FRIED. The Burnout Podcast

Sometimes the next step is simply asking for help. Sarah Vosen is here to guide you through it: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingWinter fear can feel like burnout recovery slipping away but this episode reframes fear and depletion as a natural part of winter rather than a sign of winter burnout or failure. In this #sarahshares episode, Sarah Vosen speaks directly to the quiet panic that surfaces when low energy and fear return during the darkest part of the year. When light fades and energy pulls inward, burnout recovery can feel fragile. Fear often replaces simple exhaustion, especially when the nervous system is already depleted. Sarah offers a grounding reframe. That fear is not proof you are backsliding. It is information. Winter exposes depletion more clearly, which can feel unsettling, but it also invites a different response.Instead of pushing through or overriding low energy, the conversation centers on safety, rest, and conservation. What does safety actually feel like in your body? What helps you settle when fear is loud and rest feels out of reach? Winter is not asking for progress or productivity. It is asking for care, containment, and trust that restoration often begins when you stop fighting the dark.Episode Breakdown:00:00 Embracing Winter's Wisdom05:06 Understanding Fear in Winter09:47 Seeking Safety and Self-Care17:10 Navigating Hibernation and RestorationRelated episodes you might want to listen to next:Irrational Fears are a Sign of DepletionBurnout and SleepIf you’re ready to take the next step toward healing, you can explore 1:1 coaching with Sarah Vosen at bit.ly/unfriedcoachConnect with Cait:Initial Call with CaitInitial Call with SarahSometimes the next step is simply asking for help. Sarah Vosen is here to guide you through it: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingPodcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

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.

Hailey Paige Magee, an author and certified coach, shares her insights on battling burnout and loneliness. She discusses the quiet collapse of identity that many experience when societal expectations hinder true fulfillment. Hailey emphasizes the importance of reconnecting with community after periods of isolation and the necessity of healthy relationships. The conversation also tackles the reshaping of success beyond metrics, the discomfort of reentering social spaces, and finding meaning through collective experiences rather than individual achievements.

Sarah Vosen, Director of coaching for BurnBOLD™ and expert in burnout recovery, dives deep into the emotional turmoil that high achievers face when feeling burnt out. She explains how unrealistic self-expectations can spiral into feelings of failure. Listeners learn practical strategies to assess their energy, prioritize tasks based on true capacity, and avoid overcommitting. Sarah emphasizes the importance of honesty about one’s limits and encourages rebuilding self-trust while navigating recovery from burnout.

The conversation dives into how fall amplifies feelings of grief and guilt, linking it to the body's need for emotional release. It explores practical self-care techniques, such as breathing exercises and allowing tears to process stored emotions. Listeners learn about the importance of hydration, warmth, and regular bowel movements for both physical and emotional well-being. The discussion encourages embracing the season's natural rhythm, inviting introspection and self-compassion as a pathway to healing.

Burnout isn’t the end of your story. With Sarah Vosen’s guidance, recovery becomes not just possible—but sustainable. Learn more: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingBurnout doesn’t end with a mindset shift—it begins when you finally allow grief, emptiness, and small sparks of joy to coexist without needing to fix any of them.Author and speaker Cyndie Spiegel joins Cait to talk about what it means to live inside the gray area, the space where both pain and beauty can exist at once. She shares how walking away from a high-profile fashion career led her to teaching, writing, and discovering the idea of microjoys: brief, accessible moments of light that don’t erase hardship but remind us life still holds goodness. Together, they unpack how black-and-white thinking fuels burnout, why forced gratitude doesn’t work, and how simple awareness can shift everything.What if healing starts with noticing what else is true? What might open up when you stop chasing “better” and start paying attention to what’s already here?Episode Breakdown:00:00 Introduction02:00 Cyndie Spiegel’s Burnout Story in the Fashion Industry08:35 Finding Purpose Through Yoga and Teaching10:37 Writing A Year of Positive Thinking16:08 The Birth of Microjoys18:40 Finding Hope When Life Isn’t Okay24:30 Living in the Gray: Holding Multiple Truths32:54 Practicing Microjoys in Daily Life39:21 Where to Find Cyndie Spiegel and Final ReflectionsConnect with Cyndie Spiegel:Cyndie’s Website Follow Cyndie on Instagram Connect with Cyndie on LinkedIn Sign up to Cyndie’s Email ListConnect with Cait:Initial Call with CaitInitial Call with SarahBurnout isn’t the end of your story. With Sarah Vosen’s guidance, recovery becomes not just possible—but sustainable. Learn more: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingPodcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Healing happens faster with guidance. Give yourself permission to ask for and receive help: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingMost people think they’ve failed at change when they’ve actually just hit the part where being human takes over.Cait Donovan is taking a closer look at why behavior change is so hard to maintain and why relapse isn’t a sign of weakness but proof that your brain is doing exactly what it’s designed to do. She explains how old habits never fully disappear, they just sit quietly, waiting for a moment of stress or fatigue to reappear. Change takes effort, repetition, and compassion for the part of you that’s still learning.Cait shares how progress depends on context and patience. A new habit might feel strong at home but crumble at work, and that’s normal. The real work isn’t about erasing the old pattern but building trust in your ability to return to the new one again and again. This episode is a reminder that being human is not the problem, it’s the process.Episode Breakdown:00:00 Understanding Why Behavior Change Feels Impossible01:39 How the Brain Builds and Keeps Old Habits04:10 Why New Behaviors Don’t Stick in Every Environment06:20 Relapse as a Normal Part of Behavior Change09:01 Final Takeaways: Being Human Is the ProcessConnect with Cait:Initial Call with CaitInitial Call with SarahHealing happens faster with guidance. Give yourself permission to ask for and receive help: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingPodcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

