FRIED. The Burnout Podcast

“The most compassionate people are the most boundaried,” says Sarah Vosen, FRIED’s newest burnout coach. As an HSP and an empath, Sarah is deeply tuned into the emotional experiences of the people around her. We are thrilled to welcome her to the FRIED team, where she will be offering coaching sessions alongside Cait. On today’s episode, Sarah and Cait discuss Sarah’s personal burnout story as wel...

“That fear of burning out again – of course it’s driving me because I don’t want other moms to feel this way,” says Dr. Jacqueline Kerr, Behavioral Scientist. “But the reality is, we are going to experience this, and it’s about how we grow.” Jacqueline realized she was burning out when she started routinely crying on both her way to work and on her way home. At her lowest point, she experienced su...

Do you ever feel like there are so many things to get done that relaxing is downright impossible? Are your body and brain so busy that sitting still just doesn’t feel like rest? If you are feeling this way, you are far from alone. The art of resting and sitting with your emotions takes patience and practice; it is something I have been working on for years and have yet to perfect.   The most impor...

“What does this have to do with what I came to the world to be?” This is the one-question reset that Dr. Sandra Lewis poses to herself each time she encounters an obstacle in her life. No matter what problem she might be facing, this question helps Sandra ground herself, return to her inner purpose, and make a conscious decision about whether the issue at hand aligns with her personal goals.    A...

What strategies can I use to make my transition back to work during/after burnout recovery as smooth as possible? This question was recently posed in our FRIED Facebook Group, and the conversation that ensued was incredibly powerful. I decided to follow up on our discussion with a #straightfromcait episode that addresses some of the most helpful suggestions.   While this list is certainly not exha...

“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 wo...

If your car were a person (and let’s be honest, don’t most of us name our cars?), would it feel guilty for using up a tank of gas and needing more? The logical answer is no: our cars are designed to use fuel! And while we humans are much more complex than machines, our energetic systems function in much the same way. Just as we are designed to be on the move, we are also designed to rest.    In to...

“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...

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...

“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 bala...

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 cong...

“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...

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 l...

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 are...

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 Emoti...

**TW: This episode contains a description of a violent hate crime.**   “It’s a Fitbit for your mouth,” says Andrew Lee, Registered Dental Hygienist and Founder of Otis Dental. Drew is describing his Brux-Sensor Night Guard, a micro-dental-sensor technology that helps monitor and regulate your stress levels by recording your teeth grinding during sleep! Drew was recently awarded a patent for this t...

When we are on the road to burnout recovery, all of us have the same question: How long will my burnout recovery last? In my professional experience, I have found that the average recovery period lasts around 12-18 months, but the reality is that burnout recovery looks different for everyone. As much as you might want to look to others’ stories for guidance, your burnout journey will always be you...

“Push your edge and not your buttons,” says Daniel Mangena, International Speaker, Bestselling Author, Broadcaster and Coach. If there’s one thing that listeners should take away from today’s episode, Dan says it’s to pick one change and intentionally incorporate it into your life rather than inundating yourself. The road to burnout recovery is paved with small steps rather than a massive life ove...

Did you know that the items you choose to surround yourself with have a direct impact on your happiness AND your productivity? Sure, you may naturally feel more content when wrapped up in a cozy blanket or holding your favorite mug. But, did you know that the items you find most comforting and beautiful produce visible changes in your brain?   On this week’s #straightfromcait episode, I share find...

“I do not think it serves most humans to have a stigmatizing label,” says Diann Wingert, therapist turned Mindset and Productivity Coach. “I think once the label becomes your identity, it is a trap, and it will be your destination.” In her work as a coach, Diann has found the label of “Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria” particularly harmful, as it implies that extreme reactions to rejection, criticism...

Did you know that although I received my Masters Degree in Acupuncture and East Asian Medicine back in 2007, I never received a Bachelor’s Degree? This academic path is actually quite common around the world, but definitely less so here in the states. And, of course, I happened to settle down in New Jersey, the one state in the entire country that doesn’t allow you to become licensed in or practic...

“I think of food as medicine. Everything you eat becomes every cell in your body, so it can be healing or it can be potentially exacerbating the issue,” says Carolyn Brown, nutritionist and co-founder of Indigo Wellness Group. Carolyn explains that when it comes to burnout recovery, food can act as a healing or a harmful force, depending on how it is used. That’s why she tends to promote simple, e...

“Grief is inevitable,” says Jess Brennan, founder of Held Massage Therapy. “Every single one of us will lose something precious.” Jess explains that grief doesn’t just occur after a death; instead, the grieving process can occur any time our expectations for the future are unexpectedly taken from us. From losing a loved one to getting a divorce to having a long-awaited graduation cancelled due to...

What is the difference between burnout and depression? I was recently asked this question in the FRIED. The Burnout Podcast Discussion Group on Facebook. Because I explored this topic at length in my book The Bouncebackability Factor: End Burnout, Gain Resilience, and Change the World, I decided to share a short excerpt on this week’s #straightfromcait episode.   While depression and burnout look...

“I don’t want to hear anything about the theoretical translation of an ancient Chinese concept translated half-assed into English translated half-assed through your Western construct of what the hell it means,” says Jade Connolly Duggan, Corporate Culture and Wellness Expert. The daughter of two acupuncturists, Jade has had the practice of acupuncture flowing through her veins practically since bi...