“Being normal is vastly overrated.” -Me, to myself, almost daily lately.
August has always felt like the start of something. I don’t think I ever let go of the school-year mindset, new backpacks, fresh notebooks, new crushes, different clothes, the hope that this would be the year everything clicks into place. Even the smell of brand-new pencils felt like a fresh start.
But this year… August feels restless.
Like I’m waiting for something to happen, even if I don’t know what.
It marks the first full year my grandmother won’t be here. She passed at the end of last July, and something about stepping into a new month, a whole new cycle, without her is hitting harder than expected. And on top of that, I’ve been sitting in this weird, unspoken place with someone I care deeply about. There’s been this feeling that clarity is coming, one way or another and it’s either going to be something beautiful… or something heartbreaking. Maybe both.
So yeah. This August isn’t just a month. It’s a portal.
And lately, it’s been asking a lot of me.
The In-Between Feels Like a Lot
I’ve been sitting with a lot… questions I can’t quite answer yet, feelings that don’t always know where to land, and if I’m being honest, I’ve caught myself slipping into autopilot more than a couple times lately. Smiling through things. Saying “it’s fine” when it’s not. Trying to stay grounded when everything feels like it’s shifting underneath me.
It’s that strange in-between where you’re not falling apart… but you’re definitely not okay either. Where you keep pushing through because that’s what you’ve always done, even though a quieter part of you is whispering, “please stop, please just check in with yourself.”
That’s where I found myself earlier this week and it took me a minute to realize what was really going on.
Burnout Hides in Sneaky Places
The thing about burnout is that it doesn’t always look the way we expect. It’s not always total collapse. Sometimes it looks like:
- Being constantly on edge but not knowing why
- Feeling overstimulated but weirdly numb
- Staying up too late for no reason at all
- Answering “I’m fine” when you absolutely aren’t
- Picking fights with yourself in your head
- Feeling disconnected from your joy, your body, your people
Earlier this week, I caught myself brushing off my mood as just being “tired.” But deep down, I knew it was something deeper. I had overextended myself emotionally… again. I had been trying so hard to stay patient and grounded in a connection that means a lot to me, hoping for clarity that hasn’t quite come yet.
I didn’t want to rock the boat. I didn’t want to seem needy or too much. So instead, I just kept showing up gently. Quietly. Giving more space than I actually had to give. And in the process I forgot to check in with me… the part of me that needed comfort, reassurance, or even just honesty.
That’s the thing about burn out. It isn’t always loud. Sometimes it’s just… numb. Quiet. Slowly draining the color out of your days until you realize you haven’t laughed in a while. Haven’t exhaled. Haven’t felt like yourself…
Slowing Down Isn’t Giving Up
A little while back, I finally canceled plans, shut my phone off, and gave myself permission to do absolutely nothing productive. I curled up with The Vampire Diaries, because a little supernatural chaos is what my nervous system needed, and let myself feel all the things I’d been avoiding.
At one point, Damon says something that stopped me in my tracks:
Damon: “You want a love that consumes you. You want passion and adventure, and even a little danger… I want you to get everything you’re looking for. But for right now, I want you to forget that this happened.”
Yeah… That one got me.
That was the moment I exhaled. Because sometimes what you want and what you need are two very different things. And maybe, just maybe choosing rest doesn’t mean giving up… it means giving yourself a chance to come back stronger.
I forgot how good it feels to just be. Not perform. Not explain. Not figure things out. Just… sit in the quiet with myself for a while.
That’s often where the breakthroughs hide. In the pause. In the stillness. In the silly little comforts that remind you who you were before the burnout set in.
What Hypnotherapy Really Does
People think hypnotherapy is just for smoking, weight loss, or stage tricks (please stop picturing us with a swinging pocket watch). But the truth is, it’s one of the few places people can go when they need a soul-level exhale.
When someone walks into our office burned out, you can see it in their posture. Their faces hold tension they didn’t even know they had. Sleep is off. Anxiety is high. Frustration is boiling just under the surface.
And what happens in hypnotherapy isn’t magic… but it feels like it. It’s like plugging your spirit back in after running on low power mode for too long. It’s not about escaping the hard stuff, it’s about coming home to yourself so you can face it with more clarity, peace, and strength.
The Calm Before the Busy
August doesn’t have to be a waiting room for fall. It doesn’t have to be the last gasp of summer or the lead-in to chaos. It can be something else entirely.
A recalibration.
A soft landing.
A moment to ask: What do I need before the world speeds up again?
For me, that sometimes looks like watching the tide change.
Or rewatching One Tree Hill while crying over nothing and everything.
Or remembering that “being normal is vastly overrated.”
Or letting someone play with my hair and pretending time doesn’t exist for a while.
Whatever it looks like for you… you deserve it.
You don’t need a reason. You don’t need to be in crisis. You don’t need to wait until you’ve completely fallen apart.
If you need a soft place to land… we’re here.
🌙 Let this be your pause before the push.
🌙 Let yourself come back to yourself.
🌙 Let this month be the breakthrough… not the burnout.
With warmth,
Leticia
(and everyone at Sacramento Hypnotherapy)
