The Arise with Anita Podcast

Burnout, Boundaries & the Nervous System: How Women Stop Self-Sacrificing with Dr. Julie Merriman

Anita Karadalian-Girgis Mindset Transformation Coach & Breathwork Guide

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0:00 | 47:43

In this episode of The Arise with Anita Podcast, Anita sits down with trauma specialist, author, and somatic healing expert Dr. Julie Merriman for a powerful conversation on burnout, self-sacrifice, nervous system regulation, and what it really takes for women to come home to themselves again.

For over 25 years, Dr. Julie has worked at the intersection of neuroscience and somatic wisdom, helping high-achieving women break free from what she calls the virtuous trap of self-sacrifice. Together, Anita and Julie explore why so many women live in survival mode without realizing it, how poor boundaries and people-pleasing dysregulate the nervous system, and why exhaustion, numbness, and loss of desire are often deeper signals from the body.

In this conversation, they cover:

  • How women quietly abandon themselves in the name of being strong.
  • The connection between burnout, nervous system dysregulation, and over-functioning.
  • Why so many women default to fawn, freeze, and self-sacrifice.
  • How boundaries can feel unsafe to the body, even when they’re healthy.
  • Subtle signs your nervous system may be dysregulated.
  • Why pleasure, joy, and desire disappear when survival mode takes over.
  • How embodied healing helps women reclaim their radiance, visibility, and energy.

This episode is a permission slip for the woman who has been living on fumes, pouring from an empty cup, and wondering why the usual advice isn’t working.

You do not have to earn your rest.
You do not have to earn your joy.
And you do not have to keep abandoning yourself to be worthy.

If this episode resonates, share it with a woman who needs this conversation, and leave a review to help more women find this work.

Connect with Dr. Julie Merriman:

Website: https://www.juliemerrimanphd.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@drjuliemerriman  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.juliemerriman/

Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/697084 

If you’re ready to go deeper, download your FREE Arise Activation Workbook at www.arisewithanita.com

Email: Anita@arisewithanita.com 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arisewithanita/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anita.karadalian.7 

Linkldn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anita-karadalian-girgis-23362b335/f

And if this message landed in your soul, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a woman who’s done playing small.

If you felt something shift inside you today… hold that. Honor it.

This is how we rise — one choice, one voice, one brave breath at a time.

If you’re ready to go deeper, download your free ARISE Activation Workbook at www.arisewithanita.com

Email: Anita@arisewithanita.com 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arisewithanita/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anita.karadalian.7 

Linkldn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anita-karadalian-girgis-23362b335/f

And if this message landed in your soul, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a woman who’s done playing small.

Because we don’t just rise alone — we rise together.

I’ll see you in the next episode.