Why you're exhausted (and what to do about it)

Some of what I've heard:

This is maybe one of my main topics, the overwhelm. —JS

I'll overextend, overgive… afterward I just felt drained that night. —TM

It's like a heaviness. And I notice I start avoiding my desk. —SK

It's not just people I work with. According to Google Trends, interest in "burnout" is up 90% in 2026 over last year. People are searching for answers.

Burnout increase 90% in 2026

Of course, you'd have to be living under a rock (or in a Scandinavian country) to not know about burnout. Jennifer Moss wrote The Burnout Epidemic: The Rise of Chronic Stress and How We Can Fix It in 2020 which explored burnout in depth. Unfortunately, the solutions were all organizational, depending on managers to make changes.

Burnout increase 500% since 2019

And as we can see, after a small dip in 2020, we are over 3x more interested. Sure, part of that can be explained by growing appreciation of the problem, but not all of it. I have an idea of what is causing it.

Take a look at the search for "AI burnout" which didn't even exist last year:

AI burnout increased 600% in 2026

Waiting for organizations to fix burnout is a recipe for frustration. Regardless of whether AI is causing burnout or if it's something else, you can do something about it.

Luckily, Human Design and Living Correctly can help.

Your Body Keeps the Score (and has a Compass)

First: Pay more attention to what your body is telling you.

This is not what most Human Design info will focus on. They'll go on and on about what this gate or that channel means. And while it's useful, none of it matters if you can't listen to your body.

This was a struggle for me. As a smart, clumsy, socially awkward kid who loved computers, my life was my brain. When I drew a picture of myself, I had a massive head and a tiny body. No concept of anything else.

And so it was hard to start paying attention to what my body told me. Karla McLaren's book The Language of Emotions opened a whole world for me: emotions are not a nuisance to be suppressed, but to be listened to because they are telling us something.

Human design takes this a step further. It's not just our emotions which are talking to you—it's your entire body. So listening to it is absolutely necessary.

Exercise: Two minute feeling

If you struggle hearing the wisdom of your body, try this two minute exercise:

1. Turn off your phone, music, TV, anything that you can see or hear.

2. Get comfortable and close your eyes

3. Take 3 deep breaths

4. Put your attention on your stomach. As it rises and falls, simply be aware of its motion.

5. Continue this for one minute. Notice how your stomach gets bigger and smaller. Notice if it changes, getting faster or slower, bigger breaths or more shallow.

6. Congratulate yourself on your first step to increased awareness.

How did it go? Anything surprising?

Stop with the Shoulds

Awesome, your body is going to be your new best friend. Because you'll need them as an ally against THE MIND.

The mind, you say? Isn't the mind your best friend? What about Think and Grow Rich?

Unfortunately although the mind is an expert on the external world, following what it says about yourself can lead you astray. Just remember all the times when your mind told you to rush and finish something quickly, or to skip your exercise routine.

What gives? You need to remember, the mind is trying to keep you safe. And it keeps you safe by playing small. It keeps you safe by doing the same thing you've been doing for the past 20, 30, 40-some years because, well you're still alive, and so it can't be THAT bad!

No your mind isn't always lying to you. But you can't trust what it says concerning YOU.

It's also the spokesperson for what's called the Not-Self. Remember way back in the first email, I told you about your #1 shadow? Well, it's your mind that keeps you there. For example, if you're like me and have the shadow of Touchy & nervous, it's your mind which says to skip the event because "you don't know anyone" or "no one will like you there".

If you can't trust the mind to make the right decision, who do you trust?

Many people look outside to so-called experts to guide them to make decisions. But we have another authority, on that knows you intimately.

Exercise: Ask your body what to do

And here's where the decision making strategy comes in which I've talked about previously. Your mind is going to tell you to avoid something. And rather than listen to it, listen to what your body says:

1. Do the two-minute feeling exercise above. This will connect you with your body

2. Follow your decision-making strategy

For You, Express Builder Your energy resources are continually being regenerated. You are designed to work until you are exhausted, go to sleep, and then wake up and do it again. As a Builder myself, I know that when I'm doing what I love I can keep going and going. Builders are designed to keep going and going—if they're doing what they love But there is a requirement: you need to be doing what you love. If you're doing work you don't want to do, then the energy is not regenerated. In fact, you'll go home completely exhausted, although the next day you will probably be in reasonably good shape. Short-term solution: Find the parts you love Your issue is never not having enough energy—it's your body saying no to it. If you don't like what you're doing, a long term solution is to change it. But there are things to do short term also, either: Focus on the parts of the work that you love and let others do the rest Or find the joy in even the parts you would rather not do. Delegation is great if you can. But if that's not possible, focus on the most satisfying part of the work. Maybe that involves optimizing a part of it. Or making it more beautiful. And once you start that part that you enjoy, you may find your body wanting to continue. And if you find yourself frustrated, pause for a moment. Do the two-minute feeling exercise again.

Now what?

These are just a few things you can do to reduce overwhelm and burnout. If you struggle with this, these practices can help until you are able to pivot to something that is more aligned with what you want to be doing.˝

With love,
Shawn