Welcome back to the She’s Wild Podcast. Today's episode is an interview with Cait Donovan, Host of Fried, The Burnout Podcast. Cait is also the author of The Bouncebackability Factor where you can learn how to end burnout, gain resilience, and change the world. Her book and podcast is for everyone who has ever felt FRIED with a special focus on the female entrepreneur. In a world where women are told that they can have it all and be it all, the high achievers are looking down from the top of the mountain and wondering why it doesn’t feel as good as they thought it might.
In this episode, Cait and I talk about burnout and get into an honest conversation about what burnout really is and how to get back to a healthier place.
Memorable Moments:
3:34 And I had everything that I could have ever dreamed of wanting. Because I did not grow up in a place where where I had the example of large amounts of money, large amounts of financial success. You know, everything was always a struggle. So I got to this place where I was like, oh my god, I can check off all these boxes that I never thought I'd be able to check off. Why am I so miserable? Why is my body breaking down? Why am I so tired? Why am I so resentful toward my patients? Every time I got a phone call. I was like what do people want from me? Like I couldn't even and it sounds I say these things with like full knowledge of how awful it sounds for a healthcare practitioner to feel resentful toward their patients. I understand what it sounds like. I'm telling you that it's embarrassing, but also the truth. I didn't realize what I was going through was burnout until like six or seven years later.
11:50 But our brains are designed or designed to find the thing that we find pleasurable, get it as much as we can, and then become complacent and want something more. That is literally how our brains are designed. And originally, that helped us travel further. It helped us intermingle genes with further, right, like tribes. And because we were spread out because we were searching for something more because we were pushing our boundaries.
15:52 And the more we start respecting other people's calendars, the more our calendars will start to be respected. But at the end of the day, no one respects your calendar, if you don't.
21:07 The emotional side to me is, if anything changes in your day, last minute, you absolutely lose your mind. So if one thing gets added to your to do list, or one person asks you one additional question, or you get one email that you weren't expecting to get, it throws everything off completely, you have no emotional space for flexibility and responding and reacting because you are so close to the edge, that no matter what, it'll just throw you right off.
22:54 On top of that, I see massive amounts of resentment. When you're burnt out. Everything feels unfair. I'm doing all these things for all these people. And I'm not getting the gratitude, I'm not getting the praise, I'm not getting the speaking slot, I'm not getting the I'm all these things, and I'm not getting what I deserve in return.
23:37 And then there's a host of physical symptoms, headaches, anxiety, gut issues, inability to sleep, low libido, foggy brain, neurological symptoms, there's a whole host of symptoms that could that you know, the kind that you go to your doctor and your doctor does your bloodwork and he's like, everything's fine. And you're like, it's not it's not I'm not fine. I'm not fine over here.
30:07 So if you are afraid that you're burnt out, you are burnt out.
Connect with Cait Donovan:
Instagram: Cait_Donovan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitdonovanspeaks/
https://friedtheburnoutpodcast.com
https://www.facebook.com/groups/friedtheburnoutpodcast
https://caitdonovan.com
Speaking Inquiry: https://www.caitdonovan.com/speaking
Resentful Journal: https://www.caitdonovan.com/resentment-journal
Where to Start If You Think You Might Be Burnt Out & Want to Recover: https://www.caitdonovan.com/blog/what-episodes-of-fried-do-i-listen-to-first-for-burnout-recovery
Cait’s Book Recommendation: The Body Keeps the Score via Amazon: https://a.co/d/iPUUxfu
Connect with Nancy:
Instagram: https://instagram.com/nancysurak
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancysurak/
Website: www.nancysurak.com
She’s Wild Sound Production by:
Luke Surak, Surak Productions: surakproductions@gmail.com
