Recovered from Burnout in 2025

I had a good holiday. I was in my new home with my boyfriend and cats. We didn't decorate this year, but we opened some small presents in the morning. I called my parents and texted his mom. Then every place was closed so we were forced to cook when we got hungry, haha. Fortunately, that means our kitchen is unpacked to a functional level. Yay! So I made a spontaneous holiday meal: roasted brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes, and homemade mac and cheese. It felt so good to have a cozy sense of normalcy.

I haven't sewn in months. I miss it. I miss feeling the fabric, hearing the rhythmic hum of the machine, and creating something cute and/or beautiful. But I'm getting closer... I unpacked my sewing machine this weekend, and I found my thread and notions. I ordered an inexpensive table to sew on because I donated my dining room table when we moved. I'll be sewing again soon. I probably won't unpack all of my fabric, but I will have what I need for a project or two.

Moving doesn't get easier. Maybe it gets harder. I was comfortable where I was. I lived there for five years. For four years, I lived in a home that I owned. I won't be settled like that for a while. But I'm glad I moved. This place will be better for us in the long-run. It has jobs and housing.

My hope for 2026 is stability. I know that's not in my control, but I will gladly take whatever stability comes my way. I hope my job stays fine, my rental stays fine, my car stays fine, my relationships stay fine, I stay fine, and my cats stay fine. (Lol! I'm not asking for much!) 

I've been saying it for years now, but I will gladly take a boring year. Please. :)

We are wrapping up 2025. I'm reflecting like I usually do this time of year. The first half of 2025 was all about recovering from burnout after a difficult first half of 2024. It took a full year of reducing my demands to recover from extreme burnout sustained after a decade. Then all of a sudden, the last third of 2025 was all about moving (literally) at rapid speed.

You can say this about any year, but it's the first time I've ever thought about it. Year 2025 was the bridge I needed to get from 2024 (awful) to 2026 (hopefully much better). I really focused on my mental and physical health. I slept a lot. I started practicing yoga several times a month. I kept sewing but slowed it down. I avoided making new commitments while I continued following through with what I'd already said I'd do. I slowly reset and regained my energy. Then I looked for and found a good full-time job in another state and moved.

As soon as I could, I did. 

But first I had to rest. Then I had to do the work.

That's how recovery goes. 

I got the picture above from this post about how to recover from burnout, written by a facility that offers a variety of programs to treat stress, trauma, and mental health disorders. I don't know about this organization, but I like their post and graphic.

Also, yoga for self-care can be so cliche... But... It really does help. 

Yoga means "to yoke," to connect. Practicing yoga means connecting your breathing with your movement. So, inhale slowly and raise your arms over your head. Exhale slowly and lower your arms. Do that several more times. It's calming. Yoga is literally the stilling of the thought waves of the mind (yoga sutra 1.2).