The Rebirth of a Soul
From burnout to purpose: how stepping away saved my career and helped me find my true self.
It took me nearly two years to admit that I was living with burnout, anxiety, and depression—and that what I needed went beyond professional help. I needed to pause. To step away from work and from the relentless pace of the life I had been leading.
As a professional and as a woman, I had never truly understood the concept of “giving up.” Even acknowledging to my doctors that I needed to stop felt like surrender. Yet in truth, it was an act of survival.
At the peak of my career, I was leading three teams, carrying immense responsibility, and operating in an environment that offered little support. I felt like a shadow—alive at work, invisible elsewhere. I had lost my desire, my spark, my sense of self. I abandoned many things I once loved, isolated myself, and let my body carry the warning signs: constant pain, exhaustion, and medical tests insisting everything was “normal.”
Out of desperation, I accepted what I could no longer deny. I paused for four months, sought psychiatric care, and began intensive treatment. The early days were filled with anguish, fear, and uncertainty—but also with breaking deeply rooted taboos. Yoga became a weekly ritual. Sound healing by the ocean offered stillness. Women’s circles provided space to heal and meditate. Weekly therapy became non-negotiable. Hovering over it all was a single, persistent fear: would I ever return to my career—or even want to?
During that pause, I confronted the questions I had long avoided: What is my purpose? What do I truly want? Not having the answers was unsettling, yet necessary.
Eventually, I returned from medical leave, carrying fear with me every step of the way. The first weeks were as challenging as the moment I had stepped away. Slowly, I reentered the rhythm—this time with awareness, boundaries, and intention. I knew I could not return to who I had been before.
With patience, commitment to healing, and deep self-honesty, clarity emerged. My path was not about choosing one identity over another, but about integration: the professional, the sensitive woman, the creative mind, the intelligent strategist—all coexisting as one.
From this integration, Alma y Conexión Expansiva was born: a personal project and purposeful space where I now support professionals and entrepreneurs—particularly those in mindfulness and wellness—who are just beginning their social media journeys. Experts in their fields, yet uncertain how to communicate their message.
By sharing my experience, I help them grow. And through that growth, they help heal others—expanding their voices, just as I learned to reclaim and expand mine.