You don’t have to carry burnout alone. The right support can help you breathe again—start here: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingBurnout doesn’t always look like collapse; sometimes it hides in the moments when you’re still performing, but your spark keeps flickering out, and that’s where this honest coaching session begins.In this episode, Sarah Vosen sits down with Jennie, an attorney and mom unsure whether what she’s feeling qualifies as burnout. Together they unpack the World Health Organization’s markers of burnout—exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced efficacy—and what those look like in real life. Is it possible to feel functional yet fried? How do you know when your capacity is shrinking faster than you realize?As Sarah guides Jennie through a clearer understanding of her patterns, practical steps begin to emerge: protecting space on the calendar, creating buffers between meetings, and rebuilding small habits that restore energy. The conversation also touches on the role of perimenopause in stress and recovery, giving Jennie a compassionate framework for why her old pace no longer fits.The episode leaves listeners with a grounded reminder: burnout recovery isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing differently, one small boundary at a time.Episode Breakdown:00:00 What Burnout Really Looks Like04:10 Understanding the WHO Definition of Burnout10:06 Small Doable Steps for Burnout Recovery14:51 Setting Boundaries and Time Blocks That Stick22:32 Learning to Control What You Can Control25:14 Dropping Self-Judgment and Reclaiming Energy34:54 The Connection Between Burnout and Perimenopause39:36 Building a New Operating System for Sustainable Work45:07 Grace, Compassion, and Real RecoveryLinksIf you’re ready to take the next step toward healing, you can explore 1:1 coaching with Sarah Vosen at bit.ly/unfriedcoach Download the Web of Causation Exercise to uncover the layers behind your burnout and begin creating your recovery plan: https://www.caitdonovan.com/freebie-webConnect with Cait:Initial Call with CaitInitial Call with SarahYou don’t have to carry burnout alone. The right support can help you breathe again—start here: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingPodcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Burnout can feel like failure, but admitting it may be the first step toward healing. During a live coaching session, Heather grapples with the fear that slowing down will undermine her achievements. Sarah helps her understand that shame is not a reflection of worth and that burnout stems from exceeded capacity, not personal failure. They discuss the importance of recognizing the need for a longer break and reframing rest as an opportunity for recovery and redefinition of success. It's a powerful reminder that stepping back can be a brave choice for rebuilding one's life.

Burnout recovery isn’t about doing more—it’s about finding the right help. Begin here: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingBurnout 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 Rest01:19 The Shoulder Injury That Sparked a Realization02:22 Physical Therapy and the Wake-Up Call of Weakness03:06 Rest vs. Rebuild in Burnout Recovery07:12 Nutrition, Movement, and Mental Habits That Restore Capacity09:09 Recovery as a Foundation, Not the Finish LineConnect with Cait:Initial Call with CaitInitial Call with SarahBurnout recovery isn’t about doing more—it’s about finding the right help. Begin here.Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm