FRIED. The Burnout Podcast #straightwithcait: What PT Taught Me About Burnout Recovery
Burnout recovery isn’t about doing more—it’s about finding the right help. Begin here: https://caitdonovan.com/coaching
Burnout convinces you that rest should be enough, and when it isn’t, you assume you’re broken.
In this #straightfromcait episode, Cait shares how a shoulder injury revealed a missing step in her own recovery process. Two months of full rest left her pain-free but not ready. When her physical therapist handed her one-pound weights and she could barely lift them, she realized the injury had healed, but her strength hadn’t returned.
That moment reframed everything. Most of us focus on the pause — the sleeping, the pulling back, the stopping. But recovery isn’t just the absence of strain. At some point, rest has to turn into rebuild. Gently. Slowly. Without ego. This isn’t about going back to who you were before burnout, it’s about training for who you’re becoming.
If you’ve been wondering why life still feels heavier than it should, maybe nothing’s wrong with you at all. Maybe you’re not fragile, just not rebuilt yet.
Episode Breakdown:
00:00 What Burnout Recovery Gets Wrong About Rest
01:19 The Shoulder Injury That Sparked a Realization
02:22 Physical Therapy and the Wake-Up Call of Weakness
03:06 Rest vs. Rebuild in Burnout Recovery
07:12 Nutrition, Movement, and Mental Habits That Restore Capacity
09:09 Recovery as a Foundation, Not the Finish Line
Connect with Cait:
Burnout recovery isn’t about doing more—it’s about finding the right help. Begin here.
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm