Why Kansas City Professionals Are Burned Out (And How Somatic Therapy Can Help)
It is absolutely no secret that burnout is rampant in Kansas City (and the rest of the country, for that matter). Somatic Therapy can help with burnout for Kansas City professionals.
Kansas City is a hotbed for healthcare, having Children’s Mercy, one of the premiere hospitals for children in the entire country. We boast a larger tech industry than some might suspect with Garmin or Black and Veatch. Kansas City has a burgeoning restaurant scene, tons of skilled entrepreneurs, and so on.
With all of the industry and expertise in Kansas City comes competition, capitalism, and inevitably – burnout. Somatic therapy can be a great help for those who are suffering from it, and here’s why:
What is burnout?
According to the WHO, burnout is “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”
Burnout is characterized by three dimensions:
feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job; and
reduced professional efficacy
Physiologically, as I believe Dr. Stephen Porges (who founded the Polyvagal Theory) would purport, burnout is the result of being in the sympathetic nervous system for too long. The nervous system cannot sustain that amount of stress for long before it goes into the dorsal vagal, or shut down, state.
Symptoms of Burnout You Might Be Missing
The shut down state mirrors a lot of symptoms of burnout, such as lack of motivation, disassociation, withdrawal, and lack of energy.
Here are some more nuanced symptoms somebody might experience burnout:
Feeling numb
Dreading going to work
Feeling frustrated easily
Difficulty starting tasks
Not feeling excited about doing things they used to
Burnout Is a Symptom of High-Pressure Workplaces
I want to be clear that burnout is a symptom of a larger problem – the problem is high pressure work places demanding too much of their employees. The pressure at large to be “on” all the time, answering emails, making another social media post, following up on client phone calls, etc. It is too much a lot of the time. Good news: somatic therapy can help with burnout!
Why Don’t Traditional Coping Skills Always Work for Burnout?
Rest Isn’t Enough to Regulate the Nervous System
The common advice people tend to get: rest, meditate, drink water, try to get movement in, are all good ideas. However, ideally we would all already be doing those things. They are great ways to maintain a good baseline of mental health, but sometimes aren’t “strong” enough when burnout is present.
Trauma Keeps People in Fight, Flight, or Freeze at Work
Some people’s trauma or nervous system tendencies provoke them to work more than their bodies can handle. Over time, they have learned to tune out their body’s cues of stress (think: high heart rate, fatigue, dizziness, muscle tension, headaches) in favor of getting the work done. This, essentially, is getting stuck in the sympathetic nervous system, or the fight/flight response. (Perfectionism is a huge protagonist in the story here.)
People can also be stuck in place of hypervigilance created by the sense of being monitored by their higher-ups. If that person has a background of childhood abuse or neglect by a primary caregiver, they are already geared up for this dynamic.
These two brief examples are exactly why simply meditating won’t help. Trauma and somatic therapy experts can help people to rewire their nervous systems for good so they can undo these dynamics, not just cope with them.
How Can Somatic Therapy Help Burnout for Kansas City Professionals?
What is Somatic Experiencing?
Somatic Experiencing is a type of somatic therapy that “aims to resolve symptoms of stress, shock, and trauma that accumulate in our bodies and nervous systems.” Somatic Experiencing is a type of therapy that helps people move out of traumatic shock and into states that are more regulated. This process is guided by the therapist and is aiming to help people close the stress cycle by completing self-protective responses.
How Can Somatic Therapy Help With Burnout?
In this way, somatic therapy can help people with the underlying, unspoken, and often subconscious patterns that play on a loop and keep them doing things that contribute to burnout. It is important to note that just because a person can do some things to alleviate their burnout, that they usually aren’t fully responsible for it. Employee benefits, working conditions, and expectations all contribute to burnout.
Long story short: we must rewire, not just relax.
Specific Stressors in Kansas City That Contribute to Burnout
The Kindness Culture and People-Pleasing Pressure
One dynamic I absolutely love about this city but that can create a world of hurt for people is how dang nice people are here. You walk down the street and it would be strange if somebody didn’t look you in the eye and acknowledge your presence, say hello, or smile at you. People will make things more confusing at a 4-way stop because they want you to go first out of the kindness of their hearts.
Daily Overstimulation and the Hustle Mentality
Yes, we are kind here, but we are also socialized to be that way. Combine this with the grind of making it through the Grandview triangle, getting your favorite coffee on the way to work, meeting friends at the park with your kids afterwards, and hit up your favorite yoga studio after putting them to bed – it is a recipe for burnout and overstimulation. Sometimes our “niceness” gets in the way of us taking care of ourselves. Let’s change that!
Ready to Try Somatic Therapy at Embodied Healing?
Meet Lauren—A Therapist Supporting Stressed-Out Professionals
You’re in luck! Lauren is currently taking new clients for somatic therapy and has expertise in working with people managing their chronic stress. If you’re feeling hesitant and unsure about the process, we will help you every step of the way! Please feel free to reach out to us in order to get your questions answered, and to see if Embodied Healing can help you with your burnout.
Happy healing!
Frequently Asked Questions About Burnout in Kansas City
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Burnout is a state of chronic workplace stress that leads to exhaustion, disconnection, and low motivation. In Kansas City’s high-achieving culture, professionals often push past their limits without realizing they’re burned out.
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Somatic therapy helps regulate the nervous system, release chronic stress patterns, and restore energy. It supports long-term healing instead of just short-term coping.
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When the nervous system is dysregulated from trauma or chronic stress, rest and meditation alone may not be enough. Deeper, body-based work is often needed to reset internal safety and calm.
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Burnout symptoms can include numbness, dread before work, trouble focusing, irritability, and disconnection from things you used to enjoy. These can sneak up over time.
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Yes. While talk therapy focuses on thoughts and emotions, somatic therapy works with body sensations and nervous system responses to help clients shift out of stress states.
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Anyone struggling with burnout, chronic stress, perfectionism, or trauma—especially high-achieving professionals—can benefit from somatic therapy and nervous system support.
Stevie Olson-Spiegel is a Licensed Therapist and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner located in Kansas City. She uses Somatic Experiencing as her main body-based trauma healing modality, as well as EMDR. As an Intuitive Eating Counselor, she uses these principles to help her clients challenge their relationship with their cultural misconceptions about their body and food.
