Episode 21: When Life Keeps Knocking You Down

About this episode

In this episode, Maria Hendershot discusses the challenges of burnout and emotional exhaustion, sharing personal experiences and insights on resilience and self-care.

Hey mama, Have you ever gone through a season where it felt like life just kept hitting you before you had a chance to recover from the last thing? Maybe you’ve still been showing up on the outside - taking care of people, getting things done, carrying responsibilities - while internally feeling emotionally exhausted, overwhelmed, disconnected from yourself, or like your nervous system just can’t catch up. Maybe you’ve wondered why rest doesn’t seem to “fix” it. Or why things that normally bring you joy suddenly feel harder to access. Maybe you’ve even quietly questioned yourself, wondering, “Why can’t I just bounce back?” In today’s episode, I’m sharing a very personal conversation about burnout, cumulative overwhelm, nervous system exhaustion, and what happened when I finally hit a breaking point after months of emotional stress, physical exhaustion, and trying to keep everything moving. We talk about the pressure so many women feel to handle hard seasons gracefully, the quiet shame that can come when we suddenly don’t feel like ourselves anymore, and the realization that emotional awareness does not make us immune to being human. I also share some of the small things that…

People in this episode

Host: Maria Hendershot

Topics covered

• burnout
• emotional exhaustion
• nervous system
• resilience
• self-care
• mental health

Keywords

• burnout
• overwhelm
• mental health
• self-care
• resilience
• emotional awareness
• nervous system
• joy
• support
• women's health

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