13 Steps to Get Through Burnout During My 14-Day COVID-19 Quarantine

Photo by Leighann Blackwood on Unsplash

I stumbled out of my bed while dizzy and nauseous, surprised that I was so sick. Yeah, I’ll be honest and admit I had been having a mild cough the last few days, a runny nose and chronic fatigue the last week or so.

I had gone back and forth to the bathroom four times. While lying in the bed and doing deep breathing, between each vomiting session, the dizziness and nausea eventually subsided, yet I was extremely fatigued.

I mustered the strength to pick up my iPhone, go search my contacts for my boss’s number to call and let her know I wouldn’t be coming in the office that day.

I was now wondering if my symptoms could be that of COVID-19. I then called my daughter, a nurse practitioner, to discuss my symptoms. My daughter advised me to call the nearest Emergency Room (ER) to speak with someone and tell them about my symptoms and pre-existing medical conditions to see if I should go there to be tested for COVID-19.

I called the ER at one of the local hospitals. I was told by a nurse to contact my primary physician because it wouldn’t be wise for me to come to the ER because if I didn’t already have COVID-19, there is a high probability I would get it while there. She also said that it was at the discretion of the doctors to test for COVID-19 or not.

After being examined by my primary physician, I was told I presented with some symptoms of COVID-19, but since his office didn’t actually administer the test it couldn’t be confirmed. He then said because of my chronic medical conditions, that I should quarantine for fourteen days. My doctor also advised me not to go to the ER for fear that I could get COVID-19, if I didn’t already have it.

I was now back at home and feeling better yet queasy and extremely fatigued. While in deep thought the scripture Romans 8:28 (KJV), “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose” quickly came to mind. So, it was then I realized that something positive would come out of me being quarantined.

I decided to use this time to address the symptoms of burnout I’d been experiencing for a while and just didn’t want to address.

According to the article “The Tell Tale Signs of Burnout ... Do You Have Them?” written by Sherrie Bourgeois Carter Psy.D., burnout is defined as “a state of chronic stress that leads to:

●       Physical and emotional exhaustion

●       Cynicism and detachment

●       Feelings of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment”

Burnout doesn’t happen at once and I had been experiencing symptoms of feeling exhausted much of the time and engaging in escapist behaviors such as binge-watching Netflix. I also was experiencing increased anxiety, as well as, insomnia, and being cynical and easily irritated longer than I wanted to admit.

You see, I experienced burnout a few decades ago which required me to take a leave of absence from work, so I knew firsthand what would happen if I did not deal with the symptoms I was currently experiencing. Therefore, I decided to use the time to recover effectively from burnout, since I know that it does not go away on its own, to get refocused, refreshed and renewed.

In doing so, I did the following:

1. Rested and slept as much as possible without putting any expectations on myself
2. Participated in deep introspection, soul searching and self-reflection
3. Engaged in cathartic and mindful journal writing
4. Limited my time on social media
5. Reassessed my goals
6. Read some scriptures in the Bible and positive affirmations
7. Re-read the book Fervent: A Woman’s Battle Plan for Serious, Specific, and Strategic Prayer by Priscilla Shirer and this time took copious notes
8. Set healthy boundaries with others
9. Brainstormed blog topics to write about
10. Cleaned my house and did some organizing of paperwork
11. Went walking in my neighborhood to boost my mood while at the same time ensuring that I was social distancing myself from others
12. Scheduled a teletherapy session with my therapist
13. Prayed, prayed and prayed some more

I now feel refocused, refreshed and renewed, because I made it a priority during the quarantine to rest my mind, body and soul and make self-care a number one priority.

If you too have been quarantined due to the coronavirus pandemic and are exhibiting signs of burnout, feel free to use some of the tips above to help prevent it.

15 Tips to Help you Heal from Emotional Eating

Photo by Leighann Blackwood on Unsplash

As I sit on my sofa stuffing my mouth with potato chips and French onion dip, my anxiety increases because this ongoing battle with emotional eating has exacerbated this last year to a point of emotional exhaustion.

