My story.

The beginning of 2026, I found myself coming apart piece by piece. Every bit of joy and peace that used to live inside me was gone, replaced by a sinking, constant anxiety. Sleep started disappearing, and for the first time in my life, bedtime became something I dreaded. My hair started falling out. My ability to think and focus was virtually impossible. Just functioning was brutal. I was living in a personal hell. After a month of this, I started questioning why I was continuing on.

For the six months before that, I'd thrown myself full force into launching a new business. I poured everything into it, creating, learning, building, pushing forward, convinced that if I just worked a little harder, I'd finally arrive.

Instead, I unraveled.

So I stopped. I got quiet. I got honest - with myself first, then with my family, my friends, the people I trusted. I stopped hiding my suffering and let them love me through it.

Breathwork became my anchor. I was able to find relief in the sound of soothing music and guided relaxation meditations, timed with everything else. I got intentional about the essential oils I already loved, using them with purpose now instead of just occasionally. As soon as the sun set, the lights went off and the candles came out. I walked in nature every free moment I had. I journaled until I filled a thick notebook in six weeks. I read a short story from a book each morning. Then I sat for five minutes, then fifteen. Then gentle yoga. The phone went on Do Not Disturb at eight.

The pieces that brought me back were small, and were a consistent oasis.

What I came to understand is this: we were never designed for the level of input, stimulation, and intensity our culture demands. Burnout is not a badge of honor, even though that's the anthem we've all been taught to sing. It's not sustainable. And when we ignore that, we don't just lose our energy. We lose access to ourselves.

I do this work now because I know how detached someone can feel from themselves, and I know what brings them back.