Burnout When You Can’t Stop: Nervous System Support in Uncertain Times

Burnout is exhausting. And if you're reading this, you probably can't just take a week off and reset. You're still showing up, still holding it together, still doing the things, even though every part of you is screaming for a break.

Here’s what makes it even harder. If you're highly attuned or deeply sensitive, your nervous system is working overtime just to get through a regular day. You're not just managing your own emotions and your own to-do list. You're tracking everything. The tension in someone's voice, the dishes piling up, the email you need to send, the thing you forgot to add to the grocery list, the low-level hum of anxiety that never quite goes away.

Let me paint the picture. You notice the dishes need doing, which means you need to empty the dishwasher first. While you're at it, you might as well start dinner so you can knock out all the dishes at once. But wait, you need to look up that recipe, and you’re probably out of an ingredient, so now you need to get to the store. And that’s just one mental thread. You've got dozens running at once.

And right now, there’s even more to track. The political climate is beyond heavy. If you're someone who feels things deeply, you're likely carrying not just your own worry, but the collective weight of what's happening around you.

Your nervous system is always working in the background

On top of all that conscious tracking, your nervous system has its own surveillance system running 24/7. Dr. Stephen Porges calls it neuroception. It's your brain's subconscious radar that’s constantly scanning for cues of safety and danger, both inside your body and in your environment. It's always on, no matter how many tabs you already have open in your brain.

And when the world feels unstable or unsafe, your neuroception picks up on that too. It's not just about what's happening in your living room or at your job. Your nervous system is registering the larger threat cues in the environment, the uncertainty in the news, the tension you sense when you open social media. Even if you're trying not to think about it, your body is tracking it.

So yes, day-to-day life is tiring even for someone with a well-resourced nervous system. Now add in anxiety, old wounds, maybe some unprocessed trauma, and the massive weight of a political climate that is terrifying and destabilizing. What you may get is a nervous system trying to protect you either by complete shutdown or the desperate attempt to white-knuckle your way through another day.

Balancing action with sustainability

If you're feeling the pull to do something, to not just sit with the anxiety but to actually help, that makes sense. What may help is finding a balance between larger action and local, tangible impact. Maybe that's calling your representatives. Maybe it's showing up for one community meeting or mutual aid effort in your actual neighborhood where you can see the direct impact. Maybe it's donating to organizations doing the work when you don't have the bandwidth to do it yourself.

And here's the part that can feel counterintuitive but is actually essential. Taking care of yourself isn't selfish or avoidant. It's necessary. We need people healthy and present for the long haul. You can't sustain activism, caregiving, showing up for your community, or doing meaningful work if you're completely depleted.

So yes, take action where you can. And also drink the water. Lie on the floor. (Not in existential dread, but literally on the ground, breathing, letting your body make contact with something solid.) You're not trying to fix anything. You're just pausing. You know you'll have to rally again soon, but for this moment, you can just be. Turn off the news for an evening. These aren't contradictory. They're both part of staying functional in a time that requires sustained effort, not just short bursts of frantic doing.

Why burnout doesn't resolve with self-care alone

Here's the thing. Burnout isn't just about doing too much. If it were, a new routine or an earlier bedtime would solve it. But for most deeply feeling, highly responsible individuals, burnout is tied to something way deeper. Patterns around self-worth, safety, and connection that got wired into your nervous system a long time ago.

For many people, burnout is also shaped by intergenerational patterns of systemic oppression or violence, experiences that don’t just live in history or systems, but are carried in the body over time.

And when the world around you genuinely feels unsafe, those old patterns get activated even more. Your system goes into overdrive trying to protect you, to keep everyone safe, and to stay alert to every possible threat. It makes sense.

These patterns don’t respond to logic alone. You can understand them intellectually and still feel stuck. Because they live in your body, in places insight alone can't always reach.

When you need more than insight

If you've been working on yourself for years, if you get it, you understand your patterns, you know where they come from, but you still feel the same old anxiety, the same exhaustion, and the same sense of carrying too much, you might need something that works beyond insight.

This is exactly the kind of work I do with my clients using EMDR therapy and parts work, both in ongoing therapy and in intensive emdr therapy sessions designed to support deeper nervous system change.

EMDR won't change what's happening in the country or make the scary things go away. But it can help increase your bandwidth just a little bit. Enough to actually label what you're feeling instead of being consumed by it. Enough to understand how your past is showing up in how you're responding to the present. Enough to go beyond the endless mental loops and problem-solving that aren't actually helping you feel better.

It's about releasing what's been stuck so you can stop white-knuckling your way through and actually feel different in your own skin.

Burnout, anxiety, and nervous system overwhelm often show up differently depending on someone’s history, identity, and environment. In my therapy practice in New Britain, Connecticut, I work with adults who feel worn down by chronic stress, trauma, and ongoing uncertainty, and who want support that goes beyond insight and coping strategies alone.

You don't have to keep holding this alone. And you don't have to fix burnout with willpower or one more self-care strategy. Sometimes what you need is real, embodied healing that honors both the weight you've been carrying and your deep capacity for change.

If you're ready to explore working together, you can learn more about my approach to EMDR therapy and fill out my contact form.

FAQ:

Can EMDR help with burnout and nervous system overwhelm?
EMDR can be helpful when burnout is connected to past experiences, chronic stress, or trauma that the nervous system has not fully processed. By supporting the brain and body in integrating overwhelming experiences, EMDR can increase capacity and reduce the sense of constantly being on edge.

I offer EMDR therapy to adults in Connecticut, with in-person sessions in New Britain and telehealth options available statewide.

I believe personal healing and collective care are deeply connected, and that tending to your nervous system is not a retreat from the world. It is part of how we stay present within it.