What if gratitude isn’t the shortcut out of burnout, but the mask that keeps you stuck?

We take on a cherished wellness norm and unpack why “be thankful” can become self-gaslighting when it silences anger, disappointment, and frustration. Rather than dismissing tough feelings, we show how to use them as accurate data for boundaries, recovery, and better decisions.
Drawing on lived experience and brain-based tools, we explore how emotional stagnation fuels chronic exhaustion and why so many high performers confuse composure with health. You’ll learn why precise emotion labeling calms the nervous system, how cultural stigma teaches women to hide valid anger, and what happens when the drive to “look on the bright side” overrides what your body knows. This is not about abandoning gratitude; it’s about sequencing it: honesty first, appreciation second.
We walk through a simple, repeatable practice you can use today. Keep a concise emotion word list nearby. When a surge hits, take five seconds to write what you feel, where you sense it, the boundary it points to, and one tiny action that respects that signal. Then, if gratitude arises, let it be grounded in the full truth. With this approach, you metabolize feelings instead of stockpiling them, recover energy that suppression wastes, and turn vague overwhelm into clear next steps.
If you’ve tried to “positive-think” your way out of burnout and ended up more drained, this conversation offers a different route: build emotional IQ, validate your inner state, and let gratitude complement—not cancel—your reality.

Try out the exercise we share in today's episode and send me a DM to share how it went for you! You can message me @dr.ReanaMulcahy

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