The 3 Layers of Burnout High-Performing Women Miss (Until It’s Too Late)

Sara West
3 days ago
3 min read

You hit snooze three times this morning.

Still made it to your 7 a.m. meeting.

Delivered the presentation flawlessly.

Organised school pickup.

Prepped dinner while on a conference call.

Smiled through it all.

No one knows you’re running on empty.

Burnout doesn’t start with collapse. It begins quietly — with the slow erosion of energy, joy, and meaning.

According to leading researcher Christina Maslach, burnout develops across three distinct dimensions that build on one another: exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy.

Here’s what that actually feels like in real life.

1. Exhaustion — You’re tired at a cellular level

Not “I need an early night” tired — bone-deep depletion.

You wake up exhausted. Coffee doesn’t revive you; it just helps you function.

Headaches. Jaw tension. That knot between your shoulder blades.

Emotional exhaustion is the most common and earliest sign of burnout. It’s the body’s first cry for help.

2. Cynicism — You’re going through the motions

You used to care. Now you just… don’t.

You feel detached, frustrated, cynical.

It’s your nervous system trying to cope by numbing you out.

3. Inefficacy — Nothing you do feels like enough

You’re still performing — often at an incredible level — but inside you feel like a fraud.

You second-guess everything. You deliver but can’t feel proud.

Research shows women experience significantly more emotional exhaustion than men, and professional women are particularly skilled at pushing through all three states at once.

That’s why burnout in high-achieving women is so insidious — you don’t look burned out. You look successful.

So what helps?

A 2017 meta-analysis of 42 studies found yoga interventions reduced cortisol (the stress hormone), heart rate, and blood pressure. Workplace yoga studies show it to be the most effective physical practice for reducing occupational stress.

Yoga works because it directly influences the parasympathetic nervous system — the part that tells your body, you’re safe now.

It helps you shift from doing to being.

Pair that with mindful strength training — the kind that supports bone density, hormone balance, and stability through midlife — and you’re not just managing stress. You’re rebuilding your foundation.

At Wild Soul Studio, this is exactly what we hold space for:

Small groups. Trauma-informed guidance. Movement that reminds your body how to feel safe again.

If you recognise yourself in these words, your body is already speaking.

The question is — are you ready to listen?

References

Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 2(2), 99-113. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030020205
Maslach, C., Leiter, M. P., & Jackson, S. E. (2016). Understanding the burnout experience: Recent research and its implications for psychiatry. World Psychiatry, 15(2), 103-111. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20311
Pascoe, M. C., Thompson, D. R., & Ski, C. F. (2017). Yoga, mindfulness-based stress reduction and stress-related physiological measures: A meta-analysis. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 86, 152-168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.08.008
Cocchiara, R. A., Peruzzo, M., Mannocci, A., Ottolenghi, L., Villari, P., Polimeni, A., Guerra, F., & La Torre, G. (2019). The Use of Yoga to Manage Stress and Burnout in Healthcare Workers: A Systematic Review. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 8(3), 284. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm8030284
Della Valle, E., Palermi, S., Aloe, I., Marcantonio, R., Spera, R., Montagnani, S., & Sirico, F. (2020). Effectiveness of Workplace Yoga Interventions to Reduce Perceived Stress in Employees: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology, 5(2), 33. https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk5020033