FRIED. The Burnout Podcast

“My life looked great, my Instagram looked great, my CV looked great, but behind the scenes of that, I was burning out in a big way,” says Maggie Supernova, Burnout Prevention and Recovery Coach. In a former life, Maggie worked for 12 years as a marketing executive in the live entertainment industry, a career that took her from the West End of London to Broadway and beyond. While teenage Maggie would have been thrilled by this career path, which had been a lifelong dream, grownup Maggie did not like the person she had become. Her job had become her entire life, and her sense of self, calm and balance were crushed underneath it.   After quite literally collapsing on the floor of her workplace after a two-week vacation, Maggie realized that her body was screaming at her to get out. She quit her job and moved back in with her parents just months before the pandemic hit. Maggie explains that the pandemic was in many ways a blessing in disguise for her, as it forced her to slow down and truly embody the practices she needed to implement to overcome her burnout. Not only did Maggie apply those lessons to her own life, but she is now using them to support others in her work as a yoga instructor and burnout coach as well.   Tune into this week’s episode of FRIED. The Burnout Podcast for a moving conversation with Maggie about the supernova moment that transformed her life. Learn more about the dangers of an all or nothing mentality, the importance of continued practice even when you don’t feel its benefits, and the magic of yin yoga to restore balance to your body and brain.    Quotes • “My life looked great, my Instagram looked great, my CV looked great, but behind the scenes of that, I was burning out in a big way.” (05:07-05:20) • “I can see now how completely unhealthy my life was. I was obsessed with my work, and it was the thing that completely defined me because it wasn’t just work. It was my social life, it was my friends, it was my passion.” (09:58-10:14)  • “[I’m now] figuring out who I am, who I’ve always been away from the person that I’ve spent all this time convincing myself that I had to be.” (17:02-17:10) • “Hang on – if I’m doing all of this, if I’m putting myself through hell, if I’m putting everyone around me through hell, if my body is exhausted, my brain is broken, my heart and soul...I don’t know where they’ve gone, then what is the point?” (24:13-24:31) • “[The key] is practicing when you don’t need to practice, practicing when you don’t necessarily immediately feel the benefits of the practice, and just keeping going because keeping going is when the magic happens.” (28:34-28:48) • "[Yin Yoga] is a very slow and meditative form of yoga….It’s all down at the level of the mat. It’s very slow and the principles of Yin are that you create the shape, you hold the shape, you find your edge in that shape...and then you stay there, and you stay there in stillness.” (36:54-37:48) • “When we are burnt out, we feel like we can’t relax, we can’t let go. All we need is to be held and supported for a moment, and we don’t trust ourselves, we don’t trust people around us, we are battered and bruised and broken. And something as simple as a cushion or a wall or a yoga block can be that support for you in that pose and you can completely let go of what you’re holding onto.” (41:36-42:09)   Links https://linktr.ee/maggiesupernova  https://maggiesupernova.com/fried  https://www.maggiesupernova.com/my-burnout-story https://instagram.com/maggiesupernovacoach XOXO, C   If you know that it’s time to actually DO something about the burnout cycle you’ve been in for too long - book your free consult today: bit.ly/callcait   Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, the podcast dives into the importance of resting without guilt, comparing it to refueling a car before it runs out of gas. The host discusses managing energy levels to prevent burnout and highlights the power of rest in increasing productivity. Listeners are encouraged to share activities that rejuvenate them to inspire self-care and prevent burnout.

