Is This Burnout or Just a Bad Week? What Your Body is Really Saying
You had a rough week.
You’re snapping at people you love, zoning out in meetings, and wondering why everything suddenly feels so hard.
You tell yourself it’s probably just the weather, your cycle, a busy few days.
But there’s that little voice asking:
Is this just a bad week… or is this burnout creeping in again?
If you’ve been pushing through for a while — juggling expectations, chasing goals, and living in a constant state of “doing” — it can be hard to tell the difference between a tough moment and a full-body shutdown. But your nervous system knows.
And somatic therapy can help you learn to listen.
High Achievers Are Great at Gaslighting Themselves
One of the most common things I hear in sessions is:
“I don’t think I’m burnt out, I think I’m just being dramatic.”
Here’s what I want you to know:
Burnout doesn’t always look like crashing. Sometimes, it looks like functioning just well enough to convince yourself you're fine — even when your body is screaming otherwise.
In my anxiety therapy and somatic therapy in Massachusetts, I work with high-performing professionals who are incredibly skilled at suppressing their needs. They show up, smile, hit deadlines — and silently wonder why they feel numb, anxious, or on edge all the time.
This isn't about weakness. It’s about survival.
Burnout vs. a Bad Week: What’s the Difference?
Bad weeks happen to everyone. Stress builds, life throws curveballs, and our routines get thrown off. But burnout is deeper. It’s not just a blip — it’s a pattern.
Here are a few signs you might be in burnout territory:
Chronic exhaustion that sleep doesn’t fix
Low motivation even for things you used to enjoy
Increased irritability or emotional numbness
Physical symptoms like headaches, jaw clenching, stomach issues
Feeling disconnected from your body or life in general
Guilt when resting and fear that slowing down means falling behind
If these feel familiar, your nervous system might be waving a red flag.
Your Body Keeps the Score (and the Receipts)
Burnout isn’t just in your head — it’s in your body. And somatic therapy helps decode those signals.
When we’re stuck in chronic stress or anxiety, the body moves into survival mode. That might look like:
Fight: irritability, tension, snapping at others
Flight: perfectionism, overworking, constant busyness
Freeze: exhaustion, brain fog, disconnection
Fawn: people-pleasing, saying yes when you want to say no
The problem is, most of us have been in these patterns for so long, we think they’re just personality traits. But they’re actually nervous system adaptations — and they can be unwound.
That’s what makes somatic therapy in Massachusetts so powerful. It doesn’t just give you coping tools — it helps you feel safe enough to be in your body again.
What Your Body Might Be Trying to Say
Here’s the part that takes practice: trusting that your symptoms are messengers, not problems.
If you’ve been tired for weeks, maybe your body is asking for a pause — not another productivity hack.
If you’re more anxious or avoidant lately, maybe it’s not that you’re failing — maybe you’ve hit your capacity and your system needs care.
Anxiety therapy often focuses on reframing thoughts, which is helpful — but without working with the body’s experience, many people feel stuck. That’s why integrating somatic therapy makes change feel more sustainable.
What To Do If You're Not Sure
If you’re in the in-between — not sure if you’re “burnt out enough” to do something about it — here’s a gentle nudge:
You don’t have to wait until it gets worse.
Start with small acts of reconnection:
Name the feeling instead of minimizing it
Take a real break, not one where you scroll or multitask
Lie on the floor and let your body fully rest, even for 5 minutes
Ask yourself: “What does my body need right now?” and listen
Consider support if this has been your baseline for a while
Final Thought
If you’re asking, “Is this burnout or just a bad week?” — it’s probably time to pay attention.
Your body is wise. It remembers. It protects. And sometimes, it whispers before it screams.
Whether you’re navigating chronic stress, anxiety, or full-on burnout, you don’t have to figure it out alone. Through somatic therapy in Massachusetts, I help clients just like you get back in touch with themselves, rebuild trust with their bodies, and finally feel like they’re okay again.
If that sounds like the kind of care you need — reach out. Let’s find your way back to you.