How to Avoid Burnout Before It Starts
When people talk about burnout they usually frame it as working too much…but I don’t think that’s the full picture. In my experience, burnout looks a lot more like depletion and misalignment. From a traditional Chinese medicine perspective, burnout often mirrors blood deficiency almost perfectly; hair loss, fatigue, low energy, low libido. Wired by tired. That is your system running on E.
Most entrepreneurs I work with are already well past the early signs by the time they start asking about burnout. The subtle signals usually show up first, things like standing up and immediately getting tunnel vision. Feeling chronically flat, not sad exactly, just low. Nervous system fatigue before a full collapse…I’m sure we’ve all been there at some point and we tend to normalize these signs until the body forces us to pay attention. Often in ways that takes months, if not years to reverse. Oooof.
I started my career in health, working with women on hormones and fertility, and now I bring those same principles into business. Because the body doesn’t care if stress is coming from a corporate job or entrepreneurship. Stress is stress. A lot of us leave the nine-to-five grind because we want more autonomy and a better work/life balance and then we start a business and end up recreating the same exact relationship with work. Listen here: entrepreneurship will not magically change you or your lifestyle — that is a fantasy we’ve been sold. The reality is you take yourself with you and if you don’t build intention into your work and business, you just end up bring your overworking, high-achieving girly pop along for the ride. And entrepreneurship adds its own kind of pressure. You learn very quickly that the harder you work, the more money you can make — there’s no cap. It feels like freedom but it can also become incredibly addictive, especially for millennial women who already know how to push themselves.
When we look to the online space we tend to see big numbers everywhere from creators and entrepreneurs. 100k months and 200k launches. These flashy numbers and sales suddenly feel so normal and there’s this internal pressure to be at that level even if it has nothing to do with the life you want to live. This is truly where burnout begins — misalignment. When I was working full-time in biotech, traveling constantly, and building my business Restoring Eve in every spare moment, I wasn’t burnt out at all. I was working more than ever but felt extremely aligned in what I was doing and it was exhilarating. That is the difference here.
Burnout is less of a workload problem and more of an alignment/purpose problem. It usually shows up when you’re chasing goals that aren’t really yours, when your idea of success is coming from comparison instead of clarity. Cue a boomer somewhere sighing about “purpose.” This is why I talk so much about defining your OWN version of success. Not what looks impressive online, but what actually supports your life. How much money do you really need? What kind of days do you want to be living? When your goals drift away from your values the body tends to feel it first.
When we look at burnout from this lens, the misalignment lens, we can then stop asking ourselves “how do I push through this” and instead ask “what does my system actually need right now?” Here are my non-negotiables I turn to when I want to keep burnout at bay:
I focus heavily on blood-building foods and herbs like nettle, goji, and jujube tea. Red meat, often daily. Beef liver capsules (use RESTORINGEVE10 at checkout) for concentrated nutrients. Black sesame seeds on pretty much everything! I like what I like!
I support my adrenals with minerals in my water because plain water is simply not enough. Chronic stress depletes electryolyes and minerals in the body, so I try to prioritize electrolytes with higher potassium and lower sodium and use mineral concentrates regularly.
Protein is a huge component in burnout prevention. Most women are under-eating protein by a lot and my recommendation is to aim for at least 120 grams per day to support your hormones, blood sugar, and energy. It works!
Movement is important but it doesn’t need to be extreme. You don’t need to do a HIIT class to enjoy the benefits of exercising. I walk at least 10k steps a day for lymphatic flow and mental health.
And finally, systems. No amount of supplements or self-care can make up for a business that relies on you 24/7. If everything falls apart when you step away, burnout was always inevitable. Consider systems within your business part of your wellness routine.
Just remember: burnout is feedback. When you listen early, build from alignment, and support your body the same way you support your business, you don’t have to wait until you’re exhausted to make a change. These are the exact principles I teach in my Mastermind.