What if the drive that helped you succeed is the same force slowly burning you out?

In this episode, I sit down with hypnotherapist and wellness coach Garrett Wood to explore a truth many high performers quietly live with: chronic stress hidden behind achievement. Garrett, an NBC-HWC, clinical hypnotherapist, executive functioning specialist, and founder of Gnosis Therapy, helps high-achieving leaders break the boom-and-bust cycle of burnout through a nervous-system-first approach.

We discuss perfectionism, shame, nervous system overload, and why burnout doesn’t arrive overnight — it builds quietly beneath success.

This conversation is for the high achiever, the perfectionist, and the one who appears to have it all together while constantly chasing “enough.”

1. The Hidden Cost of Performance: Garrett shares how high-performance environments can train us to measure self-worth through output. I deeply relate to the pattern where validation feels earned through achievement and rest feels undeserved. Sleep, health, and relationships often deteriorate quietly while productivity rises.
2. Perfectionism & Shame: Perfectionism isn’t about excellence — it’s rooted in beliefs like I am not enough, I am not safe, or I am fundamentally flawed. These beliefs often form early through emotional interpretation rather than explicit messages. Overcompensation can look powerful, but it quietly erodes well-being.
3. Burnout Is Progressive: Burnout typically moves through stages: driven excitement → sacrificing recovery → wired but exhausted → depletion → shutdown. What feels sudden is often the result of long-ignored signals.
4. Why Self-Care Isn’t Always Enough: Workouts, meditation, or downtime can regulate stress, but they don’t complete the stress response if emotions remain unprocessed. High achievers often override emotional signals — “fine” becomes the default, even though fine isn’t an emotion. Garrett encourages becoming a “sommelier” of your emotions: identifying, locating, and processing what you feel.
5. Imposter Syndrome & Self-Talk: Imposter syndrome can be awareness rather than inadequacy. When fear pairs with “I’m not enough,” burnout accelerates. When it pairs with “I’m learning,” resilience grows.
6. What Leads to Burnout: High ambition, emotional suppression, identity tied to performance, underlying shame, and lack of stress discharge practices all accumulate. Over time, the nervous system collects its debt.

Closing Reflection: This conversation isn’t about becoming less ambitious. It’s about becoming safer inside your ambition — because achievement without safety becomes self-abandonment.

Work with Garrett Wood:

Website: www.gnosistherapy.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/wood.garrett

Instagram: www.instagram.com/gnosistherapy

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/gnosistherapy

Work with Sherry Shaban:

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