When the Compass Breaks: Burnout, Healing, and the Reset I Needed

There’s a moment most therapists don’t talk about out loud—the one where you realize you’re done.

Not tired.
Not stretched thin.
But done.

I remember sitting in my office—our beautiful, welcoming space built with care and intention—and feeling like I was in the middle of a forest with a broken compass. I had built a $2 million business. One that was created to pay people well, support their dreams, and create spaces of deep belonging for both staff and clients.

But the cost?

The practice was in unimaginable debt, carrying the financial burden of doing the right thing in a system that constantly demanded more. I had mentors and advisors pulling me in all directions—some paths crossed, others pulled me away from myself.

I had always trusted my gut. My values. My intuition.

But after pushing through wave after wave of stress and my own demands of being a practice owner, I couldn’t hear that inner voice anymore.

About two years before everything really shifted, I had already hit my first wall. The signs of burnout were loud and clear—I started fantasizing about walking away from it all. But I felt like I’d be failing everyone if I left. My clients. My staff. My family. So, I tried to get creative. I thought about organic ways to increase revenue, without making huge shifts to our benefits, etc. 

And then, I felt like my prayers were answered.

I merged with other group practices who were values-aligned and had a similar drive and passion that my own team had. I had really missed this excitement and enthusiasm of hearing my intuition. It felt easy. 

Unfortunately, things did not work out as hoped.

Things were not shifting as quickly as anticipated. More difficult decisions had to be made.

I adjusted revenue goals. I changed productivity requirements (even though every cell in my body resisted). I restructured roles. I trimmed expenses. I tried to pivot in ways that would preserve what we’d built. Things started to shift, however, not in the ways I had initially hoped for. 

I made heartbreaking decisions—like having to save more money by decreasing hours of core leadership team members who had been the heart and soul of our culture. Naturally, team members started leaving and continued to do so. 

I started to realize I couldn’t save it all—no matter how much I tried. I checked out. 

Remember when I said my prayers were answered when I merged with the other groups?
I wasn’t being sarcastic.

Even though it was clear that this step started the process of my practice dying instead of thriving—it felt organic and clear because it had to happen this way. I wasn’t going to “give up” any other way.

I wasn’t in a space to see what was truly happening at that moment. I didn’t see the signs or the writing on the wall. I missed so many things the universe was trying to tell me, so the universe came back in a very creative way to take me down the path I needed to go.

And I thank God, the universe, and my angels every day that I am where I am now.

It took completing the Goldman Sachs 10K Small Business Program and immersing myself in holistic healing modalities to finally make the decision I had been putting off for far too long:
Close the practice. Walk away. Stop the madness.

By then, I was beyond burnout.

My body wasn’t whispering—it was screaming.

So, I listened.
And I paused.
And I healed.

What followed was a year of profound personal transformation. Energy work, Chinese medicine, Brainspotting, Internal Family Systems, yoga, breathwork, meditation, and a reconnection to a spirituality I didn’t even realize I had been missing.

Then came the final puzzle piece:
I was diagnosed with AuDHD.

Suddenly, everything made sense. The exhaustion. The overfunctioning. The misalignment. The sensory overwhelm. The “I can’t do this like everyone else does.” I finally understood why my nervous system had been on edge for decades.

I began filling my life with things that nourished me—soul work, not just strategy. I pulled back from what drained me and leaned into what felt aligned. I began building again—but this time, differently.

And then, my mom got sick.

Losing her was one of the most sacred, heartbreaking, clarifying experiences of my life. I stepped away from everything to be with her. I stopped building. I stopped striving. I just was.

And when I came back?

I came back differently.
Wiser.
Softer.
Fiercer.
More attuned to the version of me I had buried under performance and pressure for far too long.

This is the path that led me to create The Embodied Visionary Reset—a 3-session Brainspotting-based coaching intensive for therapists, coaches, and heart-centered women who know something has to change.

It’s for the ones who keep showing up…
but are barely holding it together.

For the women who are questioning everything about their business…
but don’t know where to begin again.

For those who have always been the strong one, the fixer, the go-to…
but are now whispering: “What about me?”

This reset is the thing I wish had existed when I was on the edge of collapse.
It’s not therapy.
It’s not coaching in the traditional sense.
It’s a pause. A breath. A reclamation.
A space to hear your own inner voice again—and follow it.

We walk through three 60-min Brainspotting sessions together:

• BODY — Reconnecting to your nervous system and inner knowing

• MIND — Releasing the internalized rules, roles, and “shoulds”

• BUSINESS — Rebuilding from your truth, not what others expect

If you’ve been searching for a reset…
If your compass feels broken…
If your body is begging for something different…

Come join me.

Let’s step out of the noise and back into clarity.
Let’s design a life—and business—that fits you.

Learn more and join here.

I’ll be here, holding space.
Not to fix you.
But to remind you:
You already know the way.

With hope and kindness, 

Dawn

Clarifying My Intentions

I want to take a moment to clarify something important.

The reflections I’ve shared recently—especially in “When the Compass Breaks”—are deeply personal and speak only to my journey: my burnout, my decision-making, and the healing process I’ve had to walk through as a business owner and human.

Nothing in that post was intended to assign blame or critique others. If anything I wrote was misinterpreted as such, please know that was not my intent. I’m sharing my story to take ownership of my part, not to point fingers.

To anyone who contributed to Bricolage Wellness over the years, I hold gratitude for what we built together. This chapter is about reflection and healing—not rewriting history, but honoring what it taught me.

Thank you to those who continue to witness this next phase with compassion.

—Dawn