#straightfromcait: Healing Is Hard To Believe In When You're Burnt Out

Is anyone else on clubhouse yet? On one hand it feels like an extra thing to do, but on another, it leaves space for some really great conversations. Last week, I was invited to co-moderate a room on Physician Burnout and the conversation and some of the points made were genius. I took 5 pages of notes while I was listening to the other speakers. And yet, the whole time I was on the call, something was bothering me and I didn’t nail down what it was until I was talking to my husband about it post call.

 

All of the burnout research tells us that organizations are up to 80% responsible for burnout. That means that all of the energy that is going into solving burnout is slated toward organizational change. Within that, people that do the work related to organizational change often judge those of us that are focusing on individual wellness because we are, and I quote, not seeing the true problem.

Here’s the TRUE problem in my eyes. Organizational change HAS to happen. I am SO HERE FOR IT and I am so thrilled people smarter than me at organizational development are working on it. That, however, doesn’t change the fact that people are burnt out right now and they deserve the chance to heal.

Fixing the organizations will go a long way toward #endingburnoutculture, but in the meantime, we still need to treat burnout like a true diagnosis and help people HEAL. We don’t have time to wait for organizational change. Any other diagnosis is treated differently. Heart disease is a huge issue - partially because of genetics, but largely because of food. So, that means the organizational change that needs to happen is a restructuring of food, the FDA, advertising, education about diet and exercise, etc. And all that needs to happen. But that doesn’t mean we’re going to stop doing bypasses in the meantime.

Where are the bypasses for my burnt out folk?

Treating burnout is hard because:

1. There’s no concrete set of symptoms that lead to a concrete burnout diagnosis
2. Chronic stress leads to brain changes that require lifestyle shifts to regrow
3. Every single episode of it is different
4. It requires a multidisciplinary approach. We must deal with the nervous system, the endocrine system, the immune system, and more.
5. People still doubt that they have it and even if they choose to recognize it in their own lives, most other people don’t really understand how terrible it feels so there isn’t a lot of compassion

 

That is why it is so crucial to work with someone who can guide you through it - to help you find the most impactful actions so that you don’t spend energy that you don’t have on solutions that don’t work. I am obsessed with doing this with you. I love watching the process unfold. I love holding space for you while it all happens. I love the SHOCK that happens when you realize that 3 months have passed and you’re still very much the same person - but you feel SO MUCH BETTER. 

 

Even when I’m prepping workshops for corporations, for 100 or 400 people, I’m thinking about you as an individual - not because burnout is your fault and not because they’re aren’t systems in play that contributed to your burnout - but because in spite of those things, you still deserve to heal, you need to heal, and in order to do that, we need to focus on what we can control.

So we do, and as our time together unfolds, I cry with joy and I feel so much pride for you. I love accompanying you on the journey from angry, tired, burnt out, and hating everyone to energized, present, engaged in your life, and enjoying people again.

If it's time for you to end the burnout cycle in your own life, I'm here, at the ready. Book a free consult. There's literally nothing to lose. bit.ly/callcait

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices