In 2022, I made the big decision to step back from selling real estate, so I could finally address the extreme burnout I didn’t even know I had. Two months before, I’d gone to the doctor for overheating, shortness of breath, and a pile of other weird symptoms. After an EKG, cardio stress test, and bloodwork, the doctor told me: “You’re stressed.”

I was livid. That felt like a throwaway diagnosis—what doctors say when they don’t know what else to say. I didn’t feel stressed. I slept okay, aside from waking up alert at 2–3 a.m. and not falling back asleep. I had tons of energy… until I sat down, then I’d pass out in minutes. I was exercising—sort of—except when I overheated, lost feeling in my hands and face, and the edges of my vision went dark. Sure, I was having a drink while cooking dinner most nights to slow my brain down, but I was handling it. Right?

I left that appointment both pissed and puzzled. If my body was screaming stress, but I didn’t feel stressed, then clearly something wasn’t adding up. So I did what I do best—I started analyzing. I zoomed out and looked at my life like it was one of our renovation projects: what needed patching, what needed demo, and what needed to be completely rebuilt. That’s when it hit me—maybe the thing making me sick wasn’t something a test could detect. Maybe it was the pace. The pressure. The constant output. And the only lever I had left to pull was work.

At the time, I was running a boutique real estate brokerage with 11 newer agents I’d trained from scratch, plus two full-time employees. I was the supervising broker, so I was ultimately responsible for every transaction those agents touched. On top of managing all of that, I was also the top producer in my area, juggling 20–30 transactions at a time. My days started with my phone in hand at 5–6 a.m. and ended with me answering calls and texts in bed around 10 p.m.

That wasn’t all. I was also a full-time real estate investor, always either hunting for new properties or knee-deep in a renovation project—projects my husband, Brandon, was usually the contractor for. I handled the funding, which meant I was the one stressed about budgets and timelines. And when your spouse is also your GC, any hiccups in the budget or schedule feel personal. “Protect his heart first” has always been my mantra, which is beautiful… until business tension starts creeping into your marriage.

So yeah, the doctor had a point. Even if I didn’t want to admit it.

Between July and October 2022, after a lot of soul searching, I decided to step back from selling real estate. I would still manage our brokerage and our investment projects, but sales—the most time-consuming part—had to go. I planned to take six months off (conveniently, during the slower season) and finally write the book that had been living in my head for years.

That plan lasted two days.

I treated the writing like a full-time job: 6–8 hours a day, five days a week. But the minute I sat still, I could barely keep my eyes open. Remember that thing where I’d fall asleep whenever I stopped moving? Writing’s not exactly high-impact cardio. I’d sit at the computer, stare at the screen, and spiral. Guilt, self-doubt, comparison, criticism—I had the whole collection.

“Who do you think you are, taking time off to write?” “You’re wasting your life.” “You’re not talented enough to get published.”

It got dark, fast.

But I wasn’t pathetic. I was tired. My nervous system had been overstimulated for so long that it was shutting down. My body was demanding rest, and I had no idea how to give it what it needed. The cruelest irony? I couldn’t access creativity because my brain was stuck in overdrive. I was constantly analyzing, judging, fixing, solving.

The answer? Creativity.

Yeah. That thing I couldn’t do.

In Beyond Anxiety: Curiosity, Creativity, and Finding Your Life’s Purpose, Martha Beck talks about how activating the right hemisphere of the brain—through creativity, intuition, and sensory experience—helps balance the anxious, hyper-analytical left brain. That book cracked something open in me. I devoured it in two days and re-read it the next week.

So I got to work, not on a book, but on healing.

My meditation patio and garden.

I started walking—constantly. I read books that interested me. I practiced breathwork (box breathing was my go-to). I used a Vagus Nerve flashcard deck to regulate my nervous system. I grounded myself with mindfulness exercises like focusing on one color or one sound at a time. I journaled freely, meditated (especially while walking), and let go of the pressure to perform healing.

Eventually, I found little windows for creativity. And through that, I found peace.

Things I’ve tried (and loved):

• Pottery (obsessed—I want a home studio)
• Painting
• Puzzles
• Legos
• Writing
• Photography + editing
• Craft projects
• House layout design
• Podcasting
• Guided visualizations
• Imagination journeys with my dogs
• Jiu jitsu and sparring

I chase the flow state like a drug. That magical, timeless headspace where nothing else exists. I find it in pottery, photo editing, walking. And once you’ve felt it, you know—nothing else compares.

“The mystique of rock climbing is climbing… You don’t conquer anything except things in yourself… The act of writing justifies poetry… Climbing is the same: recognizing that you are a flow… The purpose of the flow is to keep on flowing.” — Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

So how has creativity changed my life?

It’s made me resilient. It’s what allows me to be a calm, present caregiver. It’s how I sit in hospital rooms for hours without losing my mind. It’s how I help my daughters navigate their own stress. It’s what lets me stay grounded, grateful, and open to whatever life throws my way.

This is just the beginning. I plan to keep chasing creativity wherever it leads.

How do you express creativity? Has it helped you cope with stress or anxiety? I’d love to hear your story.

Links to the good stuff, if you’re interested:

• Beyond Anxiety: Curiosity, Creativity, and Finding Your Life’s Purpose by Martha Beck
• Vagus Nerve Deck: 75 Exercises to Reset Your Nervous System
• Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

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