“I lost my vision working for a company that provides vision,” says Erika Ferszt, Founder of Moodally and former Media & Digital Director at Ray-Ban. During her ten years at Ray Ban, Erica loved her job, loved the people she was working with and for, and loved her life...or so she thought. Then, one morning Erika woke up with no vision in her right eye, and the immense stress of her work life began to catch up with her. While Erika thought she was “happy,” her body was telling her otherwise.    After doctors concluded that her vision loss was stress-related and due to her working lifestyle, Erika decided to quit her job and re-evaluate her priorities. She returned to school to study the effects of stress on the mind, body and brain and learned about mood induction, the scientific process of altering participants’ mood states. This inspired Erika to create Moodally, a company that brings this approach beyond the bounds of scientific studies and offers innovative, science-backed mood management solutions for the workplace.   Tune into this week’s episode of FRIED. The Burnout Podcast to hear more about how Erika’s burnout story led to the founding of her company. Learn about the science behind Erika’s vision loss, how our thoughts (whether conscious or subconscious) dramatically impact our bodily reactions, and how our mood informs just about every aspect of our day.   Quotes • “I lost my vision working for a company that provides vision.” (13:13-13:17)  • “I think one of the things that’s probably most misunderstood about burnout is that . . the assumption is that it’s a psychological breakdown. And that can be one of the ways that it manifests, but it is a physiological issue.” (18:09-18:25) • “One of the first things that I learned to do [after quitting my job] was to acknowledge what I needed and not feel guilty about giving it to me.” (20:25-20:32) • “Who are you when the title goes away, when the employees go away, when the money goes away?” (23:48-23:58) • “When you don’t know where you’re going, you don’t have to see the final destination...you just have to see enough road in front of you to get you to the next step.” (29:10-29:25) • “Where everything ladders up to is your thoughts. The thoughts are sort of the command center for the reactions in your body. There is a cognitive element to stress: you subconsciously and automatically decide that whatever is coming at you is greater than your capacity to handle.” (35:02-35:25) • “Music is the easiest gimme I can give you ....Outside of laughter, it’s the fastest technique to shift you into a better mood.” (52:08-52:20)    Links www.moodally.com  https://www.instagram.com/moodally.wellness/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikaferszt/    XOXO, C   If you know that it’s time to actually DO something about the burnout cycle you’ve been in for too long - book your free consult today: bit.ly/callcait   Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many people do not fully understand the gravity of burnout and the devastating effects that it can have in both the long and short term. In an effort to illuminate the head to toe list of severe health issues that burnout can cause, I recently asked members of my Facebook and Instagram communities to share their biggest and most shocking burnout symptoms.    On today’s #straightfromcait episode, I read a list of these responses, which powerfully speak to the severity of burnout rock bottom. Some of items on this list include: • Vision loss • Trigeminal Neuralgia (severe nerve pain to the face) • Suicidal ideations • Near death experiences • Three months (!!) of strep throat • And many more...   As this partial list demonstrates, burnout is not a joke. Instead, if it is not addressed properly, it can become the catalyst for a wide range of shocking health issues. If you are an employer, it is crucial that you properly support any and all employees who may be suffering from burnout. And if you’re not sure where to start, I can help. Just visit my website, linked in the show notes, to learn more.   Quotes • “I asked all of you recently...to share your biggest and most shocking symptoms with me with the hopes that this information compiled in one easy place, you can use it to reach ears outside of just the burnt out amongst us.” (01:33-01:50) • “Somebody might have a genetic predisposition to bipolar disorder that was not activated for any reason in their lives. And burnout activated it in their lives.” (03:18-03:30) • “Panic attacks feel like a heart attack. Panic attacks make you feel like you’re dying. This is really really scary stuff.” (05:08-05:15) • “Most commonly, the pattern that I hear is this: ‘I knew I didn’t actually want to die, but I couldn’t bear living anymore, so I started imagining driving off a road or falling off a cliff or jumping in front of a bus. And maybe I wouldn’t die, but maybe I’d get some time in a hospital, so I could rest.’” (05:25-05:45) • “‘I was afraid that I’d be found dead at my desk. I was literally working myself to death.’” (07:10-07:16) • “What we’re talking about with burnout is really severe illness, possible inability to function and death. We are not talking about just being a little bit tired. We’re talking about bodies physically breaking down in various ways under the pressure of stress.” (09:34-09:54) • “When somebody comes and says that they’re burnt out, it needs to be taken seriously….A week or two weeks or even four weeks of time off is not going to solve someone’s burnout.” (10:08-10:47)   Links  https://caitdonovan.com/speaking   XOXO, C   If you know that it’s time to actually DO something about the burnout cycle you’ve been in for too long - book your free consult today: bit.ly/callcait   Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Just keep going, it will change.” This is Elizabeth Collins’s burnout story, simplified into six words. The Cait-proclaimed Burnout Witch, Elizabeth now specializes in helping others recover from burnout. However, she was only able to truly thrive in this role after confronting her own feelings of not-enough-ness and developing the boundaries and coping skills she needed to regain a sense of balance in both body and brain.    Elizabeth is the owner and director of The East West Company, an integrative wellness practice specializing in burnout recovery coaching, functional medicine, acupuncture and more. Elizabeth explains that functional medicine is a crossover between biomedicine and Eastern medicine; it uses a wide range of testing to identify and address the root cause of a presenting issue. Because the incredible breadth of functional medicine testing can seem overwhelming to someone who is burnt out, Elizabeth suggests starting simple with a blood panel and a stool test. This approach helps individuals correct any initial imbalances, which sets them on a more manageable path towards burnout recovery.   Tune into this week’s episode of FRIED. The Burnout Podcast to hear more about the intersections between functional medicine and burnout. Learn about the ins and outs of leaky gut, why Elizabeth uses tarot cards to broaden her clients’ perspectives, and why feelings of gratitude and frustration can and should co-exist.   Quotes • “I had ‘Big T’ trauma, so that very much set me up for a lifetime of perfectionism, a lifetime of not really understanding that I am worthy of love simply because I exist.” (04:00-04:10) • “My burnout story was: ‘just keep going, it will change.’” (07:26-07:32)  • “That happens to people who are chronic people pleasers, who are prone to burnout….It’s very easy for you to set aside what you like because you’re more concerned about what needs to happen now, and it’s like, but what you like is what needs to happen now!” (10:49-11:05) • “[Functional medicine] is kind of like if biomedicine and Eastern medicine had a baby.” (15:14-15:17) • “When we’re in burnout, it’s very difficult to see anything other than what we’re focusing on, which is usually panic, stress and anxiety. And the benefit when I started reading my own tarot cards again was...oh, this card popped up and it means this. How does that relate to my current situation? What is it about this card that can give me the opportunity to stop focusing on the minutia and look at the bigger picture?” (31:28-31:55)  • “Being able to address different aspects of your personality and speak to them directly like they’re individuals gives a sense of agency to the experience, and it really gives people the opportunity to fully integrate those personalities.” (36:28-36:42) • “We are complicated enough individuals that we can feel very bad about something that we’re going through and still be very grateful for the good things that it gives us or the other good things in our life….They’re not mutually exclusive, and the idea that we have to inhabit one thing at any given time is unsustainable and unfair and will absolutely perpetuate burnout.” (38:00-38:28) • “If you have symptoms or you are living a life that is in your experience suboptimal, but in the greater perspective not catastrophic....you are not crazy, and there is help.” (49:10-49:35)   Links https://insighttimer.com/  www.theeastwestco.com  www.instagram.com/theeastwestco  www.instagram.com/thevintagemystic    XOXO, C   If you know that it’s time to actually DO something about the burnout cycle you’ve been in for too long - book your free consult today: bit.ly/callcait   Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the most frequently asked questions I get from clients and in the FRIED. Facebook Group is: “But, how do I start my burnout recovery?” When you are absolutely mentally and physically depleted, figuring out where or how to start feeling better is daunting to say the least. You know you want to get better, but you might not feel like you have it in you to try.    First off, I want to say congratulations! Recognizing that you are burnt out and ready to start feeling better is a massive step. Now that you’re in that head space, I have created a series of resources for you to make the start of your recovery journey as simple and straightforward as possible.    • First, you’ll want to go to your doctor for a FULL physical examination. I’m talking blood work, a urine analysis… all of it. This will help you identify, correct and/or rule out any physical reasons for your fatigue right off the bat. • Next, you’ll want to take my Resentment Journal Mini Course. Unfortunately, you can’t just will away resentments by “thinking positive.” Instead, you’ll need to begin where you are and transform those resentments into boundaries and spare energy. • Lastly, you can uncover your core values with my free resource, linked below. This will help you identify what you love and care about most, so you can stop carrying or holding onto things that don’t meaningfully serve you.   And, of course, you can always reach out for support at any stage of this process. Whether it’s joining one of my free weekly calls or contacting another wellness professional you feel might benefit your recovery journey, there is someone out there who is just waiting to support you. You can do this!    