Am I Just Tired or Is It Something Deeper? Recognizing & Recovering from Emotional Exhaustion

You’re tired, but is it just exhaustion, or is it something deeper? If no amount of sleep seems to help, if even small tasks feel overwhelming, or if you feel disconnected from the things that used to bring you joy, you might be dealing with emotional exhaustion—not just physical fatigue.

In this episode of Tea with Tanya, we’re diving deep into:

•   How to recognize emotional exhaustion and why it’s more than just needing rest
•   The hidden signs of burnout—including weight gain, brain fog, irritability, and digestive issues
•   How stress impacts your body and why it might be affecting your metabolism, mood, and overall well-being
•   The 5 key steps to recovering from emotional exhaustion—without guilt
•   How to break the cycle of burnout and embrace true rest, joy, and balance

I’m sharing my own experience navigating emotional exhaustion as a nonprofit founder, podcast host, full-time grad student, and full-time employee and how stress was affecting my body in ways I didn’t even realize.

This week’s Post-It Note Affirmation:
"I am allowed to rest. My body and mind deserve care, not punishment. My worth is not measured by how much I do."

Join the Conversation:

• DM me on Instagram (@teawithtanyapodcast) and share: What’s one way you’re choosing to rest this week?
• If this episode spoke to you, share it in your stories and tag me because more women need to hear this.

 Listen now and start reclaiming your energy!

Chapters

• 0:12 Welcome to Tea with Tanya
• 1:38 Women's History Month and Burnout Legacy
• 5:03 Signs of Emotional Exhaustion
• 15:29 How Stress Affects Your Body
• 25:37 Five Steps to Recover From Exhaustion
• 29:08 Breaking the Cycle of Burnout

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to Tea with Tanya. I'm your host, tanya Ambrose, an average millennial navigating life as a maternal health professional, non-profit founder and grad student. Join me in the tea tasting room where we spill the tea on finding balance and promoting positive living while doing it all. Hey friend, welcome back to Tea with Tanya, your space for real, honest and transformative conversations about health, wellness and promoting positive living. I hope you've done something for yourself, because you know we try to pour into ourselves before we come back to the tea tasting room.

Speaker 1: 0:40

For another week For me, I've been on spring break from school. Honestly, that doesn't mean anything for me because I work full time, do so many other things. So even that quote unquote break from school wasn't necessarily. It was a break from school. I didn't have any assignments that I had to think about, but my spring break was on spring break. But nevertheless, I am grateful for not having to think about school and by the time you hear this episode, it is literally going to be the next day after returning to school from spring break. So the time is winding down, my friend. The time is winding down. Your girl is literally a few weeks away from graduating and I don't know how to feel still, like I said on the last episode, I'm just, I don't know. I don't know what to do. It's still a bittersweet, but I am looking forward to that day where I can hopefully get some more time in my life to do some of the other things that I already do, but nevertheless, I hope you did something for yourself for this week.

Speaker 1: 1:38

As you know, friend, it is Women's History Month, and while we celebrate the incredible women who have paved the way for us, we also need to have an honest conversation about the reality of that legacy. Because, let's be real, so many of the women who came before us. They were strong, resilient and groundbreaking, but they were also exhausted, overworked and carrying burdens they shouldn't have had to carry alone, if we keep it in the book, but for generations, women have been expected to do it all to push through exhaustion, sacrifice, sleep, ignore stress and show up for everyone but themselves. We've watched our mothers, grandmothers and ancestors work twice as hard, live and do it more, more and never complain. And if we're not careful, we continue that cycle that's running on fumes, constantly overwhelmed and feeling like no matter how much risks we get, we're still drained, and I've been feeling this firsthand, if I can be honest with you, my friend, my body has been sending me all the signals, like all the signals you can think of, the weight gain, the bloating, the sluggishness. And for a while I kept thinking okay, you know what, maybe I need to change my diet or work out more. Mind you, I'm not a person that necessarily eat unhealthy. I barely even eat, if I'm being honest. But when I do, I mean that's not so wrong. But when I do, it's always something somewhat healthy, it's nothing unhealthy or anything bad.

