When Success Feels Hollow
How Somatic Practices Help High-Achievers Come Home to Themselves
Even the most successful leaders can feel empty inside. The titles, the achievements, the recognition—none of it fills the quiet space inside where something feels… missing.
It’s a feeling I see often in high-achievers. They keep moving, keep leading, keep producing—but underneath the polished surface is a nervous system running on overdrive and a body quietly carrying the weight of unmet needs and long-forgotten emotions.
Sometimes, it’s the body that speaks first—through restless nights, tight shoulders, shallow breath, or that nagging feeling of “Is this it?”
Somatic practices are one way we begin to listen.
A Male Leader Who Was Losing Himself in the Noise of Success
One client was a respected leader running a thriving company. On paper, he had it all together. But his marriage had become an empty shell, and the longer he stayed, the more he lost sleep, energy, and even a sense of who he was beyond “boss, provider, problem-solver.”
His nervous system was always on high alert—shoulders tense, breath tight, scanning for the next thing to fix.
When we worked together somatically, we didn’t start by trying to “solve” the marriage. Instead, we began with simple, intentional movement—wall sits, slow pushups, mindful pauses.
“The hypervigilance is still there,” he told me, “but these moments bring me back. I can feel what I’m holding that isn’t mine. I can finally breathe.”
Those small practices became a language of self-awareness, a way of returning home to his body and breath. Over time, long-buried emotions surfaced naturally—grief, anger, even relief. With them came a quiet clarity he hadn’t felt in years.
Amanda’s Somatic Experiments: Learning What Ease Feels Like
Amanda was a lead teacher who came to me during a season of health challenges, loss, and burnout. Anxiety wasn’t just an occasional visitor for her—it was the air she breathed. She’d tried therapy, cognitive behavioral work, and other healing modalities, but nothing fully shifted the pattern.
Through our sessions, we used simple somatic experiments—small, intentional practices to help her tune into the sensations of her own body. At first, it felt unfamiliar, even uncomfortable, but over time she began to notice what safety and ease actually felt like in her system.
One week in yoga, she practiced giving just 50–60% effort instead of her usual 100+%. It was a revelation. She felt what it was like to not push herself to depletion. That simple awareness rippled into her daily life—how she moved, how she spoke, how she chose what truly nourished her.
“I’m beginning to know what I want and need,” she said. “I can feel it in my body now. I have the energy to act on it. I feel more confident, less afraid. I’m connecting with my family in a deeper, more genuine way.”
Somatic Awareness: The Missing Link for True Fulfillment
These are the quiet moments of transformation—where the nervous system softens, the body remembers safety, and what once felt fixed suddenly becomes fluid again.
Because no matter how successful we are on the outside, the real work is coming home to ourselves on the inside.
Ready to Feel at Home in Yourself Again?
If you recognize yourself in these stories, you’re not alone. So many high-achievers silently carry the weight of old patterns in their bodies. Change doesn’t have to be hard or forced—it can be gentle, compassionate, and deeply effective.
Learn more about working with me.
Jennifer Degen
July 17, 2025
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