What is Burnout and is it Preventable?

What is Burnout and is it Preventable?
"Staying Well While Doing Big Things" 
Inspired by House of Peregrine Podcast Ep 63 
featuring Alicia Ingruber
What Burnout?
If you or someone you love has been feeling heavy. Not just tired, but tired in your bones-drained, brittle, overwhelmed by the pace of your own life, this guide is for you. Or if you would like to know how to steer clear of this mystifying and hard to pin down experience we want to invite you to read ahead.
Burnout doesn't arrive overnight. It arrives quietly. Subtly. Through sighs you don't notice. Through weekends that no longer restore you. Through the slow erosion of joy.
This guide is a companion to those early moments, a tool for those who are deeply ambitious, want to live with intention, and ready to care for themselves in ways the world never taught them. It's not about pulling back or doing less. It's about doing things differently. Listening differently. Protecting what's sacred and learning to work with, rather than against, your body.
And if you're reading this and thinking, I'm already there, please know this: You are not alone. You are not broken. And you don't have to do this alone. If you're in or coming out of burnout, this guide still applies - but now, the most powerful thing you can do is reach out. Find a nervous system-informed practitioner, like Alicia Ingruber, who can hold space for your healing. The reset begins here.
The Nervous System Spectrum
Your nervous system isn't just a background system, it is your foundation and early detection system for when things are adding up. It determines how safe you feel, how much energy you have, and whether you can show up as your most powerful self. There are three primary states your body cycles through: Regulated (Safe, Present, Creative) This is your optimal state for growth and clarity. You feel calm, connected, and inspired.
Regulated (Safe, Present, Creative)
*Optimal state for growth and clarity
Activated (Fight or Flight)
*Doing more than being
Collapsed (Burnout, Shutdown)
*Your body saying no more
The Regulated State
Rest
You can fully relax and restore your energy
Play
You engage in activities that bring joy and creativity
Focus
You can concentrate on tasks with clarity and purpose
Connect
You can relate to others authentically and openly
You can rest, play, focus, and relate to others.
The Activated State
Doing More
You're "doing" more than "being"
Overwhelmed
You feel on edge and agitated
Hyper-productive
You may have built your career around this state
Hormonal Response
Your body is flooded with adrenaline and cortisol
Activated (Fight or Flight) You're "doing" more than "being." It may feel familiar, you maybe have even built your life or career around this state—but it's not sustainable. You're overwhelmed, on edge, agitated, or hyper-productive.
Your body is flooded with adrenaline and cortisol.
The Collapsed State
Body's Forced Rest
This is your body saying no more and forcing rest. It is saying:"I can't keep going."
Emotional Numbness
You feel numb, detached, and disoriented. Nothing brings joy. Energy is non-existent.
Beyond Simple Fatigue
Can be confused with Depression or just needing a break, but a vacation or break doesn't help or helps very little. You never can get back to feeling vital and "ready"
Full-Body Shutdown
Burnout is not simply a dip in energy. It's a full-body shutdown after prolonged time in fight-or-flight. This is why early intervention matters.
Seven Early Signs of Burnout
Loss of Joy
Things that once lit you up now feel dull or heavy.
Persistent Fatigue
No matter how much you sleep, rest feels out of reach.
Emotional Fragility
Either you cry more easily—or not at all.
Physical Symptoms
Headaches, stomach issues, hormonal shifts, muscle tension.
Escape Fantasies
You fantasize about quitting everything. Not because you don't care, but because you can't keep caring in this way.
Social Withdrawal
You cancel plans, dread social interactions that you used to enjoy, or hide in plain sight.
Constant Coping
With caffeine, wine, scrolling, over-scheduling—or all of the above.
Burnout rarely announces itself. Instead, it creeps in. If you notice several of these, pause. Your body is whispering. Listen before it has to scream.
The Danger of Doing It All
You weren't meant to run like a machine
Linear productivity isn't natural
Your value is not in how much you produce
Worth beyond output
Rest is not the opposite of ambition
It's what makes it sustainable
You weren't meant to run like a machine. You weren't built for linear productivity, endless output, or comparison culture. If you identify as a high achiever, driven, perfectionist, people-pleaser, —or all of the above—you're not flawed. Or if you are in a season of caring work you feel that you have to do everything on your own or with very little support. You're living in a system that rewards self-abandonment and calls it success.
