Dr. Aimie Apigian
Dr. Aimie Apigian
The Biology of Burnout: Why Pushing Through Stops Working
The Biology of Burnout: Why Pushing Through Stops Working
The Biology of Burnout: Why Pushing Through Stops Working
Tuesday 23rd December 2025
Explore why traditional stress management fails and learn the critical skills needed to combat burnout with Dr. Aimie Apigian.
27 minutes
Informative
Inspiring
Eye-opening
Encouraging
Healing
About this podcast
Author:
Dr. Aimie Apigian
Overview:
Categories:
Recovery from Trauma
Healing from Sexual Trauma
Healing Relationships
Mindful Recovery
Innovative Treatments & Recovery Paths
Links:
Visit site
Episodes:
195 (View all)
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Get the buttons here!Rethinking Burnout: The Secret to Breaking Free
Episode Overview
- Stress isn't the enemy; it's about managing it effectively.
- Generating a good stress response is crucial for avoiding burnout.
- Completing the stress cycle prevents chronic fatigue.
- Learned helplessness can be reprogrammed.
- Practical skills can transform your approach to stress.
"If more self-care worked, it would've worked by now."
What if everything you've been taught about burnout is backwards? In this intriguing episode of The Biology of Trauma™, Dr. Aimie Apigian challenges the conventional wisdom on stress and self-care. Sharing her personal journey with burnout and introducing Claire, a patient struggling with chronic fatigue, Dr. Aimie reveals how traditional methods of handling stress might be missing the mark.
Through the metaphor of an elephant tied to a stick and the research on learned helplessness, she explores why many feel stuck despite trying every self-care trick in the book. Dr. Aimie argues that the real issue isn't stress itself, but rather the lack of two critical skills: generating a good stress response and completing it. Without these, stress becomes a cycle of overwhelm, leading to burnout and trauma biology.
Claire's story is a poignant example, as her energetic past clashes with her present exhaustion, highlighting the importance of resetting and discharging stress effectively. The episode also delves into the psychological patterns of learned helplessness, drawing parallels with experiments on dogs and elephants to illustrate how deeply ingrained beliefs about our limitations can keep us from healing. Dr.
Aimie encourages listeners to rethink their approach to stress, suggesting that it's not about avoiding it but learning to manage it in a way that empowers us. For anyone feeling overwhelmed or stuck in their recovery journey, this episode offers fresh perspectives and practical advice on breaking free from the cycle of stress and burnout. Are you ready to redefine your relationship with stress and reclaim your energy?