Your Body Isn’t Broken — It’s Burnt Out
A guide for the woman who’s done it all, but can’t do it anymore
You’re not lazy. You’re just carrying too much.
I used to think I was just tired.
Tired from raising kids, working partime, serving in the church and trying to keep a marriage together. Tired from doing all the “right things,” staying busy, serving everyone, and still somehow feeling like I wasn’t doing enough.
But what I was feeling went deeper than tired. It was bone-deep exhaustion. My brain was foggy. My body ached. I couldn’t focus. And worst of all, I couldn’t explain what was happening to me — not even to myself.
I went from doctor to doctor, hoping someone could help. I was told I was probably “just depressed.” But I knew better. I knew something else was going on, but I could not find the answers.
Eventually, a European doctor ran deeper labs and diagnosed me with Hashimoto’s — an autoimmune condition triggered by chronic stress. My nervous system had been running in fight-or-flight for so long, it had burned out.
Burnout doesn’t mean you’re weak. It means your nervous system is overwhelmed.
We tend to think of burnout as something that happens in the mind. A mindset problem. Maybe even a personal failure.
But burnout lives in the body. It’s what happens when your nervous system stays on high alert for months — sometimes years — without relief.
The symptoms can be sneaky. Maybe you feel wired at night but groggy all day. You can’t sleep. You can’t sit still. You forget words mid-sentence. You snap at people you love. Your digestion is off. You start pulling away from friends because even texting back feels like too much.
If this sounds familiar, I want you to hear me clearly:
This is not your fault. You’re not broken. Your body is doing everything it can to keep you alive.
Faith, burnout, and the pressure to “stay strong”
If you’re a woman of faith like me, burnout carries an even different complexity.
We’re told to serve. To forgive. To keep showing up. We’re praised for being selfless, resilient, and strong — even when that strength is slowly draining the life out of us.
When I was in the middle of my divorce, the church sent someone to "check in on me." At first, I thought she was coming to offer comfort and support. But instead, I was gently — and painfully — told I needed to stick it out. That maybe I just needed to try harder.
It didn’t matter that I had biblical grounds for leaving. That I had stayed “strong” for 15 years. I was still made to feel like I was the problem — like I was wearing a scarlet letter, even as my world was falling apart.
That moment broke something in me. But it also became a turning point.
“Be still and know” doesn’t mean do nothing. It means you’re not alone.
When I finally let myself stop fighting, I realized something profound:
God wasn’t asking me to keep striving. He was asking me to be still and let Him fight for me.
Being still didn’t mean sitting back and letting my life fall apart. It meant surrendering the illusion that I had to carry everything alone. It meant listening to what my body had been trying to say for years.
That kind of stillness became the foundation of my healing.
Your symptoms are not setbacks — they’re signals
Here’s what I wish someone had told me earlier:
Your fatigue isn’t laziness — it’s your body asking for rest.
Your anxiety isn’t weakness — it’s your nervous system scanning for safety.
Your numbness isn’t apathy — it’s protection from overwhelm.
When I started to understand this, I could stop resenting my body and start working with it. I could begin asking:
“What are you trying to tell me?”
“What do you need right now?”
“Is this reaction coming from an old survival pattern I don’t need anymore?”
It was like learning a new language — the language of healing. And once I started listening, my body began to soften.
What helped me heal — and what might help you, too
Healing from burnout isn’t about finding a quick fix. It's about returning to a relationship with your body that’s built on trust, not control. Some of the most powerful tools I’ve used — and now share with clients — are simple but profound:
1. Somatic and nervous system-based bodywork
Using techniques like somatic emotional release, applied neurology (neurology concept for reseting the nervous system and pain), fascia release, and vagus nerve regulation; we help your body shift from survival to safety — gently, over time.
2. Nervous system rituals you can do at home
Legs up the wall to calm the stress response
Breathwork and prayer (inhale “Be still,” exhale “and know”)
Sunlight in the morning to reset your energy and rhythm
3. Spiritual practices that nourish, not deplete
Worship, laughter, tears, honest prayer, and moments of stillness — not performance, not pretending.
What I tell every woman who walks into my studio
Every week, I meet women who remind me of you.
They come in tired — physically, emotionally, spiritually.
Tender in places they don’t always have words for.
Trying to keep going, even when their body keeps whispering, “I can’t do this anymore.”
They say things like:
“I don’t feel like myself anymore.”
“Everything feels hard.”
“I’m so tired… but I can’t seem to rest.”
And before we begin any hands-on work, before I ever touch a muscle or guide a movement, I almost always say this:
“You are not broken. Nothing about you needs to be fixed. Your body is doing exactly what it was designed to do — protect you.”
“It’s okay to be here. It’s safe to let go. We’ll move at your pace. You don’t have to carry it all anymore.”
And slowly, something begins to shift.
After just a few sessions, they start breathing deeper. They sleep through the night. They walk outside just to feel the sun again. Their face softens. Their eyes brighten. And I’ll often hear,
“I feel like me again.”
That’s what nervous system healing does.
It doesn’t push. It doesn’t fix.
It restores.
And if you’re reading this thinking, “That sounds like what I need,”
— then yes. This kind of healing is available to you, too.
If no one has told you this lately, let me be the first:
You’re not crazy.
You’re not weak.
You’re not too much or not enough.
You’re a woman with a brilliant, sacred body that’s been carrying too much for too long.
And it’s time to lay it down.
Let’s begin — gently.
I’ve walked this road, and I’d be honored to walk with you. You don’t have to push through anymore. You don’t have to hold it all alone.
Your healing doesn’t start with a to-do list. It starts with permission.
Permission to rest.
Permission to feel.
Permission to come back home to yourself.
You were born on purpose, for a purpose.
And your body is ready to help you live it out.
Want to take the next step?
Reach out and schedule a session. Or just hit reply and tell me:
What is your body asking for right now?
You don’t have to figure it all out. You just have to begin.
With gentle strength,
Cynthia Newton
Magnolia Wellness | Plano, TX