Speaker 1: 3:05

Last year I started working out with a trainer. The first half of the year I saw changes in my body, I was feeling good, and then I fell off the wagon the second half of the year. And then I am back to working out with a trainer now again, but this time just seemed a little bit different. So you know, through therapy and just really observing what's happening within and out of my body, you know, when I really sat with it I realized, you know, my stress levels are through the roof. Ok, at this point they're beyond the roof, they're heading to the sky at this point in time.

Speaker 1: 3:37

And you know, between wanting a nonprofit that's growing, the things that I've always wanted and I've envisioned when I first started this nonprofit. You know they're happening. Slow and steady obviously wins the race. They're happening. I think God is just telling me. You know what, tanya? I know you got this, you can handle everything. So I'm going to start answering all the prayers all at once, you know. But I'm not complaining. I am not complaining at all.

Speaker 1: 3:58

But between running a nonprofit, hosting this podcast, being a full-time grad student and working full-time and still trying to be present for my loved ones, my body is in survival mode. And when you're constantly in survival mode, your body holds on to every single thing the weight, the stress, the exhaustion, even emotions you haven't processed. And if I'm being honest, friend, I am still working or still need to process some of the emotions from 2024, to be honest with you, at least the latter half or the latter part of 2024. So today we are breaking that cycle, because burnout is not a badge of honor. Feeling drained all the time is not normal, and if you've been feeling this way, like you're running an empty, you're overwhelmed and disconnected from yourself, well, my friend, this episode is for you. Okay, we're going to talk about what emotional exhaustion really looks like, how to recognize when you're past the point of just being tired and, most importantly, how to recover and reclaim your energy. So grab your tea, get cozy and let's get into it.

Speaker 1: 5:03

Okay, now let's talk about what emotional exhaustion really looks like, because this isn't just the oh I didn't get enough sleep last night Kind of tired. It's much deeper. This is deeper. This is the kind of tired that lingers that no amount of coffee can fix it. Now I know in here, you know we're all about the tea, we're all about the tea tasting. We are tea girlies. But we know again, many, many people do drink coffee and they do that to essentially give them the energy so they can continue to go and go and go. But this is not the kind of tide that coffee is going to fix in the next morning. You know it doesn't go away even after a full night's sleep or weekend of rest. It's the kind of it doesn't go away even after a full night's sleep or a weekend of rest. It's the kind of exhaustion that doesn't just live in your mind, it shows up in your body, your emotions and your ability to function day to day.

Speaker 1: 5:55

So I want to talk about some of the signs that you are emotionally exhausted, and some of these signs that I'm going to be sharing with you is what I would have observed in myself and what my way to talk about it with you. So some of that is small tasks feel overwhelming, like things that used to be simple. Let's say, for answering an email, making a decision or even getting out of bed now feel like a massive effort. Even something as small as responding to a text message feels like too much, and for me, I've always been the person that if you sent me a text today on email at 10 o'clock, by 10 or 1 or 10 or 2, you're getting a response. That's the kind of person that I am Not anymore Like these tasks. They just feel overwhelming. Like I'm the person now where I respond to a message or a text. Like I'm the person now where I respond to a message or a text a text or an email a day or two later or many hours after receiving said message.

Speaker 1: 6:50

So that is one of the signs that you are emotionally exhausted. The other one is no matter how much you rest, you still feel drained. You could get eight hours of sleep, you could take a day off or even go on a vacation and still wake up exhausted. Then you start to realize that sleep isn't fixing the issue, because your exhaustion isn't just physical, it's emotional, mental and even spiritual. The other thing is you feel disconnected from things that used to bring you joy. You're no longer excited about your favorite hobbies music or shows and even spending time with loved ones feels draining instead of fulfilling.

