5 Myths & Mistakes Smart Women Make When It Comes to Burnout
When it comes to burnout, what first comes to mind? Toxic workplace? Overwhelm? Lack of passion in your job?
All these things can be true, but if you think burnout is just a workplace or even a mental health phenomenon, then you’re only scratching the surface.
To heal from burnout- to feel like ‘yourself’ again, feel motivated again, and revive your energy and your health- you need to understand the facts about what burnout really is and how it affects you physiologically, not just psychologically.
If you’re feeling mentally and emotionally drained and have physical symptoms like:
you’re tired all day but wired at night, or you wake at 3am regularly
exhaustion, even when you do get a good night’s sleep
frequent headaches
cravings for sugary or salty foods
digestion problems- bloating, constipation, diarrhea, acid reflux
brain fog, memory problems
irregular menstrual cycle
bad PMS or (peri)menopausal symptoms
low/no libido
… then keep reading. This post clears up some popular misconceptions about burnout so that you can get started on the road to recovery!
BUT BEFORE YOU DIVE IN….
I created a self-assessment tool to help you figure out where you fall on the burnout scale, and what your next action steps should be to get back your spark. It’s all part of the Burnout Freedom Roadmap
MYTH #1: Burnout Results from a Toxic Work Environment
The connection between burnout and work leads to a really limited understanding of what’s happening in your body and nervous system when you feel “burnt out”.
THE MISTAKE: Focusing all your energy on changing your job, your boss, or your company culture.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking you need to change your job or career in order to feel better. Or that if you change your job or career, that you will feel better.
First, In most cases, it’s 100% possible (and optimal) for you to stay in your current job and heal from burnout at the same time. This is especially true if you’re in a career you used to love, or a position you worked super hard to achieve. What if you could actually get back your energy, your mojo, and your health without uprooting your life? It’s possible.
Second, too often, women change jobs or careers and still find themselves burnt out. Or things are great for a while, but then you find yourself right back in the situation you were trying to escape.
Bottom line is, your job is not necessarily the (only) cause of your burnout. To truly heal, you’ll likely need to change things about how you relate to your work, and how you balance obligations to work, to others, and to yourself.
But also: burnout is not just a “mental” thing. If you have physical health symptoms that are impacting your life, then a new job won’t cut it. You need to make changes in other parts of your life and learn to regulate your nervous system, so that your body isn’t so weighed down by stress.
Myth #2: It’s normal to feel this way! everyone else around me is burnt out and exhausted
Take a look around you or read the news and what do you see? Everyone seems to be addicted to coffee, exhausted, and struggling to sleep. Chronic disease rates are through the roof. And in Gallup’s 2025 State of the Workplace report, only 1 in 3 employees reported feeling like they’re ‘thriving’.
When everyone seems to be in the same boat as you, it’s logical to think: “I guess this is just life!”
MISTAKE: You do nothing and resign yourself to accepting the status quo in your health and life.
Believing that the burnout you’re feeling is “normal” will lead you to make this big mistake and just do nothing. That means things will get worse, not better.
And the truth is, you don’t need to accept anything! You actually have a ton of power to improve your health and life. There are so many tools available to you.
Bottom line, just because burnout is common doesn’t mean it’s normal, or optimal. Why feel foggy and sluggish all the time? Why go on feeling unfulfilled? Why not have the energy to pursue awesome things in your life? You deserve better.
MYTH #3: You just need some rest and you’ll be fine
The most common “prescription” for burnout is to take time off from work and get some rest.
MISTAKE: You take a few days off, get a few good nights of sleep, or take vacation or go on a wellness retreat and think this is all you need.
But when you get back to work, nothing’s changed and you’re back at square one.
What gives?
The truth is, rest is extremely important, but not if it’s sporadic. Or if you only rest when it’s crisis time or when you’ve hit a complete wall. Vacations are important, too! In my opinion, they’re a necessary part of a healthy and happy life.
But rest needs to be incorporated into your life on a regular (read: daily) basis. Even vacations should be a regular thing that you plan in advance, not an emergency button you push when you’re so burnt out that you can’t bear going to work.
