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Ascension Symptoms in Business: What No One Tells Intuitive Entrepreneurs About Growth

You asked for the growth. You made the move. You said yes to the next level.

And now?

Everything feels like it’s falling apart.

You’re foggy, fatigued, emotional. The clarity you had last week has vanished. Your nervous system is rattled. Maybe you’re second-guessing yourself or wondering if you’ve made a massive mistake.

Let me be clear: This is not a breakdown. It’s a becoming.

Welcome to the part of growth no one talks about—the messy, murky middle. The phase where everything you’ve outgrown starts to ache on its way out, and everything you’re stepping into starts to rise—but doesn’t quite fit yet. This is what I call Ascension Symptoms.

And they are not a problem.

They’re a signal.

Growth Isn’t Always Comfortable (And That’s Okay)

So many women in business think something’s gone wrong when things start to feel heavy right after making a bold move.

You raised your prices, launched the thing, pitched the podcast, finally said yes to the offer that’s been on your heart and then BAM.

You feel like:

• You’ve hit a wall.

• Your energy crashes.

• You question your whole business.

• Your body rebels.

You might be tempted to spiral. To scale it back. To take it as a sign that it’s all misaligned. But what if I told you…

This is your nervous system recalibrating to hold more.

Not just more money. More impact. More visibility. More capacity. More truth.

This is not failure. This is feedback.

What Are Ascension Symptoms?

Think of them as growing pains for your business (and your body). They might look like:

• Sudden physical illness

• Brain fog or fatigue

• Emotional surges or sensitivity

• Relationship tension

• Old limiting beliefs resurfacing

• Clients ghosting or dropping off

• Unexpected tech or team issues

Sound familiar?

These are not coincidences. They are part of your energetic expansion.

Every time you say yes to more, your system asks: Are we safe to receive this?

If the answer isn’t a full-bodied yes, your body, mind, and energy will try to course correct.

Not to punish you. But to protect you.

Not Every Symptom Is a Sign to Stop

One of the biggest mistakes I see is mistaking discomfort for misalignment.

Yes, business should feel aligned. But aligned doesn’t always mean easy.

The moment you raise your prices and suddenly feel like vomiting? That’s not misalignment, that’s your nervous system hitting its edge.

You’re meeting the threshold between who you’ve been and who you’re becoming.

I’ve experienced this so many times in my own business. Every time I levelled up, whether it was launching something big, claiming deeper visibility, or expanding into new offers, my body would rebel.

• I’ve had stomach bugs, head colds, and wild fatigue hit right after a launch.

• I’ve had relationship dynamics shift and stir during seasons of up-levelling.

• I’ve watched old patterns and wounds rise to the surface just as I was stepping into the next version of me.

These are not problems. These are portals.

Your Nervous System Is Not Failing You

It’s just being stretched.

Your nervous system was wired for safety, not success. So when you step outside your known zone, it’s going to ask: Are we okay here?

If you don’t have tools to regulate and anchor yourself - you’ll sabotage the expansion to retreat back to what’s familiar.

This is why so many women cycle in and out of growth. Because without somatic and emotional support, they confuse:

• Fear with misalignment

• Intensity with danger

• Chaos with failure

But some fear is wisdom. And some fear is just your body saying, This is new. Let’s tread gently.

The Subtle Symptoms of Growth No One Warns You About

Here’s what ascension can look like behind the scenes:

• A “random” illness right before a big launch

• Emotional breakdowns that lead to spiritual clarity

• Feeling heavy or low after saying yes to something expansive

• Tech glitches, no-shows, unexpected chaos

These are not blocks. They’re birth canals.

Your old identity is trying to hold on, but it can’t survive where you’re going. So yes, it’ll resist. But only because it’s scared.

You are not broken. You are becoming.

Two Types of Women I See

1. The aware ones. They know they’re experiencing ascension symptoms. They’ve seen the pattern before. They come to me saying, “I’ve hit my upper limit. I can feel the edge.”

2. The unaware ones. They think something is wrong. They assume their offer, their audience, or their pricing is the issue. They spiral into self-doubt, burnout, or withdrawal—not realising they’re being stretched into something bigger.

Both are worthy. Both are powerful. Both just need to be shown a different way to hold themselves through the mess.

This Is Your Invitation to Anchor

When you feel the discomfort rise, pause.

Ask:

• What is this trying to show me?

• Where have I felt this before?

• Is this an old pattern resurfacing to be healed?

• Can I meet this moment with love instead of fear?

You don’t need to fix everything. But you do need to listen.

Regulate. Reground. Reconnect.

Your body knows the way.

From Crisis to Capacity

You can’t build a sustainable business from survival-mode patterns.

Overgiving, perfectionism, people-pleasing, urgency, overachievement - these might’ve helped you get here, but they can’t take you there.

You don’t need more strategy. You need safety. You need a regulated nervous system that can hold the bigness of what you’re stepping into.

That’s what I help my clients do.

My Story (and Why This Matters)

I didn’t build a scalable, sustainable business from a five-year plan and colour-coded calendar.

I built it from the ashes of burnout, agoraphobia, PTSD, and years of misalignment. I built it from deeply understanding what my body really needed in moments of intensity.

Every time I thought I’d reached a limit, the work wasn’t to push harder.

It was to soften. To listen. To rewire.

Now, I lead other women to do the same.

You’re Not Behind. You’re Recalibrating.

So if things feel heavier now that you’ve said yes, if you feel like you’re grieving the old version of you. If you’re wondering why you’re more emotional, more tired, more uncertain after the leap..

Let me be your mirror:

This is not a setback. It’s a sacred reconfiguration.

Let it move through. Let it teach you. Let it clear the space.

What to Do Next

1. Acknowledge the ascension symptoms. Stop fighting them. Start understanding them.

2. Regulate your nervous system. This is the real work of sustainable success.

3. Seek support that honours your capacity.

If you want guidance through this exact season, this is what my Embodied Business Mapping Sessions are for.

A 2-hour 1:1 space to:

• Ground back into your body and truth

• Make the invisible visible

• Map your next move from a resourced nervous system (not a frantic mind)

This isn’t about forcing clarity. It’s about meeting what’s here.

Your next level doesn’t require more effort, it requires more alignment.

Not every breakdown is a bad thing. Sometimes the breakdown is the bridge.

You are not behind. You are not broken.

You are expanding.

And your business gets to grow with you.

Let’s hold the human behind the strategy. Let’s let your healing lead your success.

Your body already knows the way.

Ready to map your next move?

Book your Embodied Business Mapping Session or come say hi on Instagram @jessica.read.ilc. I’d love to hear what ascension symptoms you’re moving through.