5 Things Burnout Taught Me

1. You can't outthink your body. If you ignore the signals, they get louder.

2. Pushing through is in strength. Often, it's disconnection from your body.

3. Rest is not a reward. It's a necessity.

4. Your capacity for joy, creativity, and connection doesn't disappear. You can access it.

5. Slowing down does not set you back. It brings you back to yourself.

I didn’t realise I was burnt out. I thought I just had to push through. Wait until the next deadline is met. Until the next holiday.

I was working as a lawyer and preparing for an important hearing.

There was no option to stop. My nervous system couldn’t handle stopping. I needed to be there. For the team. And the client.

So I kept going.

Even though my body was already telling me something wasn’t right.

Digestive issues.

Food intolerances out of nowhere.

Constant headaches.

Inexplicable rashes.

Tears, almost every day.

I normalised it. Downplayed it. Carried on.

Until the hearing was over and I allowed myself to go to the doctor. I was signed off as unfit to work.

And when I finally stopped… something shifted.

For the first time in a long time, I had space.

I reconnected with parts of myself I hadn’t had access to in years.

I wrote a children’s book (not published!) reconnecting with my creative part.

I started playing the piano again - to reconnect with beauty.

I painted - just to find stillness in the moment.

I laughed more.

I baked - for the joy of it.

It wasn’t an easy time. I was exhausted most of the time. But it was a clarifying one.

It made me realise how disconnected I had become - and how much I had been living in my head, overriding my body.

That experience changed the way I live, work, and support other women now.

Because burnout doesn’t always look dramatic. Sometimes it looks like coping.

Until your body says otherwise.