Quotes • “I gathered a really easy beginning series of steps for you to take that will help you carve out a path towards recovery without you having to do too much thinking.” (01:42-01:54) • “It is so important for you to realize that as soon as you are able to name the problem, as soon as you realize that what you are going through is burnout, your recovery started. That awareness is so crucial.” (02:21-02:36) • “By watching your resentments, you’ll be able to find some tasks and some behaviors that you can get rid of, probably without talking to anyone else or doing anything else. You’ll just be able to stop doing some things.” (04:25-04:37) • “When you are in the muck, you’ve got to meet yourself in the muck.” (05:53-05:57)   Links  https://facebook.com/groups/friedtheburnoutpodcast  https://caitdonovan.com/freebie-values  https://caitdonovan.com/resentment-journal  https://www.caitdonovan.com/blog/10-burnout-professionals   XOXO, C   If you know that it’s time to actually DO something about the burnout cycle you’ve been in for too long - book your free consult today: bit.ly/callcait   Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Quitting drinking was literally my worst case scenario in life,” says Casey Davidson. “I desperately loved red wine, and I didn’t want to give it up, but I knew it was an issue.” Casey explains that before she quit drinking, she was consuming more than a bottle of wine a night, seven days a week. She told herself that the wine was a necessity, that it was the only thing helping her cope with her stressful corporate job and being a mother to her two young children. But at a certain point, Casey realized her mental health was at stake, and so she cut wine out for good.    Now, Casey is a Certified Professional Life & Sobriety Coach, host of The Hello Someday Podcast and the creator of the Free Sober Girl’s Guide to Quitting Drinking. Casey specializes in working with busy, successful women who are ready to drink less and live more. She tells listeners that many of her clients come to her saying they want to quit drinking forever….and Casey stops them right in their tracks. Instead of setting a “forever” goal, Casey instead encourages clients to stop drinking for 100 days. This tangible number gives clients the opportunity to create space between themselves and their drinking, so they can better understand how healthy and fulfilled they can feel without alcohol.   Tune into today’s episode of FRIED. The Burnout Podcast for a tough, yet powerful conversation with Casey about alcohol and burnout. Learn about Casey’s own recovery journey, how to expand your social environment to promote sobriety, and the importance of adding sober treats into each and every day regardless of your relationship with alcohol.   Quotes • “I feel like burnout and over drinking are really tied together because drinking increases depression and anxiety and feeling like one extra thing is going to break the camel’s back and a lot of people drink as a coping mechanism, not even realizing that when you drink too much you wake up at 3am with crushing anxiety and a racing heart rate and just feeling like complete garbage.” (02:50-03:25) • “For so many women and I know for myself, I thought the alcohol was helping me. I thought my bottle of wine at night was my only reward, the thing that was holding me together.” (04:00-04:12) • “Alcohol is not the solution and it’s actually preventing you from really taking care of yourself, really setting boundaries, really digging into what your body needs, what your mind needs, what’s not working for you in your life.” (11:12-11:26)  • “So many women are in this gray area of struggling with alcohol, trying to limit it, trying to moderate it, and nobody talks about it. But, if someone actually decides to take a period away from drinking or to look at their relationship with alcohol, they are a million times ahead of so many women. It is brave, it is something incredible that you’re doing. It’s like deciding to run a marathon.” (36:00-36:28) • “In the year I stopped drinking, I made more new friends that I’d made in the decade before.” (44:40-44:45) • “In my first month not drinking, I saved $550. In three months, I saved $1,650. And five and a half years later, I’ve saved $36,000 not poisoning my body.” (47:34-47:48)   Links https://hellosomedaycoaching.com/ https://hellosomedaycoaching.com/podcast/ https://hellosomedaycoaching.com/30-day-sober-guide/   https://www.instagram.com/caseymdavidson/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseydavidson/   XOXO, C   If you know that it’s time to actually DO something about the burnout cycle you’ve been in for too long - book your free consult today: bit.ly/callcait   Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do I need to quit my job to heal from burnout? This is one of the most common questions I hear asked in the burnout community. The answer? It depends. Like most things when it comes to burnout, your journey is unique and you may or may not need to leave your current job in order to make a full recovery.   One of the things I recommend to my one-on-one clients is to stay in their existing job (as long as it’s not extremely toxic) to see how much recovery they can accomplish in their current situation. This helps people take responsibility for their pieces of the puzzle, so that they can more easily identify and address the external factors that might be contributing to their burnout.   Tune into this week’s #straightfromcait episode to learn more about distinguishing between the internal and external causes behind your burnout. If you’re ready to start the healing process, go ahead and book a free one-on-one consultation with me using the link below! We will get clear on the specifics of your burnout story, so you can determine the approach that’s best for you.   Quotes • “Burnout causes are such a mixed bag of your own shit and life-work shit that it can be really hard to pull those two things apart, especially in the beginning.” (01:30-01:39) • “We are trying to figure out which pieces are internal and which pieces are external, which pieces you can control by doing some internal work and which pieces you can only control by leaving your job and changing your environment.” (02:08-02:26) • “I do not believe that it is the work of the individual to change corporate or company culture, but some people do choose to stay in their positions and see if they can help spearhead a change. Some people realize that the change is beyond their capabilities, so creating an exit strategy becomes freeing.” (10:10-10:27) • “So, do you need to quit your job to heal? Maybe. But first, let’s get clear on what’s happening, so that you can make that decision with clarity, with purpose and without guilt or shame.” (11:28-11:41)   Links  https://facebook.com/groups/friedtheburnoutpodcast https://caitdonovan.com/freebie-ie   If you know that it’s time to actually DO something about the burnout cycle you’ve been in for too long - book your free consult today: bit.ly/callcait   XOXO, C   Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim Young’s burnout story began when he was prematurely anointed “man of the house” at nine years old. Because Jim’s single mother was stretched so thin, Jim ended up taking on a great deal of responsibility around the household. He was taught at a young age that just doing without asking questions was the ideal template for masculinity. This mindset eventually led Jim to severe burnout in all areas of his life from his work to his marriage to his personal wellbeing.    