The Freedom From Empty Podcast

On Episode 60 of the podcast, I am joined by my first ever guest: Erin Reece of Bear Accounting & Financial Solutions, a Founding Member of the 6 Steps for Stress Recovery and Burnout Prevention. ⁠ ⁠ Listen to hear how this program has influenced her personally and professionally in every aspect of her life. ⁠

In this episode I share the three things that I wish I had known about burnout decades ago. I like to imagine that this knowledge could have helped me avoid my epic crash and burn. I couldn’t save myself then, but perhaps I can help guide you to a more sustainable and healthier future filled with perspective, peace, presence and purpose. 

Our nation is not well. We are not well. But we can heal. As individuals, communities and as a country. It will take time, and patience, and peeling back the layers one by one by one. It will require showing up with kindness, empathy, respect and compassion for ourselves and for each other. In this episode I share four important things I have learned about what it takes to heal. The longer we wait...

Many of us have been conditioned to believe that we must perform at all costs. That life and work is supposed to look like a steady, linear, upward trajectory of effort, responsibility and success. We get busier and busier and busier. But rarely check in to see how we are doing. Or whether we are actually living our lives in alignment with our purpose and well-being. I am learning to embrace a mor...

The holiday season is fully loaded--with expectations, idealistic messages, charged relationships, and traumas present and past. And this year, many of us may be navigating the impact of a global pandemic on the holiday rituals that have been a light for us in years past. If you are struggling this holiday season, I feel you. Sometimes we hold on tightly to control because we are trying to assuage...

I cannot give you more time. But, I can show you the doorway back to you. I can guide you through some of the common traps. And show you the steps. I can help you reclaim who you were put on this earth to be. And teach you how to start to notice the messages, beliefs, habits, programming loops and strategies that are no longer consistent with who you are at your highest and best. I can challenge y...

Physical. Emotional. Mental. Spiritual. These are the 4 centers of energy that directly influence our daily capacity to do all the things we want to do. What if I told you that you have the innate ability, not only to recover from the stress of your day to day life, but also to increase your resilience and expand your capacity for the future. This episode walks you through how your energy centers...

Election day is here and the possibilities are open-ended. With big decisions being made that will affect our lives as a whole, intentional self-care and coping strategies will help us more than ever to adapt to the changing circumstances. The effect trauma can have on our lives is evident in our work, our relationships, and deep within ourselves. As overwhelming as #2020 has been, there are thing...

I flirted with burnout a couple of weeks ago, but I recognized it and was able to walk myself back from the ledge. In order to avoid (or recover) from burnout, we need to be able to recognize the signs and symptoms, choose to save ourselves, and invest in intentional recovery practices at least(!) until we start to feel like ourselves again. If we want to stay well, we need to integrate recovery i...

What do you not want to miss? We often get a huge dose of perspective when we lose someone or something we love. Or when we get a serious or possibly terminal diagnosis. When we are reminded that no moment is guaranteed. One of the elements of living in alignment with our own well-being is to be very clear on what matters most to us. This is your reminder. And your permission. 

EPISODE 50!! In this episode I go deeper into the 1st step of the 6 steps for stress recovery and burnout prevention I have been using with clients and in my own life. Without our Why as an anchor, guidepost, measuring stick and North Star, we become a hamster on a hamster wheel . . . charging forward at full speed but getting nowhere . . .until we exhaust ourselves and collapse. But when we do th...

You feel overwhelmed, anxious, stressed and chronically depleted. Constant change and uncertainty is wearing you thin. You want to feel better, but you don't know how. And you certainly don't have the energy to do it alone. Guess what?! You don't have to! In this episode I outline the 6 steps I regularly use to touch base with myself and recalibrate my stress recovery in order to feel calmer, more...

Not too long ago my filter came off. And (this time) I couldn’t blame it on fatigue. I was in a SAFE space. And the space of that relationship made all the difference. Safe places to be seen, in all of our beauty and our mess, are critical to well-being (and any trauma-healing journey).

In this episode I reflect on the pressure we put on ourselves (and often on others) for certain moments or experiences to be “special” or “perfect”. And the more tightly we hold on to our own construct, the more likely we are to miss out. Because life, and people, are messy. On the other hand, if we give ourselves permission to lean into what “is,” we will find gifts, and stories, in the mess.

Watching the newness of everything through a puppy’s eyes and in contrast to the pain that is boiling over in our world right now, I am reminded that one of the ways in which we have learned to deflect and disassociate from the pain of other humans is by rationalizing all of the ways they “deserved” what happened to them. How can we start to look at the world, and each other, with new eyes full of...

In Episode 43 of the podcast, I began to make the case for why workplaces should be thinking about the impact of trauma on their workforce--which  ultimately translates to their organization’s profits and well-being--and why I think trauma informed workplaces are (should be) the future of work.  In this episode I explore the elements of a trauma informed workplace as established by SAMHSA (Substan...

The product of transformation is beautiful. The journey is messy and hard. In this episode I share observations about the process of transformation and tips for supporting yourself through the journey.

I recorded this episode when we were already living with the impact of a global pandemic, but before the death of George Floyd. Before the effects of trauma--the impact of centuries of both overt and covert violence against people of color in this country--rose to a boiling point. More than ever before perhaps, employers and leaders are challenged to know what to do, how to respond, and how to car...

We have not been taught to recognize the impact of trauma on our individual and collective well-being. This episode explores how trauma can translate into individual behaviors. You might be surprised what you learn. 

What your people need right now, and by “people” I mean your teams, organizations, families and friends, is for you to show up as the highest and best version of yourself; someone who is grounded, non-reactive, transparent, consistent, and kind. In this episode I share tips for leading through crisis--through the lens of a few things to watch out for--so that can show up well for your people in th...

Some of us are not on the front lines of the COVID19 battle right now, but as therapist Aundi Kolber writes in her book Try Softer “many of us, at some point or another, have had experiences that felt so overwhelming or threatening to our nervous systems that our brains encoded that information on a spectrum from disturbing to outright traumatic.” Trauma is recoverable with intention, resources an...

You can't sleep. Maybe your chest is pounding. Or you were on the phone with your boss or client and couldn't find the right words. In the midst of a global pandemic, our fight or flight response is on overdrive, and that response, intended to help us escape a sabre toothed tiger, shunts our performance to our breathing function and our critical organs. This same fight or flight response means our...

Setting and holding clear boundaries allows us to support our well-being and the well-being of those around us. When I reflect on my own crash and burn, I can see clearly that my lack of boundaries led me to push myself to my ultimate limits, until my only option, as I understood it, was to throw grenades into certain areas of my life and relationships. I couldn’t survive that way anymore. And I w...

The world has changed dramatically. Everything is uncertain. We have choices. Our choices will influence the outcome, not only of this global pandemic but of the world we will live in in the future. 

Individuals, teams and organizations who operate within clear boundaries are more likely to thrive. Maybe you know how to use boundaries at work, but need a refresher. Maybe you never considered boundaries at work as an option for you or your team. In any case, this podcast explores 5 tips for implementing boundaries at work. Give one of these tips a try and let me know how it goes!