Abbie Norrish - General Manager Pain Revolution

“All I knew was to get up and keep going.”

Abbie Norrish kicks off the conversation sharing her experience running a half-marathon in July 2022. At about mid-race, she tripped over and fell flat on her face. Instead of stopping to assess how she felt and make sense of what had just happened, she jumped right up and kept going. I was ”sprinting through life trying to make the most of it,” she says, ”all I knew was to get up and keep going.”

When we meet for The Burnout Conversation, it had been about a year since Abbie realised that the pace at which she was living her life wasn’t sustainable. It was the accumulation of many years at a high pace and several episodes of burnout symptoms that prompted her to make significant changes in her life.

Abbie remembers being competitive with herself since Year 1. ”I was very unfamiliar with the idea of stopping or resting,” she says. She was however very familiar with setting high expectations for herself that were impossible to meet. At 17, she experienced chronic pain, contracted glandular fever and went through months of chronic fatigue. Looking back on her journey, she believes it was the result of constantly pushing herself. 

”Perhaps things would have been different if my family had placed more value on rest and self-care but they were just doing the best with what they knew,” she reflects. Abbie now works with a health coach and a psychologist to establish habits that support her well-being. She has learnt to give herself time and keep her expectations in check. ”I’m very aware that there’s no quick fix to burnout,” she acknowledges.

As part of her new healthy routine, she goes to bed at 9 pm, her nutrition is dialled, and she ensures a healthy balance between work, exercise and rest. She also prioritises precious time and unique experiences with her beautiful family and friends. Abbie is the general manager of a not-for-profit that is revolutionising the treatment of chronic pain in rural Australia, a cause close to her heart and fully aligned with her values, a point she emphasises, ”If you are not living your truth none of the good habits will be useful”.

Book recommendation: Principles by Ray Dahlio

Learning is never linear, just like recovering from chronic pain, recovering from burnout takes a lot of trial and error. 

Photo credit: Grant McKechnie