From Disconnection to Presence: Identifying and Addressing Burnout’s Earliest Signs

Welcome back to Medicine with Meaning. In this episode, Dr. Julie Taw dives into a topic that affects so many of us, yet often goes unrecognized until it becomes overwhelming: the early signals our bodies give when something in our lives is no longer sustainable. Burnout doesn't usually hit all at once. Instead, it builds gradually, through fatigue, tension, disrupted sleep, irritability, and, most importantly, a subtle sense of disconnection from ourselves and what matters most. Dr. Julie Taw explores why we’re taught to push through these signals, how chronic stress impacts both mind and body, and what it takes to listen and respond before burnout takes over. Together, we'll learn simple, compassionate ways to reconnect with our inner cues and change the course of our well-being one small moment at a time.

00:00 Recognizing early burnout signals

04:40 Understanding disconnection from internal cues

07:30 Understanding disconnection and reconnecting

09:45 Early signs of burnout

14:10 The nervous system's impact

18:19 Recognizing and ignoring disconnection

22:10 Balancing career, family, and self-care

25:27 Embracing change and routine comfort

29:22 Being present and mindful

32:54 Importance of intentional health habits

35:19 Understanding disconnection and well-being

37:17 Recognizing burnout signals early

41:35 Offering a simple health guide

Show Website - https://medicinewithmeaning.com/

Dr. Julie Taw's Clinic Website - https://julietawmd.com/

Free Guide - https://go.julietawmd.com/reset

Dr. Julie Taw's Instagram - @julie.taw.md

Media/Podcast Partner: TopHealth - www.tophealth.care

“Disclaimer: Informational only. Not medical advice. Consult your doctor for guidance.”

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

At first, the body compensates beautifully. You can still function, still perform, still show up, but over time, that compensation becomes strained. One of the earliest shifts isn't just fatigue. It can be a subtle loss of connection. That is connection to your energy, your body, your internal cues, even your sense of what you need. So really, burnout doesn't begin with collapse. It often begins with disconnection. I'm Dr. Julie Ta, and I'm so glad you're here. In recent episodes, we've been exploring the different ways our bodies begin asking for change through energy shifts, hormonal changes, and even our sense of connection. Today I want to talk about something that many people experience but often don't recognize until it becomes overwhelming. The early signals your body gives when something is no longer sustainable. For many people, burnout doesn't happen all at once, it builds gradually through tension, fatigue, disrupted sleep, irritability, brain fog, and a quiet sense that something feels off. And yet many of us have been taught to push through these signals instead of listening to them. So today we're going to explore how the body communicates stress, why these signals matter, and how learning to respond earlier can change the trajectory of your health.

SPEAKER_00 2:07

Let's dive in. Dr. Julie, it's nice to see you again, especially talking about this super important topic that I think will serve a lot of us in this day and time. People think burnout is something that happens suddenly. From a physiological perspective, how does it actually develop over time?

SPEAKER_01 2:30

So burnout is not a sudden event. It's actually the result of prolonged stress activation without enough recovery. From a physiological perspective, your nervous system is designed to move in and out of stress. You mobilize when needed, and then return to a more regulated, restorative state. But when stress becomes chronic, the body starts spending more time in stress activation and less time in recovering. So at first the body compensates beautifully, you can still function, still perform, still show up, but over time that compensation becomes strained. And one of the earliest shifts isn't just fatigue. It can be a subtle loss of connection. That is connection to your energy, your body, your internal cues, even your sense of what you need. So really burnout doesn't begin with collapse. It often begins with disconnection.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

And what are some of the earliest signals that the body gives when it's under sustained stress?

SPEAKER_01 3:57

Well, the earliest signals are often subtle and they're easy to dismiss, but they tend to fall into patterns. So you might notice energy changes, this feeling of wired but tired, or needing more effort to get through the day. There are certainly cognitive shifts. Many people complain of brain fog, less clarity, things taking longer than they used to. And emotionally, there's often less buffer. So people may feel more irritability, less patience, and feeling overwhelmed more quickly. Physically, the body may speak through muscle tension, headaches, digestive changes, and certainly disrupted sleep. And alongside all of that, there's often a much quieter signal. And it's that growing sense of disconnection, meaning you feel less present in your day, less engaged with things that used to matter. And it's kind of like you're just going through the motions. And that piece is easy to overlook, but it's often one of the most important early signals.

