Burnout is more than a buzzword. It’s a full-body, soul-deep experience—and if you’ve been feeling exhausted in ways sleep, supplements, or a Sunday reset can’t fix, this conversation is for you.
On a recent episode of the In Your Skin podcast, we sat down with Sheena, a holistic therapist who works closely with high-performing women, to unpack the truth about burnout, how it shows up in our bodies, and what we can do about it. Here’s what we took away:
1. Burnout is not stress—it’s what happens when stress goes unchecked
We often confuse burnout with being “just a bit stressed.” But burnout is a completely different state. While stress is fast-moving and fuelled by adrenaline, burnout is the collapse that follows prolonged survival mode. You’re no longer buzzing with pressure—you’re running on empty. You want to show up for your life, but you simply can’t. Your body says: enough.
“Burnout is when you feel exhausted in your bones. When no wellness routine, coffee, or weekend away brings you back.”
2. Anxiety and burnout are not weaknesses—they’re signals
Most of us are taught to “fix” burnout as fast as possible: medicate, mask, push through. But Sheena reframes it entirely, burnout is your nervous system working for you. It’s a powerful signal that something in your life is misaligned and needs to change. If your body is sending out stress alarms, listen.
“You wouldn’t be feeling this way if it wasn’t there for a reason.”
3. Burnout often starts in childhood
This part hit hard: many of us are stuck in cycles of burnout because we learnt, early on, that our worth was tied to achievement, appearances, or people-pleasing. Over time, these patterns show up as over-functioning in adulthood—saying yes when we want to say no, pushing through when our body says pause.
“Many women come to me for burnout… but what they’re really carrying is unprocessed trauma or unmet emotional needs from childhood.”
4. Boundaries are your recovery plan
Saying no doesn’t make you selfish, it makes you healthy. The podcast dove deep into how hard it is for high-achievers to set boundaries (especially in work and family), and how burnout often comes from being the go-to person for everything. Learning to say no, without apology or over-explaining, is one of the most powerful tools in preventing burnout, and protecting your peace.
“The people who push back against your boundaries are the ones who benefited from you not having any.”
5. If your life doesn’t feel like yours—it might be time to reassess
One of the biggest lightbulb moments was the idea of doing a life audit. So many of us wake up living a life we didn’t consciously choose. The dream job that drains us. The lifestyle that looks perfect but feels empty. The expectations we inherited but never questioned. If something feels off, it probably is, and change is possible.
“You might realise you never actually chose this life—you just fell into it.”
If you’re tired in a way rest can’t fix, please know you’re not broken, you’re burnt out. And that means something in your life needs care, not shame.
Start small: look at your sleep, hydration, boundaries. Give yourself the space to ask the big questions. And most importantly, don’t wait until your body forces you to stop. You deserve a life that energises you, not one that depletes you.