"I Am Human Too..."

‘I am human, too.’ -Sharnell James

For this week’s blog, I wanted to quote myself as this topic means a lot to me as I finally understand the saying ‘I am human, too’ related to being burnt out. This will be a great, vulnerable, read for you all as I am sure most of you can relate to what I have been feeling for the past few weeks.

In a previous blog, I talked about burnout and what it looks like for most people. For a refresher, let’s discuss the meaning of ‘burnout’ again. According to the National Institutes of Health, burnout is defined as a psychological syndrome emerging as a prolonged response to interpersonal stressors from work or school. In lamen terms, we are not taking the necessary steps to care for ourselves amongst the stress we have in our lives. We are still in the hustle and bustle mode that practicing self-care has gone out the window for us. In that same article, I provided the steps to take a break to overcome your burnout, and guess what? I have not honored those steps.

I know you are thinking to yourself, ‘Sharnell, you are the self-care advocate. How are you not honoring your own steps?’ Here’s the truth, I am not honoring my own steps because I am human, too, and just like you, I have my moments when self-care is not on my mind at the moment. It is almost like I am just trying to make it to the end of my to-do list then I will myself a break. Is that healthy? Of course not, but I am being vulnerable with you all and myself.

When I took on the role of being an advocate for mental health and self-care, I did not set realistic boundaries and expectations for myself—meaning, I believed that I was unable to bend/break because I am the one giving out all the tips and tricks to the topic. As I reflect on that, I can honestly say that it was unfair to me as I began to put unnecessary stress on myself. I started to develop the mindset that I do not need breaks because I am the one with the answers with people looking up to me. Wow, that felt great to get out!

It didn’t hit me until I was on the phone with my best friend crying my little eyes out that I need to extend more grace to myself and realize that I am human, too. Regardless of the many hats that I wear, I deserve to rest. I can’t be the advocate for you all and not take the appropriate steps in caring for myself. It is hypocritical.

I say all this to say, despite the roles we are involved in, we have to remember that we are human and require rest/breaks. I am saying this to myself as well. With that, let’s revisit the steps to taking breaks to combat burnout:

Step 1: Recognize that you are experiencing burnout: feeling anxious, stressed, overwhelmed, etc.

Step 2: List the things that are causing you to be burnt out: family issues, school work has become demanding, etc.

Step 3: Create a task list: Most to Least Priority

Step 4: Walk away from the list and do something for yourself!

Now that we have revisited it, let's start implementing this as we are human, too, and require rest. Take care of yourselves. We need you whole!

For more self-care tips, follow @dearselfcare via Instagram and Facebook.

Love,

Sharnell James, Thee Self-Care and Mental Health Advocate