Is It Possible to Glow Up from Burnout?

The reality is . . . Bro I'm just tired.

The other morning I decided to just take a picture of myself. No filter. No makeup. I hadn’t even brushed my hair yet. Just had a weird urge to see myself in reality.

I knew I have been feeling deeper levels of exhaustion for weeks but I didn’t know how exhausted I actually looked.

Bro (She said with gender-neutral intention) I’m so tired.

Hadn’t done my hair in months. Hydration is not a thing. I barely wore makeup. And I have been actively fighting my disordered eating. My old habits from years of depression were beginning to seep back in.

The person I saw in the picture was me. Unmasked, not performing, because I had nothing left to give. I’ve been attempting to balance, full-time work, going back to school to change my career, and a still maintain a healthy and growing relationship with my partner. Thoughts of my own personal health hadn’t been a priority for myself lately.

That’s kind of the whole reason I’m doing this project in the first place. I want to get back into making myself a priority and finding a way to make that sustainable for myself. I’m not trying to glow up to be “that girl” or whatever GenZ has decided the ultimate aesthetic is right now. A glow up can be more than that.

But the question is, can I do it in the burnt out state that I’m currently in?

Can I do it while still struggling to stand under the level of stress I’m under?

My gods I can certainly try.