The Burnout Checkin
05.04.26
By: Ray SaVonne
Lately, I’ve been feeling a subtle shift. The kind of shift you don’t notice right away, but your body does.
If I’m being honest, I didn’t even realize how much I needed a reset until I started feeling it physically.
With May being Mental Health Awareness Month, I’ve been thinking a lot about what “taking care of yourself” actually looks like in real life—not the aesthetic version, not the perfectly curated routines, but the real, sometimes uncomfortable version of it.
Burnout isn’t always obvious.
Burnout is not always crashing out or completely shutting down. Sometimes it looks like your functioning, but feeling off. Like you’re doing everything you’re supposed to do, but your body and your mind are quietly telling you something isn’t aligning.
For me, it showed up in my routine. Starting a new job and being on my laptop 8+ hours a day sounded manageable at first. I told myself I’d adjust. But over time, I started noticing the effects—not just mentally, but physically. The tension, the tightness, the way my body was literally holding onto the stress of my day.
My wake-up call.
Around the same time, my apartment started going through renovations. At first, it felt like an inconvenience. Things were out of place, nothing felt settled, and I didn’t feel fully comfortable in my own space. But looking back, the timing couldn’t have been more aligned. While everything around me was being pulled apart and redone, I realized I needed that same kind of reset internally.
Not in a dramatic, “new me” kind of way, but in a real, grounded way. I started paying attention to the things I was ignoring:
- The way I was sitting for hours without moving
- The way I was pushing through fatigue instead of resting
- The way I was telling myself “I’m fine” when I wasn’t
And I had to be honest with myself… taking care of me was going to require more than just saying I would.
It meant making small changes that didn’t feel impressive, but were necessary. It looked like:
- Stepping away from my laptop even when I felt busy
- Being more intentional about how I move throughout the day
- Creating a space that actually feels calm, not just looks nice
- Letting myself reset without guilt
Nothing about it was dramatic. But it was real. And I think that’s the part we don’t talk about enough.
Taking care of yourself doesn’t always look productive. It doesn’t always look aesthetic. And it definitely doesn’t always happen all at once.
Sometimes it looks like slowing down when everything in you wants to keep going. Sometimes it looks like giving yourself room to reset, mentally and physically, even when it feels inconvenient.
Making space for a version of myself that actually feels supported.
I’m learning to support myself by prioritizing my routines, my environment, and the way I show up each day, while actually listening to what my body needs. I’ve realized that burnout isn’t something I just stumble into. It builds over time. It’s the result of what I ignore, what I put off, and where I stop showing up for myself. Support, on the other hand, is something I have to intentionally create—through the habits I keep, the boundaries I honor, the spaces I choose, and the thoughts I allow to take root.
So if you’ve been feeling the same shift as me, maybe it’s not about doing more. Maybe it’s about releasing what’s been weighing you down and allowing yourself to reset where it matters most.
Not perfectly. Not all at once.
Just intentionally.
XO,
The Kléi
