โYou will burn and you will burn out;
you will be healed and come back again.โ
Fyodor Dostoevsky
โ
I'm a bit crispy around the edges.
I'm admittedly drained.
The creative flow has been but an intermittent drip.
Perfectionism is a creeper, and it's been following me ever so nonchalantly.
I've been pushing myself hard for many months to achieve results in my content creation and in my mental health healing process. This push through is because I've always thought burnout was just something I had to force myself to overcome.
I used to think burnout meant I was being productive. I figured it was just part of the deal of content creation (and mental healing). Even more so, that it was tied to the amount of success I could expect in return. It took me a long while to realize I was not only suffocating my creativity and forcing a hand on my creative spark, but I was hindering my healing efforts by pressuring myself to push forward and obtain results.
I'm here today to tell you why this push-through-burnout mindset is a myth (among others) and could be sabotaging your creativity, because it has been wrecking mine.
Common Burnout Myths
Myth: "Burnout is just a normal part of being a creator. I can just push through it."
"Hustle" culture (and even "Boss Babe" mentality), tends to normalize burnout as being part of the deal especially among content creators. If you're not burned out, you're not working hard enough. However, unchecked burnout, and continuing to work beyond healthy limits, can lead to dangerous consequences, such as serious medical issues, substance abuse, and violence.
Myth: "Taking breaks = FOMO"
Content creators feel a constant pressure to produce content almost non-stop, often fueled by the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO). This belief leads to catastrophic thoughts that if they take a break (or just a "breather") they will lose their audience, miss followers, lack engagement, lose visibility, and become irrelevant. Productivity is cyclical, non-linear, and polar. Just like the seasons, creativity has its periods of time for active production and dormant recovery.
Myth: "Only the weak get burned out."
Burnout can happen to anyone at anytime. Strong or weak. No matter how resilient a creator might be, burnout is a response to prolonged stress. If the source and root causes of the stress are not remedied, burnout is inevitable. It is important to note that burnout is not weakness and it is not the price for success. It is a signal for change.
Why Believing These Myths Might Be Harmful
Creators (unknowingly) hold on to damaging beliefs that actually fuel their burnout experience and keep them stuck in a perpetual cycle of exhaustion and creative stagnation.
Normalizing burnout can discourage creators from searching out interventions for wellbeing. Mental, physical, and emotional health can deteriorate over time if the burnout is not addressed. Creators who bulldoze through their burnout often experience the consequence of diminishing returns. The more they overwork, the less creative and effective their results are.
Long-term creativity can be impacted negatively by untreated burnout. Chronic stress can result in mental and emotional breakdowns and physical illness. This ultimately forces creators to have to take extended breaks and time away from their crafts, than if they had just recognized and addressed the burnout sooner.
The Bright Side of These Myths
Instead of accepting burnout as the "norm" for content creator life, look at it as a message of feedback for necessary change in your workflow and life balance. This is important to recognize, because the more you push through burnout, the more disconnected you can become from why you started creating in the first place: Joy, passion, happiness.
Everyone experiences a form of burnout at one time or another, because it is a natural response to overwork, overexertion, and chronic stress. Seeking help for the symptoms of burnout is a sign of strength and in no way signifies weakness. In the long run, taking breaks and resting routinely improves creative flow and productivity output. Cycling between "creative blocks" and "downtime blocks" helps stabilize and balance your production, engagement, and peace of mind.
You can't always be working. You've got to have some fun too!
What Do You Think? Let me know!
Which of these myths resonate with you?
How have they affected your creativity or wellbeing?
Take a moment to reflect and journal your thoughts. Challenge any beliefs that might be stopping you from making changes today.
If you feel like sharing, please reply here or send an email to hello@upliftandmend.com
Where to Find Help
โhttps://www.nami.org/โ
(No sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement)
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