749: The Hidden Drivers of Burnout in High-Achieving Women (It’s Not What You Think) with Brooke Taylor

“What if the life you worked so hard to build is also the thing quietly burning you out?” In this episode, Dr. Mariza sits down with Brooke Taylor to unpack the hidden emotional patterns driving burnout, overachievement, perfectionism, and chronic stress in high-performing women. Brooke shares her deeply personal story—from climbing the corporate ladder at Google while battling addiction, burnout, and health issues—to ultimately discovering what she now calls the “Success Wound.” Together, they explore how so many women unconsciously tie their worth, safety, belonging, and identity to achievement… until their body can no longer sustain the pressure. They dive into the emotional roots of over-functioning, the nervous system impact of constantly “doing,” and why midlife often becomes the moment women can no longer outrun themselves. Brooke also shares practical tools to identify your own success wound patterns, regulate your nervous system, reconnect to your true self, and move from manic ambition into aligned ambition. If you’ve ever felt exhausted despite accomplishing so much… if you’ve struggled to slow down, feel present, or believe you’re enough without constantly proving yourself… this conversation will hit deeply. BROOKE TAYLOR Brooke Taylor is a transformational career coach, speaker, and former Google marketing lead who has helped over 5,000 high-performing women redefine success on their own terms. After experiencing burnout, addiction, and deep emotional reckoning in her own life, Brooke developed the framework she now calls the “Success Wound” to help women break free from overachievement patterns and reconnect to fulfillment, purpose, and self-worth. IN THIS EPISODE What the “Success Wound” actually is—and how it develops Why high-achieving women often tie worthiness to productivity The hidden connection between burnout, perfectionism, and chronic stress How childhood conditioning shapes our relationship with achievement The 5 success wound archetypes: Grinder, Pleaser, Hider, Seeker, and Work Hard/Play Hard Why perimenopause can intensify emotional and nervous system burnout The difference between manic ambition and aligned ambition Practical tools to regulate your nervous system and reconnect to your true self Why healing your success wound is lifelong work—not a quick fix QUOTES“The more that I succeeded, the more love, belonging, and approval I would get.” “We don’t rise to the level of our confidence. We fall to the level of our self-worth.” “You are not working from the most powerful part of yourself when you’re working from fear.” “There is nothing wrong with your ambition. It’s the way your worth became tied to it that needs healing.” RESOURCES MENTIONED Grab Brooke’s new book The Success Wound https://amzn.to/3RoWBOC Order my new book The Perimenopause Revolution https://peri-revolution.com/ Brooke Taylor Website Brooke Taylor Instagram Brooke Taylor Tiktok RELATED EPISODES  717: “I Don’t Feel Like Myself Anymore”: The Mental & Emotional Reality of Perimenopause 741: Estrogen, Gut Health, Mitochondria, and Cardiovascular Health: What Changes In Perimenopause with Dr. Siobhan Mitchel 733: Why We’re Still Exhausted in the Age of “Evidence-Based” Everything with Shawn Stevenson 728: Why Brain Fog Isn’t Random: The Hormone Shift Behind It