You’re Not Lazy, You’re Fried

Let’s talk about that feeling when you just can’t.

You know the one:

You’ve got stuff to do. Deadlines. Texts to respond to. A dishwasher that’s been begging to be unpacked since Tuesday.

And yet… you’re horizontal. Scrolling. Zoned out. Numb.

Cue the shame spiral:

“What is wrong with me?”

“Why am I so lazy?”

“Everyone else seems to be coping—why can’t I just get it together?”

Here’s the truth:

You’re not lazy. You’re fried.

Why you can’t “just push through”

When your nervous system is maxed out, your body doesn’t care about your to-do list. It’s prioritising survival.

Which means your energy gets rerouted—away from motivation, decision-making and emotional capacity—and into basic functioning: adrenilin pumping, blood moves into limbs ready to help you run, threat scanning.

This isn’t weakness. It’s biology.

But we label it laziness. And then we pile shame on top of an already overloaded system.

A client story (and why it matters)

One of my clients came to me convinced she was just “bad at life.” Her words, not mine.

She couldn’t get out of bed in the mornings. She’d sit in front of her laptop and cry. Every small task felt like climbing a mountain. She was embarrassed, exhausted, and constantly apologising—for being behind, for not replying, for not being “better” by now.

When we started working together, I didn’t give her a pep talk or a productivity hack. I helped her get curious about her needs. What was her nervous system trying to protect her from? What was going unmet?

Turns out, she wasn’t unmotivated. She was overloaded, unsupported, and silently grieving the life she’d been holding together for years.

She didn’t need a planner.

She needed space.

Validation.

Gentle structure.

A few nervous system tools.

And permission to feel like a bloody human being.

Now? She’s not “perfect,” but she’s connected. Grounded. Clear.

She knows when her system is slipping into survival mode—and she knows how to respond with care instead of collapse.

If you’re nodding along…

If your brain feels like soup, your to-do list makes you want to cry, and the idea of “just trying harder” makes you want to scream…

You’re not broken. You’re just burnt out from surviving.

You don’t need to be fixed—you need support. And a way back to yourself.

Book a free discovery call and let’s figure out what your nervous system actually needs to feel steady again.