Speaker 1: 7:25

I know, for me, music is my escape, for whatever reason. So when you hear artists saying, you know, music is my escape, it's my therapy, it is true for me. Because I could be cleaning, cooking, whatever I'm doing in the car, because one thing I'm going to do is have a carpool karaoke. I'm going to listen to music over and over and over. Sometimes I could be sad as heck, but I'm going to listen to the saddest songs. Don't ask me why. I don't know what's the science behind of that, but even that became. You know, I just felt disconnected, in a sense, from my music. I wasn't listening to my music the way I used to. If I was, it wasn't bringing me the joy that I used to.

Speaker 1: 7:55

I'm a TV show girlie. I would watch every TV show under the sun. In recent times I have fallen so behind on my TV shows, I was like what in the world is going on? This is not me. There are TV shows that I'm still yet to watch. No. So my best friend would have gone on without me watching these different shows. And then I have to give a shout out to a very consistent listener, lala, because we tend to exchange voice notes from time to time, talking about these different shows. But I started feeling disconnected. I'm not there right now because I'm back into my catching up in my TV show era.

Speaker 1: 8:26

But that's also a sign that you are emotionally exhausted. And then there is the irritability and brain fog. You find yourself snapping at people over the smallest things. You struggle to concentrate, forget things easily and feel like your brain is running on slow mode. For me I will say my brain is wanting in fast motion, like my brain moves a mile per half a second, like that's how much my brain has been going. So you also get that. You know you're just irritated for no reason. Sometimes you're snapping at people who just even looked at you too hard. You know that's also another issue.

Speaker 1: 8:58

And then you think about the physical symptoms weight gain, the bloating, muscle tension, gut issues. You know your body is holding on to stress and it's manifesting as extra weight, digestive problems or just constant aches and pains. Your digestion is going to be off, your appetite fluctuates and you feel like your body is just stuck in that survival mode For me. I know this feeling all too well because, again, between just running this nonprofit and hosting this podcast, talking to you every week, I felt the weight of emotional exhaustion firsthand. And recently I've noticed something else and that is a weight gain. To me, it's a drastic weight gain. To other people oh, tanya, you look good, your body good, you had a good up, good up body. The shape is. You know, the shape is there, it's given. Don't get me wrong.

Speaker 1: 9:46

But I remember growing up when I was like small, like a pencil you know the number two pencils that we have, that's how small I was and I remember always wanting to oh, I want to gain five. For essentially I wasn't eating drastically different, I wasn't skipping workouts. My body just felt really heavy. It just felt heavier, it felt more inflamed, more bloated, more sluggish and for a while I kept thinking maybe I just need to eat better and get back into the gym and start working out. But when I really sat with it because these days I've been sitting with a lot of things.

Speaker 1: 10:29

It wasn't about me not working out four or five times a week, or three, four times a week. It was about the stress that I was carrying. It was about the pressure I was putting on myself, the way I constantly. I was always constantly in a state of overworking, overthinking and overcommitting. And let me tell you, my friend, stress is such a sneaky culprit because it affects our hormones, our metabolism and our appetite and before you know it, you've gained weight without even realizing how or why. Because, let me tell you, I just woke up one morning and I was like, girl, you're thicker than a sneaker, like you're giving a sneaker and a Twix mix together at this point in time.

Speaker 1: 11:06

But it's not just about the weight as well. It was about the inflammation, the bloating, the tension in my shoulders, the gut issues, the migraines. You guys know I constantly talk about the chronic migraines that I have, you know, because that is that was a sign that you know what your body is screaming for relief. You're too busy to listen. That's when I had to take a step back and ask myself am I just tired or is my body shutting down? Because I'm emotionally exhausted and I had to ask my question, that question to myself over and over and over.

Speaker 1: 11:35

And here's what I've learned when we're emotionally exhausted, our body's going to what we call a fight or flight mode, and when that happens, our cortisol levels spike. And what does your cortisol level do? It makes our bodies store fat, retain water, crave sugar and hold on to weight, not because we're eating bad, but because our bodies think we're in danger and need to conserve energy. You could be eating healthy, moving your body, doing everything right, but if you're operating in a constant state of stress, your body is going to prioritize survival over weight loss, digestion or even rest. So let me tell you some of the things that I've had to learn when it comes to having a high cortisol level.

