“I want to help individuals who are burned out and busy to make POSITIVE well-being and time management changes for a healthier and more fulfilling life balance.” — Bianca Topham
I had the opportunity to interview Burnout & Wellness Coach, Bianca Topham on IG Live, discussing her journey toward helping others achieve their most fulfilling life. During my time with her, I too became inspired to place more emphasis on self-care and I hope this interview enlightens you to do the same.
Watch the interview here and click on the next page to see key question highlights.
Tell me about your childhood and do you have a favorite childhood memory?
“My mum is Spanish and my dad is English. I was born in the UK and spent most of my life in London. I’ve been so lucky to have the two cultures from my parents, learning more about different people’s values, their beliefs, the way they live, what they accept, and what they put more emphasis on. It’s been a real blessing and shows in my everyday life now. I also worked after university in some of the best magazines in London like Cosmopolitan and Glamour. While I loved my job, the downside was that I had a massive burnout when I hit 30. I had to reassess everything in my life and that’s when I made the massive leap of moving to Spain. I’m married now with a three-year-old little boy, I’ve always felt such warmth and love from my family, I’ve always wanted to give my children the same experience I had from my childhood, to carry them through their lives.”
How did you decide burnout and wellness awareness through coaching was the path for you?
“My whole lifestyle, I was overworking but also, I picked up a lot of bad habits and some destructive behaviors. I was a perfectionist trying to do the absolute best in everything and it wore me down. I spent two hours a day on the underground (metro) and things kept piling up in my life. Suddenly, things crashed and burned and I had a massive burnout. I was sick every month and was often recovering for the week at work during my weekend time. I had to make a massive lifestyle change. If you feel signs that you’re burning out or your health isn’t great, you have to pick up on the signs as they arrive to start small with little steps to make a massive change in your life, over time. The burnout was so life-changing, I had to clean up, inside out – my health, my values, my mindset. Everything had to be reassessed. I knew life-coaching was my second calling to help people from my experiences before they get to the point that I got in my life.”
How would you describe burnout? What are the signs?
“Burnout comes from many things these days. Everything is so intrinsically linked. Stress is more short-term. Maybe one day you feel stressed and then it eases a bit. Stress is often when you have too much of something, too much stress often leads to burnout. For example, maybe you have a lack of empathy…and you find yourself with too little, a lack of something. Maybe your energy tank is too low, your sleep is off, your relationships are suffering, you are people-pleasing too much, etc. Burnout often requires us to spend our weekends preparing for Monday. That’s when you know you’re struggling with burnout.”
Do you have a favorite quote or mantra that you live by?
“There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein