Telegraph prevent burnout

“A crisis that involves burnout, breakups or health problems gives us the opportunity to reflect on why we behave a certain way and if we want to make changes,” says Van Zee.

“It forces us to analyse what we want from life and make difficult decisions we rather avoid.”

Nat van Zee, quit her job in 2019 and became an award-winning coach and therapist.

Nat van Zee, 48, reached a breaking point in 2019, quitting her job in London as a lecturer. She said: “I was secure with a regular income and pension – that’s supposed to be the holy grail. But what was demanded of me got more and more unreasonable, doing unpaid work with no prospect of that changing. I could feel the stress from the expectations and the workload was something I couldn’t sustain.

“You reach a tipping point where you leave or go under. When I quit I didn’t really know what to do next and it was like being in a void. There was a relief and freedom, but also there was a sense of the unknown.

“It was the same with my relationship where I was pouring everything into it and not getting the same back. I’d been raised to put others before and to care for people – ‘people pleasing’ – and I was raised to meet those high expectations in my career. It was reflected in all my relationships. It was better for me to be on my own than to be around people that lower my energy. I’ve cut out friendships of 20 years because they were so unhealthy.”

Quotes from The Telegraph. Read the full article here.

Writer George Chesterton. Photo Jeff Gilbert. Location Aethos London.