We were lucky to catch up with Christina Barragan Forshay recently and have shared our conversation below.
Christina, thrilled to have you on the platform as I think our readers can really benefit from your insights and experiences. In particular, we’d love to hear about how you think about burnout, avoiding or overcoming burnout, etc.
I can truly, honestly say that I experienced a few years of severe burnout. It affected every single area of my life: mentally, physically, emotionally and interpersonally. When I was experiencing burnout, I really had no idea what was happening. I was the type of person that felt that unless I was doing everything at 100% (or even 150%), I was not worthy, was not doing my best, nor trying hard enough. I had very high expectations for myself and for everyone around me.
Trying to maintain these high expectations is not a sustainable way to live. Unfortunately, today’s hustle culture promotes such a high baseline for people’s standards that it can lead to burnout if you aren’t taking care of yourself in every way.
It has taken a lot of therapy and deprogramming for me to overcome the burnout I experienced. I’m still in the process of getting everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) back into balance.
I feel the biggest and most important thing to avoid and/or recover from burnout is to give yourself what you need. Of course, get good sleep, eat well and exercise, but there are other less obvious things we need to keep ourselves thriving: taking up space in a room or conversation (because swallowing your voice will erode you), taking downtime; whether it be a nap or a couple nights in a hotel alone (because no down time will erode your emotional, mental and spiritual self).
Lastly, a big concept I am learning to put into practice is to give myself grace. Actually a couple years ago a therapist of mine said he wanted me to aim to live my life at a “B” average (as in school report cards–as in NOT getting A’s in life). When he said that I literally could not comprehend how, what or why he would say that. Uhhhh…no thank you.
But I understand now. You have to make room for you! That space where the effort between a “B” grade and an “A” grade is reserved for me. That’s the space where I give myself grace, and permission to just be.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’ve got a few things on the horizon that I’m super excited about. First, I have two picture books I illustrated that will be released in 2025: OUR CHRISTMAS TREE FARM, written by Lisa J. Amstutz (Feeding Minds Press) and LUCIA’S GOALS written by Angela Quezada Padron (Lee & Low). Both books came about during a very rough season in my life and finally having them completed and out in the world will be the best feeling ever. I can’t wait to share them with young readers!!!
I excited to say I’ll also be focusing on doing school/library visits to introduce children to the process of illustration and to share my love of books.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Creating a community for myself and surrounding myself with people on the same creative journey as me.
2. I’ve always had an inner flame that guides me in the right direction. I know it will always be burning and keeping me going in the right direction–even when I’ve felt like it was small or burning out.
3. When I finally came to the realization that there is no “balance” in life, it was like taking a big exhale. Sometimes your journey will pull you in a different direction than you’d like and that’s ok. Don’t fight that current for the day, week, month or season. Just remember the importance of making time for yourself and the things that light you up. And, as I mentioned earlier, give yourself grace. Don’t beat yourself up for: what you deem as a fail or for asking for or taking what you need for your well-being.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Collaboration is so important! I’m currently looking for teachers, librarians and other educators as I’ll be venturing on a journey of giving school presentations for the 2024-2025 school year. With two books coming out soon, I want to share the stories with kids and teach them about the life of a professional artist. Showing kids that you can be an artist when you grow up is so important. Many children lose the magic of being creative as they get older and I want to inspire them to keep that magic of creativity burning!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.christinaforshay.com
- Instagram: christina_barragan_forshay
- Linkedin: Christina (Barragan) Forshay
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