How to Recover from Mom Burnout
Oct 27, 2026Summary
Have you ever hit the wall so hard that you desperately wondered, how to recover from mom burnout? If you are sitting there today completely broken, emotionally fragile, and physically incapable of keeping up with your daily life, you are in the exact right place. In this raw and vulnerable episode of the Arise Women of God podcast, host Tamara K. Anderson shares her personal story of ignoring her body's warning signs until it forced her into bed for a week with severe, room-spinning dizziness. We often think true burnout needs a tighter discipline strategy or a new planner, but sometimes it just needs a week off!
We also dive into the unspoken stigma of seeking medical help as a Christian woman. If you have ever felt guilty for going to a doctor, taking an adrenal supplement, or getting blood work done, you need to hear what Jesus Christ Himself said in Matthew 9. Seeking clinical help is not a lack of faith; it is an act of holy stewardship over your physical body! Discover why spiritual recovery and physical recovery go hand-in-hand, learn how to advocate for your health when test results come back "normal," and give yourself the grace to take the radical rest your parched soul desperately needs.
Episode Takeaways
- Listen to the Warning Signs: If you keep pushing through chronic stress without stopping, your body will eventually pull the emergency brake for you! Sometimes true burnout doesn't need a new routine; it needs radical, unapologetic rest.
- It Is Biblical to See a Doctor: Seeking medical care is not a lack of faith; it is an act of stewardship over the body God gave you. In Matthew 9:12, Jesus validates the role of healers, stating that they who are sick need a physician.
- Advocate for Your Health: If traditional blood work comes back "normal" but you still feel awful, it is okay to seek out other practitioners like nutritionists, chiropractors, or massage therapists. God will guide you to the right help for your specific physical needs.
- Spiritual and Physical Care Go Together: When Jesus raised Jairus's 12-year-old daughter from the dead (Mark 5), His immediate command was to give her something to eat. God cares about your physical nourishment and rest just as much as your spiritual state!
Reflection Questions
- Are you currently ignoring your body's gentle warning signs, and what is one way you can hit "pause" before your body pulls the emergency brake for you?
- Have you ever felt guilty for seeking medical help or supplements, and how does Jesus's statement in Matthew 9:12 change your perspective on physical stewardship?
- When was the last time you prioritized a true, restorative break, and how can you partner with your spouse or support system to make that happen?
Resources Mentioned
Free Resource: The Mom's Burnout Reset Guide: Trading Survival Mode for Christ-Centered Peace downloadable pdf here: https://www.womenwarriorsoflight.com/the-moms-burnout-reset-guide
My chiropractor gave me Standard Process - Adrenal Desiccated which I took on and off for several years and it kept me going.
I have also taken the micronutrient vitamins at Hardy Nutritionals that have helped me.
Host
Tamara K. Anderson @tamarakanderson
Transcript
Tamara K Anderson
00:00:00.400 - 00:10:32.200
Hey friend, how do you recover from mom burnout?
Over our last couple of episodes, we have unpacked the deep causes of our exhaustion from the biological cortisol still that triggers mom rage to the massive mental and emotional load we carry as the air traffic controllers of our homes.
But what happens if you have already crashed?
What if you're sitting right there now, completely broken, emotionally fragile and physically incapable of keeping up with your daily life?
You're desperate for a recovery plan.
Well, stay tuned, my friend.
You're in the right place.
And by the end of today's episode, you'll learn why it is completely biblical to seek out doctors, how to navigate normal blood work when you still feel exhausted, and why biblical recovery starts with radical rest.
Let's dive in.
Ordinary women Extraordinary Faith Walking with Christ we arise God strong.
Hello and welcome back to the Arise Women of God podcast.
I'm your host, Tamara K. Andersen, and today we are taking everything we've learned about our physical biology and our mental load and answering the question, how do you actually recover when you have already hit the wall?
Here's what we're going to touch on today.
First, the dizziness crash, where I'm going to share how my body literally forced me into bed for a week because I ignored the warning signs.
Number two, the healing journey.
Why getting your blood work done is step number one and what to do if the doctor says you are normal but you still feel awful.
Step number three, the great Physician's advice.
What Jesus actually taught about going to Doctors in Matthew 9 and Mark 5.
And fourth, we're going to cover the importance of a break and I'm going to share about my first real break after having kids and the cheerful promise my husband made to me.
Let's start by looking at what happens when we ignore our bodies.
Two episodes ago, I shared how chronic stress triggers your body to pump out cortisol and steal your calming hormones.
That biological crash usually leads to exhaustion and rage, but if you keep pushing through without stopping, your body will eventually pull the emergency brake for you.
I was lucky in a weird way.
Many years ago, I had pushed too hard for too long as a young mom and my body sent me a massive physical sign that I was burned out.
