Listen Now

OverviewAs a coach, it can often be difficult to develop integrity around your abilities and limitations. Because coaching isn’t regulated, there can be some ambiguity surrounding what coaches are actually able to do and how they should advertise their offerings. Too often, I have heard stories about coaches who unintentionally triggered past traumas for a client, since they didn’t have the tools to address what was really going on. In my coaching practice, even though I have a wealth of knowledge in the world of emotions and health, that doesn’t make me a therapist or a counselor. For example, I am not equipped to deal with deep-seated trauma, and I feel an obligation to relay that to my clients if they are in need of a licensed professional. Not to mention, there are plenty of therapists out there who are not trauma-informed and may not be able to support a client if they need to do extensive trauma work! So what can we as coaches, therapists and guides do to ensure that we are taking on the clients we can help and referring out the clients whose specific needs are better met by other wellness professionals? This question arose during a conversation between myself and my previous coach Deepshikha Sairam the other day, and we decided that it ultimately boils down to integrity. When you are a small business owner, it can be difficult to turn away clients, even those you may not be able to truly help. But by accepting clients you can’t fully support, you are doing a disservice to both them and the integrity of your coaching practice. The reality is that you will not be able to help everyone who crosses your path. So instead, cook the dish you have the ingredients for. Serve the people that you are designed for. Delight them with your work….and go home with your integrity intact. Quotes• “Chinese Medicine, instead, simply notes that emotions can affect the body and the physical body can affect the emotions. It’s a two-way street. You can become depressed because you’re injured and unable to really engage with life. It happened to me.” (2:49-3:04) • “Just because [trauma and burnout] are closely linked, that does not make me a trauma-informed therapist.” (4:03-4:10) • “As coaches, as people that work in a coaching space, what can we do within our own businesses to ensure that we are keeping people safe and that we aren’t taking on clients that need different support than we offer?....We decided it boils down to integrity. Do you feel safe enough in your business to turn people away that are willing to hire you because you know that they need different care than what you offer?” (6:49-7:24) • “Just because someone gets on a call with you...that doesn’t mean you should sell them your services. Just because someone needs help, that doesn’t mean you have to be the one to help them. Our true service is showing up fully for those we are meant to serve and releasing people that are meant to be served by others who are in better alignment with what they need.” (10:59-11:22) • “I am done proving myself and hitting above my weight. I know what I’m good at and what I’m not – and there’s no judgment about either of those. I love referring out and connecting with other professionals in similar (and even the same) spaces as I work in. I’ve even recommended that people go to other burnout coaches because they do something a little different than I do that is likely better suited to that person right now.” (15:22-15:49) • “Coaches, therapists, guides….let’s normalize giving people the opportunity to work with exactly what they need. Let’s normalize centering the needs of the people that reach out for our help. Let’s normalize staying in our integrity and being honest about where our particular brand of genius is the most helpful. Let’s release the need to help everyone all the time and realize that we are not the only helpers. There are so many helpers out there, and each person deserves to find the humans that are perfect for their individual journeys.” (17:14-17:54) Linkshttps://socialiquegroupe.lpages.co/quality-organic-leads-on-demand/  https://www.caitdonovan.com/newsletter-office-hours  Other Burnout Coaches I love:https://www.caitdonovan.com/blog/10-burnout-professionals  Healing Generational Trauma:https://khadijahtishan.com/work-with-me/  Akashic Record Readings:https://www.akashicreadings.eu/  New Book by Martha Beck on Integrity:https://amzn.to/2PaGogc  Peer Hopes:https://peerhopes.com/ NOTE: Trauma informed therapists will generally be licensed by state and it will be important for you to find someone that is local, even if you’re working online. This page on Psychology Today will help you: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/trauma-and-ptsd Free Breakthrough Burnout Call with Cait Podcast production and show notes provided by FIRESIDE Marketing

