From Overwhelming to Overcoming: Lessons on Managing Burnout from 5 Resilient Entrepreneurs and Professionals

Global Woman Magazine interviewed five resilient entrepreneurs and professionals on their experiences and lessons learned managing burnout. Christina stresses the importance of asking for help when feeling overburdened, setting priorities, managing time and energy, setting boundaries, and prioritizing self-care.

Of course, I felt overwhelmed a few times in the past, although I was not admitting that to myself back then. That occurred, at times throughout my career, when I was working in demanding corporate environments in executive positions. Having a loaded agenda consisting of multimillion projects, closings, deadlines, traveling abroad while also having a busy life at home, two small kids, a husband, and a busy social life over the weekends was complicated, challenging and at times overwhelming.

I was clearly taking over more than I could handle, the outcome being my collapse in 2019 that was my body’s way of saying ‘enough’. Overwhelm and burnout do not happen from one day to another. It is a long process of self-exhaustion ignoring the signs of our mind, body, and soul. Whenever we feel overburdened, asking for help and support is the bravest thing we can do for ourselves and the ultimate act of self love.

We need to remind ourselves that we are human beings, not human doings. We need to pause and replenish our mental, emotional, and physical energy often; filling our cup is not only our right but also our absolute responsibility.

Managing stress has to do with listening to and respecting our body, setting priorities, managing our time and energy, setting boundaries, and most importantly prioritizing self-care and scheduling time off.