You finally sit down at the end of the day and instead of relaxing, your mind starts racing. You think about everything you didn’t get done. Everything you need to do tomorrow. Things you said, things you forgot, things you should have done differently. Your mind moves from one thing to the next and even though you’re technically “resting,” it doesn’t feel like it. You’re not doing anything wrong, you’re not choosing to stay “on.” Your body just doesn’t know how to turn off a

When I was in the depths of my burnout, I remember thinking again and again: “I have everything I ever wanted, so why doesn’t it feel good?” I had an amazing husband, two beautiful, healthy kids, a job I loved as a holistic nutritionist, great friends and a safe home with stability. It wasn’t just that my life looked good on the outside, it was good but it just didn’t feel like it. This is what burnout can look like when you're still functioning, still doing all the right thi

You know you need more rest, better boundaries, to slow the heck down, so why do you keep doing the opposite? You’re smart, you get it, but somehow you keep getting sucked back in. The everyday choices you’re making are reinforcing the same cycle you’re trying to break. It’s so frustrating. You keep asking yourself “Why can’t I just follow through?” You tell yourself this weekend you’re going to rest, but you don’t. You say this week will be different, but it isn’t. You promi

You’re standing there, maybe at work, maybe in your kitchen, maybe replying to a message and someone asks something of you. “Are you okay to come?” “Do you mind helping with this?” There’s a second where you feel it. A tightening. A hesitation. A knowing. You don’t actually want to say yes. But almost just as quickly, the thoughts come in: “It’s fine, I’ll just do it.” “It’s easier if I say yes.” “I don’t want to make this awkward.” So you say yes. You override what you want

Morning She wakes up, is lying in bed running through everything she has to do for the day. Who needs what. What she didn’t get to yesterday. What she needs to stay on top of today. She hasn’t even gotten out of bed yet and already that familiar feeling is there. That low, constant anxiety sitting in her chest, like she’s already behind before the day has even started. Her body feels so heavy, like she has weights attached to her legs. But she ignores it because this is just

There was a time when I kept asking myself: Why am I always tired? I thought I just needed more rest, more discipline or a better routine. If I could just get on top of things, I’d feel like myself again. But this wasn’t that kind of tired. It looked like shouting at my 4 year old son over something small and then immediately feeling this wave of shame. Like I had just done something irreversible, like I had damaged him. And instead of asking for help, I would shut down, hold

There’s a moment that doesn’t look like much from the outside. Someone asks you for something and before you’ve even had time to think, you say yes. Not because you really want to or because you have the capacity but because the “yes” comes out automatically. “Yeah, that’s fine.” “For sure.” “No problem.” And maybe, for a second, everything feels okay. But then later, you feel it. The tightness in your chest, the heaviness in your body and the frustration or resentment that

For a long time, being busy felt like a badge of honour. My days were full. Work. Kids. Planning meals. Grocery shopping Cooking meals. Emails. Activities. Appointments Laundry. Trying to keep the house running. Trying to keep everyone happy. If someone asked how things were going, my answer was usually the same. “Busy.” And I wore that word like proof that I was doing life well. Being busy meant I was productive, responsible, showing up for everyone. Somewhere along the way,

I used to always say yes to my husband Dave. He’d ask if he could go out with friends, stay out late, go and play golf. And I would smile and say, “Yeah, that’s fine.” Every time. But inside? I was getting more and more resentful. I was exhausted, overwhelmed, quietly drowning in responsibility. And yet, I kept saying yes. He would say, “I can stay home.” Or “I can come home with you and the kids.” But I’d feel guilty for making him. So I’d tell myself, if he really wanted to

I had co-hosted a full day retreat, picked up the kids from daycare, came home and started dinner - homemade, of course, because good mums don’t pull something from a box. Good mums feed their kids real food. Good mums don’t cut corners or at least that’s what I believed. I remember standing at the counter feeling like I was outside my own body, watching myself move through the motions. Chop. Stir. Plate. Smile. Hurry. We had to eat and get out the door for baseball. Every mo

