I watch one of my comfort shows. I'm sure you can tell by my age. Like I said, I'm a millennial. One of my comfort shows is Golden Girls. I will watch those seasons back to back to back. And as soon as I'm finished with the entire series, I go back and I go back to season one. Sometimes it's good just, you know, binging and watching and kind of not thinking for two seconds. But then when you're up until 3 a.m. and Dorothy and Sophia are the only comforts and the only things that are talking around you, that's when it feels like, okay, I'm really avoiding what I need to do in my life. And those are some of the symptoms that I'm like, okay, maybe I need to rethink and refocus and get myself back together. And of course, for others, it might be just not wanting to show up, feeling overwhelmed, and still being productive, but not feeling present. You feel like your body is there, but your mind is elsewhere. And that's the dangerous part because burnout doesn't always stop you. Sometimes it just drains you quietly. So, for me, of course, I want to highlight a book that really helped me: Rest is Resistance by Tris Trisha Hersey or Hersey. Uh, this book reframes rest as not just self-care, but as resistance. Especially for black women in marginalized communities. Rest has historically been denied, controlled, or guilted. And this book challenges that. I know that by that that question in itself is an oxymoron. Because so many times we feel like we have to earn rest, we have to earn our breaks, especially in our work society today, where we have to feel like, you know, we get enough hours, enough days, then we can take a vacation, then we can take a second and like breathe. But sometimes rest is necessary and that we need to really highlight and prioritize that for our own mental well-being. We live in a culture that rewards overworking, overperforming, and pushing through. But what's the cost? Burnout isn't a personal failure, it's often a response to systems that demand more than we can sustainably give. So I am not a specialist, I am not a therapist. I have a therapist myself. Shout out to Haley. Girl, I'll pay you good money to help me out. But of course, there's other resources that you can use to help you and to make sure that you are healthy. Or if you know someone who needs it for themselves, please provide these resources for them. Of course, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. I know there's a lot of speculation and a lot of if-ands about it, but at the same time, there are it is still a good resource for people to use. The Namai N-A-M-I, I have personally worked with them with a nonprofit that I used to be president of, You Aren't Alone Project. Shout out to them. Um, they're really good, they have a lot of great resources and free things for people to be able to talk honestly and openly about some of the struggles that they're going through. Therapy for black girls, therapy for black girls. Oh, did I mention therapy for black girls? This is a great resource, especially for black women. Like I said earlier, speaking on be speaking of as a black woman, I know that a lot of times we don't want to talk about how much we need to rest and make sure that we are okay emotionally and physically. But this resource gives you that freedom to talk with others and to not feel like you're alone. And then of course, of course, open path collective, they are a really good resource. If they don't have the help, they do provide other resources and people and therapists who can. You don't have to navigate this alone. You are not alone. And of course, once again, for my community library, some books that I think will also help you on your journey. Set boundaries, find peace. I mean, I think it says it right there in the title. As someone who has who had a hard time setting boundaries, but thank you, Haley. Once again, my therapist who helped me figure out how it's healthy for me, even though it might not be what other people want to hear. It's good to find that tranquility of your life. Burnout, girl and upset. And then the body keeps the score. Your body tells you once and for all when it's time to rest. And sometimes it's not in the best way possible. And you unfortunately have to reap those not so great benefits of when your body tells you to shut down. So please remember that rest is not something you earn, it's something you deserve. Thank you again for sitting with me. I'm Laura Ashley, and I hope you believe that this episode and that you are so lit.