After hitting peak burnout, Jim decided to quit his job and start rebuilding a life that he loves. Now, Jim works as a men’s burnout coach, providing men with the tools and support they need to regain time, balance, energy and fun in their lives. Jim explains that financial privilege does not prevent burnout, nor does the privilege of being a white male. Instead, the paradigms that we have been taught to exist within as a result of our gender, race and/or financial status often play a massive role in our burnout stories.   Tune into this week’s episode of FRIED. The Burnout Podcast to hear more about how Jim defied the masculine template he had grown up following and rediscovered the joy in his life. Learn about the dangers of emotional gold digging, the importance of honoring our values, and why we should always find a way to fit our work into our lives rather than the other way around.    Quotes • “My strategy as it evolved over time was to just do little things all the time that were good for me and discover. Half of the time, I didn’t know what I was doing, but I was just discovering the next thing that I needed.” (14:35-14:45) • “My marriage ended, and I thought I was a failure as a man. So, I had all of this shame, and I didn’t want to talk to anybody.” (16:56-17:05) • “Emotional gold diggers…[are] men who only get emotional support from one person in their life: their spouse.” (17:45-17:56) • “You could make as much money as you want, you could be financially set forever and still be in burnout because you still have to win, you still have to compete, and you have all of these people clawing at you and those people are suffering and struggling because they’re stepping on each other.” (25:19-25:33) • “I needed to feel like I am present to my kids….Not honoring that value was just so expensive to me.” (29:48-30:05) • “There are so many men out there...who want to support each other. I’ve seen that from guys who have never done any of this work and guys who have been doing men’s work for years stepping in and just showing up for each other. Because one of the things that men can do is show up.” (50:35-50:52)   Links https://www.thecenteredcoach.com/  https://www.instagram.com/jimproviser/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/thecenteredcoach/   Gratefulness.org: https://gratefulness.org/   Sympónia Men: https://www.symponiamen.com/  The ManDate Show: https://www.mandateshow.com/  The Better Man Conference: https://bettermanconference.com/  Evryman: https://evryman.com/  The ManKind Project: https://mankindproject.org/   XOXO, C   If you know that it’s time to actually DO something about the burnout cycle you’ve been in for too long - book your free consult today: bit.ly/callcait   https://caitdonovan.com/freebie-values   Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our bodies and brains are naturally resilient – they are constantly working to achieve a state of equilibrium. However, this inherent resilience can get depleted when we are burnt out, meaning that our bandwidth is diminished and our bounce back ability is lowered.  So, what can we do to strengthen our resilience when we are feeling burnt out? In her contribution to Harvard Business Review’s Emotional Intelligence Series on resilience, journalist Diane Coutu explains that only one behavior has been strongly linked to high resilience: asking for help. While it may seem counterintuitive, facing things on your own actually decreases your capacity for resilience. Instead, leaning on support systems goes much further in boosting your ability to bounce back. Tune into this week’s #straightfromcait episode to learn more about the characteristics and behaviors that make you hardy in the face of stress. Learn about the three main characteristics of resilient people, the importance of leaning into your core values, and why taking improv classes just might make you more resilient!   Quotes • “Your body and brain are naturally resilient. They constantly balance and rebalance themselves to maintain homeostasis, they adjust what needs adjusting, and you just continue about your day none the wiser….But sometimes, even naturally resilient things break down.” (01:16-01:32) • “The truth is science doesn’t really know exactly what makes one person come to a difficult situation and move through it with relative ease and grace while another person struggles and breaks down.” (02:30-02:40) • “[When it comes to resilience], there’s both a toughness and a softness, a leaning in for help and asking and an ability to move through.” (03:26-03:34) • “This is one of the main reasons we burn out: because we’ve adopted the values of our cultures and families without stopping to ask if they really suit us.” (05:40-05:49) • “The one behavior that is related to high resilience is asking for help….Standing alone because you think it makes you stronger weakens your resilience.” (07:53-08:30)   Links https://store.hbr.org/books/hbr-emotional-intelligence-series/  https://caitdonovan.com/freebie-values  bit.ly/bouncebackorder   XOXO, C   If you know that it’s time to actually DO something about the burnout cycle you’ve been in for too long - book your free consult today: bit.ly/callcait Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices