Hello there!

You know that terrifying moment when you're about to share something deeply personal and your finger hovers over the "publish" button? That's me right now (or at least it was before this newsletter found its way to your inbox).

As someone who creates heaps of content (podcasts, books, these very newsletters), I'm constantly weighing how much of myself to reveal. The truly personal stuff? Absolutely terrifying. Will people think I'm weak? Unprofessional? Just plain bonkers?

​Today's episode of How I Work is one of those scary-vulnerable moments. I sat down with my dear friend Sabina Read (who also happens to be a clinical psychologist with seriously impressive credentials) and we unpacked what led to my burnout in mid-2024. When I listened back during editing, I squirmed in my seat. It's WAY outside my comfort zone to release this conversation, but I'm doing it because, frankly, I suspect what I experienced is depressingly common.

At my lowest point, I was having what Sabina diplomatically termed the "getting hit by a bus fantasy" – where I daydreamed about being hospitalised (not seriously injured, mind you – just enough to legitimately disconnect from work completely). Apparently, this mental escape hatch is surprisingly common when you're properly burnt out. Who knew?!

What pushed me to this wildly unhealthy headspace? We dive into that rabbit hole. But making a series of fear-driven decisions as a business owner certainly didn't help. The catastrophic thinking went something like: "What if Inventium implodes and I have no business and therefore lose part of my identity?" Classic cognitive distortion, but it felt real at the time.

After taking a glorious two-week break and convincing myself I was "fixed" (ha!), I found myself nearly back at peak burnout within just eight weeks. Turns out slapping a Band-Aid on a broken leg doesn't actually heal the fracture.

You might relate if you've:

• Found yourself lying in bed each morning mentally drafting sick day messages
• Ignored approximately 8,742 warning signs that something wasn't right
• Spent hours catastrophising about scenarios you couldn't control
• Felt so emotionally and physically depleted that making a cup of tea seemed overwhelming

If any of this sounds familiar, this episode might be your cup of tea (that you somehow found energy to make). Sabina offers some brilliant practical wisdom about recovery and prevention, including a fascinating technique where you literally walk through different decision paths.

I'm sharing this messy, uncomfortable story because I believe normalising these experiences genuinely matters. The good news? I'm now doing "one million and one percent better" (direct quote), and in coming episodes, I'll be unpacking exactly how I engineered that recovery.

​Listen now.​

And if you have questions you'd like Sabina and me to tackle in future episodes (because she will be coming back for more psych-chat) - just hit reply – I read every response.

Energetically yours (finally!),

Amantha

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