Why You're Always Exhausted: Survival Mode, Overfunctioning, and the Path to Nervous System Healing with Andrea Clark

Listen & Watch:
Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify

Former marriage and family therapist turned mental wellness coach, Andrea Clark, joins The Lindsey Elmore Show to talk about the hidden cost of overfunctioning and how survival mode quietly wreaks havoc on women’s mental, emotional, and physical health. Andrea shares her journey through trauma, misdiagnosis, and burnout—and how she now helps high-achieving women break generational patterns, regulate their nervous systems, and stop outsourcing their worth. 

From redefining self-care to spotting the signs of hidden dysregulation, this episode is a must-listen for women who feel like they’re doing everything “right” and still feel depleted. If you're constantly hustling but never feel healed, this is your call to slow down, tune in, and finally feel safe in your own body.

Key Takeaways:

• Survival mode often hides behind success and overachievement.
  
  
• Chronic dysregulation mimics ADHD, insomnia, and burnout.
  
  
• True self-care means nervous system regulation, not spa days
  
  
• Healing begins with removing obligations and reclaiming “no.”
  
  
• Many women are coping, not healing, and don’t know the difference
  
  
• Grounding, sunlight, and nervous system flexibility are essential steps.
  
  
• Trauma isn’t just the big stuff—it’s the constant need to perform
  
  
• You don’t have to earn rest or softness.
  
  

Listen in to learn more:

00:00 – From coping to healing
01:00 – Meet Andrea: therapist turned truth-teller
03:00 – How trauma shaped her healing path
05:00 – What survival mode actually looks like
06:00 – Why women don’t recognize their own dysregulation
09:00 – Signs you’re stuck in fight-or-flight
12:00 – Real self-care vs. performative wellness
14:00 – How to begin nervous system healing
16:00 – Reclaiming softness and saying “no”
18:00 – The role of intuition and embodiment
20:00 – Why “doing more” isn’t the answer

Resources & Next Steps:

• Follow Andrea Clark on Instagram: @andreaclarkcoaching
  
  
• Listen to Andrea’s podcast: The Truth About Mental Health.
  
  
• Learn more about the Embodied Healing Roadmap at andreaclarkcoaching.com
  
  

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-lindsey-elmore-show--5952903/support.