Dr. Allana Polo is a Naturopathic Doctor, business owner, and mom of two young boys.
Women are burning out. Fizzling fast. In fact, recent stats confirm, 52% of us, women like you and I, are burning out from the weight of household responsibilities alone. Combine the mental and physical stress at home with that of work, the recipe: Exhaustion. Burnout has become so “commonplace” it is now classified as an Official Medical Diagnosis by the World Health Organization. Fatigue, lack of concentration, apathy, chronic stress, and a lack of motivation or pleasure from things that used to ignite fires.
I have definitely been there, haven’t we all? We live in a society where being burned out is a badge of honor. Listing off our To-do lists, stressing over how busy we are. The irony, everything on our plate, was put there by us.
As a Naturopathic Doctor, entrepreneur, and mom of two, I know burnout well. Working primarily with female leaders, busy moms, entrepreneurs, and professionals, I witness it daily. Chronic and deep fatigue. Lack of passion. Inability to cope with stress. Overwhelm. Anxiety. Less patience, more reactive. I also witness how this manifests as physical. Physical symptoms and imbalances.
Women who are emotional, yet the rock. Tired, but keep going. Worried, but full of hope. Patient, but impatient. Overwhelmed, but never quit. The women who think something is “wrong with them” because they are so tired. A voice telling them they need to work harder, stop being so weak. Until the powerful, raw, and real moment, when they’re told they’re just burned out.
No amount of supplement, pill bottle, or diet plan is going to help with that. It comes from a place of putting yourself first, putting your oxygen mask on first, so you can better help those around you. You can’t show up for someone else, if you first haven’t shown up for you, unapologetically and fully.
So, this is your sign. This may be what you need to hear. Know you have the power to say no to what doesn’t serve you. Less shoulds. Less to-dos and more “ta-das.” More meaningful and purposeful connections. More water, less coffee. This is your permission, from me to you, with love. The beautiful thing, in fact, the most beautiful of all, is that burnout is reversible.
