Description

I’m thrilled for this episode where I interview burnout expert Cait Donovan. Cait spent years researching the topic and carved out her own path towards recovery. Cait sheds light on burnout warning signs, from physical exhaustion to a lack of fulfillment at work. We discuss the intersection of mental well-being and physical health, and the dangers of overriding our body's signals. Cait shares insights into entrepreneurs' unique challenges, the fine balance between helping others and setting boundaries and the importance of self-care. Our conversation journeys through understanding the body mind connection and the value of listening to one's internal signals to prevent and recover from burnout. With practical wisdom and heartfelt advice, Cait's expertise offers invaluable insights and the roadmap to navigate the intricacies of burnout.

Introducing Cait:

Cait Donovan is a Keynote speaker, one of New York City’s leading burnout experts, host of “Fried – The Burnout Podcast,” author of the book "The Bouncebackability Factor", and an acupuncturist with a master’s degree in Chinese medicine. Her creative burnout recovery solutions have been featured on podcasts and online magazines such as “Forbes”, “NPR,” and “The New York Post” and in companies such as Lululemon, and Pepsico.

3 Key Takeaways:

1. Harness the power of a Resentment Journal: Discover how acknowledging your bitter feelings can be a steppingstone to a healthier emotional state and why this tool might be more beneficial than gratitude logs for those battling burnout.
2. Say "NO" with grace: Learning to decline requests is essential, but doing it with kindness can preserve relationships and personal integrity. Hear Cait discuss the subtle balance between self-care and maintaining positive relationships.
3. Physical and emotional well-being are deeply intertwined: Tap into your body's wisdom by listening to what your aches and exhaustion are trying to tell you. Physical issues can be a manifestation of deeper emotional turmoil and vice versa.

Quotables:

(6:48)  "I did not figure out burnout by myself, because when I realized it was burnout, and I realized that regardless of the amount of knowledge I had on meditation practices and acupuncture, Chinese medicine, nutrition, lifestyle, qigong, Tai Chi, yoga practice for 18 years, the whole thing, as much as I knew about all of these things, I still ended up here. So I probably don't have the knowledge." - Cait

(23:13)
"Burnout is not your fault. If you got here because you missed a lot of signals. You missed a lot of signals because you were taught earlier in your life that other signals were more important and it was successful for you, therefore you repeated it. We are not going to demonize our coping mechanism around here. You did it. It helped you." - Cait

Cait’s Links:

Free Resource Step 1of burnout recovery: The Resentment Journal

Website: https://caitdonovan.com

Podcast: https://friedtheburnoutpodcast.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/caitdonovanspeaks

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/caitdonovanspeaks

Tosca’s Links and Resources:

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Theme music by: Adrian DiMatteo

Podcast audio edited by: Landis Podcast Editing  

Additional Music: Tuesday by Sascha Ende
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/2992-tuesday
Licensed under CC BY 4.0: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license