A2-15. Minor tasks: fonts, graphic elements and text

Text & Conventions used:

Headings: Defeating Burnout

Byline: By Ciprian Rosu, host of the television documentary series” “Trust me, I’M THE SON OF A WORKAHOLIC”

Sub-Heading: Who is Irina Rosu?

Text (with Drop Capital ): 

Firstly, Irina is my Mom and she is one of the most successful working women I know.

Since a little child she wanted to be the best and she guided her entire life to reach this goal. She had always got high academic results in school and science competitions, she never stopped learning, enlarging her pool of expertise and international certifications.

As a career woman, she assumed several C level positions in large companies or group of companies, gaining recognition from the professional market.

Caption:

[I couldn’t be prouder!

But being her son, I also witnessed the behind the scene struggle, vulnerability and sacrifice: working 18, 24 and sometimes 36 hours in a row, while remaining alert and committed for her other roles in the family: being a mother and a wife. But she totally failed to looking after herself.

And growing older, I started to see the price paid for such a success:  BURNOUT… twice!!]

I asked my Mom to accept disclosing her journey of understanding and recovering from burnout.

Sub-Heading:

Meet Irina Rosu, mother and former CEO, talking about being burnout and her journey for recovery

Caption:

[Understanding Burnout

Burnout” has been defined as “a special form of strain” characterized by feelings of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, a lack of personal accomplishment, and a manifest inability to cope with even basic, ongoing demands in the work environment. (From: Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology, 2004)]

Irina Rosu: Hi there! Yes, I am more than happy to discuss such a sensitive topic. Hopefully this could be of help to somebody.

Interviewer: First of all, could you please tell us what were the triggers for your burnout?

Irina Rosu: I guess it’s about the aggregation of many triggers and my inability to fight all those triggers in the same time. Obviously, there were many work-related issues: high workload, absurd imposed targets, constant deadline pressure, lack of resources (both human and material), lack of recognition at work from some stakeholders, numerous sabotages and betrayals. On top of those, perfectionism and my inability to say “no” also contributed plenty to this phenomenon. Last, but not least, the work-life imbalance and the cease of the family support made me crumble.

Interviewer: What were the symptoms you experienced?

Irina Rosu: This should be a long list. I do not intend to be exhaustive. Here are some of the symptoms from the top of my mind: lack of energy, loss of motivation, insomnia, irritability, deep depression and anxiety, physical problems (especially with my back, but also gaining 33 kg in only one year), being sick very often.

Interviewer: I am so happy and relieved to see you well again. It took almost 2 years to recover.

Could you walk us through your own process of recovery?

Irina Rosu: Sure! First step was to realize and to accept that I was experiencing burnout. It was than when I made a step back and took the time to revisit my priorities in life. Being a Mom of a teenager, I realized that my most important purpose was to make sure I can be a reliable guardian throughout the challenges of adolescence of my only son and to do that, I needed to regain a healthy and down to earth mindset, as well as to boost my physical and mental health.

Interviewer: And how exactly did you do it?

Irina Rosu: Actually, you were the main part of my healing process and the one who made me succeed. You are now both my son and my hero 😊. Family help is the most important tool in managing the changes needed in your life to start recovering. You fully supported me to make radical changes, up to the point when you accepted leaving Bucharest and relocating to Alba Iulia with me, away from noise and the toxic environment and entourage. This changed our life paradigm for the best. I left for good the corporate life and resumed my career through management consultancy, which allows me to focus on a work-life balance. Besides rediscovering my passion for gardening, I could also heal my soul by surrounding myself with cats and dogs which I adore and which bring me so much happiness and unlimited affection. Additionally, I found the time to put my body in very good hands for repair. I found my second home at LEIA (Luxury Esthetic Institute of Alba) where I get a holistic approach of my physical health: sport (Pilates, fitness), nutrition and facial and body non-invasive treatments to help managing best my loss weight. I also took advantage of the wonderful scenery around our new town, Alba Iulia, and went hiking as much as possible.

Interviewer: Thanks a lot, Mom, for all these insides! I am so proud of you! I hope this interview would be read by many other people and become a sort of toolkit for those becoming trapped in a burnout experience.

———– end of article —————

Fonts: Yeseva One (10 px for body text, 15 for sub-headings, 44 for heading).

Composition

• Body text in 2 Columns;
• balanced use of text, captions and pictures;
• red drop capital;
• color scheme: I used green for the interview part (for sub-heading and for the background of the interview) – I meant bringing some optimism that nothing is lost for good if you take action to recover;
• Page numbering and folios

Primary image:  a photo of my Mom from her professional portfolio, which I mirrored into a faded B&W photo to convey the idea of burnout effects on the health.

Secondary images:  3 captions from different magazines praising my mother, plus 1 symbolic photo with matchsticks burned to different degrees.