Empowering Women in Tech: Navigating the Journey of Running on Empty
- Aja Ngo
- Aug 13
- 2 min read
I'm Aja Ngo, an acupuncturist in SW Portland (97221), and I want to talk to the women in tech I see every week — carrying deadlines, back-to-back calls, and often the invisible weight of being the only woman in the room. If you're depleted, it's not a personal failing. It's a pattern, and it's treatable.
Signs You're Burned Out, Not Just Busy
Wired but tired — fried by mid-afternoon, wired at midnight
Brain fog — simple decisions suddenly take real effort
Tension in the body — clenched jaw, tight shoulders, headaches, eye strain
Flattened mood — irritability or numbness instead of highs and lows
Body on the back burner — skipped meals, getting sick more often
Quiet loss of motivation — the slow dimming of "why am I doing this"
If several of these sound familiar, don't wait for a crash to take it seriously.
A Few Things You Can Do Today
Take a real screen break every 90 minutes — even 5 minutes away from the screen lets your nervous system downshift.
Eat a real lunch away from your desk — skipped meals keep stress hormones elevated all day.
Unclench your jaw and drop your shoulders — check in a few times a day; tension collects there without you noticing.
Protect one non-negotiable wind-down ritual at night — no laptop in the last 30 minutes before bed.
Name the load you're carrying — burnout compounds when the emotional labor goes unacknowledged, even just to yourself.
Why Acupuncture Helps
Acupuncture shifts your body out of fight-or-flight and into real rest — something most tech schedules never allow for on their own. My Elemental Reset™ sessions combine acupuncture with gua sha, shiatsu, scalp and foot massage, and essential oils, matched to your specific pattern of depletion rather than a one-size-fits-all protocol. Ninety minutes, no laptop, nothing required of you.
If this sounds like what you need, I'd be glad to see you.
Aja Ngo, L.Ac. · Portland Traditional Acupuncture 5319 SW Westgate Dr, Ste 134, Portland, OR 97221 · (503) 928-9916
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