Burnout, Belonging, and the Beliefs That Break Us

What if your burnout isn’t simply the result of long hours or relentless demands—but something more insidious?

What if it’s the slow erosion of self that occurs when you spend years contorting to fit systems that were never built with you in mind?

For many midlife professionals—especially those with high sensitivity, a trauma history, or a deep instinct to care for others—burnout isn’t just about doing too much. It’s the byproduct of internalized beliefs and protective strategies that once kept us safe, but now leave us drained.

We’ve inherited messages from our families, workplaces, and cultural narratives that quietly instruct us:

• “Your worth is tied to your productivity."

• “It’s safer to please than to set boundaries.”

• “You must prove your value in order to belong.”

These beliefs are not neutral. They often reflect internalized prejudice—subtle yet powerful distortions that cause us to undervalue our identities, temperaments, or ways of being. Over time, they lead to a deep misalignment.

You begin to feel like a square peg in a round-hole world. And instead of questioning the hole, you question your shape.

So, you overfunction. You overgive. You overthink. You contort.

You perform strength while silently unraveling.

Until your body finally says: enough.

Burnout, then, is not a personal failure. It’s your nervous system telling the truth.A signal—not just of depletion, but of disconnection from your truest self.

And the path to healing? It’s not paved with productivity hacks or quick fixes.It begins with unlearning the story that you are the problem.

It means pausing long enough to ask:

• Whose expectations am I still trying to meet?

• What parts of myself have I suppressed in order to survive?

• What would it look like to stop performing—and start belonging?

This is the work I’m committed to now—not only for myself, but in community.

That’s why I created the Square Peg Support Circle—a space for midlife professionals who are reclaiming their spark, rewriting their stories, and finding belonging on their own terms.

Join our very first gathering on June 6th, 2025 at 6:30pm, by signing up here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/square-peg-support-circle-tickets-1381111273999?aff=oddtdtcreator

If you’ve ever felt like too much, or not enough, or both at once—this space is for you.

Burnout may be where your old story ends.But belonging is where your new one begins.

If this resonates, I’d love to hear from you. Drop a note in the comments—or reach out directly. Let’s start the conversation.