What If Burnout Isn't About Work At All?

12 November 2025

“Many of us have been running all our lives. Practice stopping.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

Credit: Wolfgang Stiller

Do you ever feel like you're running on a treadmill that never stops - pushing to keep up, to get it right, to keep everyone else happy?

And yet somehow… you’re still not quite enough?

If that sounds familiar, I want you to hear this: it’s not you. It’s a pattern.

And without awareness, it’s a pattern that follows us from job to job, year to year, always leading to the same place: burnout.

We often think burnout is caused by long hours or demanding projects. But for so many of my clients, the real fuel for exhaustion comes from within.

It’s the voice of perfectionism whispering, “It could always be better.” It’s the difficulty in saying “no,” because we’re afraid of letting others down. It’s the quiet ache that says, “If I just try harder, maybe then I’ll be enough.”

So, we overwork to compensate. We hustle for our worthiness until our body and mind finally force us to stop.  And the heartbreaking part? We often see burnout as a personal failure, rather than a sign that our inner compass needs recalibrating.  We believe it’s due to the environment — the job, the team, the season — without realising that even if we change the scenery, we may still carry the same patterns with us.

So, how do we break the cycle?

It starts with a moment of compassionate honesty.  Without judgment, begin by simply noticing the pressure you’re putting on yourself.  What does it feel like in your body?  What is that inner voice actually saying?

Beyond building conscious awareness, hypnotherapy can offer a kind of support that talking alone sometimes can’t.  In a state of deep relaxation, we can gently guide the subconscious where those old beliefs of “not enough” tend to live.  We can soften the inner critic, release the need to constantly prove your worth, and begin to rewire the cycle from the inside out.

So you can finally step off the treadmill, anchored in the knowing that “you are enough, just as you are.”

If you're ready to move from surviving to truly thriving, I’m here to support you.  Let’s explore how we can work together to help you reclaim your energy, peace and self-worth.