FRIED. The Burnout Podcast

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   Episode summary: Dana Inouye is an empowerment coach (and hot-mess mom of 4). She works with creative women and rebellious leaders who know they're meant for more but are stuck in spirals of overthinking and people-pleasing. She helps women connect to the bigger part inside of them (their "inner wild") and seduce their dreams, so that they can show up bigger, emboldened, epically expressed, and anchored in their power. Dana has developed a groundbreaking REWILDING process that merges mindset and embodiment and activates emotions. She maintains that we can't think our way to results, we've gotta FEEL it. We talked about rage, the all elusive balance, and the tender moments that happen when you allow yourself to be honest.   Discussed in this episode:    - Kids are with you all the f*ing time (especially now) [4:10] - Lightbulb moments in the shower [6:47] - Hunkering down for windows of time as an entrepreneur mom [8:51] - The push and pull of motherhood [12:25] - Magic in the mess [17:26] - Being honest about emotions and being able to rant [22:14 ] - Kids, anger, screaming, and emotional balance [27:37] - Reframing as a tool for freedom [36:30] - The 3P Framework: Pleasure, Power, and Possibility [40:21] - You’re Fine, and so are your kids [48:12]   Find Dana: http://danainouye.com/ http://danainouye.com/releaseandrise/Links Mentioned in Show The Bouncebackability Factor: bit.ly/bouncebackorder The Resentment Journal Mini Course: https://caitdonovan.com/resentment-journal 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey Fried Fans! Last week, you found out that together with MINDALT, Luminary, Caveday, Kristina Libby, Sochill, and Spiritune, I have a super fun project for the month of April called The World’s Most Mindful Office. It’s the idea baby of Christina Vuleta, the co-founder of MINDALT and I’m so excited to be a part of it. In case you missed it, here are the basics. Luminary is my favorite co-working space in NYC and also happens to be around the corner from my acupuncture office, so it’s really convenient for those days that I have pauses between patients AND super convenient for a mid day acupuncture nap for you when you're working your day away in Luminary's beautiful space. Luminary also has a ton of online programming for their members (and for this last week of Women’s History Month - their online programming is FREE for ALL.. so hop on that this week!) that connects me with the most amazing women. Now, Christina and I are building the World’s Most Mindful Office, within Luminary’s walls. The private office will be covered in incredible floral art by Kristina Libby, supplied with a Mindful Plan for the day created by Christina Vuleta following the main principles of MINDALT, supported by Caveday with a focused work session, and enhanced by moi with short simple exercises designed to bring in more calm and more energy easily when you need it. The World’s Most Mindful Office will be available to rent by the day - Luminary members can rent it for just $20, and non members just $40 - So, $20 or $40 bucks will get you the best workcation you never knew you needed (before the pandemic anyway.. You all know you need it now :)). All of this is super exciting, but it begs the question - why am I a part of this? What does mindfulness have to do with burnout? I don’t use the word mindfulness often on FRIED episodes but it is interwoven into nearly every suggestion I’ve ever given. I find that sometimes, when you’re burnt out and the typical advice that’s touted hasn’t helped you, hearing words that follow the common advice makes you just glaze right over it. BUT! Mindfulness is a huge part of burnout recovery and the why is in the science. To keep it super simple, Mindfulness keeps your MIND FULL. We’ve talked neuroscience quite a bit on FRIED (if you missed the episode with Shonte Javon Taylor - go back and find it, it’s amazing!) and because we talk about it so much, I hope that you remember that there are a couple of brain changes that happen with the type of long term chronic stress that we associate with burnout. Mainly, the part of your brain that is responsible for filtering emotions, giving you motivation, connecting with others, and being your center of logic shrinks - you actually lose nerve cells in this part of your brain when you’re under long term, unprocessed, chronic stress - the same kind that leads you to being totally fried and crispy. Another thing that happens is the amygdala (the part of your brain that’s still all instinct based) is enlarged making you over interpret threats from your environment. Mindfulness practices have been shown to regrow (fill up) the part of your brain that is damaged by long term stress and also regulate the amygdala so that it’s not on high alert all the time. And then there’s the heart. We haven’t spent a lot of time on the heart on FRIED but I do mention Heart Rate Variability in The Bouncebackability Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode summary: Christina Vuleta, co-founder of MINDALT - a mood altering deodorant, joins me on this episode to share her story AND to announce a joint venture that we are so excited about. Christina’s idea to create The World’s Most Mindful Office is coming to life thanks to partnerships with, well, myself :), Luminary - an amazing co-working space in NYC, Caveday - facilitated Deep Focus Sessions, Sochill.io - Mindfulness meditation, Spiritune - music therapy to help you reach your goals and more!    