Do You Ever Feel Like You’re Running on Empty… But You Just Keep Pushing?
You know the feeling…
You have a never-ending to-do list.
You’re juggling work, family, and responsibilities.
You know you should rest, but there’s just no time.
You’re juggling work, family, and responsibilities.
You know you should rest, but there’s just no time.
So you push through—
Convincing yourself that you’ll slow down later.
Convincing yourself that you’ll slow down later.
But later never comes…
And instead of thriving, you feel like you’re running on fumes.
If this sounds familiar, you might be stuck in the Red Zone.
What Is the Red Zone?
In my last post, I introduced the Stress Continuum—
A model that helps us understand how our nervous system responds to stress.
A model that helps us understand how our nervous system responds to stress.
Here’s a quick recap:
- Blue Zone (Thriving) – Calm, balanced, and resilient.
- Yellow & Green Zones (Healthy Stress Responses) – Short bursts of stress that help us adapt.
- Red Zone (Overwhelm & Burnout) – Chronic stress that pushes our nervous system to its limits.
👉 If you missed that post, I highly recommend reading it first!
The Red Zone is what happens when we stay in a high-stress state for too long–
Without giving our body time to rest, recover, and regulate.
At first, it might feel like you're on top of everything.
Without giving our body time to rest, recover, and regulate.
At first, it might feel like you're on top of everything.
You're productive, pushing through, handling it all...
But under the surface, your body is burning out.
But under the surface, your body is burning out.
Signs You’re Stuck in the Red Zone
If you’re in the Red Zone, you may experience:
🔥 Irritability & Mood Swings – Small things set you off, and you feel constantly on edge.
🔥 Anxiety & Overwhelm – Racing thoughts, feeling like you can’t catch up.
🔥 Physical Inflammation – Chronic pain, tension, or autoimmune flare-ups.
🔥 Exhaustion & Burnout – You’re wired but tired—your body wants to rest, but your mind won’t let it.
🔥 Anxiety & Overwhelm – Racing thoughts, feeling like you can’t catch up.
🔥 Physical Inflammation – Chronic pain, tension, or autoimmune flare-ups.
🔥 Exhaustion & Burnout – You’re wired but tired—your body wants to rest, but your mind won’t let it.
At this stage, many people start experiencing health issues, diagnoses, or chronic symptoms related to stress overload.
Why? Because the body can only stay in fight-or-flight for so long before it starts breaking down.
What Happens If You Stay in the Red Zone?
Here’s the tricky part…
Most of us don’t even realize we’re stuck here.
We assume stress is just a part of life—
That exhaustion is normal.
We assume stress is just a part of life—
That exhaustion is normal.
But if we don’t take steps to rebalance our nervous system, our body forces us to stop.
This is when we move into the next stage of the Stress Continuum—
The Freeze/Trauma State.
The Freeze/Trauma State.
Instead of feeling anxious, stressed, or overwhelmed…
You start feeling numb, disconnected, and completely drained.
You start feeling numb, disconnected, and completely drained.
I’ll be breaking this down in my next post and video—
Explaining exactly what happens when the body shuts down
And how to begin reversing the effects.
Explaining exactly what happens when the body shuts down
And how to begin reversing the effects.
Where Are YOU on the Stress Continuum?
Before we go any further, let me ask you—
Where are YOU on this continuum?
Are you still balancing stress well?
Are you stuck in fight-or-flight?
Or have you already moved into full-on burnout?
I created a quick quiz to help you figure it out.
When you take the quiz, I’ll send you personalized recommendations to help you start moving toward balance again.
If this post resonated with you, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Stay tuned for my next post, where we’ll uncover what happens when stress has gone too far.
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