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How I burned myself out (again)

There’s a certain irony to being a mental health advocate, raising awareness about certain topics and yet somehow managing to burn yourself out. Yet here we are, it’s the start of 2026 and I feel on the fringes of burnout – I definitely ended 2025 burned out and I’m not out of the weeds yet. How did this happen, you might ask? Well, I ask myself the same question and I’ve realized that it seems to be the perfect concotion of my personality that means I have a tendency to push myself too hard. But first, let’s rewind.

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The truth about being a mindful entrepreneur

The path to entrepreneurship

About 6 months ago I decided to re-embark on the path of entrepreneurship by becoming self employed. This isn’t my first time – I did it in 2019 – but back then I had no idea what I was doing and had picked the option by default. Needless to say it was a very stressful period where I couldn’t fully embrace this status. In 2024 it was a completely different scenario: after careful consideration and wondering what I wanted to do next with my career, I decided I would give it another go.

With my 40th birthday on the horizon I asked myself: what do I want for the next 20 years of my career? Do I want to be in a corporate office job? The answer was no. I wanted to give myself a chance of pursuing the things I love and giving it a go – no regrets. Now I realize, 40 is still young and there’s plenty of time to do the things you always wanted to. 😉

With that in mind I decided to pursue my idea of becoming a life coach – something I’d been wanting to do since 2018. I thought that being able to blend my communications and marketing skills as well as being a coach would be the perfect mix. I also wanted the opportunity to pursue my artistic goals related to dance, and thus the journey started.

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Burnout PTSD – what is it?

Not long ago I was talking to a friend who also burned out and she said something to me along the lines of “I didn’t know if I could work anymore, if work was even for me… I was scared of burning out again”. Suddenly a light went off in my brain and I realized – “oh my God she has burnout PTSD, and so do I”.

It really got me reflecting on my own experience and how my burnouts have affected me ever since. Particularly after launching the burnout checklist, it’s a topic I want to continue exploring. After all, you can recover from burnout thankfully, but what happens after that?

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How I went from burned out to thriving

Or in other words, how my thirties have been the most transformative decade of my life…

A lot is happening right now: I am about to turn 40, I just took a leap of faith and became a freelancer again, and I just started taking my intermediate coaching course with Co-Active coaching. All of this got me reflecting on the past decade and how I essentially turned my life around. I’ve gone from burned out, anxious, depressed, lacking in self-confidence, to someone who is grounded, aligned with her values and living life to the fullest. It’s a beautiful way to close off this decade and enter the next one, honestly I cannot wait to see what it brings. So, let’s jump in and let me tell you more about what happened.

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My experience with body dysmorphia

Thin in 2020
Me in the summer of 2020 – at my fittest

Recently I’ve been a bit unhappy with my body because I’ve gained weight, lost muscle, and am not as strong as I used to be. Looking back at my body during Covid times, I wish I was still that strong and lean. But the crazy thing is that back then I didn’t value it at all. And it got me thinking: I honestly cannot remember a time in my life when I didn’t think I needed to be thinner and was 100% satisfied with my body.

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How coaching changed my life

How coaching changed my life
Picture by Anna Alekseeva

It was recently world mental health day, and I started thinking about how much my life has changed and how I got to where I am today. I’m so happy that currently I experience a lot less anxiety, depression and general low moods. I’m also happy that I no longer work in a toxic environment and actually feel safe in my job, something that hugely contributes to overall good mental health. But this didn’t happen by accident or overnight. For me the thing that has significantly impacted my mental health is coaching, and I wanted to share why.

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My mental health has changed

My mental health has changed

I’m currently on holiday enjoying the beautiful European summer, and it wouldn’t be a proper holiday unless I was using the time to reflect on life and the past 6-7 months of this year. Whilst we were chatting, a friend of mine pointed out to me that I’ve been stressed at work now for pretty much the better part of the year which I realized was true. Following that, I also realized that although I’ve been stressed it’s not affecting me the same as it used to and suddenly it dawned on me: my relationship to stress and my mental health has changed completely.

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An update on That’s Mental

It’s been a while since I’ve been active on That’s Mental, whether over here on the blog or on my Youtube channel, so I thought it was time to share an honest update and writing felt like the most natural thing to do. So if you’re in the mood for a bit of a natter, read on below. This isn’t about me feeling sorry for myself or complaining, this is about being honest about my mental health which I believe is important.

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Real life mental health stories: using the law to support mental health

Who are you, and why did you decide to share your story?

