Spinfish Wellbeing

02/08/2026

Burnout - How Hypnotherapy, NLP & Coaching Can Help

Over the last week, I've shared that it was 3 years ago I burned out and some of the lessons I learned from that experience.

One of the biggest lessons was this:
Burnout isn't a sign that you're broken.
It's often a sign that something in your life needs attention, support, or change.

When we're overwhelmed for too long, we can get stuck in patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving that keep us running on empty. We tell ourselves to push harder, work longer, and keep everyone else happy, often at the expense of our own wellbeing.

For me, recovery wasn't about becoming someone different.
It was about understanding those patterns, learning from them, and creating healthier ways to move forward.

That's one of the reasons I'm so passionate about hypnotherapy, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and coaching.

These approaches can help people:
✅ Better manage stress and overwhelm
✅ Develop healthier boundaries
✅ Shift unhelpful thoughts, beliefs and habits
✅ Build confidence and resilience
✅ Gain clarity and perspective
✅ Create positive, lasting change

And they aren't only helpful when someone has already reached burnout.
They can also be incredibly effective preventative tools, helping people recognise the warning signs earlier and make changes before they reach breaking point.

Three years on, I can honestly say that burnout taught me some difficult but valuable lessons.

Perhaps the most important is this:

❤️ Asking for help isn't the end of the story.
Often, it's where the healing begins and the new journey starts.

If you've followed this series and found any part of it helpful, thank you for reading and engaging with such an important conversation.

If you've been recognising yourself in any part of this series, please know that support is available and you don't have to navigate it all on your own.

And if you'd like an informal chat about hypnotherapy, NLP or coaching, feel free to drop me a message. No pressure, no obligation—just a conversation.

What's one thing you do to protect your own wellbeing and recharge when life gets busy?

02/08/2026

30/07/2026

Burnout - Why So Many People Don't Ask for Help

A few days ago I shared that it was 3 years ago I burned out.

The thing is, people don't always struggle because help isn't available...

Often, they struggle because they don't feel able to ask for it.

We tell ourselves:

"I'll be fine."
"I just need to push through."
"I'm a strong person, I should be able to cope"
"Other people have it worse."
"I don't want to burden anyone."
"If I ask for help, people will think I'm failing."

So we keep going.

We keep smiling.
We keep performing.
And we convince ourselves that needing support somehow means we're weak.

The truth is the opposite.

Asking for help isn't weakness.

It's self-awareness.

It's courage.

It's recognising that you're human.

If you're carrying more than you can manage right now, please know you don't have to do it alone.
What if asking for help is actually a sign of strength?
The strongest people I know aren't the ones who never need support.

They're the ones who are willing to reach for it when they do.

❤️ Who in your life could you reach out to today?

28/07/2026

This photo was taken during the week I burned out. I look happy, relaxed and completely fine. I wasn't. That's the thing about burnout – and many mental health struggles – they often hide behind a smile.......

Three years ago, I burned out.

Not the "I'm a bit tired and need a holiday" kind of burnout.

The kind where your mind and body simply say, "Stop it!! - no more."

Looking back, it didn't happen overnight. The signs had been there for months, but like many people, I ignored them. I kept telling myself to push through, work harder, and that things would get better once I'd got through the next busy period.

What's interesting is that the photo I'm sharing was taken during that exact week.

Looking at it, you'd probably think I looked happy, relaxed, and perfectly fine.

I was smiling.

I looked well.

I appeared to be coping.

But appearances can be incredibly misleading.

One of the biggest myths about burnout is that you'll be able to spot it easily in other people. The reality is that many people become experts at hiding how they're really feeling. They keep showing up, keep performing, keep smiling, and keep telling everyone they're okay.

Meanwhile, they're running on empty.

Some of the early signs I experienced were:

🔹 Feeling exhausted no matter how much I rested
🔹 Struggling to switch off and relax
🔹 Becoming more irritable than usual
🔹 Feeling overwhelmed by things I'd normally cope with
🔹 Finding it harder to concentrate and make decisions
🔹 Losing enthusiasm for things I genuinely cared about

The problem is that many of us have become very good at carrying on.

We wear busyness as a badge of honour and convince ourselves that asking for help is weakness. So we ignore the warning signs and keep going until our minds and bodies force us to stop.

One of the biggest lessons I've learned is that burnout isn't a sign of weakness.

Often, it's a sign you've been strong for too long without enough support.

If you're feeling some of these signs yourself, please don't wait until you're at breaking point before doing something about it.

Listen to the whispers before they become screams.

❤️ You are allowed to rest.
❤️ You are allowed to ask for help.
❤️ You don't have to carry everything alone.

And perhaps most importantly, if someone looks okay on the outside, don't assume they are okay on the inside.

Looking back, what was the first sign that told you something wasn't quite right?

26/07/2026

Exactly 3 years ago to the hour, I finally burned out and broke down.

In hindsight (you know, that very useful thing), it was so obvious it was coming – the sleepless nights, the racing mind at 3 am, the heart racing when emails pinged in, the complete overwhelm, the never knowing when the work day stopped and my outside life began, the sense of responsibility, the feeling of drowning, the deep and dark intrusive thoughts that led me down some scary paths, the feeling of never being enough, never being good enough even though there was nothing left to give…

Yet I survived. I made it through. And I am so grateful.

