My favorite recipe for burnout

I don’t know about you, but as the season changes, I feel inspired by all the new growth and green I see around me. It is delightful! It reminds me of three years ago when I was so buried in my work that I couldn’t see beyond my struggle, missing out on so much.

Here’s your chance to miss it all too!

I’m excited to share with you my favorite recipe for burnout. You might be intimidated by what’s involved, but I’m here to tell you that no matter who you are, you will be able to achieve this. The ingredients, cultivated over centuries of white supremacy, patriarchy, and rugged individualism, are easily accessible.

[Jump to recipe]

Why You’ll Love This

Familiar ingredients

Many parents and influential adults demonstrated to us as children how to use them. You aren’t born with them on hand, but trust me, you find them quickly. I’m not kidding when I say this is one of the easiest recipes to follow!

Order doesn’t matter

Below, I’ll give the order and amount I used, but feel free to mix it up for yourself. The great thing about burnout is that you can tailor it to your personal preferences. After all, these are societal ingredients with individual flavor.

You won’t even realize you’re burning out!

When you start gathering these ingredients, you will not realize you’re doing it. You will be blind to the concoction that you are creating. Isn’t that great?

Easy to follow instructions! Takes no time at all.

A Shoutout to Special Ingredients

Since you might not realize that you already have the components on hand, here are couple descriptions to help you complete the recipe.

Perfectionism

This is my favorite; self-perpetuating, culturally reinforced, and sustainable in all stages of life! This ingredient is one that you are probably all familiar with but might not understand its origin or the associated slippery slope. That’s okay! That’s why you’re here.

If you’d like a textbook definition, Psychology Today offers this description:

“Perfectionism is a trait that makes life an endless report card on accomplishments or looks. When healthy, it can be self-motivating and drive you to overcome adversity and achieve success. When unhealthy, it can be a fast and enduring track to unhappiness.

What makes extreme perfectionism so toxic is that while those in its grip desire success, they are most focused on avoiding failure, resulting in a negative orientation. They don’t believe in unconditional love, expecting others’ affection and approval to be dependent on a flawless performance.”

I remember in first grade; my teacher told my parents that since I was such an easy child striving to do everything right, other teachers may not give me enough attention in the future. Boy, was she right! It makes me laugh...now.

It might be why, when reading Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey, I latched on to her description of perfectionism as being a “function of white supremacy.” She writes,

“We internalize the toxic messages received from the culture and begin to hate ourselves unless we are accomplishing a task. We seek external validation from a violent system devoid of love.”

Wowza. What a powerful component of burnout!

Toxic Productivity

“I’ve never heard of this, Alyson!” you might be saying to yourself, “It sounds fascinating!”

Trust me. It is.

A delightful element in burnout, toxic productivity is described differently depending on who you speak with. According to this post in Psychology Today (aren’t they a great resource?), toxic productivity “is an obsessive need to always be productive, regardless of the cost to your health, relationships, and life.”

And, I mean, honestly, haven’t we all been there?

It’s what we do in America! We work! All the time!

Because if we aren’t working, aren’t being productive, then what is the point of our lives? If we aren’t working and producing, we don’t have any value, do we?

I mean, this is just common sense. Especially when it comes to burnout.

A Note

As I mentioned above, these ingredients are all culturally constructed and individually enhanced. We all bring our unique flavors to this recipe. My flavors of perfectionism and people-pleasing made my burnout particularly crispy. Yum!

Share Your Experience

I’m excited to hear what you think of this recipe. Comment below and let me know what ingredients you used, if different, and how it went for you!

Love, Alyson ❤️

Ingredients

• 2 cups perfectionism combined with unlimited potential
• 2 cups toxic productivity
• 2/3 cup people-pleasing
• 1/2 cup prioritizing the needs of others
• 2 Tbsp fear
• 1 Tbsp of your preferred numbing agent (alcohol, marijuana, other drugs, or any combination)
• 1 tsp - 1 Tbsp feelings of inadequacy
• A dash of negative body image, just for fun

Instructions

Combine in any order. Place over a low heat and simmer until the ingredients are well compounded.

Watch as you become a shell of a human with health issues, crumbling mental health, spontaneous and prolonged crying fits, and diminished relationships.

You’ll be blown away by your intense, terrifying dish of burnout.

A healthy alternative

Once you can consume no more of this recipe, check out this healthy alternative: My Favorite Recipe for Burnout Recovery. It’s been years in the making, and I’m excited to share it with you!