How You Know You’re Burned Out
Pause — take one slow breath with me.
Sometimes we have to reset, realign, and restart. Photo credit: Canva
Feel your ribs expand. Let your shoulders drop. Now, notice what’s here. The weight in your chest after a day of holding everyone else’s stories. The hum of thoughts that won’t quiet, no matter how many mindful minutes you squeeze in. That tired-but-wired feeling that keeps you scrolling at 11 p.m. even though you promised yourself lights-out at ten.
I see you and know how heavy it can feel when the calm, “together” exterior no longer matches the storm inside.
Burnout and Imposter Thoughts: Two Loyal (but Exhausted) Protectors
From an Internal Family Systems (IFS) lens, burnout and impostor syndrome aren’t personal defects; they’re protective parts that learned to keep you safe by over-functioning. They hustle so your clients, patients, or community never see you falter. They whisper, “Work harder, stay smaller, don’t drop the ball.”
But protectors can only white-knuckle for so long before the body sounds the alarm: migraines, gut flutters, Sunday-night dread, emotional numbness.
What Healing Can Look Like
In my work with helpers, therapists, first responders, healers, and heart-centered professionals, we weave together:
EMDR, which clears stuck trauma responses, so present-day stress stops pulling yesterday’s alarm bells.
Somatic Grounding & Yoga-based Movement (think gentle cat-cow or a minute of 4-count box breath), which brings the nervous system out of “fight-flight-freeze” and into “I can breathe here.”
Parts Work (IFS-informed), which provides a safe space for perfectionist and people-pleasing parts to express themselves, then invites Self-energy (clarity, compassion) to take the lead.
Strategic Coaching, which translates inner shifts into outer changes: workload boundaries, marketing messages that feel honest, business models that honor your energy.
Whether we meet for trauma-informed therapy or coaching around burnout recovery and impostor syndrome, the goal stays the same:
Reconnect you with your own Self energy — so work feels sustainable, relationships feel authentic, and your body doesn’t have to shout to get your attention.
Is This You Right Now?
You wake up already bracing for the day. You’re doing “all the right self-care” yet still feel fried. The success you’ve earned no longer brings the buzz it once did. A quiet voice inside keeps asking, “How long can I keep this up?”
If any of that lands, it might be time for support that goes deeper than another productivity hack.
You Don’t Need to Carry It All Alone
I currently have a handful of openings for:
Therapy (FL & CT): weekly or intensive EMDR + somatic sessions.
Burnout & Imposter-Syndrome Coaching: a focused container for high-achieving helpers who want to lead, create, and serve without self-erasure.
If your body just sighed in relief reading that, let’s talk.
Schedule a free 15-minute consult here.
Or simply hit reply with “More info?” and we’ll start a no-pressure conversation. You offer the world so much light. Let’s make sure your own flame stays bright, too.
P.S. Before you click away, place one hand on your heart, one on your belly. Inhale to a slow count of four, exhale to six. Notice: you just practiced the first limb of yoga — simply breathing with awareness. Tiny practices, big shifts.
Don’t know me yet?
If we haven’t met, hello! I am Meg. I am the Burnout Revolutionist. I don’t fix. I don’t convince. I simply guide burned-out humans in survival mode back to an energetically aligned life. You can find me in several places outside of my website:
You don’t have to keep just surviving. There is a way to feel clear, energized, and creative again. There is a way to earn well, live well, and actually enjoy your work and life again.
If something in you is whispering (or screaming), “this isn’t it…” Listen to it. That’s your spark. That’s the part of you that’s still alive — and ready for something more aligned. If you’re ready to take the first step, I’ve got you.
Start with my free guide on burnout recovery. It’s not fluff. It’s the truth I wish someone had handed me years ago.
You were never meant to push yourself into the ground just to be successful. Let’s build something that actually works — for your career and your life.