Truthfully, my struggles with emotional eating began when my mother died almost five years ago. I also lost two aunts and an uncle in the same year. Plus, dealing with chronic health issues has caused my emotional eating to spiral out of control.

With that being the case, weight gain was inevitable and to the point where buying some new clothes was necessary. My emotional eating along with the weight gain has affected my mental health because this ongoing battle causes depression and anxiety. In the article, “Turning Down Nachos (aka Managing Grief and Comfort Eating,” it states the following:

“When we think about grief we often think of the tears, the anger, and the guilt. We talk about the strain it puts on our relationship with friends and family. We consider the existential crisis it can induce. But one thing that often doesn’t get discussed is that grief can bring on a whole new relationship with food. For some this means struggling to eat anything, with a stomach in knots from pain and anxiety. For others, grief and comfort eating become a constant reality. Food suddenly becomes a new best friend.”

I spend time with my best friend, who sometimes goes by the name of cheese fries, chocolate chip cookies, pizza, tacos, nachos, chocolate fudge brownies with pecans, Shrimp Pad Thai, and Pepsi to name a few.

But, as the old saying goes, the truth shall set you free and I want to be free of this compulsion of emotional eating.

If you are experiencing the same struggles, I am sure you can relate.

Despite it all, I won’t give up until I get back on track with using healthy coping skills to deal with life stressors rather than stuffing my face with food. And, in the process, I want to lose some weight.

Below are 15 tips I am now using to begin this journey of healing to overcome emotional eating:

1.    Get back on a regular sleep routine

2.    Set healthy boundaries and don’t over commit myself

3.    Spend at least fifteen minutes daily to relax and decompress from the day

4.    Complete meal prep to measure my portions and have food ready and available so I won’t want to eat out on a regular basis

5.    Start using MyFitnessPal more consistently to log what I eat and write down my feelings about food in the diary section

6.    Start the morning with a well-balanced breakfast, which helps me not to eat and/or snack as much for lunch and dinner

7.    Stop buying junk food and the foods I crave when stressed

8.    Do some form of exercise daily

9.    Use cognitive reframing to prevent negative thought patterns from getting to a point where they can become destabilizing

10. Read and journal consistently

11. Re-focus on my goals

12. Pray, meditate and listen to music

13. Schedule check in appointments with my therapist on a regular basis

14. Have self-compassion and don’t ever give up because my health and sanity depend on it

     15. Engage in mindful eating

If you too struggle with emotional eating, I hope that the tips above can be of help to you. Also, if this story hits home, please feel free to leave me the following comment “I can relate” and any other words you would like to share. Don’t hesitate to share some useful tips that are helping you to overcome emotional eating.

I am now second-guessing whether I should share this blog post because anxiety is starting to creep on the scene. But this time I am not going to look in my refrigerator or kitchen cabinets to see what I can eat to help ease my emotional discomfort.

I am going to hit the send button and ensure that I get a good night’s sleep... 

Procrastination Get Thee Behind Me: 7 Tips to Accomplish Your Goals

Photo by Nick Owuor (astro.nic.visuals) on Unsplash

Updated March 20, 2020, Carla J. Curtis

As I sit here at this computer, I am staring at a folder filled with study resources. All I have to do is take an exam to become a licensed clinical professional counselor, yet for the last several months, I have been procrastinating about committing to a daily study schedule for me to be prepared to take the exam. 

The struggles I’ve had with procrastination over the years has been a thorn in my side and a vicious cycle. I have allowed procrastination to stall my progress, and every time this happens, I end up in a rut, and before I know it, working on my goals is no longer a priority. 

Yes, I’ve accomplished many of the goals I’ve set for myself: I became a published author. I went back to school to pursue a lifelong dream of becoming a therapist. I organized and alphabetized my bookshelf and finally bought an electric piano. But trust me, none of these have been without an overwhelming amount of anxiety and stress. That’s why my number one goal in 2020 is to not allow procrastination to be so emotionally challenging. 

