Gestalt Techniques and Guided Imagery for Burnout Recovery

Last Updated on October 3, 2024 by It’s Complicated

Recognising burnout

It starts subtly. I’m just a bit more tired than usual, a little less motivated. But soon, the exhaustion becomes overwhelming, and even simple tasks feel monumental. I’ve always been the one who could handle anything, but now I’m struggling to keep up.

The realisation hits me slowly, like a creeping fog, that this might be burnout. I’ve heard stories of people burning out, never imagining it could happen to me. Yet here I am, battling an invisible enemy that’s smarter than all my coping strategies, now in need of burnout recovery.

I work hard, bending and stretching myself in every conceivable way. Yet, sometimes, I wake up feeling so drained that even the thought of facing the day feels overwhelming. Weekends offer no rest, and Mondays look like dark clouds.

Despite this, I wear a really sweet face, determined to beat this invisible enemy and become more efficient, greater than the system I live in. And this can work for years with gradually hardening breaks for illnesses.

Then, someone who’s walked a similar path tells me, “It seems like you’re heading towards burnout.” I dismiss it at first, but the seed of doubt is planted. Fear begins to creep into the corners of my mind, making it harder to ignore the signs.

Ignoring it will only make things worse. It’s a glimpse of personal horror visible through the window, yet isolated within, all while delaying my need for burnout recovery.

The mask of normalcy

In response, I build a façade. When asked, “How are you?” I respond with the same rehearsed lines. “My life is so active and full of people, activities, and plans, almost ideal.”

I create a beautiful illusion of life, engaging in activities that paint a rosy picture, all to avoid the harsh reality of the crushing routine. This charade requires immense effort, pretending to be the positive, inspired, and unstoppable figure everyone expects me to be.

This façade thickens, shielding me from vulnerability but also isolating me from genuine connections. Not in this picture to ask for help, or a hug of silent support in just standing on the ground. The perfectionism and burnout cycle takes over, tightening the circle and squeezing the life out of me.

This struggle is not just mental; it’s biological. Our brain’s complex system manages daily tasks with a signalling mechanism that lags by about two days. When I finally feel tired, I’m already two days past the point of needing rest.

Ideally, the brain wouldn’t feel this exhaustion, but reality is different. The silver lining is that my brain reserves some energy for survival, so all is not lost when exhaustion sets in. But falling into a pit can be catastrophic if I borrow strength from this reserve, and it delays my chance at burnout recovery.

Finding a way out

So, what can I do? How can I save myself? With those questions in mind, I’ve tried psychotherapy. Looking back, I can say that it happened as follows: During the sessions, I was gathering parts of the bigger and joined picture of how I arrange my life decisions while exploring different actions and receiving varied responses from those around me. Reflecting on these aspects is key in burnout recovery.

A quick exercise for healing burnout

Asking truthful answers to these or similar questions can lead to a different path, as the presented one is clearly unsustainable.

• Why is this ideal image so valuable to me?
• For whom am I doing all of this?
• What if I’m not all-powerful or invulnerable, and instead, I’m quite lonely? What can I do better for myself?

Answer yourself honestly. It can be a life-giving pause in your endless run for an unattainable goal, allowing you to restore the strength that your current scenario exhausts. In this moment of rest and silence, you might glimpse a star, a feeling of hope. Seeking support for burnout from a therapist can be a beneficial step, providing a break from isolation and help in breaking the perfectionism and burnout cycle.

The picture described above may not resonate with you, and that’s okay. What’s more important is to gather your own unique image that represents your life — the point where you are now and what you want to achieve. Reflecting on this can help you find a suitable solution. A psychotherapist can offer tangible support for burnout in this process.

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