Including more mindful moments in your day is an important part of staying in touch with your needs and therefore avoiding burnout. In a time when our dining room tables became offices and the lines got blurred between work and home, we need a moment to stop, collect our thoughts, and create more mindful spaces for ourselves.   Topics discussed in this episode:  - The New York City Rush & Eating Breakfast [5:43] - Making Everyday Things into Intentional Rituals [9:20] - MINDALT’s story: Smell, Swipe, Smile [10:28] - MINDALT’s WHY: Being In A Better Mood, Easily [13:43] - What Do You Need MORE of: Mindfulness, Focus, Calm, Energy [15:35] - Kristina Libby Floral Artist [18:52] - Luminary and Cate Luzio (1204 Broadway, NOMAD, NYC) [19:45] - Caveday - Provide the Focus Break [20:59] - INVITE! The World’s Most Mindful Office [22:28] - Creating Mindful Moments [24:19] - Checking in with YOUR Needs, and Meeting Them In The Mindful Office [28:29] - Checking in with YOUR Needs, and Meeting Them In YOUR Office [30:27] - Additional Programming about Mindfulness throughout the Month of April! Check out Luminary’s Event page for more [32:44] - Book a day in the mindful office and WIN a gift basket full of amazing products from Luminary Members! [34:53]   If you love the idea of having an entire working day that is designed to help you focus, be more mindful, more productive, and end the day with more energy and more calm, we want you to book your day in The World’s Most Mindful Office! Luminary Members can book a full day in the office for just $20, and non members for just $40. This is an amazing way to create a beautiful day for yourself during stress awareness month and get inspired to increase the mindfulness of your own office! ALSO - When you are one of the lucky people to book a day in The World’s Most Mindful Office, you will be entered into a raffle for an amazing gift basket to be given away at the end of the month full of amazing products by Luminary Members. (List included Below   RESERVE YOUR DAY IN THE WORLD'S MOST MINDFUL OFFICE    Get The Best Acupressure Point For Inducing Calm Here! Get the Desk Mat Cait Mentioned   Partners Caveday: https://www.caveday.org/ Sochill.io: https://sochill.io/ Spiritune: https://spiritune.com Products In The Gift Basket: CBD Gummies from: https://calmbetterdays.co/shop/ Yoga Mat Spray from: https://www.bubblymoonnaturals.com/ Eye Pillow from: https://lalunehealing.com ‘Wisdom’ Body Butter from: https://www.seazensoap.com/ Reusable gift bags from: https://goodgoodsstore.co/ Luxury 'Bliss' Tea by Nirogam Ayurveda from: https://sanghanyc.com MINDALT** deodorant: https://mindalt.co  **GET 10% off with the code FRIED!!!!!** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey Fried Fans, Once in a while, something really gets my goat and I use that as my guide to share what’s on my mind because I know that if it didn’t matter to me, it wouldn’t get my goat - and if it matters to me, it’s likely to matter to you too. (I think). Someone wrote a Linkedin post that was really great about being okay with having fear and how it’s damaging in the world of coaching and therapy to try to talk people out of how they feel and instead tell them how they should feel. I totally agree. Your reality is yours. Your emotions are real and they count - no matter what you or anyone else thinks you should feel. So, what got my goat? A commenter. A commenter who said she, and I quote, “Likes to stay HIGH VIBE, so she stays away from things like FEAR”. Everybody, turn the volume up a little, and lean in as if you’re about to listen REALLY WELL to what I am about to say: Normal human responses to life situations don’t make you LOW VIBE. You don’t ‘damage’ your vibrations by experiencing normal human emotions. Now, I’m going to get sciency for a minute because this is one of those instances where what is being said is true and untrue. Changes in emotional states, do actually change your vibrational level - plenty of studies show this. When the neurotransmitters that are related to fear enter a cell, they have a different effect than the neurotransmitters that are related to joy. Those related to fear create more dissonance and chaos and those related