Speaker 1: 12:18

So high cortisol equals stress weight, that's, stored fat, especially around the belly. I have spoken about this many times. I'm thinking about my belly's giving. That I'm, you know. Is this giving too big? What's going on? This is not me weight shaming anyone, or me even no, it's just what I've noticed. But also, this is what happens when you have high cortisol levels. So that's stress weight, stored fat, especially around the belly. It's going to be increased cravings, especially for sugar and carbs, and then it's going to be disrupted digestion and gut health and hormonal imbalances that make weight loss harder. I've been in the gym almost three months now well, two and a half months, essentially and I haven't necessarily seen much of a change yet, whereas last year, when I started the gym back in January, I was already seeing a drastic improvement or change in my body and how it looked, by March as well, and that's when I had to start looking into myself because, again, this is not what I want. The body may look good, the body good up, good up. The shape is there, it's giving Coca-Cola, but it's not. My knees are hurting. It's just not where I want to be.

Speaker 1: 13:18

From a health standpoint, especially for someone who has high cholesterol, you definitely want to ensure that you're getting your cortisol level 12. That's manageable as well, so that's something you also want to talk to your doctor about as well. So if you've been gaining weight and you don't know, you don't know, you don't understand why, or if your body feels inflamed, bloated or just off, don't just look at your diet, my friend. Look at your stress levels, your emotions, your nervous system, because this isn't just about food is overwhelming. No matter how much you rest, you still feel drained, you feel disconnected from things that used to bring you joy irritability and brain fog, and then the physical symptoms, such as you know, weight gain, bloating, muscle tension and gut issues as well. So you definitely want to ensure that you are taking good care of yourself. You're looking in to see what is causing my weight gain, what is causing me to feel off Again, that high cortisol level that's going to equal to the stress weight, how you show up in your body storing excess fat, especially on your abdomen, your belly area, these different things. So you definitely want to look into that because, again, it's not about food. It's about how safe, rested and nourished your body feels.

Speaker 1: 14:31

So now that we know what emotional exhaustion looks like, let's talk about how we actually recover, because this isn't just about taking a nap. It's about reprogramming the way we take care of ourselves. Okay, friend, we've been conditioned for a very long time to believe that rest is something that we earned after working ourselves to the point of exhaustion. If you can relate, just take a sip of your tea or just wave your hand. But rare recovery. It starts with unlearning those beliefs and giving ourselves permission to rest, set boundaries and choose joy without guilt. That was a big one for me as well choosing joy without feeling guilty. This is also about breaking the cycle of burnout and creating a life that feels nourishing, not just productive. So let's get into it. Here are the five key steps to actually recovering from emotional exhaustion, and what I'm sharing with you is what I have gone through, what I'm currently going through, as well as the steps I'm taking to really and truly recover from that. And step one is rest without guilt.

Speaker 1: 15:37

My friend, if you take one thing from this episode, let it be this Rest is not a reward, it's a requirement. Rest is not a reward, it is a requirement. We live in a world that glorifies overworking, but let me just say this loud and clear Listen to this you do not have to be exhausted to be worthy and I've had to learn this lesson the hard way when I experienced my burnout for the first time back in 2022. You don't have to earn your rest. Your body, your mind and your spirit they all need time to reset. Sometimes we see on social media when we talk about, you know, sunday reset, no, your body, your mind and your spirit they all need time to reset. So you definitely want to say no to obligations that drain you. If it's not a full body yes, then it's a no. It's just that simple. You don't have to do everything for everyone All right and then recognize that rest is productive. Your body heals when you slow down. You don't have to wait until burnout to take a break. I would 100% do not recommend that and I know this is a hard one for me, especially as a nonprofit founder that's growing.