You know, for a procrastinator like myself—or shall I say, recovering procrastinator, since my goal is to stop procrastinating—social media has caused me to drag my feet even more, and I then have the audacity to get mad at myself when days, weeks, and even months go by with some of the same things on my “to do” list not being completed. I don’t even want to think about all the times I have used social media to procrastinate.

The bottom line is that it’s really time for me to pull up my “big girl” panties and stop procrastinating, and, as the young folks say, “turn up” by getting focused on completing my goals. 

I am too old to continue riding this roller coaster. 

Here are 7 tips to help me deal with procrastination:

1.      I set aside some time to meditate, pray, and play the piano to decrease anxiety that often comes with procrastinating. 

2.     I determine exactly what’s causing me to procrastinate and not pursue my goals.

3.     I break my goals down into manageable tasks. 

4.     I put my phone on airplane mode or turn it off for a few hours a week to make my goals a priority.

5.     I don’t beat myself up because sometimes I will not be able to complete certain goals in the timeframe that I want due to various reasons.

6.   I am flexible and try not to over analyze the steps it takes to accomplish my goals.

7.     I relax, breathe, and pat myself on the back for not giving up.

If you struggle with procrastination, you will surely understand my challenge. Today, I pledge to do some re-prioritizing and get rid of procrastination because, after all, it’s for my sanity’s sake. When procrastination wants to creep onto the scene, I am going to say the words, “Procrastination get thee behind me” and truly mean it...

Dealing with the Woman in the Mirror

Photo by Jayson Hinrichsen on Unsplash

Updated February 21, 2020

At the start of this new year, I pondered about what resolutions to make. Of course, the usual ones came to mind i.e. eating better, working out, making a vision board, and writing out my goals. However, something about these resolutions didn’t sit well with me. The resolution that immediately came to mind for me to accomplish is to begin really “dealing with the woman in the mirror.”

As I reflect on this past year, I'll admit that I had some tough times, and I truly thank God that I didn’t lose my mind. Through these hard times, I was forced to deal with myself and some of the things I discovered I didn’t like. You know, it would be easy for me to point the finger at others for treating me a certain way, rather than looking at my own decision making. And, I’ll admit that in some situations, I made some bad choices and decisions that thinking about them now makes me cringe! Before I go any further, this blog post is not to beat myself up or live in constant condemnation. It is just me being honest.

As women, self-reflection is often not easy for us to do because it can make us feel vulnerable. Nonetheless, it’s necessary if we want to become better women and leaders to empower and inspire others to grow in Christ. Reaching souls for Christ is serious business and should never ever be taken lightly. Before we can truly build others up, we must deal with ourselves. I know that perfection is not possible or realistic. I’m merely trying to reiterate that growing and maturing in Christ and being a disciple are major responsibilities that should always be taken seriously. 

Yet, I’ve realized that some of us and yes, women of God, don’t seem to be taking maturing and reaching souls for Christ and edifying others seriously because of our own spiritual immaturity and bad decision making – myself included –  whether we want to admit it to ourselves or not. In fact, some of us continue making bad decisions that put us in harm’s way, as well as, engage in negative behaviors that can cause others to regress instead of progress in their walk with God.

When I think about the book of Ruth, which is one of my favorite books in the Bible, I find that it’s a great example of what it means for another woman to truly empower the other. Ruth obviously dealt with the woman in the mirror. She also had her priorities in order and was able to let go of the past, no matter how difficult, in order to follow God’s instructions for her life, which included being used as a vessel to empower Naomi.

Although it will not always be easy and I will make mistakes, I, Carla J. Curtis, pledge to make “dealing with the woman in the mirror” a top priority on a regular basis. It’s truly time for me to make some changes and grow up in certain areas of my life, so that I can be all that God has called me to be.