What Burnout Actually Is (And Why It’s More Than Just Being Tired)
Burnout is one of those words we use for everything.
“I’m burned out.”
“I’m exhausted.”
“I just can’t anymore.”
But clinically and energetically burnout is not one single thing.
In my practice, I tend to see it show up in three main patterns.
And none of them are just “you need to try harder.”
1️⃣ The Stress Response That Never Turns Off
You may have heard the term adrenal fatigue.
While this term isn’t formally recognized in conventional endocrinology, its something we are taught in naturopathic medical school, and something I see over and over again in my clients. It is chronic stress dysregulating the HPA axis (your hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal system).
When that system has been firing for years from caregiving, business ownership, trauma, masking, over-functioning etc, it stops responding appropriately and can’t keep up.
This can look like:
You can’t get out of bed in the morning
You’re exhausted but wired at night
You get sick more easily
Inflammation rises
Hormonal transitions hit harder
I personally believe in the concept of adrenal reserve. The adrenal glands are supposed to be able to pick up the slack in perimenopause as your ovaries start declining. Your adrenal glands don’t just make cortisol. They also contribute to androgen production. As ovarian hormone production shifts, your adrenals help buffer that change.
If you’ve spent decades running on stress hormones, there may be less resilience available when you need it most.
That doesn’t mean your body is broken. It means chronic stress has consequences.
2️⃣ Functional Freeze (When You’re Still Functioning — But Not Alive)
There’s another version of burnout that looks different.
It looks numb.
I call it the “Click” effect. If you remember this move you’ll remember the main character fast forwards his life to get to the good parts, but it leaves a robot like version of himself in his place. So this is when your avatar is just going through the motions, but you’re not really living in the moment any more.
You’re answering emails.
Making dinner.
Showing up.
But internally?
You’re checked out.
Polyvagal theory would describe this as a functional freeze state . It’s your nervous system protecting you by dialing everything down.
It isn’t laziness.
It isn’t weakness.
It’s biology.
And sometimes the way out includes therapy.
Sometimes it includes nervous system work.
Sometimes it includes medication.
Sometimes it includes all of the above.
3️⃣ The Burnout of Unmasking
There’s a third pattern I see often, especially in neurodivergent women is when things start getting worse as you start to better understand yourself.
Masking is exhausting.
For years, many women learn to overperform socially, emotionally, and professionally.
Then something shifts.
A diagnosis.
An awakening.
A realization.
And suddenly you can’t hold the mask anymore.
People might say:
“You weren’t like this before.” of “how come you have gotten worse since your diagnosis?”
But you were always struggling, the mask just hid it from the world.
Now your no longer holding up that heavy mask and people are seeing how much you were always struggling. You are frustrated, or angry at the system for letting you down, for never having the accommodations you needed all along. For finally understanding that you were going through life on hard mode while everyone else was on easy.
No wonder you couldn’t keep up.
So now without the mask things seem worse.
And as hormones shift in the luteal phase or in perimenopause things get even harder and you are no longer willing to lie to yourself about the struggle.
🔥 The 10x Culture Problem
There was a time when I was required to take “10x” training at work.
The message?
If you’re not constantly optimizing, producing, improving — you’re falling behind.
At the same time, after just recently getting out of school and passing my board and having spend my entire adult life up to that point being a student I was studying regulation, rest, and figuring out what self care meant for me.
And I remember realizing that even my relaxation had become productive for the business. That I was always supposed to be working on making money. Because in our culture- productivity = worth.
I ended up arguing with my manager about this.
Because that was a toxic message for me. I know that my worth and value does not equate to the money I make. Even though I have to remind myself this all the time.
10x culture ask us to burn the candle at both ends, when we were already burning it at both ends, in the middle, and from a secret 4th place.
And then we’re surprised when there’s no wax left.
That create burn out.
🔥 Fire Horse Energy & Over-Burning
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, this year carries strong Fire energy (check out my previous blog about the Yang Fire horse and Lunar New year 2026).
Fire is associated with:
The Heart
Joy
Expansion
Visibility
Connection
And also… excess
This isn’t a soft, quiet Fire year.
This is big, yang Fire.
And big fire transforms quickly, but it also consumes quickly.
If we lean into the momentum without containment, we risk overextending ourselves emotionally, hormonally, and physically.
In TCM, balance is everything.
Fire needs fuel — but it also needs boundaries.
It needs grounding (Earth).
It needs water (Kidney energy) to keep it from scorching.
When Fire energy runs unchecked, symptoms can show up as:
Anxiety or even mania
Insomnia
Heart palpitations
Hormonal crashes
Emotional volatility
Full-body exhaustion
This is why I keep talking about nourishment this year.
Not shrinking.
Not hiding.
But pacing.
Regulating.
Resting.
Supporting your reserves so your fire warms you instead of burning you out. And choosing what it is you want to burn and let go if this year, instead of the fire consuming you.
🌿 So What Actually Helps?
Burnout recovery isn’t one-size-fits-all.
Depending on the root pattern, support may include:
Adaptogenic herbs and adrenal support supplements and vitamins
Blood sugar stability
Sleep repair
Therapy
Nervous system regulation
Lab testing
Time off
Sunlight and grounding
Therapy
In some cases, medication support
This is where individualized care matters.
Want to Go Deeper?
If you’re navigating hormonal shifts and stress together, I talk much more about adrenal resilience, cycle phases, and seasonal regulation inside my course Harness Your Hormones.
And if you’d rather start with a conversation, a naturopathic consult allows us to map your stress response, hormone patterns, and nervous system state more comprehensively.
You can book a consult or explore the course through my website.
If you want to hear a more conversational take on this topic, Michele and I also recently discussed burnout on the Small Town Big Minds podcast — you can find that episode on your favorite podcast app or through the podcast section of my blog.
Burnout isn’t a personality flaw.
It’s information.
And your body is always communicating- its time to start listening.
