Hi Sister Queen Helen, welcome to July! How is your summer coming along?

Well, I'm just coming off my one week of rest and recovery that I do my best to take every last week of the month. Now that there are no showings for the apartment, my landlady decided not to sell the building—yay! I can actually enjoy my week off.

As someone who was a psychotherapist for 14 years, six of those working in community mental health, I know how challenging it can be. For those who are not familiar with community mental health, it is one of the hardest places to work with very high turnover rates. I used to see 10 clients a day, three times a week, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. That is 30 clients per week. Most of the clients were either in crisis mode, had PTSD, or both. In 2012, I was completely burnt out despite all the self-care I was doing.

Not only do you experience vicarious traumatization (trauma because of hearing about someone’s trauma), but the long client hours and paperwork always felt like trying to empty out the ocean with a spoon while drowning—subsequently, the perfect recipe for burnout.

I honestly never thought Id go back to working as psychotherapist BUT I did, in private practice. I'm so grateful that I did, I've met and worked with some incredible humans that truly inspired me!

Since I don't want to experience that kind of burnout again, I take the last week of the month off for rest and recovery.

What's burnout? And why is rest and recovery important?

I love this definition: burnout was first coined in 1975 by Herbert Freudenberger. It includes:

Emotional exhaustion—the fatigue that comes from caring too much, for too long.
Depersonalization—the depletion of empathy, caring, and compassion.
Decreased sense of accomplishment—an unconquerable sense of futility, feeling that nothing you do makes any difference.

Burnout is caused by repeated exposure to stressors without completing the stress cycle or turning off the stress response.

My constant exposure to traumatic stories and holding space for others in their pain, plus other personal issues like the building I was living in being sold off without much notice, and many other things happening all at once became too much for my system, and I crashed in 2012.

Now I'm obsessed with self-care! I wake up early every day to take care of my mental, emotional, and physical needs. I take one day off a week where I don't get out of bed except to go for my morning walk, and then I come back and lay right back down. I also take every last week of the month off—yup, obsessed!

I ask all my clients about their self care practices and I am obsessed with empowering women with tools to achieve self-mastery... (EFT tapping is my go to tool).

What is self-mastery?

Self-mastery is the ability to consciously manage and regulate one's emotional and psychological states through techniques such as EFT tapping. It involves developing a deep awareness of one's inner experiences, identifying and addressing negative self-talk, and effectively processing and releasing past traumas and stressors. Through consistent practice, individuals cultivate greater emotional resilience, mental clarity, and a balanced sense of well-being, enabling them to respond to life's challenges with calm and confidence.

Some cool resources to help you with self-care and burnout prevention

"The Self-Care Solution: A Year of Becoming Happier, Healthier, and Fitter—One Month at a Time" by Jennifer Ashton
"Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself" by Kristin Neff
"The Art of Extreme Self-Care: Transform Your Life One Month at a Time" by Cheryl Richardson
"Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle" by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski
Self-care for Black Women: 150 ways to radically accept & prioritize your mind, body & Soul

Incase you missed it here is my Facebook Live on procrastination

In this video:

You'll learn how to identify procrastination behaviors
Why we procrastinate
Tapping to release procrastination

https://youtu.be/wGONU3Hanx4

Oh and what did I do during my rest and recovery week? I READ, TAPPED and CROCHETED ALOT!

Incidentally crocheting is what got me through my burnout in 2012, I even ran a crochet clothing store on Etsy - not your grandma's crocheting either- no offense to grandma... see some of the products I have made over the years here https://www.instagram.com/elegantcrochets

This is what I crocheted last week- trying to use up all the ends and odds of leftover yarn from my years of running a crochet clothing store. I think I can get a couple more rows before I sew it up.

Be magnificent Sister Queen

xoxo

Dr. Helena, The QueenMaker

PS want the self-mastery blueprint? Download it here https://helenorombi.coachesconsole.com/self-mastery-blueprint

Ps On the brink of burnt out, overwhelmed, stressed out, struggling with procrastination, holding big emotions that are hard to process alone and ready to develop self-mastery?

Book a call here https://helenorombi.coachesconsole.com/calendar/60-minute-clarity-session

Connect with me

Website: https://helenorombi.coachesconsole.com/

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/HelenAcenOrombi

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/438863857581998

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