Speaker 1: 16:45

The podcast host, grad student, full-time employee, all these different things that I do I used to feel guilty when I wasn't doing nothing. If I wasn't doing something, I used to feel so guilty and it took me a long time to even admit that I can't do it all. When I started the podcast, as I continued to evolve and grow and as I got more busy and I was evolving as a person as well, I thought you know what? You could do it all and you could find balance. And I really had to admit that I can't do it all and that I am not superwoman, nor do I want to be. There was a person when I wanted to be superwoman and I thought I was, I could do, hidden everywhere. And then you know, having people telling me oh, you're an inspiration, I don't know how you do all these things at once, how do you do it? And I'm like you know it gets done. But again, I had to admit that not superwoman, and I don't want to be. I had to learn that resting doesn't mean I'm failing, it means I'm protecting my ability to keep going.

Speaker 1: 17:40

Step two release the superwoman syndrome. Oh my goodness, my friend, I am begging you. You do not have to have it all. Let me repeat you do not have to have them all. You do not have to have it all or do it all.

Speaker 1: 17:54

Okay, somewhere along the way, I think we were taught that being a strong woman means doing everything on your own, never asking for help and carrying the weight of the world without breaking. But, my friend, real strength is knowing when to ask for support, when to delegate and when to say this is too much for me right now. That's where the real strength happens. Ask for help, whether it's at work, at school, in your household or within your support circle. You're not weak for needing rest, my friend, and I think sometimes society made us feel that way at some point in time, but you're not weak for needing rest. You don't have to prove your worth by struggling Like we're not doing that, especially in 2025. You know, set realistic expectations for yourself. Stop overloading your schedule. That was a big one too. Recognize that saying no to others is saying yes to yourself.

Speaker 1: 18:46

I used to believe that if I wasn't doing everything, I wasn't doing enough, that if I wasn't exhausted, I wasn't working hard enough. Well, let me tell you, burnout. It is not a badge of honor. I had to learn that being strong isn't about pushing through. It's about knowing when to step back and take care of yourself. And if you listen to the podcast in the past, you know I've always talked about oh no, we're going to push through. We're going to push and get certain things done, but as I'm getting older, as I'm relearning who I am as a person, I can no longer subscribe to the pushing through aspect of my life. It's about knowing when to take a step back. I want to take it myself.

Speaker 1: 19:24

Step three one of my favorite things, that is, emotional check-ins. If you're feeling disconnected from yourself, it's time to check in, because emotional exhaustion doesn't happen just overnight. It actually builds up over time when we ignore our needs. So ask yourself daily what do I need right now? Pause, breathe, listen to your body. Do you need to rest? Do you need movement, quiet time, connection, like what do you need? So ask yourself daily what do I need right now? And then you're going to pause, you're going to breathe and you're going to listen to your body to see what it needs.

Speaker 1: 19:58

You want to journal or voice note your feelings One of the things that I love about the new iPhone update that I have. I'm pretty sure it happens across all phones. Now in the notes or memo app, you can actually leave voice memos in that notes app. Let me tell you, I'm a physical journal person. I'll journal in the morning, at night, sometimes it could be in the middle of the day, depending on where I am. I will journal, but these days I find myself recording voice memos in the notes app so I can go back and listen to and actually translate it to my physical journal, but also process, because sometimes, when I'm having a moment, I'm not always in the position to run and pick up the journal. It depends on what happens. So that way, me voicing it in the notes app, now I can go back and process and see how things are, because unprocessed emotions create stress in the body. Even a five minute brain dump can help to release that mental clutter.

Speaker 1: 20:49

So I say you may not have the ability to write in your journal at the moment and even if you're someone who you're not used to journaling or you've never done that, you know, you can just start by recording yourself talking about your feelings in that voice memo or your note apps as well, so you can go back to and listen to to see either way you've grown or how the process, how you felt at this point in time as well, because there have been days where I felt completely off but didn't know why. But instead of ignoring it, I started asking myself what do I need today? Some days the answer is sleep, but I'm gonna be honest, I'm not really a big person who takes a nap. I may just end up going to bed early. Some days it's movement and some days it's just the permission to do nothing without feeling guilty. And the more I check in with myself, the more I realize that I don't have to push through every bad day. I can choose to pause and take care of myself. I don't care if that's me at work If I don't have the energy and the day's not going how I want it to go, I'm taking a step back because I'm not going to run myself into the ground and then jeopardize my health, essentially so I can choose to pause and take care of myself, and I recommend you doing the same thing as well.

Speaker 1: 22:02

Then there's step four. That is to reduce information overload. That has been my thing since, honestly, november 20th. I promise you, I have been working on just reducing information overload. That has been my thing since, honestly, november 20th. I promise you, I have been working on just reducing information overload. Like at the US elections, after the results came out, I had to like I'm like you know what, I need a social media break, because I just know it's going to go haywire after that and I didn't have the mental capacity to even take that. So I'm like you know what, let me go, let me get on social media for a month, see how that goes, and then I can always come back and do X, y, z. And I mean I took a break because I've always had a love-hate relationship with social media. I took a break and now I've been able to minimize how often I even go on social media Because, let's be honest, our brains are just overstimulated between social media, the news, the emails, the texts and the constant flood of information. We are consuming way more than we can process, if you're being honest, and that mental clutter is exhausting. So I encourage you to just limit social media and news consumption. Over-exposure to negativity adds to emotional exhaustion.

Speaker 1: 23:04

Protect your peace by setting boundaries with your screen time. For me, I have a limit of three hours a day across all social media platforms. I'm contemplating, you know, taking it down a notch to maybe an hour or two, but definitely just set boundaries with your screen time. Take breaks from digital stimulation Like doom. Scrolling does not count as rest. I know we like this idea of getting into bed, rubbing our feet together and then open that TikTok app and then we just start scrolling on Instagram. Whatever, we just start scrolling on Zoom. Scrolling does not count as rest. Step away from your phone and just allow your mind to reset.

Speaker 1: 23:42

For me, I think at one point in time it was easier said than done, because I used to wake up and immediately scroll through my phone. I'm talking, getting the phone, not even doing my devotions, not even nothing. I'm scrolling through my phone and by the time I got out of bed, I had already absorbed so much negativity, comparison and stress and I'm like you know what. I can't keep doing this. So I started setting small boundaries, especially in my morning routine, like not checking my phone, you know, first thing in the morning. And let me tell you, my anxiety levels dropped significantly and I think sometimes the best way to protect your energy is to just simply log off Whatever information that you think is going to be there. If you check it out the first thing in the morning, it's going to be there by the afternoon. So just protect your energy when it comes to overstimulation and reducing information overload, because we're living in an era right now, especially here in the United States. Like you wake up to one news in the morning, by the time it's the middle of the day it's something else. And then you get to night, before you go to bed, it's something else. It's just too much. So definitely just protect your energy and just log off sometimes.

Speaker 1: 24:44

And then the last step is to prioritize joy and play. My friend, when was the last time you did something just for fun, something that had no purpose other than to make you happy. My therapist once said to me joy is a form of resistance. Play is a form of healing. When we've been in survival mode for so long, we forget that life isn't just about getting through the day. It's actually about finding moments of happiness, ease and pleasure. Start romanticizing your life Like turn small moments into something special.

Speaker 1: 25:17

Buy yourself flowers. Light a candle. Take a slow morning. One thing I'm going to do is light me a candle and every time I got to set a reminder to turn it off to. You know, make sure I don't fall asleep with the candles being lit. But one thing I'm going to do is light my candle. It's going to be in the bathroom, the living room. This is going to be a candle lit in every room, sometimes in my house, and each room has a different smell, you know. Buy yourself flowers. I went to Trader Joe's and got me some flowers the other day. I was like, oh you know, it made the apartment a little bit more brighter. And just take a slow morning For me. I'm going to be up by 4, 30 or so and I use that first 30 minutes to do my devotion and just to be still and know, and then that way I don't have to rush into the day. I can take that morning slow, eat my breakfast, and that just set the tone for how the day is going to be.

Speaker 1: 26:01

Also incorporate joyful movement. Dance in the kitchen, in the shower, because one thing, one thing I'm going to do I'm going to sing in the shower and I'm going to dance. Because you can't tell me I'm not Beyonce or Ciara Ciara, you can't tell me I'm not Mariah Carey, whitney Houston, patti Libby. I'm going to sing and I'm going to dance. I don't care how bad I sound, because in my mind I'm sounding like these people singing and I look at these people dancing and absolutely that's not the case. But it does bring me some sort of joy to just move my body, to just dance. You know, of course, doing a little dance, or you know trying to keep up with the dance, or girlies and in today's world, trying to see if I can pluck the back and do whatever you know. So definitely just incorporate joyful movement. I take a walk without thinking okay, now I'm gonna walk from here today. Let's walk, just walk, just walk and, of course, be safe while you're out there, but still just take a walk without no time limit or destination in sight move.

Speaker 1: 26:48

Move your body in a way that feels good, not just for fitness but for pleasure, because I think sometimes we get so caught up in, oh, I want to move my body, but it's more so from a fitness standpoint and not necessarily for pleasure. And I've been working on reframing my mindset when I approach the gym as well. Yes, it's about fitness, it's about me building stamina. It's about me. It's about me building stamina, it's about me losing weight. But I'm trying to reframe that mindset where I can go work out with my trainer and, instead of complaining to him about, oh, I don't want to do this set, or I want to do 10 instead of 12 or whatever, I'm just doing it for pleasure at this point, because I think in my mind I'll be able to do that. It'll let me shed the weight faster or just let me feel even better about myself.

Speaker 1: 27:27

And for me, it's just about letting go of the idea that everything I do has to have a productive outcome. I used to think that if I wasn't doing something or working toward a goal, I wasn't being valuable. Let me tell you, those are some of the most stressful parts of my life. But joy isn't just about checking boxes. It's honestly about just reconnecting with the part of yourself that just wants to be, just be. It costs nothing to just be. You know, just be my friend, just be, just be, just be.

Speaker 1: 27:58

And I want you to just pause and ask yourself what's one way I can give myself permission to truly rest this week. Not earn rest, not deserve rest, but just allow myself to rest simply because I need it. At this point in time, as I'm recording this episode, you know it's very emotionally taxing last few days for myself and for the citizens of my country back home, antigua, as we're dealing with the very unfortunate, tragic situation of a nine-year-old in Antigua and I'll probably talk about this on another podcast episode, because I personally cannot even get into that on this episode, because we're talking about trying to reclaim our own emotional exhaustion and just not being that way. But it's a lot. And so let's pause and ask yourself what's one way I can give myself permission to truly rest this week. I don't want to have to earn my rest, I don't want to think I deserve my rest. I want to be able to allow myself to rest simply because I need it. And as we come to the end of this episode.

Speaker 1: 29:04

This week's post-it note is I am allowed to rest. My body and my mind deserve care, not punishment. I choose ease, nourishment and restoration over burnout. And I'll say it again this week's post-it note is I am allowed to rest. My body and mind deserve care, not punishment. I choose ease, nourishment and restoration over burnout. Now here's what I want for you to do for me DM me on Instagram and tell me what's one way you're choosing to rest this week. I just want to know what's one way For me. I got a few good answers.

Speaker 1: 29:45

By the time this episode comes out, I'll be able to tell you more, probably over an Instagram story, what's a way that I can choose rest this week, given that I'm back into school after spring break. But if this episode spoke to you, please share it in your stories and tag me, because more women need to hear this and remember we are going to be recognizing and recovering from emotional exhaustion. I love you for listening. Thank you for joining me for another episode of Tea with Tanya. If you like this episode, be sure to share it with a friend. Don't forget to follow on Instagram at Tea with Tanya Podcast. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Tea Talk newsletter and, of course, rate on Apple or Spotify and subscribe wherever you listen. See you next time. I love you for listening.