When Burnout Feels Productive

Jim Shoopack

I, I remember sitting in my car after a, a long public school teaching day, right before heading out to coach girls high school soccer. I had spent, well, twenty years teaching Spanish and over twenty years on the pitch, and on this particular afternoon my jaw was clenched so tight it actually ached. My pulse was, er, racing, my mind was running through a hundred emails, and I told myself, Jim, you are just grinding, you are just being productive. But I was wrong. I was completely misreading what my body was trying to tell me.

Jim Shoopack

You see, we often think emotional overwhelm only looks like a panic attack or screaming into a pillow. But back in the 1990s, Dr. Dan Siegel introduced a framework called the Window of Tolerance. And when life stress starts to accumulate, it can disrupt an individual’s ability to stay within their Window of Tolerance, causing them to become overwhelmed, leading to states of hyperarousal or hypoarousal.

Jim Shoopack

Now, high performers, high achieving adults, we love hyperarousal, even if we do not call it that. Hyperarousal is that elevated state, the cortisol spikes, the late night emails at one in the morning, the muscle tension, the irritable sharp outbursts at the dinner table. We mistake that hyperarousal for grit, or high productivity, or just being driven. We tell ourselves we are just pushing through. But being stuck in that elevated state actually severely impairs our emotional regulation and our sleep. It is like running a car engine in redline for weeks on end and calling it efficient driving.

Jim Shoopack

And if you ignore those early hyperarousal warning signs long enough, your nervous system eventually pulls the emergency brake. It slams you right down into hypoarousal. And Hypoarousal can manifest as physical lethargy, emotional numbness and not wanting to talk. Suddenly you are sitting on the couch staring at a wall, completely unable to answer a simple text message. It is not that you lack faith or willpower, er, it is that your biological system literally shut down to protect itself from burning out completely.

Jim Shoopack

I recall times on the soccer field where unexplained irritability toward a simple bad pass was not really about soccer at all. It was my body blowing the whistle, trying to tell me I was way outside my window. We need to learn how to catch those silent alarms before the crash comes.

Jim Shoopack

So how do we move away from this prideful idea that burning ourselves out is somehow holy or heroic? I often think about 1 Kings 19, what I like to call the Elijah Principle. Elijah had just won this massive spiritual victory, but right after, he is terrified, exhausted, and he runs out into the wilderness. He collapses under a broom tree and basically asks to die. He is completely overwhelmed, deep in hypoarousal.

Jim Shoopack

And what does God do? God does not give him a theological reprimand. He does not say, where is your faith, Elijah? No, God sends an angel with warm cake baked over coals and a jar of water. He tells him to eat and drink, and then lets him go back to sleep. Then the angel wakes him up a second time to eat and rest again because the journey is too great for him. God met Elijah's biological physical exhaustion before ever addressing his soul or his mission. Honoring bodily limits is faithful stewardship, not a lack of faith.

Jim Shoopack

If you feel yourself slipping out of your Window of Tolerance, you do not need a three hour retreat right away. You can use simple somatic micro interventions to signal safety to your brain. For instance, if you are stuck in hyperarousal, feeling that sudden surge of panic or anger, try stepping up to a blank wall. Put both palms flat against it, fully extend your arms, and push firmly with your legs for ten to fifteen seconds. That deep muscular resistance gives your brain immediate proprioceptive feedback that you are grounded right here, right now.

Jim Shoopack

Or if you feel that frozen, jittery energy trapped in your chest, do a somatic shakeout. Stand up and literally shake your hands, your arms, your legs out, like a dog shaking off water after getting wet. It helps discharge that accumulated hyperarousal before it forces your system down into a total hypoarousal shutdown.

Jim Shoopack

We have to stop treating relentless physical exhaustion like a Christian badge of honor. Taking early rest, setting firm boundaries, and stepping back into your Window of Tolerance is how we honor the body God gave us. So next time your jaw clenches up or you feel like retreating from everyone, pause, take a breath, get some water, and remember that taking care of your biology is part of your calling. Alright, take care of yourselves today, and talk soon. If you found value in this episode, please subscribe and share with a friend. Remember, it is okay to not be okay, but it's not okay to stay that way. Reach out to your spouse, your significant other, a trusted friend, your Pastor, your doctor or even a therapist. The most heroic thing you can do to live the life that you are called to live - is to ask for help. I'm Dr. Jim Shoopack. Have a great day! God bless!