# The Real Reason You're Exhausted: Body Budgeting, Hormones, and Burnout | Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett

An episode of [Live Well Be Well with Sarah Ann Macklin | Health, Lifestyle, Nutrition](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1508380100), 27 Mar 2026, 5:47.

Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/1033d1554/podcast/play/117449738/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-2-25%2Fed76d7eb-daf6-676a-083a-c36f1343aecb.mp3

You're not exhausted because you're bad at managing stress — you're exhausted because modern life is designed to bankrupt your body's energy budget, and hormonal transitions like perimenopause make it exponentially harder to recover. Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett explains why fight-or-flight doesn't work the way you've been told, why fatigue is often confused for hunger, and what a simple check-in question can do to interrupt the shame spiral before it starts. If you've ever hated yourself for being tired, this is the science that finally puts the blame where it belongs. Dr Lisa Feldman in conversation with Sarah Ann Listen to the full episode here. Watch the full episode on YouTube here. *** This episode is sponsored by: NOWATCH: The compassionate health tracker Connecting body and mind with unique stress recovery insights so you can live fully today15% off with code LWBW15 at https://nowatch.com/ Mojo: the app for expert-led courses in better sex.Learn from world-class sex therapists and relationship experts with courses tailored to your needs.15% off with code LiveWell15 at mymojo.com/livewellbewell *** The Great British Veg OutHow to support your gut, energy, and hormones by eating more — not less. 👉 https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/p/the-great-british-veg-outReset Your HealthIf your body feels off after stress, travel, or burnout — this is where to start. 👉 https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/s/reset-your-health-in-30-days 👉 Practical beats perfect.Here’s a free 5-recipe PDF I use to support energy and stress during busy weeks.https://sarahannmacklin.com/5_free_recipes 👉 If this resonates, you can join the thousands who readThe Compassionate Cure each week.https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/ *** Let’s be friends! 📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahannmacklin/📹 Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/@livewellbewellsarah 🐦 Twitter: https://x.com/SarahAnnMacklin 📱 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livewellbewellpodcast💌 Newsletter: https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/

## Transcript

[0:02] This is a Beware moment, the most replayed moments from my
[0:05] latest conversation. It's a glimpse into the wider
[0:08] episode, which you can find LinkedIn the show notes below.
[0:12] Because sometimes one small moment is enough to reconnect to
[0:16] living well and being well. Why has fight and flight been
[0:24] such a used term if now we're seeing that actually it isn't,
[0:27] it doesn't exist. Well, it's still a few.
[0:29] Well, I didn't say it doesn't. I didn't say fight and flight
[0:31] don't exist. They exist as as behaviours, but
[0:34] they don't have dedicated circuits.
[0:37] People are not exhausted because their fight and flight circuits
[0:40] are overworked. They're exhausted because
[0:42] they're swimming in a sea. Of uncertainty.
[0:45] Where they can't if it. Resonates, and probably they're.
[0:48] Suffering from body budgeting deficits?
[0:50] And I. Hope.
[0:50] They're aware of. Small pools.
[0:53] For you. And to reconnect to living well
[0:55] and being well. If you loved it, please do leave
[0:58] a review. Follow the show.
[1:00] We'll. Share this maybe with someone
[1:02] you love, you know. I mean, if you just in my in how
[1:06] emotions are made, the first book that I published, I listed
[1:09] like a whole slew of things that on their own would be hard, but
[1:14] you add up all of those together and then add up additional
[1:17] things like for adolescents, for adolescents, their bodies are
[1:20] just harder to regulate because of hormones.
[1:23] The body is just harder to regulate in those moments,
[1:26] right? Or menopause, for example, or
[1:28] pregnancy. I mean, like they're, I think
[1:31] that like not everything, as I said, not everything is
[1:34] reducible to metabolism, but metabolism plays a role in
[1:40] everything that is mental. We're just not used to thinking
[1:44] of it that way. And so I think that I'll just
[1:49] say now that when I am having a moment where I feel like the
[1:52] world is ending and I still have moments like that because I'm
[1:56] human, the first thing I ask myself is, did I get enough
[2:00] sleep? Not should I leave my husband?
[2:02] You know, did I or you know, what do I do about my, you know,
[2:06] boss who drives me up the fucking wall?
[2:09] No, I don't I what I think the first thing I think is do I need
[2:12] water? Should I did I get enough sleep?
[2:19] Do I need a hug from someone? Maybe I should also have a small
[2:23] piece of chocolate, You know, like I'm just, I'm asking
[2:26] myself, I'm not eating for comfort.
[2:28] I'm, I'm like, right when I feel really dragged out, like really
[2:32] dragged out, the first thing I do is not eat.
[2:35] Because it's easy to confuse fatigue from body budgeting
[2:40] problems, from a body budgeting deficit with hunger because
[2:43] you're used to, your brain is used to predicting that when you
[2:45] eat food, you'll have energy and when you're feeling fatigued and
[2:50] dragged out, what you're feeling is a lack of energy.
[2:53] And right, so, but I have to ask myself, and I do like literally
[2:57] I've trained myself to like check in on my stomach.
[3:00] Like do I am I, am I feeling light headed from not eating?
[3:03] No, Oh, in my stomach. Am I really?
[3:06] Is it grumbling? Am I Oh, no, OK, probably I'm
[3:09] just fatigued. And then the first thing I do is
[3:11] have a glass of ice water because when you're dehydrated,
[3:15] if you're drinking coffee all day or soda all day or whatever
[3:20] you can, you know, you can ironically still become
[3:25] dehydrated. And the first sign of
[3:29] dehydration is not thirst, but fatigue.
[3:32] And there's this research showing that if you like, drink
[3:34] water, enough water in the morning, in the afternoon,
[3:37] you're not falling asleep at your desk.
[3:38] But again, fatigue is not one, It doesn't have one 'cause it
[3:42] has all these little, you know, little causes with small effects
[3:47] on their own, but they add up to something big.
[3:50] So I, I think it's just a different way of anticipating
[3:56] and understanding your mood and the causes of your mood.
[4:00] And don't get me wrong, like I've been divorced.
[4:04] I've had, you know, my daughter was depressed.
[4:07] Every day is not a cakewalk in my life.
[4:10] Shit's happening all around the world.
[4:12] You know, sometimes I feel like it's on fire just like everybody
[4:15] else. There sometimes are things wrong
[4:18] in the world and sometimes there are things wrong in in my body
[4:22] because, you know, I'm 61 years old almost.
[4:25] But but the point is that I'm not thinking about everything as
[4:30] solely mental. I'm always thinking, well, all
[4:36] mental. All mental events, every moment
[4:40] of lived experience also has a physical basis.
[4:44] And I'm starting to also pay attention to that because it
[4:47] gives you a set of tools for living.
[4:51] The awareness and the presence. This is your wise wisdom, Lisa,
[4:54] that you were bringing, bringing to us.
[4:56] And I, you know, the architect of your life does give a lot of
[5:00] people hope. And I feel like this
[5:01] conversation has shown that even in those moments to stop and
[5:06] check in with your body and even ask that question as you would a
[5:09] friend. There's a lot of compassion that
[5:11] I kind of hear and your kind of answers when you're talking to
[5:13] yourself. It's kind of like a foundational
[5:16] approach to start harnessing your mind and your brain for
[5:19] these predictions, to actually give yourself a moment as
[5:22] opposed to accepting that this is just how it is.
[5:27] Thank you for listening to this Be Well moment.
[5:29] If it resonated, the full conversation is LinkedIn, the
[5:32] show notes, and I hope it gave you a small pause to take a
[5:36] moment for you and to reconnect to living well and being well.
[5:41] If you loved it, please do leave a review, follow the show or
[5:44] share this maybe with someone you love.

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