SPEAKER_00 5:27

And why do you think so many people normalize or ignore these signals instead of responding to them?

SPEAKER_01 5:33

Well, I think part of it is that these symptoms are so common, especially in high-functioning environments, and everyone around you is tired, pushing through, staying productive. So it starts to feel normal. But there's also a deeper pattern. And I think many people learn, often in early life, that you know, we should override our internal cues in order to meet expectations. So over time, it's not just that we ignore the signals, we just become less connected to them. And when that happens, this disconnection starts to feel like our baseline. So instead of a signal that something in the system needs attention, you know, we just consider it to be our norm.

SPEAKER_00 6:28

Yeah, absolutely. I always like to make this distinction between common and normal. We get those words mixed up. So now it's common to feel tired, to feel overworked, and all the things that you mentioned. But is it normal? Just because it's common, doesn't mean that it that's what our health should be like or how we should feel every day. Yeah, it's certainly not optimal. And was there a time in your own life when your body was giving you signals that you didn't fully recognize until later on? For sure.

SPEAKER_01 7:06

Um there are probably a few moments in my life when um, you know, certainly I was functioning well on the outside, but internally something felt increasingly off. I had less energy, um definitely felt irritable. It just took more effort to get through my days. And definitely this, you know, feeling of disconnection was present, you know, if I were to look back. And so it's just feeling disconnected to myself, like my my inner wisdom, to my body, certainly ignoring symptoms that were shouting at me. Um and I think what was most worrisome or bothersome was that even parts of my life that you know felt meaningful, I often felt disconnected. And so at the time I didn't fully recognize what it was. I told myself I just needed to push through, that once things settled, um, you know, I would just uh get back to feeling like myself again. And um looking back now, I can see that disconnection was actually a way my system was trying to keep going, almost like a protective mechanism. So when we're under prolonged stress, sometimes um it's not just that we're tired, we become less present to ourselves, we override our needs, and we disconnect from what we're feeling in order to stay productive and responsible and moving forward. And I think so many women experience this quietly and often alone. That personal journey is part of what has given me such a strong sense of direction and purpose in the work I do now. Well, because I don't want women to feel like they have to keep pushing through while they're feeling more disconnected from themselves in the process. And a huge part of what inspired the well-being ecosystem is this idea that healing isn't just about reducing symptoms. It really is about connecting, reconnecting, that is, with our body, our needs, our rhythms, our relationships, and certainly our sense of meaning or or what matters most to us. And then of course, ultimately reconnecting with ourselves and our our inner wisdom.

SPEAKER_00 9:59

Yeah, I I guess like you mentioned is something that you keep moving the thr the threshold every every day, you know, it starts little by little that d disconnection doesn't happen all at once. Like you become disconnected and more and more until one day you just feel like, where did I go? Like you said, it's a beautiful journey when you do come back to yourself slowly. And in your clinical work, what are the most common early warning signs you see in patients before more significant symptoms develop?

SPEAKER_01 10:38

Yeah, in my clinical practice, I often see patterns well before people reach what they would call burnout. So for instance, non-restorative sleep is very common, where you know, people are sleeping, you know, the seven to eight hours, but they're not waking up feeling restored. There's often increased sensitivity to stress, where things that used to feel manageable now feel more overwhelming. I see midday energy dips, you know, more reliance on caffeine and a sense of needing to push to get through the day. And then there's something patients don't always name right away. But I often hear, especially women, say, oh, I just don't feel like myself, or I feel off, or I just feel like I'm on autopilot and I'm not as present as I used to be. So when you put all those pieces together, it tells a clear story that the system is under strain and that there's often a form of disconnection. And, you know, I will say that all of us have the ability to know what is best for ourselves when we stop and pause and kind of take inventory. And when you're so busy not pausing, it's like you you can't tap into that inner knowing. Um and so when you're not tapped into your inner knowing, you don't know what your needs are, or you just override them. And I think you know that first step is just to pause and check in with ourselves.

