27/08/2025
💚 Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
💫Headaches, muscle tension, jaw clenching
💚 Frequent colds or low immunity
💫 Digestive issues
💚 Hormonal imbalances (irregular cycles, low libido)
💚 Changes in appetite (overeating or loss of appetite)
💚 Constant exhaustion, even after rest
💚 Feeling detached, cynical, or numb
💚 Irritability or snapping at small things
💚 Loss of motivation or joy in activities once enjoyed
💚 Brain fog, forgetfulness, or poor concentration
💚 Feeling overwhelmed or 'on edge' most of the time
The A star student 💚
She always sits in the front row, hand raised before the question is even finished. Her test scores are top of the class, and her extracurriculars leave no time for socials. On the outside, she’s an 'ideal student', but on the inside, she is haunted by a fear that 'if I am not perfect, I’m not enough'.
This type of burnout begins early, the nervous system is wired to stay on high alert, striving, achieving, never resting. Over time, the cost shows up as anxiety, sleepless nights, and exhaustion that no weekend 'lie-in' can fix.
The child with pushy parents💛
The child whose parents had dreams they never fulfilled, so they live them through their child. Every grade is scrutinised and every mistake magnified. The child grows into a young adult who can not rest without guilt, who feels a heavy weight even when trying to rest. This isn’t about school performance. It is about identity and the belief that worth is conditional, tethered to productivity.
The nurse who retrained 🧡
He thought leaving his 9-to-5 job would free him from 'burnout'. He dreamed of flexible hours, working with passion, and finally owning his time. But now? He is working until midnight, glued to his laptop, circadian rhythm wrecked by blue light. Instead of freedom, he is more shackled than ever, this time to his own ambition.
Here burnout hides behind good intentions. Passion alone can not override physiology. The body still needs rhythm, rest, and nourishment.
The new mom 💚
She does not ask for help or show any weakness. She became hyper-independent to prove herself years ago, and now she carries that same weight into motherhood. The baby cries, the laundry piles, the partner watches helplessly, but she refuses to let go, 'I’ve got it', she says, even as her body says otherwise. Burnout here is not just exhaustion; it is disconnection from self, from her partner, even from the joy of motherhood.
The interfering mother-in-law 🙏
She is in her sixties, her health not what it used to be, yet she can’t stop cooking enough food for the whole neighbourhood. People-pleasing is her love language, the way she keeps herself relevant and needed. But the truth? Her body is worn out. Her giving is endless, but the nourishment she needs for herself is absent.
This is the 'burnout' of over-giving, when the need to be seen as helpful, overrides the body’s craving for rest.
The grieving grandparent who can’t say no ❤
Since losing her partner, she has stepped into the role of ever-available caregiver. Every school run, every afternoon babysitting session, every request, she say yes. The house is full of her grandchildren’s toys, but the evenings are empty. By nightfall, she collapses into bed, drained but unable to sleep deeply.
This kind of burnout often hides under grief. Caretaking becomes a way to feel needed, to avoid loneliness, to keep the mind occupied. But the body can not sustain endless output without replenishment. The 'silent' collapse each night is the nervous system’s way of saying, 'enough'.
At its root, burnout is about nervous system dys-regulation. 🗨
In the beginning, the body runs on adrenaline with that sharp focus, late-night productivity, endless to-do lists, you know the drill.
Over time, the system gets 'stuck on' in fight-or-flight mode when cortisol rises and sleep suffers, and body can start to show physical symptoms, but you ignore them, or don't even notice them.
Eventually, the body crashes, the cortisol starts to 'flatline'. It is like the system flips into freeze mode, this is exhaustion that usually comes with a sense of disconnection.
Dr. Gabor Maté reminds us that many of us override our body’s cues because early life taught us to suppress our needs. Burnout is not just about stress today, it is about nervous systems that are wired to keep going even when they should slow down and reset.
How to reverse burnout...coming ...
#
www.khushmark.com
www.newschoolofnutrition.com
