Beat the Burnout: Lessons from AK Dozanti on Nervous System Recovery

Beat the Burnout: Lessons from AK Dozanti on Nervous System Recovery, First Responder Trauma, and Self-Leadership.  As someone who has experienced career-ending burnout and is now in recovery mode, this episode resonates deeply with me.  Be sure to check out our books, first our special guest, AK Dozanti's new book, Beat the Burnout, and my first book, Burnt Around the Edges: A Guide to Mastering Stress and Surviving Burnout.  

What happens when a high-performing, decorated officer hits the wall of burnout hard?

This episode of Beneath the Helmet with AK Dozanti isn’t just another conversation about burnout. It’s a candid, real, and deeply human story of what happens when the body says, “Enough.” A story of collapse, recovery, and the power of self-leadership.

AK is a former deputy sheriff and victim advocate and is now the founder of Lifesaver Wellness and author of Beat the Burnout. Her story is one that too many first responders can relate to: rising quickly through the ranks, achieving success, pushing through stress and trauma, and then complete emotional and physical burnout. She went from Officer of the Year to barely functioning, experiencing adrenal fatigue, Operational Stress Injury, suicidal ideation, and total exhaustion.

But the beauty of this conversation isn’t in how far she fell. It’s in the way she rebuilt, and what she’s teaching others now about how to prevent burnout, recover with intention, and lead yourself through it.

Below are my Top 5 Nuggets, the hard-earned wisdom AK shared in this powerful conversation.

🔥 NUGGET 1: Burnout Isn’t Just Exhaustion, It’s Soul-Level Disconnection

When I asked AK what burnout felt like, she didn’t talk about stress or being overworked. She said it felt like being a flat tire, once full, rolling, alive. Now drained. Still. Deflated.

She described burnout as more than just tiredness; it was losing touch with her purpose, her identity, and even her values. She noticed she started compromising who she was just to keep going. That hit hard.

"We start to feel used. Then we become used up."

If your job is draining your sense of self, you’re not just tired. You’re burning out.

🔥 NUGGET 2: The Nervous System Always Tells the Truth

AK shared how her nervous system was speaking long before she consciously realized anything was wrong. Her body started breaking down: recurring infections, digestive issues, muscle tension, insomnia, and even two episodes of shingles in her 20s. She just kept pushing.

She wasn’t lazy. She was operating in survival mode for too long. Her nervous system was firing alarms, and she wasn’t listening.

“If you don’t take small breaks, your body will eventually take a big one for you.”

As first responders, we’re trained to suppress physical discomfort, ignore pain, and push through. But the nervous system never lies. We just stop listening.

🔥 NUGGET 3: You Can’t Outwork Burnout, Even With a Gym Pass and Green Smoothies

At the peak of her burnout, AK was still working out twice a day. CrossFit, Muay Thai, cardio, weightlifting. It appeared to be healthy from the outside, but it was actually self-punishment.

What she realized later was that she was burning through adrenaline and cortisol like it was fuel. That “go mode” was feeding the same system that was collapsing.

“I thought I was helping myself, but I was actually abusing my own adrenaline.”

Recovery isn't about doing more. It’s about doing differently. And sometimes, it's about doing less.

🔥 NUGGET 4: Recovery Is Found in Self-Leadership, Not Self-Fixing

AK said something that really stuck: “Burnout doesn’t mean you’re broken. It just means you’ve been spinning your wheels for too long.”

Instead of always trying to “fix” herself, she started to see burnout recovery as a journey of self-leadership. She didn’t just want to get back to baseline, she wanted to grow from it. She gave herself permission to slow down, reconnect with purpose, and lead herself with compassion.

“What’s really missing isn’t more energy. It’s more alignment with who we are.”

🔥 NUGGET 5: You’re Not Weak, You’re Wired for Survival

One of the most powerful takeaways was this: we weren’t designed to live like this.

Our bodies, our nervous systems, and our souls were not built to carry trauma, adrenaline, and moral injury 24/7. We are wired for survival, not performance perfection.

Yet, we get caught in systems that reward the hustle and glorify exhaustion.

“We need to master the ordinary, hydration, rest, self-talk, before we can thrive in the extraordinary.”

AK reminds us that real strength isn’t about pushing through. It’s about honouring our humanity while we serve others.

Burnout is Not a Badge. It’s a Boundary Line.

As first responders, caregivers, and high performers, it’s easy to wear burnout as a badge of honour. But it’s not. It’s a warning sign. It’s your body telling you that you’ve crossed too many boundaries, externally and internally.

AK's story reminds us that burnout recovery is not just possible, it’s powerful. It forces us to redefine success, reconnect with who we really are, and reclaim the parts of ourselves we lost in the grind.

So if you’ve been feeling crispy, drained, flat, or just not yourself lately, please don’t ignore it. You’re not weak. You’re wise for noticing.

🔗 Take Action

🎧 Listen to the full episode of Beneath the Helmet featuring AK Dozanti.  LINK:  https://www.beneaththehelmet.ca/beat-the-burnout-ak-dozanti-on-nervous-system-recovery-first-responder-trauma-and-self-leadership/
📘 Grab her book Beat the Burnout (available on Amazon).

📘 Grab Arjuna's book Burnt Around the Edges (available on Amazon).
📩 Subscribe to the podcast for more real, human, and actionable conversations about leadership, burnout, and recovery.
📤 Share this blog or the episode with someone who needs to know: you’re not alone, and this is not the end of your story.

Let’s humanize the fire service. Let’s talk about what really matters.

Stay well.
– Arjuna (Show Host)