‘I felt trapped’

Donna Ryan, 45, from London, has experienced burnout…

‘Ten years ago, I was working in a fastmoving, super-toxic environment. I was an assistant buyer, sourcing men’s accessories for a major retailer. On paper, it was a great job. But the reality was that I hated it. I felt the culture was bitchy and back-stabby, and I struggled to get out of bed in the morning – feeling sick at the thought of returning to the office.

‘I was constantly exhausted and always going down with colds. I had weekend migraines that started every Friday. Even on a Saturday night, I had no desire to see my friends, and my Sundays were wiped out by a feeling of dread knowing Monday loomed.

‘The obvious solution would have been to leave my job but that seemed impossible. I couldn’t imagine any other life than the terrible one I had. Even if I changed

my job – and I was so immersed in inertia that I lacked the motivation to do that – I envisaged taking my problems with me. I knew I wasn’t performing well at work – but I couldn’t believe that I’d do any better in another setting. I felt totally trapped and could see no way out.

‘I needed someone else to point me towards an escape route, and that finally happened – in a yoga class, on a wellbeing retreat in Kerala in 2012. There was a man called Joe who ran a goal-setting workshop and invited me to take part. It was the last night of my trip, but I decided to go because I’d been reading a selfhelp book and hadn’t completed all of the exercises I’d planned.

‘Joe’s method was to pose questions that opened my mind to new possibilities. “What would help you move into a different career?” he wanted to

know. “I’d need to retrain,” I said. “What would make that possible?” he asked. “I’d have to cut down on the days I work…” I replied.

‘It seemed like an impossible dream. I couldn’t ask to work fewer days when

I was already rushed off my feet.

‘But, when I returned to work, my boss asked how

I’d feel about working four days instead of five. She had recognised my burnout, even if I hadn’t. I couldn’t believe my luck.

‘I used my day off to retrain and I’m now a successful holistic facialist. It’s a job I love and look forward to every day, treating many clients who tell me that they too feel trapped in jobs that are stressing them out. And I am able to tell them not to despair. My burnout passed, so theirs could do too.’

– Find out more at donna-ryan.com