The Power of Following Your Gut: Finding Purpose Beyond Burnout

We’ve all had moments when something inside us says yes or no before our brain has even finished weighing the pros and cons.

It might be the instant relief of declining an opportunity that wasn’t right. Or the full-body energy that shows up when you say yes to something aligned.

That’s the power of following your gut.

But here’s the truth: when you’re burned out, anxious, or disconnected, following your gut can feel impossible, or worse, confusing. Burnout clouds clarity, anxiety hijacks intuition, and we end up second-guessing every decision.

In this blog, I’ll share my personal story of learning to trust my gut through the lens of Human Design, the science behind the “gut-brain connection,” why anxiety can trick us, and how to begin rebuilding trust in your body’s natural wisdom so you can rediscover direction and purpose.

How Human Design Gave Me Language for What I Already Knew

When I first encountered Human Design, to be honest, I was skeptical. I didn’t want fluff or mysticism. But what struck me was how the system gave language to something I’d always felt but hadn’t been able to name.

According to my chart, I’m a Generator with Sacral Authority. That means my decision-making is designed to come from my gut; instant yes/no signals in my body, not long lists or overthinking. And when I look back at my career, that gut knowing has always been there.

• When I said yes to child protective services in high school, it felt like a purpose, until my gut screamed no just 8 months in.

• When I took a hospital role, I loved it, until the merger with a large corporation changed everything. My gut tightened every day I walked into work, and I knew I couldn’t stay.

• When I dipped into private practice, my gut said this is it: Freedom, impact, and alignment. And every time I’ve followed that sacral “yes” — into coaching, into speaking, into creating programs — I’ve found direction again.

Of course, there were plenty of times I ignored my gut, too. I said yes out of obligation, fear, or “shoulds.” Those were the seasons that led me straight into burnout.

Human Design didn’t give me intuition; I already had it. But it gave me language and permission to trust it. And that changed everything.

The Science Behind Gut Feelings

Even if Human Design isn’t your thing (and I get it; my husband’s human design chart doesn’t fit him as well as mine fits me), science confirms that the gut really does play a huge role in how we make decisions.

The gut is often called our “second brain.” Here’s why:

• The gut-brain axis is a two-way communication highway between your digestive system and your brain, primarily through the vagus nerve.

• About 95% of serotonin — the “feel-good” neurotransmitter — is produced in the gut.

• The gut processes signals faster than the conscious mind, meaning your “gut feeling” is often your nervous system recognizing patterns before your brain catches up.

This is why intuition often shows up as a body response, whether a tightening in your stomach when something feels wrong, or an expansion and energy surge when something feels right.

Your gut isn’t magic; it’s biology. When your nervous system is regulated, your gut is one of your clearest guides to alignment and purpose.

When the Gut Plays Tricks: Anxiety and Survival Mode

Of course, there’s a catch. The gut can’t always be trusted…especially if you’re living in chronic anxiety or burnout.

When your nervous system is dysregulated, your gut signals are filtered through fear and survival. That can look like:

• Mistaking anxiety for intuition (“My gut says no” when it’s actually avoidance or fear of failure).

• Saying yes out of panic or fawning (“I’ll do it because I don’t want to disappoint them”).

• Feeling no gut response at all because you’re numb, disconnected, or exhausted.

This is why burnout makes purpose so hard to see. When your nervous system is locked in survival mode, the gut isn’t a compass; it’s an alarm system.

The key isn’t to ignore your gut, but to restore nervous system safety so your intuition isn’t drowned out by anxiety.

Living From Survival Mode

I’ll never forget my time working in the hospital after it merged with one of the major systems in Connecticut.

On paper, everything looked fine. I was smiling, getting my work done, paying my bills, keeping up appearances. But inside, I felt like I had lost myself.

The merger had changed the culture, and my nervous system felt it every day. I wasn’t thriving anymore; I was surviving. My gut wasn’t giving me clarity anymore. It was just screaming, “Get through today.”

That season taught me something essential (which I didn’t understand until many years later): burnout doesn’t erase your purpose, but it buries it under survival energy. You can’t access direction or clarity when all your body is trying to do is keep you safe.

How to Discern True Gut Signals

So how do you know when it’s intuition speaking, versus when it’s anxiety or burnout? Here are some practices that have helped me and my clients:

1. Regulate First. Never make a big decision from a state of panic, exhaustion, or survival mode. Use nervous system resets, like grounding, breathwork, yoga, or bilateral stimulation, to calm your body before tuning in.

2. Notice Expansion vs. Contraction. A true gut “yes” often feels like energy rising, opening, expanding. A true “no” feels tight, heavy, closed. Anxiety, on the other hand, feels jittery, restless, or panicked.

3. Ask: Is this a “should” or a “want”? Burnout often disguises itself in “shoulds.” Intuition often speaks in desire, even if it’s scary.

4. Start Small. Practice following your gut on little things — what to eat, where to walk, which email to answer first. Build the muscle of trust before testing it on big life decisions.

5. Reflect in Writing. Journaling can help you separate intuition from fear. Write down your body’s first reaction, and then your anxious mind’s story. Notice the difference.

Purpose Emerges From Alignment

When I look back at my pivots from child protective services to hospital work to private practice to coaching, the thread that connects them all is trauma work. It’s the work that lights me up, the work I never get tired of, the work that always feels aligned.

Following my gut didn’t always look glamorous. Sometimes it meant leaving what looked “safe” on paper. Sometimes it meant disappointing others. But every time I trusted my gut, I stepped closer to my true purpose.

And every time I ignored it, I found myself in burnout.

The cycle I see in so many of my clients starts with burnout hiding purpose, then nervous system safety restoring it. Following your gut is what keeps you aligned with it.

Closing Reflection

Burnout doesn’t mean you’re broken. It means your system is asking for realignment. Anxiety doesn’t mean your gut is gone; it means your nervous system needs support to make your intuition clear again.

Your gut is your compass. It may get scrambled in survival mode, but with nervous system resets, body-based practices, and small steps of trust, you can learn to hear it again. And when you do, purpose stops feeling so far away.

So I’ll leave you with the same question as last week: Where might anxiety or burnout be clouding your gut right now? What would it feel like to take one small step toward clarity today?

Your Next Step

If you’re tired of burnout blocking your clarity, this is exactly what I help people with in 1:1 coaching for burnout recovery. Together, we’ll downshift your nervous system, rebuild trust in your gut, and realign you with the purpose that burnout has been hiding.

Purpose isn’t found in overwork; it’s found in alignment.

And/or, if you’re ready to go deeper, my membership is a space for nervous system resets, ongoing support, and practical tools to help you move from burnout back into clarity and freedom.

And Other Next Steps If You’re Not Ready For The Membership or 1:1 Coaching

My book Anxiety Unraveled: Your Journey Toward Answers and Freedom is available in paperback and eBook. It’s your step-by-step guide to understanding why anxiety and burnout keep coming back and how to finally create lasting relief. For ebook, Check it out here. In paperback, it’s available on Amazon.

I created the free 5-Minute Nervous System Reset to help you interrupt burnout patterns and tune back into your body’s yes and no. Grab it here and give yourself the space to start aligning today.

Or try one of these other offerings:

Burnout Reset Circles — Monthly small-group experiences (online and in-person) to help you regulate your nervous system, reconnect with your truth, and gently reset.

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome & Burnout Facebook group - Join my Facebook group, where you’re seen, you won’t be judged, and your exhaustion is met with support.