This week on the podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with Elizabeth Gaines, a woman whose journey into functional health didn’t begin in the world of science, but in the world of survival.
For more than a decade, Elizabeth worked in non-profit trauma recovery, supporting victims of domestic minor sex trafficking. She poured her heart and energy into helping others heal from the unimaginable. But like so many who dedicate themselves to service, she did so at great personal cost. The emotional weight, urgency, and unrelenting pace led her into burnout and chronic illness, an experience far too many people quietly carry.
When conventional medicine dismissed her symptoms, she was left feeling unseen, unheard, and unwell. And this is where her turning point began.
Through Functional Diagnostic Nutrition (FDN), Elizabeth discovered a different way of understanding the body, not through labels or guesswork, but through deeper investigation. Functional lab testing opened a doorway into the true state of her health, revealing imbalances in hormones, immune function, digestion, detoxification, energy production, and diet. With this knowledge, she was finally able to create a personalised path to healing.
What began as a desperate search for answers evolved into purpose.
Today, Elizabeth is the Director of Education at FDN, leading curriculum design, live training and mentorship for one of the most respected health certification programmes in the world. She is living proof that when we understand what’s actually going on in the body, we can take back our power, our clarity, and our energy.
The Hidden Physiology of Burnout
In our conversation, we explored something many of us feel but rarely name:
Burnout isn’t just emotional. It’s physiological.
So often we believe we just need more rest, more motivation, or more willpower to “bounce back,” but the truth is that burnout changes the body. It shifts hormones, drains energy reserves, weakens digestion, disrupts immune function and creates inflammation long before symptoms show up on a standard medical report.
Which means many people are walking around unwell, and being told: “Nothing is wrong.”
Yet their body knows something is very wrong. And so do they.
The Lie We’ve Been Conditioned To Believe
We also reflected on the cultural programming so many of us have absorbed:
Work harder.
Move faster.
Push through pain.
Don’t slow down.
Rest equals laziness.
At what point did we begin believing that exhaustion was normal and self-neglect was strength?
Like nature, we are designed to move through seasons: activity and rest, growth and stillness, expansion and retreat. But we’ve built a world that only rewards one season -productivity.
And when we finally collapse under the weight of it, we are left feeling broken or ashamed, when in truth, we are simply out of rhythm with the way we are meant to live.
The Four Rooms of Holistic Wellness
There is a beautiful metaphor that guides my own work:
We each live in a house with four rooms - emotional, mental, physical and spiritual.
Wellness comes from visiting each room every day.
But so often, we camp out in only one or two, usually the mental and physical - while the emotional and spiritual rooms gather dust and silence.
So I ask you:
When was the last time you checked in with all four rooms?
What needs clearing, tending, or listening?
What part of you has been ignored because life is “too busy”?
When we ignore the imbalance long enough, the body will speak louder, through fatigue, inflammation, pain, brain fog, anxiety, or a sense of disconnect from ourselves. And when we are told “there’s nothing wrong,” we begin to feel invisible.
You Are Not Invisible – And You Are Not Meant to Do This Alone
If you are reading this and feel depleted, stretched thin or lost in symptoms you can’t explain, know this:
There is nothing lazy about needing rest.
There is nothing weak about breaking down.
There is nothing wrong with you for not being able to keep going the way you used to.
What is wrong is the belief that you must continue alone.
Elizabeth’s story is a reminder that when we finally understand what the body is trying to communicate, we create space for real healing. And when healing begins, purpose returns. Energy returns. Hope returns.
There is always support available.
There are always answers available.
And you deserve both.
Ready to Go Deeper? Listen to the Full Conversation
If this message speaks to something inside you, if you’re tired of feeling unwell, unheard, or uncertain about where to turn next — I invite you to listen to the full podcast episode with Elizabeth Gaines.
In our conversation, she shares:
the real physiological roots of burnout
why so many people are misdiagnosed or dismissed
how functional lab testing can reveal what traditional testing often overlooks
empowering next steps for anyone ready to reclaim their well-being
And as a gift to you, Elizabeth is offering a free resource to support your next steps on the healing journey.
🎧 Click here to listen to the episode and receive your free gift.
Join our Soulful Journeys Online Community for our upcoming 2026 Program -
Walking as Soul in Body with Mentor Sharon Fitzmaurice
Sharon Fitzmaurice is a Holistic Wellness Coach, Reiki Master Teacher & Practitioner, Clinical Hypnotherapist, Speaker, and Host of The Sharon Fitzmaurice Podcast. She is the author of Someone Please Help Me, So I Did and Awaken Your Wellbeing, and the founder of Soulful Journeys Online Community.
A passionate advocate for mental health awareness and survivors of childhood abuse, Sharon’s mission is to inspire others to heal, grow, and reconnect with their authentic selves. Through her work, writing, and conversations, she reminds us that within every story lies the power to transform and rise.