Burnt, Bitching, and Somehow Still functioning

Subtitle: Not Thriving, Not Vibing, Just Getting It Done (Without Moving to the Woods Forever)

Hey, if you're holding on by a thread — cool, me too.
Some weeks (or, let’s be honest, months) hit harder than others. And lately? It’s been a rough one over here. Mentally, emotionally... even my favorite gas station burrito didn’t hit right.

Which inspired me to rip apart my old “burnout tips” blog and rework it into something that feels super real for right now.

And just to clarify before we dig into it… feeling this way sometimes is totally normal. You can be happy overall and still feel stressed, overwhelmed, or crispy around the edges. No sad-girl energy here — just real-girl energy. (AKA I’m not depressed, I’m actually really happy — sometimes life is just... stress inducing).

Emotional resilience — learning it, building it, surviving with it — has quietly become one of my favorite topics to dig into, both for myself and to pass along to other women like you.
Not because I’ve mastered it (lol no), but because every time life knocks me around, I come back to the same realization: resiliency isn’t about bouncing back perfectly — it’s about not giving up when you really, really want to.

So here she is: a little bit of resiliency, a little bit of chaotic storytelling, and (hopefully) some reminders that surviving burnout doesn’t have to look pretty — it just has to happen.

Buckle up, babe. We’re going in.

Welcome to the Dumpster Fire 🔥

Burnout doesn’t always announce itself with a dramatic mental breakdown.
(Although in my case... it usually does lol. I did win the “most dramatic” award in the third grade, and I will wear that on my sleeve like a prize.)

Sometimes it’s quieter — like burning the garlic bread for the seventh time in a row and realizing you might actually launch it through a window this time.
(Seriously. I don't know how it's possible to mess up garlic bread every time, but here I am. Consistent. Chaotic. Unwell.)

And sometimes burnout creeps in louder — like, oh I don’t know:
- feeling physically like trash
- changes at work that you don’t have a full grip on yet
- selling your house while buying a new one under a strict ticking clock
- and lowkey spiraling because even though moving makes total logical sense (shorter commutes, better price, closer to friends and our horse, more family time)…
there’s still a weird gut feeling you can’t explain that says, “What if this blows up in our faces?”

(Special shoutout to my fellow control freaks and toxic overthinkers. We are not well.)

The last few weeks for me have been... A LOT.
Stress hits different when it’s layered — when it’s not just one thing going wrong, it’s every open tab in your brain overheating at the same time.
Even good things — like a new house! — can feel heavy when your body and mind are already tired.

And honestly?
I’ve been building my emotional resiliency muscles for a while now — not always gracefully, but definitely the hard way.

When I was 15, my parents went through a very messy divorce with drama that dragged on for years. It still causes issues, and it's not something you ever really “move on” from.
It was chaotic, confusing, and exactly the kind of experience that forces you to grow up faster than you probably should.

15-year-old Kate did not have the skillset to manage that well.
She went quiet, bottled things up (ahem, let’s recognize that she still does this sometimes), and once a quarter she blew up like a grenade — and the cycle started all over.

I didn’t know it at the time, but that was my first crash course in what resiliency actually looks like:
- Feeling things fully... but still showing up. (That means NO bottling.)
- Getting knocked down emotionally... but not staying down forever.
- Learning (very slowly, very painfully) that you can’t always control what happens — only how you respond.

Of course, real progress didn’t kick in until a few years later (shoutout to 18-year-old me, finally connecting a few dots),
but that messy middle was the start.
And even now — years later — when life gets overwhelming, I catch myself going back to the same lessons:
You don’t have to bounce back fast. You just have to bounce back eventually.

Your Burnout Survival Toolkit

(Because  Self-Care Isn’t Enough)

Here’s the thing: sometimes self-care isn’t the answer.
You can do all the face masks and drink all the lemon water and still feel like a walking stress blister.

Burnout isn't cured by aesthetics — it's managed by strategy.
And sometimes the best we can do is function without fully combusting.
So if you’re in your crispy era, here are some survival tools that actually help:

🧯 1. Lower the Bar (No, Lower)

When you’re burnt out, the goal isn’t “do it all.” It's to prioritize.
It’s “do what matters most and leave the rest in the group chat to rot.”
Pick three things: Feed yourself, respond to one important email, and shower if you’re feeling bold.
Everything else? Future You can circle back.

🪫 2. Stop Trying to Rest Perfectly

You don’t need a whole spa weekend to rest.
You need ten quiet minutes alone in your car, blasting music or sitting in silence like a raccoon staring into the void. I'm so over the "self care will fix me" movement. Cause no it won't.
Rest doesn’t have to be productive. It just has to happen.

🚫 3. Say No. Even If It’s Awkward

Burnout thrives in overcommitment.
Say no to the event. Say no to the task. Say no to the “quick favor” that will ruin your night.
If your body says “ugh,” your answer should be “nope.”

🧠 4. Find the Thought Spiral and Cut It Off

Toxic overthinking loves burnout.
Catch yourself mid-spiral and literally say (out loud if needed): “That’s not helpful right now.”
Interrupt the loop and redirect — even if it’s just to scroll memes for 5 minutes.

🧍🏻‍♀️ 5. Get One Inch Away from Your Life

You don’t need to change your entire existence.
Just shake up one thing:
- Work from a different spot.
- Take a solo Target trip.
- Go on a walk and romanticize the hell out of it. (I hate that this works but... it does)
Small shifts can stop you from feeling trapped.

💬 6. Text Someone Who Gets It

You don’t need advice. You need to hear: “Girl. SAME.”
Send a dramatic text to your funniest friend. (Is it me? Can I be your funniest friend?)
It’s not venting. It’s a detox.

☕ 7. Caffeinate

Sorry to the healthy people who don't believe in the magical powers that a good caffeine dose can quite literally take you from 0 to 10 on the “I can’t do this today” scale.
So pick your drug of choice (not actually drugs though, okay? We’re better than that) and pick yourself up — because it’s going to be okay again soon.

This toolkit isn’t about fixing it all — it’s about making it through.
Because sometimes survival is just showing up at 62% battery with your hair in a claw clip, hoping for the best.
And that still counts.

Final Thoughts from the Crispy Side

Burnout doesn’t mean you’re weak.
It doesn’t mean you’re doing life wrong.
It means you’ve been carrying too much, for too long, without enough support — and your brain and body are finally calling timeout.

So if your garlic bread keeps burning, your inbox feels haunted, and your to-do list is starting to look like a personal attack... It's okay to pause.
It’s okay to be crispy.
You are still you, even on your most burnt-out day.

This wasn’t a “how to fix everything” guide — because I’m still in it too sometimes.
But hopefully it reminded you that functioning imperfectly still counts.
Resiliency isn’t loud. It’s quiet, tired, and stubborn as hell. And I’m proud of you for showing up.

Survival isn’t sexy. It’s scrappy. And honestly? Scrappy looks good on you.

xo,
Kate