“It takes the courage to say yes to rest and play in a culture where fatigue is considered a status symbol.” ~Brené Brown
“I have burnout,” I heard these three words in a trance and said thank you, and got off the phone with the doctor.
A part of me knew.
I spent my time in bed staring at the ceiling without any motivation to do anything. Can’t concentrate on the screen. And then, as I saw yet another meeting appear on the calendar, a sudden burst of tears exploded.
I knew this was not all normal. Something went wrong with that.
But another part of me was distrust. Burn out? ! If I’m doing something I love, how can I burn out?
Just three years ago, I co-founded the company to help patients with chronic illnesses. I was here to change the world, help others, and build something meaningful.
How is it possible to burn out according to your dreams? That’s by chance to miserable people at work from 9-5.
As I exposed deeper, I learned how wrong I was.
In fact, it’s much more common to burn out while running your own company than when you’re an employee.
I spent financial roller coasters, refusals along the way, countless weekends working without actually taking breaks. We are not made for that.
Whether we follow our dreams or follow the dreams of someone else.
So, like perfectionists and hustlers, I thought: Let’s fix this quickly so that you can feel joy in what I’m building.
I’ve started reading self-help books, doing talk therapy, starting with mindset coaching, and trying various productivity techniques, but the inability to feel the blank, motivation and joy inside me didn’t go away.
And under all this was a crippling fear. What if I could leave everything I built and be healthy?
One day the turning point came out of blue.
I sat on the beach watching the sunset, watching the fascinating colours and heard in my head say, “Buy paint and buy it.” At first, I dismissed it, but yelled, “Buy paint and buy it.”
And I did. I went to my nearest dollar store and bought some cheap acrylic, small canvas and a few brushes.
At home, I placed plastic bags on my bed and started drawing without much thought.
The first brush stroke hit me deeply. I felt my body and mind vent: Finally, you went home!
I drew for hours. And when I was finished I was exhausted, but it was good fatigue, like after a long hike when you were full of quiet love inside.
For the first time in a few months, I fell into a deep, long sleep. When I woke up the next afternoon, Boyd didn’t feel that big anymore.
I felt… I couldn’t fully explain it at first. Until I realized: I felt happy.
I drew pictures every day for the next few months.
I learned a variety of techniques, invented myself, and in each drawing, I left a trace of overwork, criticism, judgment, perfectionism, and self-pressure.
After a while I was interested. I wanted to understand what art actually did. Was it possible to “just” cure burnout by drawing?
So I went down the rabbit hole: studying, learning, experimenting. The deeper I went, the more I realized it wasn’t really about art.
Art was just a tool. A tool that creates spaces to feel, process and change the story inside.
Maybe you know what I mean. Maybe you’re totally exhausted and exhausted by your work, whether it’s a demanding job or your own business. Maybe you already know that it cannot last like this, but you feel trapped in the situation you are in.
If so, here are some things that have helped me in my process using art and that may help you too.
No, there’s no need for flashy materials or specific techniques.
The type of art I found is called therapeutic art. That’s not about the outcome. It’s about the process. The painting doesn’t have to be beautiful. Sometimes they are just black graffiti, circles, undefined forms. It’s all about expressing yourself on paper.
So, I’m here. Here are five lessons that will help me in my quest to heal from burnout.
1. Connect to the creator’s self.
Your Creator Self is a part of you who exists beyond the role, responsibility and pressure of your work. Your part here is merely for creating and expressing it.
Burnout cuts us out of that part of ourselves. Through mindful painting, we can turn inward, explore freely, and create spaces to regain the agency’s sense of self-expression over our own experiences.
When using art therapeutically, there is no need to prove anything or achieve results. It will just make you feel your hands moving across the paper, that are present at the moment, just let yourself be.
That’s what helps you reconnect you to reality under all your senses and all the noise.
2. It relieves stress from the body.
Burnout and overwork are more than just a matter of thinking. All the stress, all the emotions you choose will be saved in your body so that you will not be felt along the way.
Your body literally goes into survival mode and doesn’t fix or talk about what’s going on in your system.
The art of therapy is a mental and physical practice that helps you to process tension, emotions, trauma and stress that have been preserved for many years.
Drawing, moving your hands, and allowing the emotions to flow through the color into the paper will make your body spit out and relax. It gives your system the break that was screaming for.
3. Rewrite the success story that is being performed in the subconscious.
Most of what drives us to do doesn’t come from conscious thinking. It comes from the subconscious.
This is where all the hidden beliefs that drive us to overwork and burnout live. “Resting is lazy,” “I fail when I get late,” “Success must be difficult.”
Even if you know logically that these are not true, your subconscious is not the case. These old programs continue to run.
By drawing freely and intuitively, these thought patterns can be projected onto paper. You may want to control the outcome, judge the process, or feel anxious when things get messy.
And in those moments you have the opportunity to soften, challenge old stories, and show your system that there is another way to live and create.
4. Let go of things that are not working.
Burning out is a sign that something you are carrying – habits, roles, beliefs, and ideas, are no longer in line with your highest self.
Art provides a safe space to practice letting go. On the canvas you can release controls and display what you want to show up without making things messy and fixing or enforcing them.
This reflects what we need to do in life. Loosen the grip, experiment and trust the process. Practice surrender in small ways through art and it becomes easier to grasp the big things that drain you.
5. I will rediscover your joy once again.
One of the most painful things about burnout is losing your sense of joy. Everything is dull, grey and heavy.
Therapeutic art returns to joy without any goals. It’s not about creating something beautiful or convenient. It is to play with colour, to be completely present, and simply to observe yourself.
When painting just for experience, you remind your system of what it feels like to be here with fun without having to earn anything.
And it is a powerful way to heal itself.
Burnout doesn’t mean you’ve failed or broken. It is often a sign that something is ready to change in your life or in you. For me, painting has become a safe and enjoyable space back to myself.
The best part is that you don’t have to be an artist to use painting in the healing process.
The key is to listen inwards, spit out your body, and create space to soothe the old stories you carry.
And when you do, you may be surprised at what is still alive within you, just waiting to go home.
About Christine Payne
Christine Peine is a subconscious reprogramming coach and therapy art facilitator, clearing root-level blocks that cause coaches and founders to burn out, earning ceilings, and terror in vision. Through deep subconscious work and creative self-repair tools, she helps you bring sustainable success with more freedom, joy and energy. Explore free resources for subconscious healing at ChristinePeine.com or connect with her on Instagram @Christine_Peine
