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Ep 45: Can Inner Work Be Activism for Collective Change? - The Shadow Side of Burnout and Overgiving

Season #1

Many people who care about changing the world are running on fumes. They’re carrying responsibility that was never meant to be carried alone, and they’re trying to repair systems while ignoring the parts of themselves that are asking for attention. When we push past our limits long enough, the same patterns we want to dismantle in the world show up in our bodies, our choices, and our relationships.

This episode is about the connection between the work you do inside yourself and the work you do in the world. Shadow work isn’t about digging through every painful memory or “fixing” yourself. It’s about noticing the parts of you that learned to survive through urgency, overgiving, control, rescuing, or holding everything together — and bringing those parts back into relationship with who you are now.

When those patterns run the show, reactivity gets mistaken for purpose, and exhaustion feels like devotion. That’s how burnout repeats the very systems we’re trying to change. But when you’re resourced, rested, and grounded, your presence carries clarity instead of chaos. The way you communicate shifts. The way you advocate shifts. And the impact you make becomes steady instead of frantic.

In this episode, we explore how anger, grief, exhaustion, and urgency can be honored without letting them take the wheel. We look at how to return to your body, interrupt reactive cycles, and rebuild the capacity to lead, create, and connect in a way that lasts. You’ll hear three simple rituals used inside the Shadow Work Portal that support you when you’re stretched thin or losing sight of why your work matters.

This conversation is for anyone who feels the weight of the world and wants to keep showing up without losing themselves in the process.

Rituals from the Shadow Work Portal

• Grounding Pause
Hand on the body. Three slow breaths. A moment to come back to yourself before stepping into conversations or decisions.

• Sacred Stop
A short pause when urgency takes over. Sixty seconds to step away and return to your values instead of fear or pressure.

• Circle of Resourcing
Weekly connection with someone who can witness you without performance. Community regulation shifts patterns faster than isolation ever could.

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