You can’t do it all…

At the time of writing this, my third kiddo is almost 12 weeks old. For the first time, I took some time off to tend to Judah for first 10 weeks of his life. What does that mean to me? I didn't work. I moved slow. I cuddled. I snuggled. I did what he needed and what my body needed.

Key phrase to note is:

"I did what...my body needed."

God didn't create us to be running full force all the time. As moms, it can seem that way. As a mom now of 3 kids, it seems even easier to get burned out. I wanted to serve my husband during that time, because I know that's his primary love language. But, I didn't do too much of that. That was hard. However, I knew that getting up to clean this, organize that, put this away, and get rid of that would've meant I'd have to push my body more than it was ready to. At that stage in postpartum, it was fairly easy to know if I was doing too much. If you've had kids, you know you bleed when you've done too much initially after having kids.

But, what about when you're not in that postpartum stage, how do you know you're pushing yourself too hard?

According to webmd.com, some symptoms may be:

• physical and emotional exhaustion

• being more cynical and have a short fuse

• feeling useless, depressed and/or anxious

• you can't focus

• headaches, heartburn, high blood pressure, stomach aches and more could be a current symptom you're having

You may have other symptoms, but these are some more common ones.

Now here's the hard part to process:

What do you do?!

If you recognize that you're wearing thin, you need to make a change. And it is NEVER easy...initially.

It may require saying a few more no's. It may require a few more deep breaths. It may require you to disappoint your kindergartener because you don't have the time or mental capacity to add yet another activity to your schedule. It may require you to actually let out some tears. But, you have to break the cycle somehow.

Ask for help. Whether it's a therapist, an accountability partner, your pastor, whomever you're most comfortable with to talk to about what's going on!

What not to do??

Don't use it as an opportunity to make your health worse. You may not have the physical or mental capacity to add in a new workout routine, but I can almost guarantee you can choose to eat something healthier, if you have to go to the grocery store anyway. If you need to see a doctor, MAKE THE TIME. Chiropractors are a great resource to help you, by the way.

Don't wallow in a symptom you may be having. Sounds mean, but the more you marinade in what you're feeling, the less likely you'll get over it.

“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones”

-Proverbs17:22

"Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."

-Philippians 4:6-7

Not every day you'll be able to choose a joyful heart, but God gives us the tools (bible verses, beautiful things in His creation, etc.) to be able to focus on something else. That doesn't mean you don't acknowledge the physical or emotional symptom. Seek the help you need for either type of symptom. As a chiropractor, I know I am trained to help! But if you're repeatedly saying you 'have' something like it's part of who you are, don't forget Jesus overcame the world and every ugly thing in it!

Personally, preventing burnout has taken a lot of listening to my suppressed feelings and emotions. I can easily use logic to disregard an emotion, and I can use logic to push myself physically. Heck, I can find logic in eating a tub of ice cream (holla!) or logic to hide a deep feeling of not feeling loved. Keeping myself accountable to too much logic has been important to me overcoming burnout. If I've had a recurring thought of frustration or sadness about how I'm feeling, maybe it's time to stop justifying why I shouldn't feel that way, face it, and ask God to help me through it. Acknowledging feelings like this have been especially helpful in keeping me from being cynical and overly critical to my poor husband.

Journaling also helps me clear my mind and let God know what's going on. Some days I just need to put my emotions on paper and let God deal with them instead of ruining my family's day with my attitude.

Overcoming burnout is kind of like losing weight. It's one baby step at a time. And that first step can only be known to you through God's Holy Spirit (aka, you're intuition knows what seems right and what doesn't).

Keep life simple, because it's simply too wonderful to waste on feeling burnt out.