When Holding It All Together…

…Starts Falling Apart

How to Recognise Emotional Turmoil Before Burnout Hits

There comes a moment – quiet but unmistakable – when something inside begins to crack.

You’ve been strong for so long. You push through the tiredness. You tell yourself you’re just being dramatic. You go to work, care for others, tick every box.

From the outside, it looks like you’re fine.

But inside?

It’s getting harder to hold yourself together.

Maybe it’s a wave of irritability you can’t explain.

Maybe your chest tightens when someone asks, “Are you okay?”

Maybe your body is screaming for rest, but you keep pushing.

Until one day, even getting out of bed feels like too much.

This is emotional turmoil. And it doesn’t happen all at once. It builds quietly, invisibly – until it demands to be seen.

But you can learn to recognise it before it becomes burnout, breakdown, or complete emotional collapse.

You’re Not Alone: Real Stories From The Inside

One woman I worked with spent years being the caretaker—always calm, always capable. But behind closed doors, she sobbed in the bathroom while her children napped. She told herself to “keep it together.” But her body began to betray her: insomnia, migraines, panic attacks. She wasn’t weak—she was overwhelmed and unseen.

Another client had a high-pressure job and constantly said yes—to work, to family, to friends—until she couldn’t say yes to herself anymore. She came to me feeling like a shell: “I don’t even know what I feel. I just know I’m not okay.” Slowly, we peeled back the layers of obligation and perfectionism. What we found underneath was grief, loneliness—and a fierce, quiet strength waiting to emerge.

Each of them believed they had to hit rock bottom to ask for help. They didn’t. They just needed permission to stop surviving and start healing.

Here Are 3 Signs Your Emotional World Is Asking For Attention:

1. You feel emotionally heavy but can’t name why.
   You’re not necessarily crying all the time—but you feel a dull ache, like something’s not right inside. It’s hard to feel joy. You feel numb or “off” even during moments that used to bring you peace.
2. Your body is tense even when nothing is ‘wrong’.
   You wake up tired. Your jaw is clenched, shoulders tight. You snap at small things. Your body is holding the stress you won’t let yourself express.
3. You’re starting to disappear in your own life.
   You say yes when you want to say no. You scroll instead of feeling. You avoid silence because you’re afraid of what might come up. You feel like a shell of the version of yourself you used to be.

Try This: Self-Awareness Check-In

Take 3 deep breaths. Place your hand over your heart or belly. Ask yourself:

• What emotion am I carrying right now that I’ve been trying to ignore?
• When was the last time I felt safe to rest—not just physically, but emotionally?
• What would I say to a friend who felt like this?

Write it down.

No editing.

Just the truth.

This exercise brings you back to yourself—to the quiet knowing beneath the survival mode.

Before You Burn Out—Pause.

Your body is wise. That tight chest, that scattered mind, the exhaustion? It’s not a weakness. It’s your system waving a red flag.

You don’t have to hit rock bottom to ask for help. You don’t need to earn your pain or explain it away.

Therapy isn’t about being “broken.” It’s about being brave enough to say: “I can’t keep doing this alone.”

If This Speaks To You, Here’s Your Next Gentle Step:

Book a free clarity call — Let’s talk about what you’re holding, and how we can lighten the weight together.

Or message me privately — No pressure. Just a space where you can be real.

Because healing begins the moment you stop pretending you’re fine—and allow someone to walk beside you.

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Main – Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash