Re-Connection is the Cure
Why ecopsychology is a brilliant science that is simply just common sense
Let’s say you have headaches and over the course of time- years- they become a regular thing. You see a white coat who runs tests, checks blood, gives you pills. You see an acupuncturist who gives you dietary advice, some herbs that taste like dirt ass and a neck massage that rattles more than it settles. You see a naturopath. They suggest some more, different herbs, further nutritional shifts, and identify that your life is stressful. You see a life coach, a counselor, a massage therapist and they echo “stress”, “nutrition” “slow down”, “nervous system overload”.
“But”- you say with genuine confusion- “the headaches remain no matter what I do. I must be doing something wrong. I must be bad at this healing stuff. I must be attracting negative shit. I must be the drama.” Headaches become neck stiffness, back issues, sciatica. This turns into insomnia, digestive upset, emotional irritation, interruptions in your daily life instead of just once a month. A whole slew of symptoms ensue and you feel like your body is falling apart.
It wouldn’t be fair to say you have {let yourself go} because you have been ‘trying’ to figure it out. But it would be fair to say that the root cause of the original problem has not been approached correctly… yet.
In the case of burnout- since this is where I am particularly hung up right now- I would say it is a clear result of years (decade +) of self abandonment, however that is NOT to say you are at fault. That would be the typical new age trash that floats around accusing people of being the one that chooses to suffer from migraines because you fail to find the cure or you choose the wrong men because of your faulty traumatic childhood that was dumped on you. Or you choose to be stuck in poverty, sickness etc because of your failure to manifest something more positive.
No. And it’s also not karma. I reject this 2 dimensional mental poop. It is more likely that the toxic overload in the food and environment impacts your health, stress and emotional overwhelm. The effect is cumulative, hustle culture has caught up with you. Statistics show 1 in 6 people to be on the narcissistic spectrum making attracting the perfect person a pipe dream. When trauma is more common than ease and flow, it is hardly possible to focus on manifesting something peaceful. Our society is hyperfocused on independence creating a system that was set up to fail you. It was intentional- to keep you in a try-harder-poverty cycle since before you were born. You can’t positive think your way out of this experimental zombie goo tank.
However, if burnout is the inevitable result of years of self-abandonment as I say- in service of cultural expectations- then recovery isn't about learning to manage stress better or finding work-life balance. It's about something far more radical: a return to yourSelf. Reconnecting to that which you truly are. Burnout is an existential crisis, remember? Herbs are nice. Breathwork is helpful. Meditation is essential. Exercise, reduced sugar, better sleep, digestion, toxic-people-veto- all necessary. They all add up like tools in a tool box, but the common denominator is you.
This isn't because you are broken - the system is. It’s rigged against authentic living. But it is 100% your responsibility to choose how you engage with that system moving forward.
The path of self-abandonment- how we got here
Research confirms that "continuous self-abandonment can lead to stress, resentment, and even mental health issues like anxiety and depression" and that those suffering might struggle to recognize their feelings and needs."Burnout for example, follows a predictable pattern: 12 stages, starting with a desire to prove oneself and advancing to unhealthier behaviors, such as neglecting self-care leading to feelings of emptiness and depression.
At each stage, we move further away from our own inner guidance and deeper into performing what we think is expected of us. We override our body's signals, dismiss our emotional responses, and gradually lose touch with what actually inspires us and keeps us truly alive. Burnout becomes simply a response to overwhelming life experiences, an adaptive strategy to the underlying need for safety and a reliable environment.
Burnout isn't an internal malfunction - it's your body telling you it has coped long enough yes, been ignored long enough -true, and now it’s setting a final boundary. I say final because research also demonstrates that burnout can be permanent if left untreated. Adequate “Treatment” however, is something desperately absent in current medicine. In my personal research and experience it needs a far greater holographic approach.
The Body Never Lies, But We Do.
Your body is not a machine to be optimized. It's a living ecosystem that holds ancient wisdom about what you need to thrive. I consider it more like an aqarium, resilient symbiotic and delicate. Our environment is still a largely unrecognized influence in sickness and disease and likewise in health and wellness. Not the basic germs, bacteria stuff- no, I mean the energy of our collective ecology. But- I digress.
Research shows a significant association between burnout and an increased risk for somatic diseases particularly through the exhaustion dimension. Your physical symptoms aren't separate from your emotional and spiritual experience and what is the resulting exhaustion. They are connected expressions of a life lived out of alignment with your natural rhythms and authentic needs.
