… and now use everyday as part of a rewarding and healthy lifestyle
With the rise of stress and the physical and psychological impact that it is having globally, it is also now becoming more likely that more people will experience some form of mental health issue.
Having experienced burnout – and a complete mental breakdown as a result – I’ve had a first hand experience of what it is like to be on the sidelines of life.
What I went through was unlike anything I had ever known. There was no preparation time; it happened without warning. I found myself in the middle of my own personal armeggedon with no idea which way to turn to get my life back on track.
There were so many lessons I learned during my recovery, but here are the five things that made the biggest impact on my ability to get back to a rewarding and healthy life:
- My life imploded in minutes. I went from being an award-winning executive to on the floor, unable to participate in even the basics of life and unable to stop crying. There was no flexibility in this situation – everything changed in seconds. I had to develop patience, love and kindness for myself so that I could pare everything back to the basics and slowly take one step at a time to move forwards.
- At a time when I was at my most fragile and raw, I had to develop a very thick skin. People are generally well-meaning, but often say things that make them feel better in situations where they can’t understand what is going on. I had to find a way to ignore what others were saying and doing and retreat to a space that would allow me to heal.
- 1 in 5 people are affected by mental health, yet it’s something that largely goes unseen in our everyday lives. Whilst I was in the middle of this crisis it was the loneliest and darkest time in my life. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before, and because my injury was on the inside it felt like I was invisible to the world.
- One of the biggest challenges I faced was how well I looked. That made it hard for people to see that I was injured and needed time and space to recover. It felt like the world carried on without me and that my contributions were no longer required. It took me a long time to realise that the world needed me to contribute in a different way.
- I had made my life so complex that it was impossible for me to be anything other than completely stressed. I had put so many ‘rules’ in place about the way that I ‘should’ be living my life that I had completely lost sight of what was important to me. Almost everything that was in my life was draining my energy and there was very little that was enjoyable or brought any love or laughter.
Learning these things saved my life. Once I could clearly see how stressed and exhausted I was, it made it easier for me to take simple steps, one at a time to do put my life back together in a different way.
Now, every day is about finding the simplest path, staying the course with one step at a time, allowing others to have their opinion whilst knowing that I am on the right track for me, contributing to the world in the way that only I know how and making sure my days are full of love and laughter.
If it’s time for you to start to live your life a little differently, you can access tips in the articles and videos in my free email series – it’s a great way to help you begin your journey. Simply click here to start you on your way. There are also loads of practical and simple tips and exercises in my books ‘Keep It Super Simple’ & ‘The Economy of Enough’ – you can buy your copy from Amazon.
Want to chat? Email me on info@sheiqlife.com or call me on +61 438 624 868 and we’ll set up a time!
Bronwen Sciortino is a Simplicity Expert, Professional Speaker and the internationally renowned author of ‘Keep It Super Simple’ & ‘The Economy of Enough’ – You can follow her at her website; Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
This article was first published on Thrive Global on 9th October 2019. You can read the article by clicking here.