SPEAKER_00 12:41

And Dr. Julie, is is there a clinical term for burnout? Is that would it be the same as chronic fatigue, or are they different things?

SPEAKER_01 12:50

I think um for each person it shows up differently. Um and so for many people it's physical symptoms, right? Um, all the ones we just listed, certainly fatigue can be due to burnout. Of course, fatigue has many other causes as well. Um I would say uh, you know, this feeling of just not being fully present, not uh, you know, feeling connected to yourself or other symptoms, you know, as I mentioned earlier. I don't think there's a clinical diagnosis for burnout. Um there's no what we call um ICD 10 code for burnout. But I think there are a lot of diagnoses that, you know, can be due to burnout. And um, you know, it it may not be frank depression, right? But it's it, you know, your mood is low, you're irritable. And so, you know, maybe it's it's the place before, you know, you're feeling depressed. It may be that um, you know, it's it's an early cue. Um, so there's no actual medical diagnosis in terms of like an official code that we give, but um I commonly see it. And uh I think certainly it's important to be aware of it. And I I do tell people, you know, what I'm seeing, this pattern, it it does look like burnout. So I give them that diagnosis, but there's no official medical diagnosis.

SPEAKER_00 14:38

But I guess what you mentioned is important. It's like the place before maybe depression or other stuff, right? That's right. That other things may develop after being in this place of of of depletion, basically. Yeah. And how do symptoms like headaches, digestive changes, fatigue, or irritability connect back to the nervous system strain?

SPEAKER_01 15:03

Yeah, I love this question. So many of these symptoms trace back to one central piece, and that's the nervous system, you know, what it which um is just such a foundational pillar. It is like the mother root cause. And it's because the nervous system is constantly communicating with our digestive system, our immune system, our hormonal system. So when the nervous system is under sustained stress, it impacts all these downstream systems. So they show up as changes in digestion, shifts in our energy, sleep disruption, increased inflammation. And they also shape how we feel internally. And again, it goes back to that sense of disconnection, just feeling less present, less engaged. And it's often due to the fact that the nervous system is almost pulling back slightly as a way to conserve energy and and protect our whole organism, our whole system. So sometimes disconnection is the nervous system's way of helping us function under this prolonged strain. So it really is not random. It's this coordinated response to prolonged strain.

SPEAKER_00 16:45

And many people try to push through these signals with willpower. Why does that approach often make things worse over time?

SPEAKER_01 16:55

Well, certainly willpower can be helpful in the short term, but it doesn't change the underlying physiology. So when people push through, what they're often doing is increasing output, right? Like the you know, the output of the nervous system, and then it becomes more depleted. And over time, that creates a widening gap between what your body is being asked to do and what it can sustainably support. And that's where symptoms escalate. And often that sense of disconnection deepens, and it's because the nervous system is trying to keep going while also protecting itself from further strain.

SPEAKER_00 17:53

And I and I was thinking how, you know, you mentioned a lot of women or people uh say that they don't feel like themselves. And and I've heard also like I don't recognize myself anymore. And I think that it it does have to do with the fact that you're following some instructions that are not your bodies, you're not following your own instructions, your own guidelines. It's like you've decided to follow something else outside of yourself, therefore, at some point you you're like, well, who is this person that left all of her needs behind that doesn't even know what she wants or what she needs, right?

