Coming back from Burn-out.

by Sherry Ellingson

What I am sharing with you is deeply personal, and my reason that I am sharing is to help you prevent what I have experienced. Or if you are living it, to know that you can make a come back stronger than before.

Have you heard of or read the book The Body Keeps the Score written by Bessel van der Kolk? I have lived this in the last year.

I have gone through a lot in my life, but I am going to share the last few years.

I lost one of my best friends she was in her 30s from Cancer. Unfortunately she was not my only friend. I had another close friend who was incredibly beautiful and smart (a lawyer from a top University in the country). She had mental health issues and took her own life in her 30s. In the last few years I lost both of my parents. I took care of my mom when her Cancer escalated, I got divorced and all the while of taking care of my daughters. This was happening as I ran my business, taught yoga classes, workshops with speaking engagements and worked as a substitute teacher. I was also traveling and keeping up with my social life.

This is how I have always been and it had worked for me.

My schedule has always been packed, packed and more packed. I was trying to prove something. Trying to prove to people who didn't see it, I people pleased all day long without thinking about myself. I come from a cultural that people pleasing is a way of life. As an Iranian-American we are caught in a world that is in between. We are not there and we are here but we are somewhere in between.

A cultural that is highly educated, rich in beautiful history and people who are kind and considerate.

But do we people please.

I was the person in high school who was on the Honor Roll, president of the tennis club, and part of other clubs. I was on the Tennis Team,Cheer and Student Government. Life in College and after was very similar. I have never slowed down..

Then I got married, had two kids while working at a corporate Management position (working 50 + hours a week).

When I was laid off in 2010, I didn't rest. I started my consulting business in 2 months.

Things started to shift slowly. I noticed a huge energy drop after we came back from a trip oversees in 2024. I thought I was tired. I mean my older daughter graduated from high school and I moved her in to college, my younger daughter started high school.

My mom passed in 2023 and I had to sell her house with my 3 step siblings who lived faraway.

Everything that I had gone through caught up with me. My doctor thought it was my hormones and my cholesterol.

It was so much more. I was completely exhausted, brain fogged and no focus. I couldn't sleep at night, and when I did I would wake up with extreme anxiety and fear with all that is going on in our world.

I continued to play sports and work out and eat healthy. Yes I still practiced Yoga and had a meditation practice. NO drugs and almost no alcohol. I had very little energy. Sitting on my couch knitting and reading and watching uplifting shows like Ted Lasso.

I decided to up my self care by 200% . Cupping and acupuncture became a weekly ritual. I am so thankful to Katie Scarlet who runs Sarana Acupuncture in Albany. The treatments keep my vitality and Qi going .

I hired a personal trainer to help me strength train and work through all the emotional weight my body has been carrying.

At one point I was seeing a therapist, Astrologer Kay Taylor and a couple of other healers.

My meditation practice increased to a couple of times a day.

I continued massages and body work regularly, and changed my diet ( to more protein) and supplemental in take.

Even though I didn't want to slow down, my body made me.

I want to share that I have improved but I continue with all of the self care. I have reduced my projects to only do the ones I love. I have added a new field of study but am taking it slow.

I hope that if you are going through something similar that you know you are not alone.

Feel free to write me back and tell me about your journey.

Xo,

Sherry

sherryellingson.com