🐙 Stimulants, chronic pain, and shame.

Hey there, solopreneur!

I'm sat watching the Mediterranean waves crash against the beach here in Cyprus… and it has me reflecting on my own crash from earlier this year.

Here's what nobody tells you about real burnout:

It's not just exhaustion. It's your entire system going into revolt.

There I was, grinding out my latest course on (probably too many) stimulants, vastly underestimating its complexity. Then COVID hit me 5 days before launch.

Instead of resting, I pushed harder (with even more stimulants lol). Then said yes to speaking in Vegas (I mean, who wouldn't?).

Plot twist: My whole body shut down.

Chronic pain in both arms - a nightmare for a solopreneur who’s livelihood depends on my arms working to use my computer.

My nervous system was screaming what my mind wouldn't accept: I was in complete sympathetic overdrive (stuck in fight and flight).

The dark side of solopreneurship isn't talked about enough. We juggle 100 different tasks, wear every possible hat, and somehow think this is sustainable. While everyone shares wins on Twitter, nobody mentions the real cost.

I had to spend months in “downtime” rebuilding my system and my business. Since I don’t see many people share real burnout stories online, I thought I’d talk about how I bounced out of it.

Today, I'm sharing my exact 8-phase recovery blueprint - not just for bouncing back, but for preventing the crash altogether. Better to be proactive than reactive.

Let me show you what I learned in the burnout trenches...

1. admit you’re in Trouble

The hardest part? Looking in the mirror and acknowledging what's happening.

I remember lying in bed completely destroyed even after sleeping, thinking about our plans for a baby we were planning for, feeling crushing shame at how depleted I'd become.

Meditation wasn't helping anymore.

Making money wasn't helping anymore.

Nothing was.

The first real step forward only came after admitting I couldn't continue like this - that six figure launches meant nothing if I was running myself into the ground.

Remember: Every low point defines how high you can grow afterward.

2. identify your system overload

I had to face an uncomfortable truth: I was too deep in the grindset trenches. All yang (masculine, pushing, doing) and no yin (rest, recovery, being). My nervous system was stuck in constant alarm mode, sending "this isn't safe" signals I kept ignoring.

Here's what I discovered was breaking my system:

• Working out was adding stress when I was already overloaded

• Morning meditation couldn't offset 12 hours of daily chaos

• Social media was hijacking any chance of natural unwinding

• Traveling while sick became my new normal

• Working 7-day weeks had become my baseline

Most importantly, I realized this wasn't a months-long problem - it was years of nervous system dysregulation finally catching up.

3. find your guide

Talk therapy wasn't cutting it - I needed something different. On a recommendation, I found a somatic practitioner (Somatic Experience & Continuum Movement).

Instead of just talking about problems, we worked directly with my body's wisdom.

I committed to 90-minute sessions every week for 8 months.

The results weren't instant, but they were profound.

Looking back, I had lost so much - even my sense of humor (man this is pretty sad in hindsight lol) - without realizing it. Getting personal help + accountability with a trusted guide will 10x your recovery speed.

I’m down to doing 2 sessions per month now.

4. map your perfect storm

Understanding how you got here is crucial for not returning. My perfect storm looked like this:

• 2022: Moved away from Germany, losing crucial social connections,

• 2022: Also happened to lose life-changing money in a scam

• 2023: Launched company on hyperdrive, 12-hour days, 7 days a week

• 2023: Social media addiction destroyed my dopamine system

• 2024: Created products I didn't enjoy anymore

• 2024: Over-traveled while sick, saying yes to everything

But the deeper pattern was clear: I had severely neglected real-life connections, often using work to avoid uncomfortable emotions. In our ancestors' world, losing tribal connections meant death - my body was responding to this modern loneliness like a survival threat.

What truly shifted things wasn't just understanding these patterns, but realizing how they all connected to one core issue: a dysregulated nervous system that had forgotten how to feel safe.

5. destimulate your system

Here's the hardest truth I had to face: Sometimes doing less is the fastest way to recover. I had to completely rewire my stimulation patterns:

• Cut all stimulants, including my beloved caffeine

• Started using a Whoop to track stress (the data was eye-opening)

• No phone or social media until after breakfast (still struggling w this tbh)

• Switched to fiction books before bed

• Implemented a mandatory 30-minute NSDR (non-sleep deep rest) pause each afternoon

The goal wasn't just reducing stress - it was teaching my system how to feel safe again.

6. create your recovery environment

Instead of optimizing for productivity, I optimized for nervous system regulation:

• Installed a home sauna for parasympathetic activation

• Set up a cold plunge (cliché but transformative)

• Built a proper home gym to remove workout friction

• Delegated more tasks to my VA than ever before

• Started learning handpan - pure joy, zero productivity goals

The key? Making recovery as convenient as possible. When feeling good is the easy choice, you actually do it.

7. return to movement (but differently)

Here's where most burnout advice gets it wrong: You can't just jump back into your old routine. I had to completely rebuild my relationship with physical activity:

• Started at 50% of my previous weights

• Focused on cardio (3x45 minutes weekly)

• Respected my energy limits religiously

• Added more restorative movement

• Let my body, not my ego, guide intensity

Most importantly, I learned that when your nervous system is overloaded, even "healthy" stress like exercise can keep you stuck in fight-or-flight.

8. design your sustainable future

The final phase isn't about returning to "normal" - it's about creating a new normal that actually works:

• Actively prioritizing in-person social connections over screen time

• Moving back to a bigger city for more human interaction

• Letting go of tax optimization in favor of lifestyle optimization

• Regular nervous system check-ins

• Building in white space for spontaneity and joy

Remember: Recovery isn't linear. Some days you'll feel like you're back at square one. But if you trust the process, your system will gradually remember how to regulate itself again.

My chronic pain? Completely resolved. My creativity? Back and better than ever. But the real win isn't just feeling better - it's building a life that doesn't require constant recovery.

If you're going through burnout right now, you're not broken. Your body is just asking for a different way of living. Listen to it.

I still have work to do.

Learning to be less hard on myself is a daily practice. But that's the point - it's not about reaching some perfect end state (doesn’t exist imo). It's about building a sustainable way of living and working that serves you for the long run.

If you find yourself going through hell right now, keep going. But maybe take the scenic route.

The view is better, and you'll actually make it to the other side.

I believe in you.

Ole's Bookmarks

(Another) banger from Naval. Invest, don’t waste your time trading (its one of the biggest traps I see people fall into for trying to create wealth).

Full YouTube playbook that makes creators $100M+ from videos: Just discovered this masterclass from the GOAT Paddy Galloway while planning my channel. Worth every minute.

Great predictions from Morning Brew co-founder, I feel aligned w most of these.

Nervous System Mastery: This course by Johnny Miller transformed my understanding of regulation

See you next week 🫡 

Ole