A burn out is not only a sign of overexertion and depletion of physical, psychological, emotional resources but can also be a sign of spiritual awakening and expanding consciousness. The more people struggling with burn-out I encounter - and having experienced it myself in the wake of a very taxing and stressful personal time and emotional trauma - the more I know that term burn-out is a very wide umbrella to cover a multitude of very nuanced and different kinds of experiences. Officially recognised by the WHO as an occupational phenomenon, it is not always work-related either. Burn-out is usually triggered by a multitude of factors combined – stress in the workplace or lack of meaning in our occupation is just one of those factors, add a conflictual home situation, difficulties with childcare, a busy social calendar (or lack thereof), ever increasing demands of perfection on people, trauma, etc. and it is easy to understand how people crack under the pressure of life. It is not always a loss of meaning, of purpose or a crisis of faith, it can be a strong feeling of a lack of support, it can be caused by a chronic lack of boundaries, it can be induced by the burden of guilt. The truth is, there is no definition that can apply to all the different types of crises that exist. What we can agree on is that a burn-out, regardless of what triggered it or how it manifests, is always a wake-up call. It is a sign that something is not quite right, not aligned, that part of your life, of yourself is not getting enough attention and care.
While a burn-out can feel like a loss of clarity – many people describe it as moving through a fog, being trapped in a cloud of smoke and losing all sense of direction - I feel that often the opposite is true: instead of a loss of clarity it is often a sudden and abrupt loss of illusion. It is an awakening to the smokescreen(s) we have created and upheld in our lives, shielding ourselves from certain truths we were not ready to face. It is very painful for the ego and the soul to realise that the main source of our pain and suffering is ourselves. When we realise that we’ve been holding ourselves hostage in a life that – at least in part – doesn’t reflect who we are, that is inauthentic and hurting our soul, it can be so painful that we structurally collapse.
When these self-induced smokescreens become visible it might feel like we’re moving backwards in our journey, it might seem like we’ve hit a point of stagnation, but, when we’re able to dive into the darkness, it often means that we’re better equipped compared to times where we weren’t able to go there. It is a positive thing when we’re ready to see all of us and not just float on the surface of the persona we’ve created or the image we’d like to project into the world. Being able to see these truths, to be faced with the layers of un-truth and non-love that are still present within the self are a great and powerful sign of spiritual evolution. Whatever your situation, remember that often a break-down is also a breakthrough. And if you’re struggling right now breaking through the walls of your mind, ego and breaking through the limits of your illusions – remember that there is no shame in what you’re going through – you are probably on your way to becoming a lot more real and a lot more you. - Anaïs