Steve

My name is Steve, I’m 30 and work as a Consultant Mental Health Lawyer within the West Midlands of the United Kingdom. 

I can remember dealing with mental health issues whilst I was studying at University as I suffered chronic anxiety, and didn’t know how to manage or cope with it. Some days it was a success If I got out of bed and that’s all I did that day. I knew I couldn’t carry on living like this and that’s when I realised I needed help, which I discussed with my family and sought professional help from a psychologist privately.

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Real life mental health stories: postpartum psychosis

Disclaimer: this may read like a story, but it is a real life account by someone. Please note that this story may be difficult to read if you are a mum, if you are pregnant, or if you want to be a mum in the future. 

Please do not read if you are afraid this will negatively impact your mental health – and take the necessary precautions. 

The original of this post was written in French and you can find it here.

postpartum psychosis
Photo by Josh Willink from Pexels

Who are you, and what made you want to share your story?

My name is Aurélie, I am the mother of three children, and I work in childcare. After the birth of my first son, I experienced the worst time of my life. I wanted to share my experience because while baby blues and postpartum depression are somewhat well known, they are still relatively taboo in our society.

On the other hand, postpartum psychosis is barely talked about at all if not completely unknown for most people. And yet, a number of young mothers go through this experience or through depression, while their friends and family aren’t able to understand or identify what’s happening to them. 

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Real life mental health stories: totally burnt out

Totally burnt out

Who are you, and why did you decide to share your story?

I am a woman in my mid-thirties and I work in the humanitarian sector. During a recent long-term field assignment, I experienced what I later discovered to be burnout. At the time I had little knowledge about this mental health issue, so for a long time I simply ignored the signals my mind and my body were sending me. 

By sharing my experience, I’d like to shed light on burnout, its symptoms and its consequences. In my sector there is still a lot of stigma around it, so I think that reading about others’ stories may be of help to those going through (or suspecting they are going through) the same experience. 

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Real life mental health stories: intrusive thoughts OCD

Intrusive thoughts

Who are you, and why did you decide to share your story?

I am a 35 year old French woman who has been living in Geneva for the last 12 years. I am the mum of 2 beautiful kids ages 4 & 7. 

I have an obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), called phobia of committing impulsive acts. In a few words I would summarize it as the fear of becoming crazy and doing things you don’t want to do.

When was the first time you became aware you were suffering from a mental health/wellness issue? 

I have always been quite anxious as far as I can remember but that particular form, the phobia of committing impulsive acts, first revealed itself about 10 years ago. I was in my kitchen preparing dinner with my husband and all of a sudden, the thought hit me “what if I killed my husband”. I didn’t want to, absolutely not, but all of sudden I was attacked by intrusive thoughts, all going around the theme of “what if I became crazy”, “what if suddenly hit him with a knife”. 

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On suicide…

Trigger warning! This poem may be difficult to read if you know someone who has committed suicide, if you yourself have had suicidal thoughts, or if the topic of suicide is difficult for you whatever the reason may be. Please do not read if you don’t feel ready to do so.

If you want to read make sure you feel in a good place with your mental health, perhaps read it with a friend or do whatever you need so as to not feel triggered. Please also check local resources (and on this website) to support you with your mental health.

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Overcoming shame

This blog post is part of a series on men’s mental health for Movember. In this series, different men give their perspective on male mental health. What does it mean to deal with mental health as a man?

In certain cases as with the interview below, people have had the courage to reveal their identity. This is both brave and vulnerable, congratulations to them!

Ahmad

This guest blog post is written by Ahmad Jooma. I asked Ahmad to contribute his story around mental health, as a man and co-host of the podcast Authentic Dating Series. The below is Ahmad’s interpretation of that, and personal story. For him, shame was linked to his ability to fully show up as a man.

Imagine the consequences of that for mental health! Mental health doesn’t have to be about a burnout or a full mental breakdown, it can also be tied to your self-confidence and your ability to be open with others.

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Helping prevent suicide in men

Ben Akers

This blog post is part of a series on men’s mental health for Movember. In this series, different men give their perspective on male mental health. What does it mean to deal with mental health as a man?

In certain cases as with the interview below, people have had the courage to reveal their identity. This is both brave and vulnerable, congratulations to them!

What made you want to share your story? Please introduce yourself

Hi my name is Ben Akers, I’m 44, father of 3. I live in Bristol in the UK. I’m a Documentary Maker, Problem Solver and Mental Fitness Campaigner.

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