Why Somatic Therapies Could Revolutionize Women’s Stress, Burnout & Nervous System Health
The Unique Neuroscience of Women
Imagine a world where high-achieving women no longer break down under the weight of stress but instead, thrive through it. Not because they’ve toughened up or numbed out, but because they’ve learned to change their relationship with stress entirely.
Women’s brains are wired differently. Neuroscience shows us that, on functional MRI scans, female brains demonstrate a higher degree of connectivity between regions. We process more simultaneously, multitask more fluidly, and intuitively pick up signals from our environment.
Layer this with the hormonal fluctuations of our cycles, and it becomes clear: women are constantly adapting to internal and external stressors.
But here’s the problem: our culture hasn’t caught up to this science.
We still define stress in outdated ways as if it’s just about being “too busy” or “overwhelmed.”
What if stress wasn’t the enemy, but an invitation?
A New Definition of Stress for a New Era
Physician and longevity expert Peter Attia has suggested that the word stress itself might be obsolete. It doesn’t capture the full scope of what women are experiencing, especially those in high-pressure roles like medicine, law, leadership, and parenting.
Stress isn’t just about deadlines.
It’s about being stretched in all directions while suppressing your own needs.
It’s about emotional labor and invisible responsibilities.
This is where somatic therapies come in.
These body-based practices help women:
Release nervous system tension
Discharge stored stress energy
Rewire long-held patterns of overdrive
The impact is nothing short of revolutionary.
The Hidden Toll of Burnout on Women’s Bodies
Research shows that women are 42% more likely than men to experience burnout, even when doing the exact same jobs.
And burnout isn’t just “feeling tired.” It’s linked to increased rates of:
Depression and anxiety
Chronic musculoskeletal pain
Heart disease
Digestive disorders
Poor immune function
And yet, we don’t talk about this.
Not in medical school.
Not in corporate meetings.
Not in the boardroom.
Often, we only stumble upon somatic therapies after a crisis or if we happen to meet a gifted healer or bodyworker who opens the door.
What if we didn’t wait for a breakdown?
What if we brought these practices to the women at the top before they hit a wall?
That’s the mission that I’m on.
Why?
Because if we don’t change the way women approach stress, the cost will keep rising. There will be higher rates of chronic illness, generational cycles of anxiety passed down to children and a healthcare system stretched thin by preventable conditions.
Women are the backbone of homes, businesses, and communities and yet we’re the ones running on empty.
Without access to tools like somatic regulation, we’ll keep medicating, numbing, and pushing through. We’ll keep seeing the same patterns in our daughters. We’ll keep wondering why fulfillment feels out of reach, even when we’ve “checked all the boxes.”
My Turning Point: From Research to Radical Embodiment
I first became fascinated with the body-mind connection as a medical student.
During my fourth year, I read a study that showed immune markers improved in HIV-positive individuals practicing somatic therapies. Viral loads decreased. CD4 counts increased.
This wasn’t just about feeling better.
It was about physiological transformation.
Soon after, I traveled to Big Sur, immersing myself in nervous system healing, movement, and embodiment practices.
It changed me forever.
I realized healing wasn’t about thinking differently. It was about feeling differently. About working with the body, not against it.
Awakening Through the Pelvis
One of the most surprising parts of my healing journey?
My pelvis.
Women’s health rehabilitation, especially pelvic floor health, became my obsession. Our hips, posture, and deep stabilizing muscles influence far more than physical strength - they shape our emotional resilience.
Through somatic movement, free flow dance, and sensory awareness, I discovered what grounding truly feels like. I remembered the strength of being rooted.
And in that grounding, I found freedom.
Why This Matters Now More Than Ever
We’re at a tipping point.
Women are leading companies, shaping culture, raising families and burning out in the process.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Somatic therapies offer more than symptom relief.
They offer liberation.
They reconnect us to ourselves in a way that is grounded, intuitive, and sustainable.
Imagine if:
Nervous system regulation was taught as a life skill.
Burnout stopped being glorified as a badge of honor.
Success meant being regulated, present, and alive.
Our daughters inherited models of strength rooted in embodiment, not exhaustion.
Final Thoughts: The Body Is the Path
You don’t have to earn rest.
You don’t need a diagnosis to begin healing.
You only need to listen.
Whether you’re a physician, a CEO, a lawyer, or a mom - your body carries wisdom that no achievement can replace.
The future of women’s health isn’t just medical.
It’s somatic. It’s embodied.
And it’s already within you.
Ready to understand how stress really shows up in your body?
👉 Take the What’s Your Stress Vibe? Quiz - a fun assessment that reveals your unique nervous system pattern and the best first step to regulate it.
Because you don’t need another quick fix.
You need to know what your body is really telling you.
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About the Author
Dr. Lynette Santos Malik, MD is a holistic physiatrist, somatic stress coach for professional woman and founder of the Golden Love Collective. She specializes in nervous system regulation for high-achieving women, subconscious healing, and guiding clients to reconnect with their bodies without sacrificing their lives or careers. Through her signature program, Golden Habits™, she integrates somatic techniques, psychedelic integration and hypnosis for burnout prevention and body-mind stress reset tools that help women release stress at the cellular level and embody a new way of leading—without burnout or bypassing.
🔗 Take the quiz: What’s Your Stress Vibe?
📍 Learn more at Golden Love Collective