Greetings, Reader!

Last week I was a Connection Host at the VT Womenpreneur's Summit, and I got to lead conversations with groups of women about the seasons of business. One of the main themes was burnout, and one of the brilliant women in one of my circles said, "Burnout happens when we become the fuel." Every woman in that conversation knew exactly what she meant.

Most of the people I know who started their own businesses set out with the intention of having better work-life balance. The irony is that being a solopreneur often means doing the jobs of eleven people, and it can be easy to accidentally overwork, especially when you are trying to make ends meet.

Most of the standard advice for healing burnout centers around two things: rest and stress-reduction. But when you are overwhelmed and depleted, rest can be hard to come by, and it isn't always refreshing. You might feel exhausted, but your mind won't stop spinning long enough for you to rest, or you manage to sleep, but you wake up feeling just as depleted as when your head hit the pillow.

Can you relate?

There is a biological reason why rest isn't the first remedy for burnout. When your nervous system is trapped in a mobilized state, your ability to rest is inhibited. The parasympathetic nervous system simply cannot be active at the same time as the sympathetic nervous system. If you think about it, this makes sense: If you want to survive an emergency, you need to be awake.

To your nervous system, burnout is a serious emergency. The root cause of burnout isn't as simple as a lack of sleep; it is a profound depletion of the nervous system caused by demands that have far exceeded your capacity and resources for an extended period of time.

You simply cannot survive if you don't have enough fuel. In response to overwhelming demands, your nervous system starts to shutdown every operation that it can to conserve energy.

In my practice, I see this survival response manifest as three distinct profiles of burnout: the pinball, the producer, and the rock.

The Pinball

When you are trying to keep too many balls in the air, you end up feeling like a pinball bouncing off the walls. Your energy is erratic and unpredictable, and you can't stop spinning.

The Signs:

• A mind that won't stop racing, or that bounces from idea to idea without being able to land and focus
• Short bursts of productivity followed by feeling completely tapped out afterwards
• Chronic anxiety and restlessness
• Feeling disconnected, ungrounded, and uninspired
• Being tired but wired. You know you need to rest, but you can't seem to find your off button.

The Producer

You have a million responsibilities, and you feel like you can't stop even though you are completely exhausted. You look productive on the outside. You may even look like an overachiever, but on the inside, you are self-combusting.

The Signs:

• Your patience is wearing dangerously thin.
• You get easily frustrated or angry.
• Your words and tone are sharp and you find yourself snapping at people for no reason.
• Your responsibilities feel like a burden, and you are starting to feel resentful.
• You keep pushing, covering up the exhaustion with another coffee or a power walk.

The Rock

This is the type of burnout that looks like utter collapse. You aren't lazy, you just don't have anything left to give, and your nervous system has pulled the emergency brake to force you to stop.

The Signs:

• You feel so heavy you can barely move, and simple activities take an enormous amount of effort, leaving you feeling drained and depleted.
• You've lost your spark, and things that used to light you up now barely register. You feel dull and listless.
• It is hard to muster up the energy to get going each day.
• You feel checked out, disinterested, and joyless.
• Rest doesn't help. You wake up feeling just as exhausted as when you went to bed.
• You move through each day feeling like you are underwater, and you can't seem to come up.

Do any of these resonate with you?

Each of these three types of burnout has different qualities and requires a different treatment approach, but there is one thing that each type needs: Safety.

Burnout, like pain, is your nervous system's way of protecting you.

First and foremost, you have to remove the threats and rebuild trust with your nervous system so it can let it's guard down. That often requires establishing strong boundaries and showing your nervous system that you are listening to your body and will not continue to override it's warning signs.

Once your nervous system stops being hypervigilant, then your rest will become restorative and you can rebuild your capacity and reserves.

→ If you are feeling overwhelmed, depleted, or burned out, Book a free consultation to map out your personalized path to from burnout to resilience..

In love and solidarity,

Rachel Doctor of Physical Therapy & Integrative Pain Specialist Healing begins when your nervous system feels safe. Rewire your nervous system and break the cycles of chronic pain, depletion, burnout, and overwhelm so you can be fully present for what matters most in your life. Start with a free Nervous System Attunement Strategy Session​

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