Here's a reframe: Your value is not in how much you produce. Your success does not require your exhaustion. Rest is not the opposite of ambition. It's what makes it sustainable.
Living Abroad: The Weight We Don't Name
Reshapes Everything
Moving to another country reshapes your routines, relationships, identity and safety
Constant Translation
One too many days of translating yourself, trying to belong
Longing for Familiarity
A sense of displacement that you can't name until it's gone
Accumulation of Adaptation
Burnout arrives not from a single stressor, but from the weight of constant adjustment
Burnout is heavy enough. But if you're also living abroad, the weight multiplies—quietly, invisibly, even while you are living a life that most can only dream of. Moving to another country reshapes everything: your routines, your relationships, your sense of identity and safety. You're building from scratch while carrying everything from before. Even joy—the dream of a new life—can come with complexity. Loneliness. Displacement. A longing for familiarity that you can't name until it's gone.
Burnout in an international life often arrives not from a single stressor, but from the accumulation of adaptation. One too many days of translating yourself. Of trying to belong. Of holding it all together in a culture that doesn't yet feel like home. If this is your reality, please hear this: You're not failing. You're just carrying more than most people can see. You deserve support that understands your context. You deserve rest without guilt. And you deserve a way forward that doesn't require you to abandon yourself—or your dreams—to feel whole again
Five Nervous System Non-Negotiables
Think of these as daily vitamins for your inner world. They become Non-Negotiables when Healing from or preventing Burnout. 
1. Warmth as Nervous System Care
Cozy Clothes
Soft, comfortable clothing that provides physical comfort and security
Hot Drinks
Tea, coffee, or other warm beverages that provide internal warmth
Heated Spaces
Creating environments that provide physical warmth and comfort
Warmth Cozy clothes, hot drinks, heated spaces. Sensitive bodies need more physical warmth to feel safe.
2.Stillness & 3.Co-Regulation
2. Stillness Time without input. No podcasts, no scrolling, no expectations. Just… quiet.
3. Co-Regulation A safe, soothing presence—human, animal, or even a voice—can help downshift your nervous system.
Nourishment & Gentle Structure
4
Nourishment
Real food. Deep hydration. Restorative sleep. Not for aesthetics, but for replenishment.
5
Gentle Structure
Create a daily rhythm, not a rigid routine. Anchor your day with a few non-negotiables (like movement, breath, or reflection).
5-Minute Daily Check-In Ritual
Breathe
One hand on your heart, one on your belly. Inhale for 4, exhale for 6.
Body Scan
Gently notice any sensations—tightness, warmth, numbness. No need to fix, just feel.
Energy Audit
Ask: Where is my energy going today? Do I have enough to give?
Intuitive Yes/No
Name what's on your plate. What's a full yes? What's a quiet no?
Closing Affirmation
Try: "I honor my pace. I protect my peace. I am safe in my body."
This practice helps you return to yourself before your energy spirals outward.
If You're Feeling Burned Out…
You are not alone in this experience
If reading this feels like reading your own diary, if you know you're already in the collapse phase, you're not alone. And you don't have to figure it out by yourself.
Burnout is not a personal failure
Burnout is not a failure. It's your body saying: I've done everything I can. Please take over now.
Reach out for professional support
Reach out. Find a nervous system-informed coach or practitioner like Alicia Ingruber, who has lived this journey and now walks others through it with her clients. You can connect with Alicia at www.aliciainspired.com or follow her insights on Instagram at @aliciainspired. Her podcast, Alicia Inspired: Success Without Sacrificing Wellbeing, is also a rich resource for rebuilding after burnout.
Honoring your Unique Nervous System 
You are not too sensitive. You are not too much. You are not failing. You are waking up to a new way of being—one that honors your sensitivity, supports your ambition, and lets your body lead the way. Before the burnout… listen. You have permission to soften. You have permission to stay.
Credits
"What is Burnout and can it be prevented" was created by House of Peregrine, in collaboration with Alicia Ingruber – 2025.