SPEAKER_01 18:41

For sure. That is at play. Um yeah, those external instructions are kind of interesting to think about. Where do they come from? Certainly our socialization, right? Um, as women, depending on, you know, which generation you belong to. And uh just, you know, the modern stressors um that we have today. It's just so much that are asked of women. And when you're not connected to your own instruction manual, yeah, you know, you can feel like you you're living a life that's doesn't feel like your own, or that you're not giving your your body-mind what it needs to feel good and function in the way that feels aligned with your intuition, or um what your body needs. And I think that disconnect is well, it certainly um initially feels kind of uncomfortable when you notice it, but then sometimes you just try, you know, stop noticing it. It's like you kind of quiet the disconnection or you kind of ignore it because perhaps you don't want to look at it even. It is a signal. Just like we've always been talking about different physical symptoms, are often signals from our body saying, okay, come pay attention to these digestive symptoms. We we need to make some changes here. And I think it's easier to listen to digestive symptoms, right? Or or you know, commonly neck pain and muscle tension. Those are kind of you know clear signals. But I think this signal of disconnection, it's so subtle and so easy to override. And perhaps we don't even want to address it. You know, why are we so disconnected from ourselves? And it does take some courage to look at it, understand it, and um find your way home. And I think that's one of the things I love about my work, is while my own journey has been so helpful, um, you know, just getting to a place where I was very disconnected and finding my way back. I've learned so much about myself and what I need. And in that journey, it has helped me just bring more compassion to other women and to help them along their journey home. If you would, I know that sounds kind of, you know, metaphorical, but there's also a very practical side to it that I help women as as their doctor just listen in and then, you know, take action steps to meet the needs of their body.

SPEAKER_00 21:50

Yeah. And like you mentioned, isn't I don't think it's metaphorical because like you live in this body, right? Even if it's just like uh you live in this matter that is your body that needs to be tending to. And so you can be d disconnected to that and you get used to it. You get used to that disconnection. I think that's why it is so subtle because you kind of just get used to it. And what you get used to might be easier than to find find any way even if it's the more natural way. Like the way back might be demanding of letting go of cer certain things that you've gotten used to doing. And well I've heard you before m say uh we're human beings and not human doings. And that that came I don't I I that came to my mind right now just because I think that all even by you know being beings, we're human beings, but sometimes we have this I idea of who we should be and we kind of follow this model. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:03

Yeah well I I just want to add um yeah I I think that um you know so many women put so much pressure on ourselves and um there are such high expectations you know I would say especially for Gen X women I think we were kind of taught that you know we we can have it all and and do it you know with ease and and you know um and I think that is kind of a myth. And I think a lot of you know Gen X women are realizing that it is hard to manage um both career and family and that you know something has to give and you know unfortunately sometimes it's our own body. But yeah I think that um reflecting back on what you're saying we are um meant to sit with ourselves and um connect with our inner knowing and that is what's always gonna guide us to feeling good in ourselves and some of the daily actions that help support our well-being and that you know it's not just theoretical but there are a lot of things that we can do to help ourselves feel better. And I think the first step is uh well of course awareness but also probably doing less is what you're saying.

SPEAKER_00 24:40

Yeah or I I was thinking you know how we're all routines, routines, routines, everything and I mean I guess those are great for for our minds and our bodies but how many times do we just wake up and say oh I'm just gonna think of what I want to do right now and do that instead of something that's like pre-planned? Like how many times do we decide what we want to do in the moment?

SPEAKER_01 25:08

Yeah well you know I think routines certainly serve us they're comforting um give us structure but I think what you're talking about is like when you're on that autopilot you're not even thinking about why you're doing what you're doing on autopilot and um perhaps yeah to to pause and say hey is this really going to help me feel better or um just kind of questioning right um sometimes we just yeah go on that that autopilot yeah maybe yeah go ahead I was just gonna say maybe today I don't want to have a coffee I want to have a matcha or that's just like a uh ordinary example but what I mean it's like maybe you just wake up and you have your coffee every day and that's what you're used to so you do it again.

SPEAKER_00 26:07

But did you even ask yourself is that what I want today or maybe today I don't want to have coffee.

