Can We Talk About How Tired You Are?
Let’s be honest for a second. I mean really honest.
Not the “I’m fine, just busy” kind of honest
The kind where you admit… you’re exhausted
Not just physically, but emotionally, mentally, soul-level tired
The kind of tired sleep doesn’t fix.
If we were sitting across from each other right now with warm mugs in our hands, I’d probably lean in and say, “You don’t have to be strong with me. You can just be real.” And I bet your shoulders would drop a little.
Because so many women are carrying everything.
Holding the family together. Holding the job together. Holding their emotions together. Holding relationships together. Holding it all… together.
And no one is really asking, “But how are you doing?”
So let me ask you, friend, how are you really doing?
The quiet exhaustion no one sees
Here’s the hard part: most women don’t even realize how tired they are. They’ve learned to function on empty. To push through. To normalize burnout.
You wake up tired
You go through your day tired
You go to bed tired (but your mind still won’t slow down)
And then you repeat it
You might even tell yourself:
“It’s just this season.”
“Other people have it worse.”
“I should be grateful.”
“I’ll rest when things calm down.”
But when do they actually calm down?
If we’re being honest… they usually don’t.
And the exhaustion isn’t just about lack of sleep. It’s about:
carrying emotional weight alone
constantly being the strong one
not feeling seen or supported
living in survival mode instead of intention
That kind of tired seeps into everything.
The moment you realize you’ve been putting yourself last
Most women don’t wake up one day and decide to abandon themselves. It happens slowly.
At first it’s small:
You skip a workout.
You cancel plans.
You push your feelings aside.
You say yes when you mean no.
You quiet that inner voice that says, “I need more.”
Then one day you look up and think,
“When did I disappear from my own life?”
And that’s usually the moment when tears come out of nowhere. Or frustration builds. Or resentment shows up. Or numbness settles in.
Not because you don’t care.
But because you’ve been caring for everyone else first for too long.
Let’s gently reframe this
Here’s the truth I wish every woman knew earlier:
You are not tired because you’re weak.
You’re tired because you’ve been strong for too long without support.
And strength doesn’t have to mean suffering in silence.
If your best friend came to you and said:
“I’m exhausted. I feel lost. I don’t recognize myself anymore.”
You wouldn’t shame her.
You wouldn’t push her to “just be stronger.”
You’d sit with her. You’d listen. You’d remind her she matters.
So why are you so hard on yourself?
What if rest became a requirement, not a reward?
Somewhere along the way, many women learned that rest had to be earned.
Finish the to-do list.
Meet everyone’s needs.
Handle the chaos first.
Only then do you “deserve” rest.
But here’s the truth:
Rest is not something you earn after burnout.
It’s something you need to prevent it.
Rest doesn’t always mean sleep. Sometimes rest looks like:
saying no without guilt
taking a walk alone
crying without apologizing
sitting in silence for ten minutes
asking for help
putting your phone down
letting yourself be unfinished for the day
Tiny pauses create space for your nervous system to breathe again.
The quiet permission you’ve been waiting for
If no one has told you this lately, let me:
You are allowed to slow down.
You are allowed to change.
You are allowed to be unsure.
You are allowed to take a break from being the strong one.
You don’t have to reach absolute burnout before you choose yourself.
And you don’t have to figure it all out alone.
Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is admit,
“I need support.”
Why talking it through actually changes everything
When women finally give themselves permission to talk about the tired, the real tired, something incredible happens.
The fog clears.
The shame softens.
The pressure lifts.
The path forward becomes visible.
That’s the power of having someone walk beside you. Not to “fix” you, but to help you hear yourself again. To reflect your truth back to you when you’ve forgotten it. To remind you that the version of you that feels lost isn’t broken… she’s just overwhelmed.
And overwhelmed women don’t need judgment.
They need space.
They need compassion.
They need guidance.
They need to feel safe enough to exhale.
Friend to friend, here’s what I want you to hear
You don’t have to keep running on empty.
You don’t have to prove your worth through exhaustion.
You don’t have to carry everything alone.
Your life gets to feel softer than it does right now.
Your heart gets to feel lighter.
Your days don’t have to feel like something you just survive.
And if today all you can do is sit with this truth for a moment, that’s enough. Awareness is where change always begins.
So let me ask you again, gently this time-
How are you really doing?
