I Made Best Friends with Burnout, So You Don’t Have To!

Inside Nat's Notebook - Real Reflections for Real Change

Hey you

I had a best friend.

It stayed with me all day, whispered in my ear at night, and lay next to me in bed like a weight I couldn’t shake off.

It replayed my worst moments on repeat, convinced me I’d failed, drained me of energy, filled me with anxiety, and then made sure I had just enough strength to keep pushing… before dropping me flat again.

My best friend’s name?

Burnout.

When Burnout Moved In

At first, Burnout didn’t arrive all at once.

It crept in quietly. Disguised as drive, ambition, overachieving, pushing through. It looked a lot like success.

But then, it stopped being something I could manage.

Burnout got comfortable. It didn’t just visit, I was living with it.

It showed me: 

💥 Anger I didn’t know I had. 

💭 Thought loops that wouldn’t shut off. 

🥀 Isolation that made the world feel a million miles away. 

🔄 A nervous system that was completely out of sync.

Burnout made itself at home, inviting in exhaustion, anxiety, sadness and brain fog like a never-ending carousel of misery.

The Flip-Flop Game: Burnout’s Favourite Trick

Burnout doesn’t play fair. It doesn’t hit you the same way all the time.

Instead, it shape-shifts, keeping you stuck in a never-ending cycle of contradictions.

One minute, my body was buzzing, foot tapping, leg shaking, unable to sit still. My mind was spiralling, overthinking, wired but exhausted, completely overwhelmed.

And then, just like that, I’d crash.

🥄 Even lifting a spoon felt like a chore. 

🍵 Deciding whether I wanted a cup of tea felt like too much effort. 

📱 Messages went unanswered because even typing back "yes" felt exhausting.

It was a cruel game of opposites:

💥 Anxious body + Anxious mind.

🌪 Anxious body + Depressed mind.

🌀 Depressed mind + Anxious body.

⚫ Depressed mind + Depressed body.

It was a constant, unpredictable swing between feeling wired and panicked and then heavy and empty.

This was Burnout’s playbook. This was how it kept me stuck.

The Darkest Chapter: When Burnout Became My Whole World

I spent all my time with Burnout.

It lay with me at night. It sat with me in the morning. It walked beside me every second of the day.

And the worst part? 

It changed the way I saw everything.

🔥 Every memory had a darker filter. Burnout replayed my past only showing me failures.

🔥 Every decision felt impossible. Even the smallest choices felt like I was trying to walk through quicksand.

🔥 Every future plan felt pointless. I wasn’t dreaming anymore, I was just trying to survive.

I lost people because of Burnout, too. 

Friendships faded because I didn’t have the energy to maintain them.

I lost my sense of self. Because if I wasn’t the overachiever, the go-getter, the one who “made things happen”… then who was I?

I started to believe that Burnout had changed me forever.

And in a way, it had.

The Twist: Burnout Was My Greatest Teacher

At first, I thought Burnout had ruined me.

But later? I realised something.

🔥 Burnout wasn’t just breaking me, it was asking me to rebuild.

🔥 Burnout was forcing me to question everything that had drained me.

🔥 Burnout wasn’t an ending, it was a brutal, beautiful invitation to change.

It made me see human behaviour in a way I never had before.

It showed me: 

💡 The patterns I had been repeating that led me here. 

💡 The nervous system loops that kept me stuck in exhaustion, anxiety, and collapse. 

💡 The energy at play, how we burn out long before we realise it. 

💡 The inner voice, drowned out by noise, but, was always there, waiting.

🧡  Burnout made me listen.

🧡  Burnout made me rebuild.

🧡  One link at a time.

And when I emerged? Life looked different.

🌊 I stopped pushing through and paradoxically, I found I achieved more.

🧡 I stopped seeing rest as a weakness and found more energy.

🌊 I stopped running on empty. Instead, I learnt to ride the waves with ease.

🧡 Instead of working against myself, I started working with my body.

The Blesson: A Lesson So Big, It Changed Everything

I wouldn’t wish Burnout-level exhaustion on anyone.

But I do know this:

✅ It forced me to change in ways I never would have otherwise.

✅ It led me to the work I do now.

✅ It became the foundation of everything I teach.

So yes, I made best friends with Burnout.

But you don’t have to. Because I took the lessons, so you don’t have to learn them the hard way.

This is why I’m Your Burnout Bestie.

Because I walked the full path. I know Burnout’s games. I know how it tricks you.

And I also know that you don’t have to wait until you crash to change how you live.

Your #RebelMoment 

What If You Stopped Playing Burnout’s Game?

Today, I want you to notice one thing:

❔ Are you stuck in Burnout’s cycle?

❔ Are you bouncing between wired panic and exhausted collapse?

❔ Are you running on autopilot, waiting to feel better someday?

Take one breath, long and slow, and let it out real easy. 

Ask yourself:

👉 What if I stopped pushing?

👉 What if I stopped trying to prove I can handle more?

👉 What if I just… let myself pause?

Because Burnout doesn’t go away by doing more.

It ends when you start listening to what your body has been trying to tell you all along.

I listened.

And I promise you, life is better on the other side. 🧡

You Don’t Have to Do This Alone

If Burnout is whispering (or shouting) at you right now, know this, there’s a way through. I’ve been there, and I’m here to help.

If you want to talk, you’re always welcome to book a free 15-minute Chat with Nat just a cuppa and a conversation, no strings attached.

But if a chat feels like too much right now, you can drop me DM, no rush, no pressure, just a space to share when you’re ready. 🧡

📅 Book a Chat with Nat: Let's Chat

😊 DM me  

The real rebellion? Choosing to pause, reset and listen.

✨ You’ve got this. ✨

Burnout isn’t failure—it’s a signal. Let it guide you to Reset, Realign + Rise.

Life feels lighter when your nervous system is your ally.

Stay Blessed

LoveLoveNat x

🧡 Your Burnout Bestie 🧡

Ready to Break Free from the Cycle of Overdoing + Find Your Flow?

💡 Weekly Reset:  Breath + movement resets designed to fit your real life. Shift stress, clear your mind and reset your nervous system in minutes.  Join Me Here 

🍂 Seasonal Reset: A deep exhale for your nervous system. These seasonal workshops are designed to sync with nature’s rhythm, helping you reset before you hit the wall. Let’s Reset

🌀 1:1 Mentorship: Feeling stuck in survival mode? Let’s map out a way forward that actually works for you. Personalised nervous system support to help you thrive, not just survive. Learn More

💡 Not sure where to start?Take the 2-Minute Quiz to Decode Your Stress Signals + get simple, science-backed steps to reset. Take the Quiz

📩 Prefer a weekly nudge?Nat’s Natterings is your love note to your nervous system, a reminder to step off the hamster wheel and start living from a place of calm inner power. Get on the List

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About Nat

Nat Creasy, aka Your Burnout Bestie, doesn’t sugarcoat the hustle, she calls it out for what it is: an exhausting lie that’s making us all sick.

As a Nervous System Mentor, Nat teaches people how to break free from overthinking, exhaustion, and survival mode, helping them operate from a place of power, flow and clarity.

She gets it. After burning out so hard it left her bedridden for 18 months, Nat learned the hard way that pushing through isn’t the answer. 

The real win? Learning how to work with your nervous system, not against it.

Now, she teaches people how to Reset, Realign + Rise trading burnout for ease, exhaustion for clarity, and hustle for a life that actually feels good.

Tired of running on empty? It’s time to reclaim your energy.

👉 www.littlesoulshack.com