to joy bring more resonance and harmony. But that doesn’t mean that feeling fear during the day is ‘damaging your vibe’. In the same way that small amounts of cortisol (the stress hormone) are good and health enhancing for your body, Chinese medicine has said for 1000’s of years that all emotions in moderation are health promoting. This makes sense because we’d get rid of emotions altogether if they weren’t an efficient way to guide us. The body is designed to be maximally efficient, so it’s best to assume that the bits and pieces it uses to function are necessary and useful. Here at FRIED we talk a lot about creating space to feel whatever emotions are coming up, in The Bouncebackability Factor, I wrote about a concept called ‘sitting in the muck’, and my intention behind it was to give you permission to FEEL ALL THE FEELS. I have found this to be a massive healing measure that I needed in my own life and I have plenty of clients that agree with this. I even have a course that FOCUSES on resentment because I have seen it proven to me time and time again that when we have permission to dip into tough emotions and a safe structure within which to do so, we can move through and transform these emotions and bring ourselves closer to harmony.  So, all that being said - what does “damage your vibe”? Ignoring, not processing, or otherwise sidestepping difficult emotions. This is called spiritual bypassing and it is all about pretending like the tough stuff doesn’t exist and focusing on “only the good” and “only high vibes”. It’s not healthy, nor is it normal. If you’re burnt out and someone has told you to go ‘high vibe’ recently - you can ignore them. Permission granted. Whatever it is that you’re feeling, you’re allowed. When you’re done feeling that way, when you’re sick of sitting in the muck, when you’ve had enough and are ready to change the story, I’m here. Until then, be where you are. Don’t worry about your vibe. You’ll get to the point where transformation is a necessity and when you do, you’ll find the right people to help you. And you will heal. And after you heal, you’ll still have some shitty feeling days sometimes. Because you’re still living a human experience. And that’s okay too. Love you. XO C Need some help balancing all the madness and sick of being angry at everyone around you? Book a call! bit.ly/callcait Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Episode summary: In this episode, guest Catherine Peters, a transformational life coach takes us through her learning-to-be-pro-nap journey. She dishes out the science behind why naps matter, what time of day is best, and how long the ideal nap is according to the researching nerds (we LOVE researching nerds!). On top of all of that, she’s created a Napping Workshop just for you! Sign up here: www.eventbrite.com/e/138106352819/?discount=burnout Keep your notebooks out for this one, you’ll want to write a few things down to help improve your relationship to the nap.  Topics discussed in this episode:  - Burning Out During A Passion Project [5:06] - A Cancer Diagnosis and a Lightbulb Moment Around Risk Factors [7:27] - Beginning the Journey To Perfect The Nap [13:56] - Get In Touch With Your Nap Story [23:18] - The Science Behind Shut Eye [27:10] - The Willpower Myth [31:00] - How And When To Nap [34:49] - Setting The Stage and Creating Your Nap Ritual & Nap Kit [42:13] - Safety and Napping [47:43] - Eye/Sleep Masks by La Lune Healing [50:27]   Find Catherine: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cpeterscoaching/  Catherine’s Website: https://www.cpeterscoaching.com Napping Workshop (MARCH 4th, 2021!) www.eventbrite.com/e/138106352819/?discount=burnout   Cait’s Yoga Nidra Meditation: https://www.friedtheburnoutpodcast.com/post/sfc-meditation-nervous-system 20% OFF CBD Products from Incann! Incann has a NEW product that is designed to help you sleep better called REST. Use the code FRIED to get a 20% discount!*     *When you do that, I get a small percentage of the sale. All proceeds are used to keep FRIED up and running! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey FRIED Fans! I had an amazing question from a fan on IG a couple weeks ago that I wanted to answer. Shout out to @vitalitahealth on Instagram for this great Q! She asked what to do when you find yourself in a burnout relapse. When someone asks a really great question, I always like to let it roll around in my head for awhile before I decide on an answer. After rolling this one around for a few weeks, I have a counter question: Is it a burnout relapse, or have you been burnt out this whole time? When I wrote The Bouncebackability Factor (which you can snag on amazon if you haven’t gotten it yet!), I wrote that I burnt out two separate times. Since writing it, I’ve realized that I didn’t actually burn out two separate times, I was actually weaving in and out of burnout for 6 or 