Coaching with Sarah: How To Ask For Help From the Right People (And Then, How to Accept It)

Dec 21, 2025

Discover why asking for help is often viewed as weakness and how it can actually be a source of strength. Sarah guides Samira, a listener battling burnout, through the complexities of over-independence and the importance of setting clear expectations with support. They delve into the emotional safety of close relationships, how to clarify needs, and the significance of mapping out different sources of support. By reframing resilience as a skill built through receiving help, they highlight the transformative power of community and self-care.

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INSIGHT

Self-Reliance Often Starts As Protection

Early disappointments teaching self-reliance make asking for help feel unsafe and shameful.
Sarah Vosen reframes asking for help as the behavior that builds resilience, not weakness.

ADVICE

Ask For Specific Support

Clarify exactly what you need before asking someone for help so they can actually provide it.
Ask for specific forms of support (hug, money, task help) instead of the vague request 'help'.

ADVICE

Match Requests To People's Strengths

If a person can't give the emotional support you want, ask them for practical help they can provide.
Let go of unmet expectations so you can receive the help they actually offer.

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The Best Burnout Coaching starts here - (this is a great way to ask for help!): https://caitdonovan.com/coaching

Burnout recovery starts when you stop treating self-sufficiency as strength and learn how to ask for help without shame.

In this Coaching session, Sarah Vosen sits down with Samira, a longtime listener facing burnout rooted in over-responsibility, financial stress, and a habit of doing everything alone. Rest has started to bring back some energy, yet doubt remains. What if it is still not enough? What if needing support means something is wrong?

At the heart of this conversation is the realization that self-reliance often begins as protection. When early attempts to ask for help led to disappointment, independence became the safest path. Over time, that strategy can quietly turn into isolation and exhaustion. Sarah reframes resilience as something built through receiving rather than pushing harder and invites Samira to see that she can learn how to ask for help and build it as a skill.

They also explore how support works best when expectations are clear and realistic. Not everyone in our lives can meet every emotional need. Some people bring calm. Others bring practical relief. Releasing unmet expectations can soften resentment and make space for real support to land.

This episode invites reflection on long-held beliefs about strength and worth. What changes when asking for help feels neutral rather than shameful? What becomes possible when support is treated as nourishment rather than failure? Burnout recovery begins at the roots, and sometimes the bravest step is allowing yourself to receive.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Burnout Recovery and the Cost of Self-Reliance

03:09 Why Asking for Help Feels Unsafe

08:58 Letting Go of Unmet Expectations in Relationships

11:54 Asking for Help as a Skill That Builds Resilience

14:47 Restoring Emotional Roots to Heal Burnout

Links

If you’re ready to take the next step toward healing, you can explore 1:1 coaching with Sarah Vosen at bit.ly/unfriedcoach

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