A friend said something to me a while back that I haven’t been able to shake.
She was overwhelmed, exhausted, running in twelve different directions… and somewhere in the middle of describing her day she casually mentioned she hadn’t eaten, barely drank water, and hadn’t even gone to the bathroom for hours.
You know what’s crazy? It didn’t even sound weird.
Women Running on Fumes
Lately I keep noticing versions of this everywhere.
Women running on fumes.
Forgetting to eat.
Ignoring headaches.
Holding their bladder too long.
Too tired to think clearly.
Too overloaded to even notice themselves anymore.
And before I say “women” too many more times… yes, I do this too. All the time.
DH calls me out on this constantly.
“Did you eat?”
“Did you drink water?”
“When last did you take a break?”
“Have you moved from that spot all day?”
And half the time I’m so locked into whatever I’m doing that I genuinely don’t notice until my body is basically forcing me to stop.
And none of us are saying it dramatically either.
We say it while laughing.
While answering emails.
While driving.
While doing three things at once.
Like it’s just another normal Tuesday.
I think about this all the time. Not just that we’re exhausted. But how many of us have gotten so used to functioning this way that we barely notice how disconnected we’ve become from ourselves.
At some point survival mode stopped feeling temporary. And I think a lot of women are quietly reaching that moment where they realize:
“I cannot keep living like this.”
Not in some dramatic, burn-it-all-down kind of way.
…well maybe. 🤭
But mostly in little moments of awareness.
Realizing you’re starving at 4 p.m.
Realizing your shoulders have been tense all day.
Realizing you haven’t gotten up not once.
Realizing your body has been screaming for a break while your brain keeps saying:
“Just finish this one last thing.”
Small Decisions That Say “I Need to Focus on Me”
And maybe that’s where the change starts.
Not with some huge life overhaul.
Just small decisions that quietly say:
“I need to focus on me a little bit.”
Ordering takeout instead of forcing yourself to cook.
Leaving the dishes for tomorrow.
Putting your phone on silent.
Going to bed earlier.
Sitting in the car for five extra minutes before walking inside.
Tiny moments of choosing yourself before you completely disappear underneath everything else.
I don’t think most of us are asking for luxury.
I think we just want enough space to notice ourselves again.
And you know what?
The fact that so many women instantly understand this feeling without explanation probably says more than any statistic ever could.
🎧 Listen