The 6 Hidden Burnout Patterns Keeping High-Achieving Women Stuck

Burnout doesn't always look like collapse. For ambitious women, it often manifests as perfectionism, over-functioning, or being the one who holds everything together while slowly eroding from within. Despite countless late-night Google searches and implementing generic self-care advice, nothing seems to stick—because you're facing a unique form of burnout that requires tailored solutions.

This episode reveals the groundbreaking concept of six distinct burnout archetypes that I've identified after working with hundreds of women. We explore the profound difference between visible burnout (the physical collapse) and invisible burnout (the over-functioning that keeps you going while slowly depleting your essence). You'll discover whether you're a Silent Martyr sacrificing yourself with resentment, a Perfect Striver driven by unworthiness, a Relentless Juggler managing everything with military precision, a Self-Help Scholar who knows all the tools yet remains stuck, a Hollow High Achiever successful yet numb inside, or an Untapped Powerhouse frustrated by playing small despite your enormous potential.

What makes this framework revolutionary is how it addresses the unique patterns driving your specific burnout type. Unlike generic "bro advice" that ignores the complex realities of women's lives and responsibilities, understanding your archetype provides the key to breaking free from exhausting cycles. These patterns aren't who you truly are—they're how you've been conditioned to function in the world. By identifying your unique burnout profile, you can finally implement strategies that work for your specific situation, reclaim your time and energy, and create success on your terms without sacrificing yourself in the process. Take the seven-question quiz mentioned in this episode to discover your archetype and access personalised solutions, including a secret podcast episode dedicated to your specific profile.

To view the Transcript from this week's episode, visit our Balance & Beyond Podcast webpage: https://www.balanceinstitute.com/podcast/2025/98

To discover your Burnout Archetype, take our short quiz here!  https://www.balanceinstitute.com/burnout-quiz

Thank you for joining us today on the Balance and Beyond Podcast. We're so glad you carved out this time for yourself!

If you’re keen to dive deeper into our world, here are our socials where you can discover more about the toolkit that has helped thousands of women create a life of balance.

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Episode Transcript

Jo (00:03):
Welcome to Balance and Beyond, the podcast for
ambitious women who refuse toaccept burnout as the price of
success.
Here we're committed toempowering you with the tools
and strategies you need toachieve true balance, where your
career, relationships andhealth all thrive and where you
have the power to define successon your terms.
I honor the space you'vecreated for yourself today, so

(00:25):
let's take a breath and diveright in.
If you've ever Googled am Iburnt out?
At 3am but felt like none ofthe answers really fit, this is
for you, because burnout doesn'talways look like collapse.
Sometimes it looks likeperfectionism, over-functioning
or being the one who holds itall together.

(00:47):
Most women in my world havelong ago Googled at 3am what is
burnout, or am I burnt out?
And you've known that for areally, really long time.
What you don't know, my friend,is what type of burnout do you
have?
What is causing it?
And so, of course, when youstick to all the generic advice

(01:09):
that is out there aboutmeditation and mindfulness,
nothing ever seems to stick and,most importantly, nothing seems
to change how you feel.
So in today's episode, I'mgoing to share with you these
amazing six burnout archetypesthat I have created.
When we talk about burnout.
There are two key distincttypes of burnout.

(01:31):
One you may not be aware of.
There is the visible burnoutthat most people have heard
about or experienced.
This is the type where yourbody typically shuts down At the
most extreme end.
You end up hospitalized, notable to move, not able to
function.
This is when your nervoussystem has just said that's it,
I'm out.
I've been giving you hints,I've been giving you tips, and
now you're not listening to me,you're completely numb, so I'm

(01:54):
done.
On the other end of the scale,we have what we call invisible
burnout, and this is what manywomen are suffering from.
This is a type of burnout thatisn't on the collapse end.
It steps up more into theover-functioning end, just like
a cat right Over-functioning,going around like crazy, putting
in all the things, thinkingthat relief, rest will come at

(02:17):
the end of an endless to-do list.
Instead, what we have to do isstart to understand what is our
unique burnout archetype.
What do I mean by this?
Well, there is so much genericadvice out there.
Take care of yourself, put youroxygen mask on first, have a
bubble bath, go to bed early,read a book.
You know all of that.

(02:38):
A simple Google, you know top10 tips to escape burnout are
there.
And yet, no matter how much youtry, no matter how much you read
podcast you listen to, nothingseems to change.
And this is because, in yourlikely mode of invisible burnout
, your self-trust has started toerode.
You've ignored the signs,you've ignored yourself, you

(03:00):
sacrificed yourself Often we usethe word self-abandonment where
you've completely ignored andabandoned all of your needs, all
your desires, because you're sostuck in your head or in
over-functioning.
So we have to start buildingback that trust in order for
these burnout pieces to work.
And the way we start to buildup that trust is by you actually

(03:21):
understanding what is yourunique archetype.
I've seen hundreds of women fallinto these six patterns.
This has not been built out ofthin air.
This has been done by a hugeanalysis of the profiles of the
people that we see, whether theycome directly through our
programs or we talk to.
What are their uniquechallenges?

(03:41):
And once you understand yourprofile, you are going to feel
seen and heard like never before.
So in this episode, I'm goingto give you a quick snapshot of
what each one is Bearing in mind.
There's a chance that you'regoing to identify with multiple
but spoiler alert.
There is going to be a plug fora quiz at the end that's going
to help you understand which oneis the dominant profile in your

(04:04):
case, and once you know whatyour profile is, of course, you
can get tailored advice to match.
So let's talk about the silentmartyr.
This is, my guess, going to bethe most common profile that we
see as this quiz scales.
A silent martyr sacrificessilently and wears their

(04:24):
responsibility like armor.
If I don't do it, who will?
I don't have a choice.
They're the ones saying yes toeverything with no boundaries,
putting themselves last, sayingthat they've got no time,
they're so exhausted.
Very often this silent martyrprofile is passed down through
generations.
I have many people say to me ohyeah, my mum was a martyr.

(04:47):
She did everything for everyoneand was usually quite resentful
and bitter in the process.
So if you harbour a lot ofresentment, if you feel like you
can't say no, if you'recompletely overcommitted and do
nothing for yourself, thenthere's a pretty good chance you
are a silent martyr, or perhapsyou're the perfect striver.

(05:09):
A perfect striver is somebodywho consistently overachieves,
hits the lights out no matterwhat in an effort to outrun
unworthiness.
The heart of perfectionism isultimately fear that you are not
good enough.
So when you combine thisperfectionistic tendencies with

(05:30):
this ambition and drive to bebetter, then this is where you
get this incredible cycle ofhaving to do everything at 150%
and not being able to say no toanything, but having these crazy
, unrealistic, ruthlessstandards that once again mean
your needs come last.

(05:51):
You can't possibly ever doanything for yourself, let alone
rest.
A relentless juggler is doingjust that constantly managing
everyone and everything.
This is the woman who has thecolor-coded diary, who is taking
on every single task that theypossibly can and is constantly

(06:13):
trying to steal time here, runsthings with a military schedule,
has lists coming out of hernose because that's the only way
that she can try to keep trackof all the different pieces in
our lives.
As we now start to move intosome more subtle profiles.
The self-help scholar is thewoman who knows all the tools.

(06:37):
She's read every podcast, she'sthe one that her friends come
to for advice, she knows theleadership model, she knows the
framework, she's got all thegurus.
She knows it all and yet she'sstill stuck.
And that makes her feel evenworse because she should know
better.
She's been on this program orthat program or read about this.

(06:58):
But our self-help scholar is inconstant source of new
information, in the mistakenbelief that they need more
knowledge because they're brokenor they haven't fixed
themselves yet or they have thegap in their knowledge.
They believe that then thisincessant consumption will
somehow magically close the gapand then they're going to feel

(07:22):
less burnt out and they're goingto feel better.
Spoiler alert it's not aboutthe knowledge.
You already know enough.
A profile that has been builtlargely off a lot of my own
experience is the hollow highachiever, and this is someone
who looks very polished on theoutside, has everything they

(07:46):
ever wanted, can present reallywell, comes across as really
confident, probably has a lot ofthe external things whether
it's position, title, financialsecurity, the house, the
whatever is important to you andyet on the inside it's all a
bit numb, it doesn't really meananything.

(08:07):
You get accolades and they'rehollow.
You hit an achievement and it'slike, oh, that was nice.
You get teeny, tiny bits ofsatisfaction.
So a hollow high achiever lifefeels very empty, very numb, and
that numbness in the end canstart eating your soul alive.
It's like you start dying veryslowly from the inside first.

(08:28):
Well, lastly, you might be ouruntapped powerhouse.
These are women who are deeply,deeply capable, intelligent,
ambitious, know they're capableof so much more and yet they are
trapped in proving energy,whether it's I've got to prove

(08:52):
myself, I've got to make youlike me.
I have to show that I'm morecapable than anybody else.
Sometimes there can be a bit offu energy in there.
You told me I couldn't do this.
I'm going to show you.
But these are women who haveusually reached a ceiling of
their own.
Doing it's like they've got onehand on the top of the box and
around their neck is the key,and they are so incredibly

(09:15):
frustrated because they feellike they're playing small.
They feel like they're settlingthat their life is mediocre and
they know they have more inthem to give.
They've got more potential,more leadership, more impact.
They don't want to leave theworld without stepping into what
they know is possible for them.
Each of these profiles is such abeautiful insight into why

(09:41):
you're burning out because youcan hear, even in just those
simple descriptions, that theways that your whether you call
it childhood woundings, or yournot enoughness, or the way this
is playing out in your life, isslightly nuanced.
So the strategy for somebodywho's an untapped powerhouse to
really step into their potentialat work needs to be very

(10:03):
different from that of arelentless juggler who was
probably doing four people'sjobs and not delegating.
So by understanding yourarchetype, you're now able to go
.
Okay, I now know who I am.
I've had somebody see me andreally understand not only what
is driving my patterns but, mostimportantly, with that insight

(10:26):
now I can finally fix it.
That's right, it is allpossible.
We have helped women from eachof these six profiles escape
burnout, find balance,fulfillment, whatever it is.
They're looking for success ontheir own terms.
I decided to create this quizbecause I was sick of all the

(10:54):
generic advice out there andnobody has the database and the
depth of knowledge of thisparticular cohort of women.
And what really frustrates meis so much of the burnout advice
out there is very what I wouldcall kind of bro advice.
It's wake up at 5 am, go do acold shower, meditate for an
hour, have a green smoothie, andthere's no discussion of who's

(11:16):
taking the kids to school, who'smaking lunch boxes, who's
walking the dog, who's callingthe dentist.
There's no recognition of that.
It's as if that your life orthe way that you treat your
burnout is separate from yourlife.
So by really understanding whatyour archetype is, you need to
be able to have tailoredsolutions to match.

(11:37):
So that is the only way thatyou're going to finally be able
to reclaim your time, reclaimyour energy and ultimately get
your power back so that you canlive life truly in alignment
with who you really are, becausethese archetypes aren't who you
are.
They're how you're performing,they're how you're showing up
and, ultimately, how you've beentaught to survive in this world

(12:00):
.
But there is another way.
You don't have to be a silentmartyr or an untapped powerhouse
for the rest of your life.
You don't have to sit inresentment or frustration,
whatever their dominantemotional state is for you.
So now the biggest question youprobably have is you.
So now the biggest question youprobably have is which one am I
?
So seriously?

(12:21):
Go, take the quiz.
It is seven questions.
The average complete time is aminute 20.
And I guarantee, no matter howbusy you are, you can find that
time.
We'll put a link below the shownotes so that you can jump in
there, and women have alreadytold me I'm getting emails and
messages that this is the firsttime that they've ever been

(12:43):
fully seen.
Once you get your results.
Not only do you get an entirepage of solutions, there is also
a secret podcast episodededicated just to your archetype
, where I'm going to walk youthrough in detail where this
archetype comes from, what arethe patterns, what are the

(13:04):
behaviors and, most importantly,what has to happen on the other
side so that you can start toconquer that burnout.
You're going to feel seen,you're going to feel heard like
never, ever before.
So, make sure, go and take thatquiz, find out which one you
are, and let's get you steppinginto your power to get your time
back and your energy.
I'll see you in the quiz.

(13:30):
Thanks for joining us today onthe Balance and Beyond podcast.
We're so glad you carved outthis time for yourself.
If you enjoyed this episode,please share it with a friend
who might need to hear thistoday.
And if you're feeling extragenerous, leaving us a review on
your podcast platform of choicewould mean the world to us.
If you're keen to dive deeperinto our world, visit
balanceinstitutecom to discovermore about the toolkit that has

(13:54):
helped thousands of women avoidburnout and create a life of
balance and beyond.
Thanks again for tuning in andwe'll see you next time on the
Balance and Beyond podcast.