SPEAKER_01 26:14

I want to have soda no don't have soda no yeah no not soda I I think what you you know uh what what's kind of touching me is that uh you know what I'm reflecting on here is that we we do like the comfort of routine and we don't like change and you know sometimes connecting with ourselves it might mean change and maybe you're gonna become a matcha lady you know okay too but um I know you you know you bring up this you know kind of lighthearted example but it could be something deeper where um something you know something else needs change and it's easier to just keep the status quo than to question um and that's probably why you know we don't mind disconnection right it's like it's almost it's safe that's what it is yeah it's safe but then I think that disconnection brings more disconnection right because you're ignoring maybe something that is calling you to to make a change and and it needs a little bit of courage. Yeah it needs a little bit of courage yeah well you're what you're saying is to to live with more intention and presence and to live more fully awake awake and um that does require courage and not everybody wants to do it but um those of us who try to do it you do feel more alive you're not in that robotic autopilot and that's where you you feel the the richness of life and um you know disconnection is sort of like a like a numbing too right you just kind of feel numb you're not really feeling you know all the feelings and sometimes it's hard to feel all the feelings yeah um and you know that is that is part of our human journey is all the feelings and um yeah sometimes it's hard to to to live life fully um but I think that's something that I I want to do for myself and um certainly my journey out of burnout was about just living more consciously. Just by that I mean just more awake and aligned with what I really desire you know and maybe matcha serves me better than coffee you know um yeah no I I I love matcha. But I'm so used to coffee in the morning that is my routine and um maybe I should look at matcha more. I know that's our fun kind of silly example um but I think it's a great analogy.

SPEAKER_00 29:40

I was as you were sharing this I was thinking yeah there's a subtle difference between you know following the guidelines or interacting well inter following the the patterns or interacting with life and creating being a part of creating patterns you know like interacting with life rather than just following it.

SPEAKER_01 30:06

Co-creating with life like it's a back and forth rather than just following a certain pattern and well it's like living with a a sense of curiosity and openness. And when you're in that mind state you just see so much more than when you're not fully present or when you don't pause and question I think that uh you know for me um it's important to see the wonder and if you're not awake like that you're gonna miss out on you know the beauty and the magic and you know that's where you know I think for me that's where joy is and I think maybe what we're talking about is when we're fully present um we're able to see all those small little beautiful moments and be open to them whereas if you're just on your autopilot you know not fully present you're gonna miss out on that and it's not as beautiful when you're in that autopilot way of living.

SPEAKER_00 31:28

But life does respond to our input and memory so constant that you think that you're just following something without that intention then it's just creating the same cycle and then but if you're if you see uh life as something that is alive like you then it responds it creates based on what you based on what you do what you like there's a response from life. And I think that we forget that.

SPEAKER_01 32:07

Yeah yeah like life is interactive um for sure yeah there's this movie uh Groundhog's day where I I believe you know Bill Murray just you know every day is the same every day is the same and it's that you know routine until like you know you wake up a bit and um you know set a different course for your day and that's that that's that intentionality piece right putting intention on how you want your day to be and um that you can direct your life in this direction of health and well being for instance and feeling good in our body and and um you know the more intention we put on it the more likely we'll get to that outcome that we're looking for.

SPEAKER_00 32:56

And I don't know if if hope has something to do with burnout or lack of hope but I think that as well if you're following the same pattern every day without intention just because it's like oh this is what I have to do this is what I have energy for it's all set up for me then you don't see you don't feel life you don't feel alive you don't see things changing you don't see things moving you don't feel that interaction and therefore I think that hope just kind of vanishes there vanishes because there's nothing that shows you like there's a spark that can ignite through your actions through your intention and so I feel that I I don't know why that came up but I think that yeah well it it you want to feel empowered right and that you can uh direct your life certainly your health that I can that I know about as a doctor when you put intentionality on your daily rhythm you know your habits you're gonna move the needle on your health and how you feel that I I am certain of as as a doctor and when you feel better in your body and mind and um you you are living fully and and um uh consciously you're gonna be able to do more things in your life right and when you have your health that is so key to doing anything in life right I always love to say health is wealth um and that is sort of the foundation of how we go about our lives right achie achieving the things we want for ourselves our whether it's our relationships or our career it is so important to feel good in our body and um that allows us to do all the things that we want for ourselves and show up the way we want you know certainly for our family our friends co-workers et cetera our community so yeah deviated a little bit from burnout but I think it all matters and it's all um part of the same story. And now that you bring bring that up that it all matters how you know we we talk about the ecosystem of health and and I think that's why it all matters because you know different parts of our life affect other aspects and that's how our whole well the well being ecosystem that you call it right um thrives. So how how how do these early stress signals that happen before burnout reflect strain across the multiple systems in our life not just one area?

