TrueLife is a story-driven documentary podcast that explores the invisible threads connecting us to each other, the world, and the mysteries of life. Every episode uncovers extraordinary journeys, human transformation, and the relationships that shape our stories.
You’re not tired because you’re weak.
You’re tired because something is feeding on your attention.
And it doesn’t want you awake.
It wants you functional.
Let me say the quiet part out loud.
Burnout is not a personal failure.
Burnout is a feature.
A regulated nervous system doesn’t panic-buy.
It doesn’t doom-scroll.
It doesn’t obey stupid authority just to feel safe.
So the system keeps you slightly fried.
Slightly anxious.
Slightly behind.
Just enough cortisol to keep you compliant.
Just enough exhaustion to stop you from asking dangerous questions.
You don’t live in a free society.
You live in a soft captivity, padded with convenience and dopamine.
No bars.
No guards.
Just rhythms.
I didn’t realize this for years.
I thought I was ambitious.
Turns out, I was trained.
I thought I was disciplined.
Turns out, I was afraid of stillness.
I filled every gap with noise:
Podcasts.
News.
Music.
Productivity.
Because silence felt… illegal.
And that’s when it hit me:
If rest feels dangerous,
you are not living in your own nervous system.
You are living in a rented one.
Here’s what no one wants to admit.
Most people don’t have thoughts.
They have reflexes.
You can predict their opinions by predicting their fear.
Watch how fast they defend the very systems that hollow them out.
That’s not ignorance.
That’s Stockholm Syndrome with better branding.
And psychedelics?
Meditation?
Breathwork?
Powerful — yes.
But without integration, they become tourism.
You glimpse freedom…
then return to the same cage
and call it “insight.”
The system loves that version of awakening.
It changes nothing.
Ancient initiations didn’t ask:
“What do you believe?”
They asked:
“What are you loyal to under pressure?”
Because that’s where the truth lives.
The body never lies.
It flinches.
It freezes.
It obeys.
Until something interrupts the rhythm.
That’s what altered states were for.
Not bliss.
Disobedience.
A temporary jailbreak from inherited fear.
A chance to feel:
“Oh.
This is what it’s like to be unowned.”
So here’s the question I want stuck in your throat today:
If your life suddenly slowed down…
would you feel peace —
or would you feel terror?
Because terror means the machine is still inside you.
And it will fight to stay.
You don’t need motivation.
You don’t need healing.
You need deprogramming.
We’ll continue tomorrow.