7 years. There were times that I felt better, for sure, but there weren’t too many times that I felt safe when I felt bad. When I say that, what I mean is - every time I felt bad or had a down day, I was nervous that it would last forever. I judged myself for feeling that way again. I thought about all the things I did to help myself and would get really discouraged that I was having a bad day. Wasn’t I doing enough? Why wasn’t it working? Why couldn’t I control this? Don’t I know better by now? Let’s compare and contrast this with what happens now when I have a bad day (because bad days still happen, I’m human! Burnout recovery does not guarantee you to have #allgooddaysallthetime). Now, when I have a bad day, I feel secure in my ability to get the care I need to get back to neutral within a decent amount of time. Sometimes that means some type of grooming self care, sometimes that means getting an acupuncture appointment or a reiki appointment, sometimes it means shutting down social media for a few days, sometimes it means chatting with friends or visiting family. I hope this was helpful, my beautiful FRIED Fans. As I wrap up this week’s episode, I want to remind you that subscribes, reviews, and shares make FRIED’s world go round! I am so grateful for the support you show FRIED week in an d week out! Listen to this review: @campchristy stays: This podcast is the greatest gift. I am in the throws of burnout and have just now really accepted it. And that it is physical, not just being tired and sick. Thank you. P.S. I listen to podcasts all the time. This is the first written review I’ve given. It has impacted me that much. If you want your review read on FRIED, be sure to leave the review, screenshot it and email it to me at friedtheburnoutpodcast @ gmail . com! Until next time! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode summary: In this episode, guest Beth Russell, a colleague in the world of Chinese medicine joins us to talk about optimizing our home health routines. Beth Griffing Russell is an acupuncturist and specialist in facial renewal practices using Traditional East Asian Medicine. She helps people of all ages reconnect with their brilliant vitality through a variety of techniques that can be performed at home. Beth's goal is to uplift faces and spirits and on this episode, she will explain the connection between the skin and the nervous system, relaxing the muscles of the neck and burnout, and what fear and sitting at our computers have in common. You’ll finish this episode with plenty of take aways - you might even notice that you’re sitting up straighter and your eyes are a little brighter (that’s a hint meant to tell you that you’ll be guided through some at home facial toning techniques!). Topics discussed in this episode:  - Skin Disorders Representing Fear [5:57] - A Mountain Lion Encounter [7:45] - The Connection Between Fear and Neck Tension [11:15] - Neural Feedback Patterns/Stress/Safety [15:52] - Wrinkles Are About Efficiency [17:02] - Relax Your Neck to Free Your Facial Expressions [20:10] - Thai Herbal Compresses for Massage [23:50] - An Intro to Facial Gua Sha [27:46] - Not Just About Beauty, These Techniques Make You Smarter and More Focused [34:41] - Get Started With These Techniques At Home Right Now [36:19] - Mental Squeegee Technique [40:35] - Let Gentleness Permeate Your Life [50:55] Find Beth: Instagram: https://instagram.com/studio_sappan (THE BEST VIDEOS on facial self care!) Beth’s Website: https://thtpdx.com/collections (Snag your Thai Herbal Compress for neck massage here!) 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 As a FRIED listener, you get 20% off!* Incann CBD products. They just released a Sleep Formula that I'm dying to try myself!    *Use the code FRIED for 20% off! When you do that, I get a small percentage of the sale. All proceeds are used to keep FRIED up and running! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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: There’s no concrete set of symptoms that lead to a concrete burnout diagnosis Chronic stress leads to brain changes that require lifestyle shifts to regrow Every single episode of it is different It requires a multidisciplinary approach. We must deal with the nervous system, the endocrine system, the immune system, and more. 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

