Navigating Success PTSD: The Side of Winning On One Talks About

The rush of hitting your goals, watching your launch go viral, or finally receiving recognition feels incredible—until it doesn't. That's when Success PTSD kicks in: the anxiety after achievement, the burnout after breakthrough, the identity crisis after the win.

We chase milestones relentlessly, but nobody prepares us for what happens when the applause stops and the dust settles. Suddenly you're wondering: Was that my peak? Can I ever do it again? What if I can't keep up with the version of me people now expect? Your brand grows while your bandwidth remains the same, and creativity starts feeling like it's on a timer. You begin overdelivering out of fear rather than joy, saying yes when your soul is begging for rest.

The most painful part? Your public persona can become disconnected from who you truly are. You show up on autopilot while internally screaming "I miss me." Like musical artists who create breathtaking debut albums only to struggle with sophomore releases, the pressure to duplicate success can paralyze your authentic creativity. But healing is possible. Stop performing versions of yourself that kill your joy. Embrace quiet periods as necessary resets, not failures. Reconnect with what brings you fulfillment outside the public eye. Most importantly, redefine success entirely—if it costs you your peace, it's simply too expensive.

You have permission to evolve, pause, and change direction, even after a win. You can be simultaneously healing and successful, broken and brilliant, exhausted and still enough. Download our free Success PTSD Recovery Map from the show notes to help reset your relationship with achievement. If today's message resonated, share it with someone who needs to hear they're not alone. Success isn't just about the next goal—it's about staying whole while you chase it.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello world, welcome back to Not Just Candle Talk the
real, raw, no-fluff podcast forcreators, entrepreneurs and
anyone brave enough to chasepurpose and profit at the same
time.
I'm your host, toni, and todaywe're talking about something
nobody warned us about.

(00:21):
Nobody warned us aboutSomething that sneaks in after
followers came, after the saleshit, after the launch goes viral
.
We're talking about success,ptsd.
Yeah, that part, the anxietyafter achievement, the burnout

(00:41):
after the breakthrough, theidentity crisis after the win.
So let's get into it.
We are wired to chase, chasegoals, milestones, numbers and
impact.
And don't get me wrong, itfeels good when you finally hit

(01:04):
one of those goals, when thatlaunch finally lands, when
people finally see what you'vebeen building in the dark, when
the money, the engagement, therecognition all pours in.
But no one ever talks aboutwhat happens after, after the

(01:25):
highs fade.
After the highs fade, after theapplause stop, after the dust
settles, that empty feeling.
That's not failure, that'ssuccess, ptsd, and it's real.
You start asking Was that mypeak?

(01:45):
Can I do it again?
What if I can't keep up withthe version of me that people
now expect?
And suddenly you're notcelebrating, you're surviving.
Here's the ugly truth aboutwinning in public.
It adds pressure.
Now people are watching.

(02:09):
They expect more.
Your brand is growing, but yourbandwidth isn't and you're
terrified to slow down.
You start over delivering outof fear, not joy.
You say yes when you want tojust say I need a break.
The scary part even yourcreativity feels like it's on a

(02:33):
timer, like if I don't post,I'll lose momentum, if I rest,
I'll be forgotten.
So let me tell you somethingRelevance is not more important
than your peace.
Your business cannot thrive ifyou don't Some of you listening.

(02:54):
Right now you've built somethingamazing, right, it's great.
People know your name, you'remaking your money, and yet you
don't feel like you anymore.
That's the part no one preparesus for.
Your brand becomes bigger thanyour identity.

(03:14):
Your audience starts to expecta version of you that no longer
aligns with who you've become.
You keep showing up onautopilot and deep down you're
screaming I miss me.
Let me tell you something youare more than the version of you

(03:35):
that people clap for.
Success isn't self-connection,it's just performance, and
eventually you burn out playinga role you never wanted to
audition for.
So what now?
First you breathe when yourfeeling is not human.

(04:02):
Here's how we start healingfrom success.
Ptsd.
Number one just stop performing.
Okay, you don't owe anyone aversion of you.
That's killing your joy.
Number two get quiet.
Silent isn't stagnation, it's areset.

(04:26):
Number two rebuild rivals.
That's number three.
Reconnect with what brings youjoy outside of the matrix.
Number four normalize therapy,boundaries and slow seasons.

(04:50):
There's power in pacing yourself.
I believe in that.
Number five redefine success.
If it costs you your peace,it's too expensive.
I believe in that as well.
If you have permission toevolve, to be soft, to change

(05:10):
direction, to pause, even aftera win and here's the part most
people miss you don't need toprove that you're healed to take
a break.
You're allowed to be healingand successful.
It's really a thing Broken andbrilliant, successful.

(05:33):
It's really a thing Broken andbrilliant, exhausted and still
enough.
That's what you want to be.
Okay, it's the same thing.
A good example when I think ofthis, when I'm saying these
words, and I'm also thinkingabout an artist, a musical
artist.
So, thinking about an artist, amusical artist how they put

(05:55):
their first album out.
Ok, they got 13 songs on thealbum and it's a hit, right,
they didn't know it was a hit,they was doing it from the heart
, right, and they put the 13songs out and the world is

(06:16):
amazed by this project that theydid.
Every song is a hit, every songon the project is a hit and
they're world-renowned.
Fame Can't get enough of them.
And that lasts for however longit lasts, right, and they enjoy
the ride, they enjoy success.
They're going on interviews,concerts, all of that good lasts
, right, and they enjoy they.
They enjoy the ride, they enjoysuccess.
They going on interviews,concerts, all of that good stuff

(06:36):
, right.
And.
But then it's time to startthis, the second project, the
next album, and and this album,the second album, is not as good
as the first Because, along allof that, the praises and the
wins and the success and theattention, they go into the

(06:59):
studio and they cannot get thatvibe back from that second album
.
And it's not as popular asmaybe one or two hits are on the
album and it's not as popularas maybe, maybe one or two hits
are on the on the album.
And then, next thing, you know,it takes them three to four
years, maybe five, to makeanother album.

(07:21):
That's what this episode remindsme of.
You, you hit a peak, you hit it, you hit your high peak, and
then it's hard to duplicate thatsometimes and people try and
try and try, but sometimes it'sjust it's not it.
So always keep peace at yourcenter.
I don't like giving advice, butwhen I think of something like

(07:46):
this, when I think of success,ptsd, that's the first thing
that comes to my mind.
But you have to center yourselfright.
You have to be centered withinyourself first before you put
out any type of project.
I use music as a good examplebecause that's the first thing
that came to my mind, but itcould be anything.
I'm a true believer that peaceand knowing who you are and

(08:10):
building the foundation firstbefore you step foot out into
the public, is very importantand it's a must for you to keep
your sanity and just to knowyour direction and where you're
going, because you can get lost.
So I just want to hit on thisepisode because I, you know it's

(08:30):
, it's felt and I see it a lot.
Um, I talk to a lot of people.
I see it, um, all the time, Ihear it all the time People
sometimes it's hard to duplicateso and you and you know, you
see that person.
Like I said, you see them allthe time on social media and
they, they're gone or whatever,but that's it.

(08:52):
That's because they have.
They cannot duplicate that,that thrill that that they were,
they had at the beginning.
And it's not easy because we'rehuman, right, we're not
machines.
So, anyway, I just want to hiton this real quick.
If today's episode hitssomething deep, I want you to
sit with that.
Don't rush Post it.

(09:14):
Replay this episode, let itvalidate what you've been afraid
to admit that success comeswith shadows and you're not
broken, uh, fulfilling,overwhelm by very things you ask
for.
Okay, if this resonates withyou or you want to, um, you know

(09:36):
, have, have a reference oranything, I'm going to do a
download, a free download, um,the success, uh, ptsd recovery
map, Uh, so one pager to helpyou reset, reflect and protect
your peace, and you can find youwill find that in the show
notes at the end of the episode.

(09:57):
This one got me kind of fired upbecause it's real and it's
relatable, right, it's sorelatable and is relevant to
what's going on today.
And if you're nodding your head, whispering, this is me right
now.
Do me a favor and share thisepisode.

(10:17):
You can tag us on Instagram,leave a review, if you will on
the website and let someone elseknow they're not alone, because
success isn't just about thenext goal.
It's about staying whole whileyou chase it.
Until next time, take care ofyou and talk to you soon.

(10:38):
Bye.