I am not saying it was easy. I’d always been known as ‘strong’ and ‘capable’, yet sometimes those words which people seem to use as compliments merely pile more pressure on you when you feel exactly the opposite. Fear of letting people down can be massive.

So now I am even more deeply committed to helping people avoid that sink hole or helping them climb back out. It’s not easy, it’s often not pretty but you can get through.

Sending massive love to those that resonate – please don’t wait until you’ve fallen into that pit of despair before you acknowledge that you cannot do it all (nor do you need to) and reach out for support.

30/06/2026

26/06/2026

Overwhelm – Part 5C: Giving Yourself Permission

The truth is that permission is not something that other people give us.
It’s something we learn to give ourselves.
*Permission to rest before we’re exhausted.
*Permission to ask for help before we’re overwhelmed.
*Permission to say no without providing a ten-page explanation.
*Permission to make ourselves a priority without feeling guilty.
*Permission to put down bags that were never ours to carry

Because the reality is this:
When we continually ignore our own needs, overwhelm isn’t a possibility — it’s an inevitability.
The healthiest, most resilient people are not those who carry everything.
They are the ones who know what belongs to them, what doesn’t, and who trust themselves enough to act accordingly.

So today, ask yourself:

What permission do I need to give myself?
You may be surprised by the answer.

And if you’re finding it difficult to identify the patterns that keep you stuck in overwhelm, know that you don’t have to work it out alone. Through hypnotherapy at Spinfish Wellbeing, we can explore the beliefs, habits, and unconscious patterns that may be keeping those bags firmly on your shoulders and help you create healthier ways of moving forward.

Sometimes the most important permission we ever receive is the permission we finally give ourselves.

24/06/2026

Overwhelm – Part 5B: The Science Behind the Struggle
The science behind our difficulty with rest, boundaries, and asking for help is insightful.
Our brains are constantly trying to keep us safe, and one way they do that is by repeating behaviours that have been rewarded in the past.
If being helpful, agreeable, productive, or putting others first resulted in approval, acceptance, or a sense of belonging, the brain learns that these behaviours are important for our wellbeing and social connection.
The problem is that the brain doesn’t always distinguish between what kept us safe years ago and what serves us well today.
As a result, we can find ourselves:

*Saying yes when we want to say no
*Taking on responsibilities that aren’t ours

*Feeling guilty when we rest
*Feeling selfish when we prioritise ourselves
*Believing that asking for help means we’ve failed

From an evolutionary perspective, this makes sense too. Human beings are social creatures. For thousands of years, belonging to a group increased our chances of survival. Rejection or exclusion could have serious consequences.
Because of this, our brains are highly sensitive to anything that might threaten connection with others.
So when we consider saying no, setting a boundary, disappointing someone, or putting our own needs first, our nervous system can sometimes react as though we’re facing a genuine threat — even when logically we know we’re not.
That’s why guilt often appears when we begin creating healthier boundaries.
It doesn’t necessarily mean we’re doing something wrong…….
It often means we’re doing something different.

22/06/2026

Overwhelm – Part 5A: Why Is Permission So Hard?
Over the course of this series, we’ve talked about recognising overwhelm, understanding why it happens, putting down some of the bags we’re carrying, and taking steps to prevent those bags from becoming too heavy.
But there is one question that often sits underneath all of this:
Why don’t we give ourselves permission to rest?
Why do we struggle to say no?
Why do we find it so difficult to ask for help?
Why do we put everyone else’s needs before our own?
For many people, the answer isn’t laziness, weakness, or poor time management. In fact, the opposite is often true.
Many of us have learned, consciously or unconsciously, that our worth is linked to what we do rather than who we are.
Perhaps we grew up being praised for being helpful, capable, responsible, or self-sufficient. Perhaps we learned that saying yes kept other people happy. Perhaps asking for help wasn’t encouraged. Perhaps rest was seen as something you earned rather than something you needed.
Over time, these experiences can become deeply ingrained patterns.

And understanding that is often the first step towards changing them.

12/06/2026

Overwhelm – Guided Meditation: Walking Lighter
https://static.wixstatic.com/mp3/ff1fd0_87c5f5327a5e482bb214618509f5fd24.mp3
Over the past few posts, I've been talking about overwhelm—why it happens, why we procrastinate when we're overwhelmed, and how we can begin to recognise when we're carrying more than we need to.
One analogy I often use is that of carrying bags up a hill. Some bags are ours. Some aren't. Some need unpacking. Some can be put down for a while. And some can be let go of completely.
So, to continue the theme, I've recorded a free guided meditation called "Walking Lighter".
This meditation is designed to help you slow down, relax, and gently explore what you may be carrying right now. It offers an opportunity to step back from the noise, put down some of those bags, and remind yourself that you do not have to carry everything all of the time.
Whether you're feeling stressed, overwhelmed, exhausted, or simply in need of a few moments of calm, I hope it helps you find some space to breathe and reconnect with yourself.
As always, be kind to yourself. You're carrying more than most people can see.
And remember, sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is put something down.
If you'd like support with reducing or overcoming overwhelm, anxiety, stress, or unhelpful patterns of thinking, please feel free to get in touch. Through hypnotherapy at Spinfish Wellbeing, we can work together to help you feel calmer, more in control, and better able to carry what truly matters.
For now, find a comfortable place, press play, and enjoy a few moments of calm.
Happy Friday everyone. 💙