That wellness retreat I rolled my eyes at fixed my burnout in 3 days

I went to a place called Serenity Springs in Ohio last month thinking it was all crystal healing nonsense, but the guided meditation actually shut off my constant fake smile for a few hours. After three days of no phone and honest talks with strangers, I realized how much I was hiding my exhaustion from my family. Has anyone else found something cringey that turned out to be exactly what you needed?

3 comments

3 Comments

henryp4017d ago

Started going to a weekly meditation group after a similar trip... total game changer for the burnout cycle. The trick was finding a teacher who didn't push any weird spiritual stuff, just sat us down and talked about breathing and how the brain works. That three day reset is nice but you gotta keep a piece of it going or the exhaustion just creeps back in...

the_ruby17d ago

That thing you said about the exhaustion creeping back in really hit me. @henryp40 is spot on about keeping a piece of that reset going. I had the same experience with a yoga class I swore would be all incense and weird chanting. Turned out just lying on a mat for 45 minutes with someone telling me to breathe was what my brain needed to finally shut up for a while. The real shock was realizing how much energy I was wasting pretending to be fine. It's like you don't notice how heavy the armor is until you take it off for a bit.

reed.elliot17d ago

That thing about "wasting energy pretending to be fine" - I get it, but I see it different. The armor exists for a reason. Took mine off once at one of those retreats, felt amazing for a week. Then real life hit and I had a full breakdown at work in front of customers. Had to quit that job because I let myself be raw without building back up slowly. Three days of peace doesn't undo years of survival mode. Sometimes that fake smile is what gets you through until you can leave the situation for good.