Starting over without energy: When burnout and responsibility join the table

Prickly and difficult to handle: the blue thistle. Just like real life.

A fresh start after burnout – a different reality

Starting over is often portrayed as an energetic, powerful act.

My reality was different.

Care responsibility and emotional exhaustion

While I was trying to rebuild my life, my energy was steadily declining. My work was emotionally demanding. At the same time, my parents became increasingly dependent on care. My father developed dementia.

I reduced my working hours, which caused financial strain,yet I still had little time for myself or my own development. My health began to suffer.

The lowest point came in 2022. Both my parents moved into a nursing home. I organised everything alone. I cleared their apartment by myself – physically and emotionally exhausted.

I was burned out.

Why big decisions can wait

During this time, I learned something essential: A fresh start without energy follows different rules. It cannot be forced.

And major decisions should be handled carefully when grief and exhaustion cloud clarity. 

Stabilisation instead of self-optimisation

Sometimes, the most important step is to pause – and to allow support.

And, of course, practising the difficult art of patience. Because phases in which I am not making progress but am spending more time stabilising myself require a lot of patience when I would rather rush ahead.

I will also dedicate a separate video to the topic of burnout and write further posts to explore it in more depth.

But today, I have first uploaded a video to my channel to welcome all viewers and explain why I am doing this in the first place. Now it's finally time to get started with YouTube!n will und erklären, warum ich das überhaupt mache. Jetzt geht’s endlich los mit YouTube!

👉 Watch the video here!