Burnout Recovery for Women and How to Reclaim Your Energy Naturally
- Brainz Magazine
- Jul 22
- 6 min read
Written by Andrea Byers, Holistic Wellness Practitioner
Andrea Byers is an award-winning holistic wellness expert, Air Force veteran, and chronic illness warrior dedicated to redefining well-being through personalized care. As the founder of Chronic & Iconic Coaching, she empowers individuals to reclaim balance, purpose, and health through mindset, movement, and transformative coaching.
I know burnout intimately, not because I read about it in a textbook, but because I lived it. I lived it while building businesses, raising babies, leading women, and trying to outrun my own breaking point. I kept showing up, smiling, pushing, and silently unraveling until my body did what I refused to: it stopped. A heart attack at 40 will do that.
The truth is that most women don’t realize they are burned out until it is too loud to ignore. You didn’t just wake up one day exhausted. Burnout doesn’t always scream; it creeps in slowly. Sometimes it whispers through joint pain, missed cycles, snapping at your kids, crying over the laundry, or just waking up already tired again.
First, it looked like forgetting things here and there. Then came the irritability, the skipped meals, the anxious nights. Eventually, even rest stopped feeling restful.
You started asking yourself:
“Why am I still so tired after a full night’s sleep?”
“Why does everything feel heavy?”
“What happened to the woman I used to be?”
And if you are living with chronic illness, that burnout runs deeper because your body is already working overtime just to exist in a world that tells you to keep up.
I know her. I was her.
So, if you are reading this with red eyes, an aching back, and a mind that will not quiet down, you are not lazy. You are not crazy. You are tired in ways sleep alone can’t fix. You are burned out. And it is not your fault. But healing? That gets to be your revolution.
Burnout is not just about being tired, it’s about being disconnected. From your body. Your peace. Your joy. It is the slow unraveling that happens when you have been strong for too long without a safe place to land. I want you to know you are not alone, and you are not broken, but something does need to change.
What burnout looked like for me
I looked like I had it all together, but I was exhausted, anxious, inflamed, resentful, and numb. I was fueling with caffeine, surviving on sugar, sleeping in fragments, and silently breaking under the pressure to be “everything to everyone.”
I was the one people called when they needed strength. But I was running on fumes. I didn’t know how to ask for help. I didn’t know how to stop without feeling guilty. I didn’t know I was allowed to rest before I collapsed.
I know now.
I had a heart attack at 40. Let that sink in.
Not because I was inactive. Not because I wasn’t taking care of myself, but because I kept ignoring the whispers my body was trying to tell me. I was told it was probably “just anxiety.” My body knew better. I was pushing through pain, pouring from an empty cup, serving everyone but myself, and while the world praised me for being strong, I was silently breaking.
That moment changed everything. I stopped asking how to do more and started learning how to be well.
What burnout looks like in women (even the high-performing ones)
Burnout does not always announce itself with sirens.
Sometimes it’s just:
You zoning out mid-conversation.
You canceling plans because you don’t have the energy to fake being okay.
You crying in your car and then walking into work like nothing happened.
You lying in bed scrolling for two hours because your nervous system can’t shut down.
Burnout for women especially women who lead, nurture, and carry invisible loads is sneaky. It hides behind productivity and perfectionism. It tells you that rest is lazy, that asking for help makes you weak, and that if you just try a little harder, you’ll feel better.
You won’t. Not until you heal the root.
Burnout recovery starts with telling the truth
Let’s get honest about how burnout hides in our lives:
You’re snapping at the people you love and then guilt-tripping yourself afterward.
You can’t remember the last time you felt rested in your bones.
You avoid mirrors, plans, and even joy because it all feels like too much.
You eat whatever’s fastest. You sleep when you crash. You cry in silence.
I see you. Because I was you. This doesn’t have to be your forever. Burnout is real, but so is recovery.
The natural way back: Reclaiming your energy holistically
Here’s what worked for me, and what I now teach the women I coach:
1. Stop performing wellness. Start receiving it
Let’s be very clear: rest isn’t something you earn after proving your worth. You are not a robot. You’re a woman with emotions, limits, and a need to exhale. We don’t need another productivity hack. We need to re-learn how to feel safe doing less.
“I had to unlearn that being still meant I was falling behind. My truth is: stillness saved my life.”
2. Nourish to heal, not just to function
When I was burned out, I would go hours without eating, then crash into a bag of chips or a drive-thru line. My body was crying for nourishment, not punishment. You don’t need a fancy diet. You need real food, eaten with real care.
Anti-inflammatory meals that give more than they take.
Stable blood sugar = stable mood.
Water. Minerals. Food with color, texture, and intention.
“My healing began when I started feeding myself like I mattered.”
3. Move because you love your body, not because you hate it
Forget revenge bodies or burning calories. Movement is sacred. It should help you reconnect, not just sweat. I started moving gently mobility flows, yoga, walking barefoot in the grass, dancing in my kitchen. My nervous system softened. My body stopped fighting me. And little by little, I began to trust her again.
“I stopped punishing my body and started partnering with it.”
4. Rewrite the lies burnout taught you
Burnout thrives on toxic narratives:
“I can’t stop or I’ll fall behind.”
“Everyone needs me.”
“If I rest, I’m failing.”
We rewrite those lies one belief at a time:
“My value is not in my output.”
“Rest is a leadership decision.”
“I deserve to feel well, not just function.”
“My healing became possible when I stopped believing the lie that exhaustion was a mandatory part of success.”
5. Reignite joy–tiny joy counts too
Burnout numbs us. The way back? Joy. Not big, elaborate joy. Micro-joy. A good song. A hot shower. Fresh sheets. Laughter. Morning light. A slow cup of tea. Start noticing what brings life back into your bones and then make space for it on purpose.
“I built joy into my recovery like it was medicine because it is.”
This is not the end of you
Listen to me: burnout does not mean you’re broken. It means you’ve been doing too much for too long with too little support. It means your body is begging you to come back home.
You’re allowed to pivot, to pause, to rebuild a life that nourishes you instead of draining you.
And if no one’s told you this today:
You don’t have to earn your healing.
You don’t have to keep proving your strength.
You can choose peace. You can choose you.
You can come back to wholeness, to clarity, to softness, and strength and joy. Not by doing more, but by doing it differently.
“Burnout doesn’t get the last word. You do.”
Ready to begin again?
If this hit home, it’s because your body knows it’s time. Time to reclaim your energy naturally. Time to stop surviving and start becoming. Burnout doesn’t just fade, you heal your way out.
If you’re ready to stop pouring from an empty cup and start rebuilding from the inside out, I created something just for you. Let’s create a rhythm that honors your life, your health, and your heart.
Download my free guide: Sacred Return: A Guided Journal for the Woman Who’s Done Performing
Read more from Andrea Byers
Andrea Byers, Holistic Wellness Practitioner
Andrea Byers is an award-winning holistic wellness expert, transformation coach, and decorated Air Force veteran with over two decades of experience in healthcare and integrative wellness. As the founder of Chronic & Iconic Coaching, she empowers individuals, especially those navigating chronic illness or burnout, to reclaim their health, purpose, and personal power through mindset, movement, and radical self-leadership. Known for her bold voice and compassionate approach, Andrea is a fierce advocate for sustainable healing, unapologetic self-worth, and whole-person wellness.
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