Worthy of Wellness: From Burnout to Balance
Before beginning Reform Online Live, I was in the midst of burnout, with a massive book manuscript deadline looming, among my other responsibilities as a wife and mother. 2020 brought more change than I ever imagined, and burnout had become my daily state of affairs. While nursing an infant and homeschooling my children, I moved homes with my family, produced the photoshoots for my personal style book Worthy of Wearing, hosted Thanksgiving, grew my Beautycounter business to its biggest months ever, and completed the deadline for the manuscript.
When Jackie invited me to join Reform, I initially worried one more commitment might break me. There were so many balls in the air, many of them dropping, and I feared I would have to scale back all of my projects in a big way. I truly felt a tug of encouragement in my heart, and I said yes. Thanks be to God, it was one of the best choices I made for my personal wellbeing in 2020.
I have been battling food sensitivities since I was a child and faced many challenges with my overall health, including endometriosis, cystic acne, leaky gut, Lyme disease, and hormonal imbalances that caused trouble with fertility, among others. In 2014 I had a bout of food poisoning that left me bed-ridden and unable to digest solid food for years after. I had a less than 1-year-old daughter and wanted desperately to be healed so I could take better care of her. I was my lowest weight ever, and covered in skin rashes, with very little energy and a lot of brain fog. Through my own research, I found healing from Autoimmune Paleo protocols, like high-quality supplements and nutrient-dense foods.
For the last six years, I knew how to fuel my body, but lacked awareness and discipline in the other seven pillars of Reform (seven because my Catholic faith is the foundation of my life). With Reform Online Live, I learned how to reprioritize what gives me life, in the midst of a full schedule with a growing family. Rather than spending less time eating well, resting, praying, and playing with my children, I started praying more, sleeping more, having impromptu kitchen dance parties, and sitting down for my meals. Quiet time for me (and the kids) has been a time of day we all look forward to. We began a new daily rhythm with Jackie’s mentoring and saw peace and cheer return to our home.
Despite completing Reform the week before my book deadline following a challenging season, I am freely giving myself the space to recover and rest for the first time since giving birth in April, without guilt. Working with Reform has helped me institute boundaries on the nine pillars so that my fast pace of life allows me to give of myself from a place of peace, not a place of desperation. Rather than falling into our culture-made idols of busyness and workaholism, and bragging about my burnout, I am filling up my health bank account with what fuels me and fulfills me. I love that I can teach my children to do the same – this is an immense gift for family life too!
Jackie walked alongside me like a true sister and was both firm and encouraging in her recommendations – which I needed and loved. The entire Reform team is truly a gift to the wellness space, promoting the teachings of Christ and His Church, rather than new age practices that compromise the state of our soul.
My upcoming book, Worthy of Wearing, is a guide to uncovering self-worth through personal style and the lens of faith. Reform uncovered a new facet of self-worth for me, which is that we are worthy of rest and worthy of wellness, just as we are worthy creations of God.
—Nicole M. Caruso
Washington D.C.