Burnout Isn’t Failure: Listening When Your Body Speaks

Burnout doesn’t always arrive loudly.
Sometimes it creeps in quietly — disguised as tiredness, irritability, or simply “pushing through” for one more week.

In a recent episode of It’s Family Business, Cheryl sat down with Steph Neal, Director of Pilates HQ, to have an honest conversation about burnout — what it really looks like, why it’s often missed, and what happens when your body finally forces you to stop.

Steph shared her story after sending a heartfelt email to her mailing list titled “My body stopped me because I wouldn’t stop myself.” That sentence alone resonated deeply — because so many people are living that exact experience.

The Slow, Sneaky Burnout

As Steph explains, burnout isn’t always dramatic or obvious.

“It wasn’t the overnight kind. It was the slow, sneaky kind that builds up quietly until you don’t even realise how tired, wired and apathetic you really are. I was fatigued in a way that sleep didn’t fix.”

This kind of burnout allows you to keep functioning — but not at your best. You show up. You get through the day. But the tank never refills.

Steph described feeling exhausted even after short work hours, struggling to converse, and using all of her cognitive energy just to get through the workday.

“I’d get home and I just had nothing left. I couldn’t really string a sentence together… I’d wake up and feel like I hadn’t filled my tank at all.”

When Your Body Finally Says Stop

For Steph, burnout eventually showed up not just as fatigue, but as anxiety, emotional overwhelm, and a complete inability to keep going.

“I was basically crying all weekend and I couldn’t stop. Usually I can put on a face and go to work — and this day, I just couldn’t.”

Calling in sick felt emotionally unbearable, Steph states; 

“I felt really guilty. It’s a mental health thing — people can’t see it. It’s not like I broke my arm.”

That guilt is something many business owners, teachers, and caregivers carry, especially those who pride themselves on reliability and giving their all.

As Cheryl reflected during the episode, burnout often escalates when people feel they should keep going, even when every part of them is asking for rest.

People-Pleasing and the Cost of Always Saying Yes

Steph openly acknowledged that people-pleasing played a significant role in her burnout.

“I would put someone else’s wellbeing above my own… I was thinking about my clients, my workplace — but I wasn’t acknowledging how I was feeling.”

Learning to say no didn’t come easily. In fact, it required creating space between requests and responses.

“I stopped saying yes straight away. I started saying, ‘Can I think about it and get back to you?’ That breathing space changed everything.”

This simple pause became a powerful boundary — one that allowed Steph to assess whether something truly aligned with her capacity, goals, and values.

Asking the Hard Questions

One of the most powerful parts of Steph’s story is the five questions she asked herself while navigating burnout. The first was simple:

“What do I need right now?”

The answer wasn’t productivity. It was rest, support, and change.

With the support of her husband and brother, Steph took extended leave and ultimately made the difficult decision not to return to her clinical role, instead, choosing to realign her work with what genuinely lit her up.

“I could have gone back and given 50%, but that didn’t feel right. My clients deserved better — and so did I.”

Redesigning Work Around Energy, Not Guilt

Burnout didn’t end Steph’s career — it reshaped it.

By transitioning to working for herself, teaching reformer classes from home, and slowly rebuilding on her own timeline, she created a business model based on energy rather than expectation.

“I set minimum hours that worked financially and energetically — and I put reminders in my phone saying, ‘Don’t add anything else.’”

She even scheduled monthly check-ins with herself.

“It just pops up and says, ‘How are you going?’”

A simple question but one that can prevent burnout before it takes hold again.

Burnout Is Not a Badge of Honour

Perhaps the most important message Steph shared was this:

“It’s not something to be ashamed of — but it’s also not a badge of honour.”

Burnout isn’t proof of commitment or strength. And grinding yourself into the ground isn’t a requirement for success.

“There’s this idea that you have to grind and grind — but it’s okay not to grind.”

If You’re in Burnout Right Now

For anyone listening who feels like they’re already there, Steph’s advice was gentle and realistic:

“Reach out to someone. Share it. Sometimes that’s enough to start getting the wheels in motion.”

Burnout thrives in isolation, but healing doesn’t have to.

As Cheryl reminded listeners, recognising burnout early can prevent something far more damaging down the track.

“If you keep pushing, burnout can turn into breakdown — and that road back is much harder.”

You’re Not Alone

Burnout doesn’t mean you’ve failed.
Sometimes, it means something in your life needs to change — and your body is brave enough to tell you.

If this story resonated, we encourage you to listen to the full episode of It’s Family Business and share it with someone who might need it.

Support is always available. You don’t have to navigate this alone.