Somatic psychology recognizes that the body is our first and most reliable source of information about what serves our wellbeing versus what serves only external demands. Every sensation, every tight muscle bracing against life, every wave of energy or depletion is data about how your life choices- internal/external/mental/emotional are affecting your entire being like… well, a quantum holographic light show.
When you've been conditioned to override these signals for years, reconnecting with your body's wisdom becomes a radical act of self-reclamation. It is easy to see that when we have been conditioned to defer to doctors or external knowledge instead of trusting our own wisdom about our bodies we eventually become disconnected from every bodily communication. Therefore it is not difficult to extrapolate how being blocked from our innate nature leads directly to a perceived separation from the natural world around us.
Nature as Teacher and Healer
Medicine that remained intrinsically connected to nature has a very different worldview than what we know to be modern medicine. We call this “wisdom traditions, witchcraft, shamanism, animism, woo-woo”. Perhaps while we are offering titles to things we may call allopathy- emergency medicine that should not be relied upon for prevention or healing- only recovery from acute traumas.
The same way somatic psychology attempts to provide a bridge between biology and psychology, ecopsychology offers a crucial piece of the nature reconnection puzzle. A growing body of research points to the beneficial effects of the natural world on health, reducing stress and promoting healing. This goes deeper than taking walks in the park or forest bathing.
The natural world operates according to principles that our burnout culture has forgotten: cycles of rest and activity, seasonal rhythms, symbiotic relationships, and inherent worth regardless of productivity. Experimental research shows strong evidence between exposure to natural environments and recovery from physiological stress/ mental fatigue.
You are nature in motion. Your body follows circadian rhythms. Your creativity has seasons. Your energy naturally ebbs and flows. When you try to function like a machine with consistent output regardless of internal or external conditions, you're working against your own biology.
Ecopsychology aims to heal the alienation of Western people from the natural environment (Roszak). It is a discipline that also recognizes Indigenous societies as having modes of thinking and behaving that promote and maintain connection to natural cycles. These aren't “primitive” approaches as colonizers would have you believe - they're sustainable ways of living that honor both individual needs and community wellbeing.
The Responsibility Revolution
You didn't create this system that has trained you to be a factory worker, but you do have agency and with that- choices. Instead of blame, reframe. It is power to be able to see where and how you can engage in new ways with your own health, lifestyle and energy output.
Recovery from burnout involves all the common sense things mentioned regarding biology, physiology and mental wellness. Long-term recovery also involves learning to change habits and behaviors, rest instead of push through, self love over self sacrifice. Permanent recovery without a risk of slipping into burnout again involves inventory of belief, reconnection to personal values, spiritual connection (whatever that means for you) and a commitment to making yourself your own priority over perfection, performance or productivity.
Research shows that overwork, over-accommodating, and ignoring your own needs create "chronic stress." Recognizing these patterns and making choices against the status quo, even from within current systems is self-empowerment that no machine can manufacture, manipulate or misappropriate.
A few tips for your healing momentum:
Learn to recognize and honor your body's signals about what energizes versus depletes you
Set boundaries that protect your essential self, even when others don't understand
Reconnect with activities and environments that bring you alive rather than just keep you productive
Question every "should" and ask whose voice is speaking when you feel obligated to perform or achieve
Build and nurture relationships with people who see and value your full humanity, not just your utility
You don't have to quit your job (I mean, maybe), move to a commune, or completely overhaul your life overnight. Reconnection happens through small, consistent choices that prioritize your authentic needs over external expectations. Self trust is rebuilt in small promises kept.
So, start with your breath - it connects you to the present moment and your body's natural rhythms. Notice what happens in your chest when you're around certain people or engaging in certain activities. Pay attention to what time of day your energy naturally peaks and dips. Honor your need for solitude or connection. Feed yourself foods that make your body feel vibrant rather than just keeping it going.
These might seem like tiny acts, but they're actually profound declarations of independence from the cultural programming that created your burnout in the first place.
Recovery from burnout-from-self-abandonment isn't a quick fix - it's a lifelong practice of staying connected to yourself within systems designed to distract and disconnect you. It's learning to rely on your inner compass more than external validation. It's remembering that your worth is inherent, not earned through your endless performance.
The path back to yourself might be the most radical thing you ever commit to. In a culture that exploits and profits from your illness, choosing to come home to who you actually are is both deeply personal and quietly revolutionary.
Your burnout might have been years in the making, but your reconnection starts with your next choice. I invite you to explore these questions:
What does your body need right now?
What would honor your energy in this moment?
What would it look like for you to choose yourself?
The answer to these questions is where deeper healing begins.