Recovering from Spiritual Burnout: what it is and how to handle It

You are a spiritual being, whether or not you consider yourself religious. Spirituality is all about connecting with a unifying loving force more significant than you.

Anytime you are out of balance with Spirit, you will not make the best decisions.

Spiritual burnout is when you start to feel depressed and hopeless and have the feeling that God has abandoned you. You begin to wonder if life is worth living. You walk around with a sense of heaviness. You find it more and more difficult to do anything.

Spiritual burnout builds up over time. If you are not aware of your gradual decline, you will start to get used to it, and the longer you stay in it, the harder it will be to get out of it.

The only way out of it is to learn to be more self-aware. The Spirit sends wisdom through the sensations of your body, the emotions of your heart and a quiet mind. Your work is to become more familiar with your three centers of intelligence.

Paying attention to your centers will help you find liberation.

The Three Centers of Intelligence

Body Sensations

First, you must be grounded in your body. To feel grounded, you need to notice the sensations within you. Ask yourself, what parts of your body feel open and what parts feel uptight? Get curious about what is going on within you.

Emotions

God gave you emotions for guidance. What are you feeling? Are you feeling happy, sad, joyful, angry? What are your emotions telling you? What are your emotions suggesting to you that you need to address in your life?

Mind

Your mind is the greater connector with the Spirit. When your mind is too busy, it will lose connection with your higher power. When God is trying to connect with you, it is like God getting a busy signal.

Healing from Spiritual burnout takes time and requires you to become more present through your three centers of intelligence. You will discover what you need to heal when you are present in your centers.

Here are Seven ways to recover from spiritual burnout through befriending your three centers:

1.      Discover a Spiritual Practice

There are many different spiritual practices. You might want to check out your tradition if you come from a religious background.

Coming from the Christian faith, Centring Prayer is simple and easy to use. You pick a word or phrase through prayer. You find a quiet place to be quiet. Once you begin, you learn to keep your mind as quiet as possible by focusing on your word or phrase when needed. Begin with a few minutes a day and lengthen the time as you get more comfortable.

Mindfulness is another great practice. There are many forms of mindfulness. Many different apps can guide you in meditation. If you look, you can find meditation groups you can join in person or online.

Keep looking for a practice that works for you.

2.      Get plenty of sleep

You need an average of seven to eight hours of sleep every night. Meditation can often be a great help. Find what you need to relax before sleep.

Seek out professional help if nothing else seems to be working.

3.      Community

You need community with friends and family. Find people you can count on to respect you, listen to you and encourage you.  

If you have a religious background, find a church, temple, mosque, or synagogue to help you live well. Look for a community to help you grow in your faith, supporting and holding you accountable.

If you have no religious background, find a service organization, club, or non-profit to make friends and make a difference in your community and world.

4.      Keep your body active

You have been given a fantastic body to experience the world in. Honour your body by treating it well. You are more likely to feel hopeful if your body is feeling healthy.

Get the energy moving in your body through movement. The greater the energy flow, the more awake you will be to what is happening within you.

When you relax your muscles, open your heart and quiet your mind, the body naturally relaxes. The more relaxed the body is, the greater the energy, passion and motivation you will experience.

5.      Eat nutritious food

Your body needs its fuel. A healthy diet of vegetables, grains, protein, and fruit is essential to keep your body balanced and strong.

The more junk and processed foods you will cause your body to feel heavy, tired and lethargic.

6.      Risk the uncomfortable

When spiritually burnt out, you are often stuck in old patterns because you fear trying anything new.

If you are unhappy with what you are doing might suggest you try something new. The more resistance you feel, the more critical it will be to break through your fear.

Your ego will try to keep you to what it knows because it doesn’t like anything that will take you out of your comfort zone.

If you want to break out of old patterns, you need to find the support to help you make the breakthroughs you need.

7.      Learn the Enneagram

A great tool to help you to grow in all the above areas is called the Enneagram. The symbol of the Enneagram goes back hundreds of years. The tool suggests that there are nine different lenses to experience the world. You have all nine energies in you.

Your job is to be as healthy as you can in your type. No type is better than another. The less you get constricted in your personality, the freer you are to be yourself.

As you get healthier in your type, you get stronger in all nine types.

Your enneagram type shows you where you get stuck when stressed. The good news is that you don’t need to stay stuck. Learning through the Enneagram can help you find a path to great joy, hope, purpose, and success.

The good news is that you can recover from Spiritual Burnout. Your first job is to recognize that you are near or facing burnout. 

Once you notice your reality, then you can begin to make changes. There are many books and blogs to help you. Find someone in your community to assist you if you are part of a religious group. You need someone you can be vulnerable and open with.

If you don’t know anyone you can trust, look for professional help, such as a coach or counsellor.

The good news is that you don’t need to suffer alone; a better life is ahead if you make the needed changes.

Life is short, so make the best of every day.

Roland Legge—Accredited Professional Burnout Prevention Coach for Clergy and others Seeking Spiritual Renewal

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