Breaking Free from Body Burnout: A Women's Health Week Message from the Heart

It's Women's Health Week coming up (1st-5th September), and I can't help but reflect on my own journey and how it led me to where I am today. This year's theme, "Say yes to you," resonates so deeply with everything we do at Chris and Filly Functional Medicine, because saying yes to yourself is often the hardest thing for many women to do.

You see, for most of my life, I was the queen of saying yes to everyone and everything else. Yes to extra work projects, yes to bend-backwards for clients, yes to the kids, yes to over-doing tasks that weren't really that urgent or important. Although I was good at doing the "healthy" things to look after myself (diet, supps, exercise, sleep hygiene), I wasn't good at meeting my deeper needs - that deeper part of me that was yearning for safety, love, trust, slowness, rest, stillness and spaciousness. Consciously, I was even aware that I needed those things - but my body was telling me, through body burnout symptoms. 

The Price of Always Saying No to Ourselves

My wake-up call came after having my first baby. I was running on empty, fuelled by self-discipline, over-doing and perfectionism, and what I now recognise as chronic stress hormone imbalance. The perfectionism that had served me so well in my studies and career was now destroying my body from the inside out. I was experiencing what we now call body burnout - that complete burnout of body systems that goes far beyond just feeling tired.

The symptoms were relentless: anxiety, panic attacks, feeling wired but tired, insomnia, catching colds and flus every 2-weeks, body pain, gut issues, PCOS, vasovagal episodes and histamine intolerance. They left me feeling like I was 80 years old, and like one extra stressor would break me. Sound familiar?

What I didn't realise then - but understand so clearly now through our work with thousands of clients at Chris and Filly Functional Medicine - is that my body was screaming for me to finally say yes to myself. It was demanding that I prioritise my health, address the root causes of my body burnout, and stop running on empty.

Understanding Body Burnout Through a Women's Health Lens

Body burnout isn't just about being tired. It's a complex condition that affects women differently than men, largely due to our unique hormonal landscape, our tendency towards perfectionism and people-pleasing, and the societal pressures we face to be everything to everyone.

Through our Ending Body Burnout Method, we've discovered that women's bodies break down in predictable patterns when we consistently prioritise everyone else's needs above our own. The adrenal glands become exhausted from constantly pumping out stress hormones. The digestive system becomes compromised because we're always eating on the run or skipping meals altogether. Our sleep becomes disrupted because our minds are constantly racing with tomorrow's to-do list.

But here's what's really fascinating - and what makes Women's Health Week so important - the physical symptoms are often just the tip of the iceberg.

Underneath, there's usually a complex web of unconscious beliefs, trauma, and programming that keeps us stuck in these self-sacrificing patterns.

The Stories Our Bodies Tell

Let me share Sarah's story with you. She came to us after seeing five different practitioners, spending thousands of dollars on supplements, and following every restrictive diet under the sun. On paper, she was doing everything right. Organic food, regular exercise, meditation apps, the works. But she still felt exhausted, anxious, and completely disconnected from her body.

During our work together, we discovered that Sarah had a deep-seated belief that taking care of herself was selfish. This belief had been reinforced throughout her childhood and was now playing out in her adult life through chronic overgiving and self-neglect. Her body was literally breaking down because she couldn't give herself permission to prioritise her own needs.

Through our holistic approach - addressing not just the physical symptoms but also the emotional and unconscious patterns - Sarah finally learned to say yes to herself. Six months later, she had energy to play with her kids, her digestive issues had resolved, and most importantly, she had developed a loving relationship with her own body.

The Root Cause Revolution in Women's Health

This is why I'm so passionate about root cause medicine and why Women's Health Week matters so much. Traditional healthcare often treats women's symptoms in isolation - here's a pill for your pain, here's another one for your anxiety, and here's a low fodmap diet for your digestive issues. But what if all these symptoms are actually your body's way of asking you to address the deeper patterns that are keeping you stuck?

At Chris and Filly Functional Medicine, we've seen time and time again that when women finally address the root causes of their body burnout - both physical and emotional - incredible healing becomes possible. We're talking about complete transformations, not just symptom management.

The functional medicine approach allows us to look at the whole picture. We test for nutrient deficiencies, hormone imbalances, gut health issues, and toxic load. But we also explore the unconscious beliefs and trauma patterns that keep the nervous system stuck in fight-or-flight mode, and that are preventing you from healing with *just* using physical protocols.

Saying Yes to You: A Practical Guide

So how do you actually start saying yes to yourself? Here's what I've learned through my own healing journey and through working with thousands of women:

Start with awareness. Notice how often you automatically say yes to others' requests while saying no to your own needs. This isn't about judgment - it's about developing conscious awareness of your patterns.

Recognise that your body is always communicating with you. Those headaches, that digestive discomfort, the crushing fatigue - these aren't random occurrences. They're your body's way of asking for something different.

Understand that healing isn't selfish. When you take care of your own health and wellbeing, you actually become more available to serve others from a place of overflow rather than depletion.

Address the root causes, not just the symptoms. This might mean working with practitioners who understand the connection between emotional patterns and physical symptoms.

The Ripple Effect of Women's Wellness

Here's something beautiful I've observed over the years: when women start saying yes to their own health and healing, it creates a ripple effect that touches everyone around them. Their children learn that self-care is important. Their partners see what it looks like to prioritise wellbeing. Their friends and colleagues are inspired to examine their own patterns.

This is why Women's Health Week isn't just about individual healing - it's about creating a cultural shift where women's health is valued, prioritised, and supported. It's about normalising the conversation around body burnout and creating space for holistic healing approaches.

Your Invitation to Healing

If you're reading this and recognising yourself in these stories, please know that you're not alone. Body burnout has become epidemic among women, but it's also completely reversible when you address the root causes.

Your body isn't broken. It's not failing you. It's actually trying to guide you towards a more sustainable way of living - one where you finally say yes to yourself.

This Women's Health Week, I invite you to start that conversation with yourself. What would it look like to prioritise your own health and wellbeing? What would need to change in your life for you to feel energised, vibrant, and alive again?

The journey back to wellness isn't always easy, but it's absolutely possible. And you don't have to do it alone.

If you're ready to explore what root cause healing could look like for you, I'd love to continue this conversation. Whether it's through our Ending Body Burnout Method or by booking me as your speaker for your Women's Health Event, I'm here to support you on this journey.

Because you deserve to feel amazing in your own body. You deserve to have energy for the things that matter most to you. And most importantly, you deserve to finally say yes to yourself.

Here's to your health, your healing, and your courage to prioritise yourself this Women's Health Week and beyond.

Filipa Bellette is the co-founder of Chris and Filly Functional Medicine and creator of the Ending Body Burnout Method. She's passionate about helping women address the root causes of their health challenges through a holistic, integrative approach that honours both the physical and emotional aspects of healing.