This presentation explores how chronic stress contributes to burnout by disrupting hormone regulation, and how everyday behaviors like nutrition, movement, sleep, and recovery play a direct role in restoring balance. Attendees will learn how hormonal shifts can function as motivating operations and influence the three-term contingency, reinforcing behavioral patterns that keep burnout in motion.
Using a behavior-analytic framework, participants will assess their own hormone-supportive behaviors, set measurable goals, and practice interpreting self-monitoring data to guide change. This session offers BCBAs practical and evidence-based tools to reduce physical symptoms of burnout and improve energy, recovery, and long-term resilience through behavior, not just your generic self care check list.
Learning Objectives:
- The participant will explain how hormonal signals function within the three-term contingency and their role in burnout.
- The participant will identify hormone-friendly behaviors that influence energy regulation and stress resilience.
- The participant will provide examples of indirect assessment methods for evaluating baseline hormone-supportive behaviors.
- The participant will develop measurable goals to increase hormone-supportive behaviors and align them with socially significant outcomes.
- The participant will analyze graphed data to make data-based decisions for modifying goals and prevention strategies related to burnout.
Megan Patterson is a BCBA and certified nutrition and fitness coach who helps busy women build energy, consistency, and strength without extremes. After experiencing severe burnout as a practitioner and gaining over 70 pounds, she realized that mindset alone wasn’t enough — her body was in survival mode. That experience led her to combine ABA, ACT, and hormone-informed health coaching to support long-term recovery through behavior change. Megan is the founder of Elevate Coaching and creator of the Elevate ACTions course, where she helps others take action even on their hardest days.