CBD & Lockdown | Magu CBD

An interview with Carolin from Burnout Warrior

It was Friday the 13th when Austria began to introduce a state of emergency in March 2020. Now that more than a year has passed, we ask ourselves: how do the constant strain of social isolation & the constant perceived threat, coupled with uncertainty about the future, affect our well-being? Of course, the global pandemic also has an impact on our psyche. We spoke to Carolin from Burnout Warrior about this. In the interview, she tells us how we can be good to ourselves, gives us tips & exercises for everyday life and explains how CBD can support us.

Who is Carolin and why is she a Burnout Warrior?

For a long time, Carolin worked as an architect. Through her work, she was used to functioning under great pressure, managing projects and always performing. As an adrenaline junkie with a tendency towards perfectionism, she could never do, achieve or work enough. And then came the burnout.

For Carolin, the burnout meant the biggest crisis of her life – and, looking back, also taking the time to explore and get to know herself. She had been practising yoga for a long time. Added to this were meditation and an interest in positive psychology & mental training. By engaging with her own feelings and behaviour patterns, a new concept of life emerged, and with it Burnout Warrior. As a Burnout Warrior, Carolin helps people who feel that they cannot live up to the expectations & constant pressures of life.

A topic that has preoccupied all of us very much over the last year and has brought many to their own limits. After a year full of lockdowns and emergency restrictions, we look back on a turbulent and challenging 12 months. Our reality changed abruptly, and since then we have been constantly trying to adjust to this “new normal”:

“In lockdown in particular, we suffer from uncertainty about what the future will bring, and at the same time we compare our situation with the past. It can be very helpful to anchor yourself in the present. To focus your perception more on the positive. There are various mindfulness tools and mental exercises you can use to perceive yourself in the present. The famous gratitude journal helped me to break through scarcity thinking and consciously focus on the beautiful moments: writing down three things I am grateful for every day helps me to stay in the moment.”

How do you succeed in this & how can CBD help?

Engaging with your own feelings can also help you to calm down: “Suddenly all the distractions fall away. I can no longer go to parties and be constantly on the go. Of course, it can often be very uncomfortable to deal with your own feelings. After all, we are trained to believe that we always have to be happy. We are conditioned to think that we are only good when we are feeling good. Many people find it helpful to feel inside themselves and describe their feelings precisely – in other words, to observe instead of interpreting or trying to understand why the feeling is there right now. Training self-compassion is very important right now: putting one hand on your stomach and one on your heart, breathing in deeply and saying to yourself: “I hear you. I understand you. I am here for you.”

“A healthy diet, drinking water, fresh air and sleep are of course important for strengthening and calming the nervous system. This is exactly where CBD can help, when people find it difficult to calm down and switch off. CBD can also be very helpful for people who already suffer from nervousness and compulsions. During the first lockdown, CBD oil supported me in finding my inner balance and relaxing. ”

In such challenging times, it is particularly important to be kind to yourself. For a year now we have been in a state of constant tension. Worries about the future & our loved ones are taking an increasing toll, we feel threatened by a disease and do not know how things should or will go on.

This permanent state can lead to the nervous system being overwhelmed. The feeling of never being able to rest spreads and we become increasingly thin-skinned. Here Carolin recommends focusing on the basics

What else can we do?

“In all of us there is a part that feels sadness, disappointment, anger or despair. We are feeling beings, after all, and are constantly perceiving what is happening around us. In times like these, it can also help to use tools that train your own resilience and to do exercises that strengthen us inwardly.” These exercises can be a regular walk, a gratitude journal or a short meditation – that is a matter of taste and is up to you. What is important is a strengthening routine, because this can contribute to change here! You can also find out more about Carolin’s work as a Burnout Warrior on her website.

Here you will also find mindfulness exercises from Carolin to try out:

If you feel that you cannot cope with your anxieties and compulsions on your own: there are many places where you can get professional help, for example here or here. We hope that our blog post helps you deal with the current situation and wish you that you stay happy & healthy! If you have any further questions or comments, you can reach us at any time via our social media channels or by email at socialmedia@magu-cbd.com.