And here’s the other (BIG) thing: rest is only part of the picture. If you come back from your vacation and continue approaching your work and life the same as always- pushing hard, avoiding setting boundaries, etc- then nothing really will ever change.
MYTH #4: “Adrenal fatigue” is 100% myth, your symptoms are all in your head
So you googled your symptoms and came up with “adrenal fatigue”. The theory is that from so much stress, your adrenal glands become “tired” and stop producing cortisol (the hormone that gives you energy). As a result, you’re exhausted.
Then you go to see your doctor and what do they tell you? “Adrenal fatigue” is not real. It’s in your head and you need to relax.
MISTAKE: Throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
Let’s clear up some things. No, adrenal fatigue is NOT a real medical diagnosis. Your adrenal glands don’t become ‘tired’ and stop producing cortisol (unless you have a serious medical condition like Addison’s Disease, which is very rare).
BUT what you’re feeling is real.
Chronic stress - the root cause of burnout - takes a serious toll on your body. Every time you get triggered by stress, even just a little bit (like from an unpleasant email or someone taking your parking space), your body responds.
And the more frequently your body responds to stress, the more damage stress does to your body. Part of that damage is to your hormones.
Over time, your hormones will become imbalanced, especially cortisol. And eventually your body will start slowing down to protect you. Fatigue will become a regular part of your life, alongside sleep problems, digestion problems, and more.
Do nothing, and you can develop even more serious health problems.
The good news: this is REVERSIBLE.
(In fact, most clients I’ve worked with in THRIVE are able to recover their physical energy and mental focus within just a few weeks- when they know what to do.)
In sum: even though “adrenal fatigue” is not a true medical diagnosis, there is something going on inside your body. Your symptoms aren’t just in your head. And there’s a ton you can do to heal.
MYTH #5: If you recover from burnout once, you’ll never experience it again
It’s easy to think burnout is something you can heal from and never encounter again. Especially if your idea of healing is to leave your job and put your life on hold to deal with your health.
MISTAKE: After you start feeling better, you go back to your old ways of pushing 110%, 100% of the time.
This next part is important, so pay close attention.
If you want to:
recover your health and your energy,
get back your peace of mind
and become even more successful in your career and life
…then you need to change the way you’re doing things, period.
You need to prioritize foundational self-care. Start setting boundaries that respect your capacity (and desires around how you want to be treated). And you need to learn to regulate your nervous system
Even deeper, you need to reach clarity around your core values and evaluate whether your career, relationships, and overall life really reflect those values - and then make changes if you need to.
This isn’t easy stuff to figure out, which is why it’s great to have someone supporting you through the process. It’s what I do with my clients in THRIVE (find out more about that HERE).
BONUS MYTH: I’m just born this way- stressed out and unable to cope
This is the worst myth of all. Please say this out loud: “I am not broken.” Say that as many times as you need to, every day, until you believe it.
Many of us (maybe most of us!) were raised by parents and caregivers who were not very good at dealing with their emotions or managing stress. So they didn’t model to us how to do it in a healthy way.
And now as adults, we struggle with stress and anxiety. We self-medicate with alcohol and food. And we beat ourselves up when we can’t relax or drop perfectionist tendencies or stop people pleasing. Or just stop worrying.
—> Even though in our rational brain, we really want to do all those things!
But there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. The other thing about being an adult is that we can choose to learn, to grow, and do things differently. And become a different person- the person we’ve always wanted to be.
A life free from anxiety and health problems, and instead filled with ease and joy and vibrancy- that’s available to you. You’re not broken.
READY TO BANISH BURNOUT?
If you’re a high-achieving woman who’s done with burnout and ready for real change, then my 1-1 coaching program, THRIVE, may be just the thing you need.
Click the button below for details:
Your next step? Book in a Burnout Breakthrough Assessment with me. This is a free coaching call where we’ll get crystal clear on the root causes of your burnout experience and identify what your next action steps should be. It’s also a chance to see if we’re a good fit to work together in THRIVE.