Built From Burnout | 01

50 TABS OPEN - ISSUE 01

By Tanika Chapman - Founder, ZEHN Wellness

Published Feb 27, 2026 - 4 min read

When I started this brand, I made a promise to myself that I was going to be raw, open, and honest about what it actually looks like to build something from the ground up. I've worked with so many founders and watched them do it, and none of them ever really talked about how fucking hard it is. It's all launch days, brand deals, and "so grateful" captions. And that's fine. But that's not the full picture. So here's mine.

I launched ZEHN on social media on 10 January 2026. Seven weeks ago. In that time, things have moved faster than I ever expected. I’ve secured venue partnerships across the Peninsula, landed two major brand partnerships I thought were years away, sold out an event, and a genuine community is actually forming around something I built. On top of that, my side hustle in freelance photography just landed me a published article in British Vogue.

I'm not saying any of this to brag. I'm saying it because, from the outside, it probably looks like everything is going perfectly. And it is. But when you work for yourself, there's no one telling you to stop. There's no weekend. There's no clocking off. I was working crazy hours, running on pure ADHD hyper-focus energy, riding the highs, and never once giving myself a chance to slow down.

Then Wednesday night hit me hard. It was like I’d been running at 100mph and suddenly hit a brick wall.

I went into a complete shell for a 48 hours. I couldn’t get out of bed. My body felt like concrete. I had a big ugly cry on the floor and just let it all out. I felt exhausted. I felt homesick, which is strange because I've lived in Melbourne for eight years. I felt lonely. My fiancé, Mitch, is away travelling at the moment, and normally that's fine, but I think I was just so run down that everything caught up to me at once.

It was enough to knock me flat.

If you know, you know. Because that's the part of ADHD no one really talks about. People hear ADHD and they think hyperactive, can't sit still, bad with time. What they don't see are the days of complete paralysis. Where you're staring at a to-do list you wrote yourself and you physically cannot start. You're not lazy. You're stuck. And the guilt of that? It makes you feel like the biggest failure on the planet.

I've had ADHD my whole life, long before anyone was really talking about it on social media. I went through about 50 different jobs trying to find something that fit, and I'm not exaggerating. That's what searching for purpose looks like when your brain is wired differently. People thought I couldn't commit or follow through. But I knew exactly what I wanted. I just hadn't found it yet.

Ironically, becoming a founder has been the single best thing I've ever done for my mental health. I know that sounds wild right after telling you I was crying on the floor. But I get to control my hours. I don't have someone I need to report to every day. In the past, I'd be sitting at a desk completely overwhelmed, unable to function, and no one around me could see it. I just looked like someone who wasn't coping. Because I wasn't. Now, when my brain shuts down, I can step away.

I crashed this week because everything is growing so fast and I didn't know what to work on next. I know people would kill for that problem. But in the moment, all I could think was: Holy shit, so many people already trust me and this brand. Imagine what this is going to look like in a few years. That thought should excite you. And it does. But the moment I realised this is actually real, it also terrified me.

When you get scared like that, you have to go back to your anchor. I always talk about ikigai. I picked up the book on my way to Bali a couple of years ago not expecting much, and it changed my life (sounds cringe… I know) but keep reading. It’s a Japanese concept about finding the intersection of what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for. I spent years trying to land in that centre. And I finally have.

I'm building a brand that aligns with every single one of my values. Getting people out of the office. Out of the 9-to-5 fog. Into nature. Into community. If I can get someone to have a reset without needing to book a flight or write off a whole weekend, that's my job done. Everything else is a bonus.

Jumping off track for a second… I need to mention my fiancé in all of this. He has watched me change careers more times than either of us can count. He's ridden every high and held me through every low. The stress, the anxiety, the days I couldn't get off the couch. He deals with it every single day and he's still here backing me. I can finally look at him and say with my whole chest: This is the thing. This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

Something I've learnt the hard way is you can't just chase what's trending. You can align with incredible brands, but if it doesn't sit right in your gut, it won't last. I'd rather grow slowly and stay aligned than blow up doing something that doesn't feel like mine.

So yeah. Tough week. Big cry. A few days of feeling pretty flat. But I woke up today and I’m back. I feel refreshed. I’m still here. Still building.

This is the raw, unfiltered life of a founder with ADHD. It's messy and emotional and exhausting and the most rewarding thing I've ever done. If you're in the thick of it too, the burnout, the paralysis, the "am I even cut out for this" spiral, you're not alone.

Welcome to 50 Tabs Open. A new blog by the founder of ZEHN. Me. Tanika Chapman.

*wow it feels weird to say that