SPEAKER_01 36:12

Yeah well you know uh when we look through the lens of the wellbeing ecosystem we see that these signals aren't coming from just one place they reflect strain across multiple interconnected systems your nervous system your biology your hormones your gut health your daily rhythms your relationships and your sense of meaning I think that's sort of what our earlier conversation was about right living life in a fulfilling meaningful way and that all of this is so important for health and well-being and so disconnection can show up in any of these areas and you might feel disconnected from your body your energy your relationships or even from what matters to you so I think a useful question you know is where am I feeling disconnected and what might that be telling me about where I need support and so it's a reframe from you know what we normally say is you know what's wrong with me you know w where am I feeling and I don't think those are as useful as just you know trying to understand no where am I feeling disconnected and trying to understand where in the ecosystem you know you need support. And what does it look like when someone begins to respond to these uh signals earlier before they escalate into burnout so when someone starts responding to these signals earlier the first shift is often a return of connection they may feel a little more present in their day a little more aware of their needs a little more engaged with you know what's around them and um alongside that you know energy may become more consistent sleep improves and there's more emotional steadiness and remember it's not about doing everything perfectly it's about supporting the system early enough that it can stabilize and from there things begin to feel more like you again and I I would say you know for myself having experienced burnout um noticing these signals earlier has been just a big game changer for me where you know there are times where I still have stress lots of stress where I feel overwhelmed um in fact just last week was an example but what has shifted for me is noticing earlier so that I don't stay stuck there and that I check in with myself and um give myself what I need before it becomes super chronic you know um and last week it was just you know going into Central Park for a walk just a you know a 30 minute walk and that was so helpful for me to just like calm my nervous system, reconnect with myself and just understand hey, you know, what do I need to support myself better? And that was really helpful. So I I catch myself before I start spiraling down and and getting stuck um and so the key is just catching ourselves before things escalate and noticing those early signals noticing you know if there is disconnection.

SPEAKER_00 40:32

And for someone listening today who's starting to notice these patterns what is one small way they can begin respond responding differently this week if you're noticing some of these patterns I'd invite you to keep it very simple.

SPEAKER_01 40:49

That's sort of my style right identify one signal your body has been giving you and just one okay pick one. So maybe it's fatigue maybe it's irritability. We don't think of that as a symptom but it is a signal maybe it's muscle tension brain fog or simply feeling less connected to yourself than you used to this week instead of overriding that signal try responding to it a little earlier than you normally would mean pausing before you're completely exhausted stepping away before you're overwhelmed that was my strategy last week or taking a brief moment to check in with yourself before you move on to the next thing and remember you don't need to do this perfectly not all at once so just with a little more awareness and a little more compassion you can make these shifts and because healing often begins not with dramatic change but with reconnecting to the signals we've been taught to ignore and it's really just one small moment at a time. That's it that is my um I'm gonna stop for a second so that uh I can gather my thoughts again. Okay, uh so that is one small way that you can begin responding differently this week. If today's conversation resonated and you're starting to recognize some of these patterns in your own body I created a simple guide to help you begin that reset. You can visit my latest posts on Instagram at julie.taumd and comment the word reset and I'll share the link with you there. Or if you prefer, you can also find the link directly in the show notes. Thank you for joining me for this episode of Medicine with meaning. Your body is not working against you it's communicating with you. And the earlier we learn to listen the more gently we can support our health over time. If this episode resonated with you share it with someone who may need it and I'll see you next time