I got super lightheaded and I couldn't even sit up.
The dizziness was so intense that I literally had to lay down for about a week until I could walk around without the room constantly spinning.
And unfortunately, this happened three different times over the course of several years before I finally got the memo.
Ladies, I wasn't listening to the gentle warning signs.
So my body screamed at me until I crashed and burned.
Oh, my sister.
Sometimes true burnout doesn't need a new planner or a tighter discipline strategy.
Sometimes true burnout needs a week off.
If you're feeling emotionally fragile and physically broken today, I invite you to recognize that you have sustained internal and emotional injuries.
You don't need a task list right now.
You need time to heal.
And even God, when he created the world, took time to rest.
It is okay to rest.
It is okay to say my body is not okay.
I need help.
I need to pause.
I'm going to cancel everything for the next few days and just let myself rest.
If you need permission, I'm giving it to you right now.
Tamara said, I need rest.
You need rest.
After that intense dizziness crash, I realized I couldn't just sleep it off forever.
I needed professional help.
I finally took the time to go to a doctor and get comprehensive blood work done.
Now I want to pause right here and speak to the mama who has already done this.
Sometimes you go to the doctor, they run the tests and the blood work comes back quote unquote normal and you want to cry because you know you aren't functioning normally.
I want to validate you right now.
If traditional blood work doesn't give you the whole picture, it is okay to go to other practitioners.
When my kids were young and I was profoundly exhausted, one of my chiropractors realized what was happening, that I was crashing and exhausted, and he put me on an adrenal supplement to keep me going.
And, and that helped me dramatically throughout my journey.
I've also been to good acupuncturist, a massage therapist, and an excellent counselor.
Healing from burnout is rarely a one size fits all solution, so I invite you to be prayerful about it.
Talk to your trusted friends.
Get good feedback on doctors, nutritionists and other medical practitioners in your area.
And if you go to God, he will absolutely guide you to the right person for your specific needs.
Sometimes Christian women feel guilty going to all these appointments.
We think, shouldn't I just pray harder?
Is it a lack of faith to rely on, say, an adrenal supplement or a chiropractor?
Let's listen to what Jesus himself said in Matthew 9:12.
They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick, end quote.
Jesus validates the role of healers here.
Seeking medical care is not a lack of faith.
It is an act of stewardship over the physical body that God has blessed you with.
Even when Jesus performed incredible supernatural miracles.
He always pointed back to the importance of physical care when he raised Jairus 12 year old daughter from the dead in Mark 5.
His immediate commandment right after she stood up was that something should be given her to eat.
Spiritual recovery and physical recovery go hand in hand.
Taking supplements and looking at getting micronutrients microvitamins into your body, getting blood work and seeking counsel is exactly what God wants you to do to restore your body along with getting the right medical help.
True recovery requires radical rest.
I vividly remember my husband taking me on my first getaway from our young kids.
It was my very first cruise and my first real break since we had started having kids nearly a decade earlier.
We got away for an entire week and do you want to guess what I did on that beautiful tropical cruise?
I slept.
I slept for so much of it.
I was that exhausted.
We still did fun things together, but mostly it was like breathing life back into my completely parched soul.
As the ship approached the shore to go home at the end of the week, I turned to my husband with tears in my eyes and I said, please promise me it won't be another 10 years before I get a break again.
Yikes, right?
It breaks my heart to think I waited a decade to take a breath.
My sweet husband promised me right then and there.
And we made a firm commitment to prioritize time when he and I could get away, even if it was for just a few days at a time.
And let me tell you, this was tricky.
There weren't a lot of people who could watch our kids since two of our boys were on the autism spectrum.
But we realized that if we didn't prioritize my rest and recovery, I wouldn't survive the marathon of mothering.
It is okay to prioritize rest.
Oh my dear sister.
God wants to restore your soul, but you have to let him lead you beside those still waters and sometimes right into the doctor's office.
If you are ready to stop feeling guilty for needing rest and want a practical plan to start your healing, I want to give you our free guide down in the show notes below.
Click the link to download your free copy of the Mom's Burnout Reset Guide.
Inside we walk you through how to drop the heavy rocks you were never meant to carry, how to implement a new not to do list, and how to start trading survival mode for Christ centered peace.
Download your free copy today by clicking the link below and give yourself permission to recover.
Oh my dear sister, your Father in heaven loves you fiercely.
You are his daughter.
And when you're broken, dizzy and exhausted from the demands of life, he does not stand over you with a clipboard demanding more work.
He stands over you with grace, offering rest, guidance and healing little bits at a time.
Give yourself permission to lay down, seek wise medical counsel and take time to recover.
Thank you for joining me today and until next time.
May you arise, stand by God and do it God's way.
God strong.
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