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   Episode summary: In this episode, guest Elizabeth Lott, a pastor at a progressive Baptist Congregation in New Orleans starts out with a story - one that you might not expect from a pastor - one of Mardi Gras, sequined shoes, and a fall that lead to broken teeth and concussions. From there we journeyed on together through allowing yourself to be called to a vocation and yet leaving space to be called further when it is time to move forward. It is a story full of expansion, support, and hope for what we can all create in the ‘new’ post covid world that we hope is coming real soon.   Topics discussed in this episode:    - The Love of Mardi Gras: A Story of Change [3:00] - Being convinced that alone is the way [17:39] - The power, pressure, and magical thinking of a Calling [21:24] - Leaving curiosity and taking on ‘traditional’ expectations [24:21] - Disappointing people on the scale of the internet [29:15] - “What would happen if one woman told the truth about her life” Muriel Rukeyser [36:28] - Being vulnerable as a leader [42:16] - Sharing struggles within your relationship [48:18] - Leaving a container when you’ve outgrown it [54:52]   Find Elizabeth: https://www.elizabethlott.com IG: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethmlott Resources Mentioned in the Show: Muriel Rukeyser My fave CBD is Incann and as a FRIED listener, you get 20% off!* Check out their Bio Soothe CBD Salve - it’s my fave for sore muscles and neck tension! *Use the code FRIED for 20% off! When you do that, I get a small percentage of the sale. All proceeds are used to keep FRIED up and running! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi FRIED fans,   I started a FB post this week with: “Didja hear it? The collective sigh?” And then deleted it and posted something else, probably about a bird beak face mask, or Michelle Obama’s belt. An hour or two later, my fave business coach Deepshikha Saraim posted nearly the same message with the words: “Collective sigh” in it.   Collective sigh. Even as I type it, I take a deeper breath and let it out noisily. Sighing, in Chinese medicine, is a sign of and treatment of Liver Qi Stagnation (don’t worry, I’ll explain). Liver Qi Stagnation is a Chinese medical diagnosis that happens when there have been an avalanche of emotions that your body simply cannot process, when this happens - the unprocessed emotions are stored in the Liver system (this doesn’t mean the actual ORGAN - the system in Chinese medicine includes the organ, it’s energy, it’s function, it’s energetic pair the Gall Bladder, and it’s meridians or channel pathways that carry its energy, it’s physicality, emotionality, and spirituality). When too many unprocessed emotions are sitting in the Liver system, they create an energetic and emotional traffic jam and sighing is one of the ways the body tries to push the energy through the Liver, to help those emotions move a little better, move a little more, and make room for clear traffic. So, if you found yourself releasing a big sigh this week, my encouragement would be to intentionally release a few more. Sigh on purpose. With Intentionality. Sigh with your friends. Sigh on Zoom. Keep this energy moving out. Having an outward threat end does not automatically mean the built up emotions of the past era have been processed. It means they are sitting there, waiting for your help. Now is the time to return to your body. To care for it. To move through emotional patterns. It means MORE discomfort just when we are looking to have some ease, but it’s worth it because when we avoid this process, it ends up biting us in the ass. Here are some of the symptoms that Chinese medicine relates to the Liver energy being stuck: Indigestion Stomach pain Depression Sighing Hiccups Easily Frustrated Explosive/Inappropriate Anger Plum Pit Qi (a feeling of a lump in your throat) Cough Diarrhea and Constipation (often alternating like IBS) Tight neck and shoulders Headaches, Migraines Heightened PMS symptoms Menstrual cramps Sore breasts Discomfort in flanks/diaphragm/etc Bitter taste in mouth If you just listened to that list and thought, Holy shit, that’s me! I want you to do these three things: Keep sighing, do it on purpose. Exercise. This is a great way to move Liver Qi - it can be freeflow dance or HIIT. When my liver qi is all built up, I like to do kickboxing classes online - moving through anger that way helps me. Stretch your sides. Stand with your feet hip width apart, relax through your knees so that they aren’t locked, raise both arms above your head. Reach over with your left hand and grab your right wrist, allow your side body to open up as you stretch toward the left. Go to 75% and when you’re there, take 3 deep breaths. Come back to center and repeat on the other side. Grab your left wrist with your right hand and allow the left side body to open up, go to 75% of your stretch and then take 3 deep breaths. Do this multiple times a day. Then, go on and book an appointment with your acupuncturist. For now, I’m still taking new patients in Manhattan and I LOVE treating this you can use this link to book: https://caitdonovanacupuncture.com If you're not in Manhattan but you know you need my help, like, yesterday - you can book a Breakthrough Burnout Free Consult here: bit.ly/callcait XOXO C Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices