Healing from Burnout

On St. Thomas Sunday last year, the week after Pascha, I was standing in Church when I suddenly got dizzy and very sweaty. “Oh my gosh,” I told my friend, “I think I might faint.” It was such a bizarre feeling. I headed home immediately, where I was then hit with a gnarly vestibular migraine that took me out for two days. My nervous system was revealing what my brain hadn't yet accepted: I had pushed myself too hard, and it was now catching up.

But let’s back up. How did I end up there? 

Well, every Pascha, my grown kids come home usually with a friend or significant other. We also have friends come in from out of town. We also host a Paschal open house at Church for everyone, or anyone in our neighborhood who wants to come. 2026 Pascha was glorious and amazing and exactly what I wanted, but still… last year broke me a little. 

In retrospect, I can recognize the brewing perfect storm of overdoing, inner striving, and elevated expectations that began shortly before Holy Week and picked up speed in the days ahead. I earnestly desired to have a clean and welcoming home for my guests, to be an attentive and patient host, to provide nourishing meals, to pack a lovely celebratory Pascha basket, to purchase and prepare everything we’d need to make our Open House special and successful, to attend all Holy Week services and remain mindful of “the one thing needful” (more Mary than Martha), to make sure a delicious brunch was ready on Sunday morning (after three hours of sleep) and then cleaned up again before said Open House began at 2:00 pm. I gave myself one day (Bright Monday) to sleep in, clean up, and get ready for a new week and my regular responsibilities. On that Bright Tuesday, I finally took a breath and said, “Wow, I actually did it!” Only to be met shortly thereafter with very tangible reminders of my physical/mental/emotional limitations and what happens when I override them.  

My burnout, consisting of the migraine, lingering fatigue, bouts of crying, difficulty praying, and a general malaise, made me feel weak and a little ashamed. I mean, come on, women/caregivers/hosts have navigated Holy Week and Pascha for centuries, preparing far more elaborate feasts for friends and family than I ever have. I chalked it up to my indolent modern sensibilities and a lack of spiritual discipline, which only exacerbated my symptoms.   Now, nearly six months later, I’m gaining a new understanding of what leads to burnout and learning much healthier ways to handle the fallout when/if it ever happens.

Things that don’t help: comparisons, trying to micromanage my own thoughts and emotions (striving for feelings of holiness, selflessness, compunction), feeling responsible for other people’s experience of Pascha, saying “yes” to more than is actually realistic for my health and well-being, underestimating the role of rest in pacing myself and recovery. 

Things that do help: Journaling, talking to someone else about it, quieting my ego and expectations, self-compassion, a growth mindset (what did I learn? What could I tweak for next year?), reconnecting with my body (breath work, movement, nourishment, rest), releasing the pressure to do everything well. 

This month on our FWL Podcast, we interviewed Liz Forman, a behavioral change coach and Orthodox Christian who works with clients who know something needs to change but keep getting stuck between knowing and doing.  Whether they need to reframe limiting mindsets, challenge assumptions, break depleting habits, overcome avoidance, or set better boundaries, Liz offers valuable tips and tools to create a new path forward. We talked specifically about burnout and practical ways to glean key insights and set goals to take steps in a healthier direction. We hope you find this episode encouraging! 

Click HERE to listen!