You’re still functioning. The meals are made. The work is done. The texts and emails are answered. From the outside, your life looks fine. But inside, you feel flat, irritable and resentful. You keep telling yourself you’re just exhausted, that you need a good night’s sleep, a weekend away or a reset. But what if it’s more than that? Psychologist Christina Maslach, is one of the world’s leading burnout researchers and her work shows that burnout happens when we live too lo

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve found myself drawn into the Winter Olympics. I love the variety of sports and the level of talent, of course. But what stays with me are the stories. The years of hard work, the pressure, setbacks, the quiet moments no one sees. Two stories really stood out for me. Ilia Malinin, just 21, went in as a gold-medal favourite. Under the weight of Olympic pressure, he fell twice and landed only three of his seven planned quadruple jumps. He later

Sometimes we feel overwhelmed but find it hard to explain because nothing dramatic has happened. There’s no big crisis and on paper or social media, your life probably looks great. But despite this, everything feels like too much such as: You wake up already tired, not because you didn’t sleep, but because your brain is already running. Before you’re even out of bed, you’re checking messages, emails, school notifications, work updates. Someone needs something from you before

If burnout can stop Beyoncé, we can stop blaming ourselves. This is someone with success, resources, support, discipline and still, her body said ENOUGH. But so many women believe that they "should" be able to push through burnout, they think that everyone else can handle it all so why can't they. But I want you to read this: Functioning is NOT the same as being okay. Now read that TWO more times then take a breath. Even when you're in burnout, you can keep showing up, keep m

Why Burnt-Out Women Feel Disconnected and the Gentle Way Back to Themselves I was watching the new season of Queer Eye last week, and something Antoni said resonated with me. He was talking about how so many of us feel alone in our experiences. That landed deeply for me, because that’s exactly how I used to feel - not because I didn’t have people, love, or a full life around me, but because I didn’t feel seen in what I was going through. Most women don’t wake up one day and

Until I was in my 40s, I never even thought about my nervous system.It simply wasn’t something I had language for, or awareness around. It wasn’t until I burned out and got sick that I truly understood how much of a role it plays in our lives. After experiencing panic attacks, depression, and symptoms of Hashimoto’s and osteoarthritis, I was forced to face just how stressed and depleted I was. My body was living in a constant state of high alert. it was stuck in fight, fligh

I’ve been reflecting a lot over the last couple of weeks on 2025. It was an amazing year in so many ways. I turned 50 and celebrated in really beautiful ways with family and friends. My husband and I continued with marriage counselling, and it’s helped us grow even closer than we already were. I’ve also been learning how to step back a little more as a mum - not too much, but enough to give my kids the independence they want and need. This one is still very much a work in pro

There was a time in my life when I felt completely alone inside my own world. Not because I didn’t have people around me or because I wasn’t loved, but because, slowly and quietly over years, I had learned how to push my feelings down. I didn’t know how to say, “I need help,” or “I’m overwhelmed,” or “I can’t keep holding all of this by myself.” Somewhere along the way, like so many women do, I picked up the belief that being a strong woman meant staying silent. That needin

Most years don’t actually begin. They roll over. We carry December straight into January and all the emotions, beliefs, stress and exhaustion from the year before come with us. The calendar changes, but we don’t and yet we quietly hope this year will be different. By day five, many of us are already pushing past what we actually need. We tell ourselves to get back into routines, to be productive, to “start fresh,” even when we’re still running on empty. And then we wonder wh

I’ve been thinking about you as we move closer to Christmas. Not the version of you who keeps everything running but the real you. The one who feels things deeply, who gets tired, who holds so much inside without ever saying much about it. And I just wanted to send a few wishes your way. I hope you get to slow down a little. Even if it’s just five quiet minutes in the morning with your coffee. Even if the house is still buzzing around you. I hope you get one moment that feels