Overview“I don’t have to live up to someone else’s expectations of how my brain should be wired,” explains Roxanne Jarrett, Coach for Entrepreneurs with ADHD. Although she realizes this now, Roxanne spent a great part of her life trying to compensate for her ADHD symptoms without ever having received a diagnosis. It wasn’t until more recently that Roxanne put a name to her lived experiences and started developing the supports she needs to avoid becoming burnt out. Roxanne explains that adults with ADHD are four times more likely to suffer from depression than the general population for just this reason. Many are constantly trying to meet others’ expectations of what they “should” be, even though their neurology prevents them from neatly fitting into this prescribed box. Roxanne now works as an artist and educator coaching creative entrepreneurs with ADHD. Her signature systems help to prevent burnout by giving motivated innovators the tools and techniques they need to launch their offerings with more joy and less stress. Roxanne says that nothing makes her happier than when her clients develop a “fuck-you” attitude and realize that they don’t have to behave like a neurotypical person in order to find fulfillment and feel joy. Tune into this week’s episode of FRIED. The Burnout Podcast for a conversation with Roxanne and host Cait Donovan about ADHD and its connection to burnout. Learn why setting timers is an excellent strategy for individuals with ADHD (or anyone, honestly!), why your health is your real wealth, and why learning how to delegate is essential. As Roxanne explains, “Having more moments in your life that you enjoy, that thrill you – that’s your birthright.” This episode is the perfect introduction to several of the tools you need to get started on this path to fulfillment. Quotes• “I finally filled the order….made thousands of dollars. So great problem to have, right? It’s not that my stuff wouldn’t sell. And very promptly had a breakdown and ended up in the psychiatric hospital.” (8:17-8:41) • “If success is gonna kill me, then maybe I don’t want it. But at the same time there was a big pining for things that I wanted to achieve. But then this thought that, well, maybe I just can’t hack it. Maybe I’m just not built to achieve the types of dreams that I have. My dreams are too big for me.” (12:17-12:37) • “Being aware of the movement of time and how to measure it and how to look into the future to plan – that is a typical difficulty for people with ADHD.” (21:50-22:03) • “If you are supremely interested in something, and you have ADHD, you can become so engrossed in it. There is no deficit of attention….But you might not realize how much time passed. That’s the issue.” (30:15-30:31) • “Children with ADHD, by the time their childhood is over, they’ve been ‘corrected’ by adults at least 20,000 more times on average than a neurotypical child.” (32:13-32:28) • “A diagnosis: it’s not an excuse, it’s an explanation. It’s a place to start, to start to understand how an ADHD brain works if that’s yours and how to live and how to thrive.” (33:44-34:08) • “I love to see people with ADHD develop a ‘fuck you’ attitude…. ‘I don’t have to be like a neurotypical person, I don’t have to behave like a neurotypical person….And it’s ok to have the types of supports that I have.” (34:30-35:12) • “Reach out and partner with people. Get accountability partners as much as you can. Until you’re able to delegate the things that you just don’t want to do, connect. And even when you’ve delegated, still connect. Just connect. We’re wired for that.” (41:07-41:28) • “Having more moments in your life that you enjoy, that thrill you – that’s your birthright. So why go into business to bind yourself, to burden yourself with things that you don’t enjoy, right? Figure out a way to have more joyful moments….and realize a lot of times that ‘should’ is just a pattern of comparing yourself to other people, taking messages from your childhood, all types of stuff.” (47:10-47:53) Linkshttps://www.swellhead.comIG: https://www.instagram.com/roxannejarrett/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roxannejarrett/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoxanneOnTheRox/ Free Road Map: https://www.swellhead.com/freeroadmap  roxannejarrett.com 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 Podcast production and show notes provided by FIRESIDE Marketing

OverviewHave you ever heard the saying, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life?” Well, I can tell you from personal experience that this is often NOT the case. This idea sent me down a 6-year path of feeling burnt out, but unable to admit it. I loved what I did, but I also felt tired, angry and worn down all the time. I spent years looking for what was wrong in my life rather than examining the needs of my mind, body and soul. Then, I started hearing the word “burnout” pop up everywhere. At first, I didn’t even know what it meant. And after extensive research, what I learned was disheartening – that burnout belonged in hospitals to doctors and nurses and in corporations to high-level managers. Burnout didn’t apply to me, the female entrepreneur. That’s when I started doing some more internal digging. And what I discovered was that burnout is ultimately caused by feelings of unworthiness. I didn’t feel deserving of true fulfillment, and so I never achieved it. This started me on a journey of making small, manageable changes in my life to rediscover my self-love and self-worth. Four of the things that helped most me along the way were:• Practicing small boundaries (like allowing myself to pee when I needed to!)• Getting out of other people’s knots (Listen to the episode to learn about Knot Theory, and how it has radically changed my life.)• Yoga nidra• Regularly reviewing my values My burnout journey taught me that recovery should be slow, gentle and kind. By acknowledging my basic needs and taking care of myself before always tending to others, my feelings of worthiness slowly started to build. When you start to care for yourself in a more authentic way, you AND everyone around you will benefit. Lastly, I want to remind you that it is never too late to start the process of burnout recovery. No matter how burnt out you are, there is always an opportunity to re-establish your sense of worthiness. It’s all about taking small steps to remind your body, your mind and your spirit what true fulfillment feels like. Quotes• “In my own life, I felt like I had been sold a dream that sounded like this: ‘Work really hard, do your best, follow your heart, let your passions guide you and you’ll never feel like you’re working a day in your life.’ Have you ever heard that? The idea that if you love what you do, it’ll never feel like work? That idea sent me down a 6-year path of being burnt out and unable to admit it.” (2:06-2:32) • “Burnout, when it’s not caused by workplace bullying, or poor company culture, is related to one underlying element: a feeling of unworthiness. It is impossible to allow fulfilling work to fulfill you if you don’t feel worthy of feeling full.” (4:49-5:15) • “Small boundaries have nothing to do with another person. They are grace and generosity that I grant myself.” (6:19-6:28) • “Self-care is necessary for the care of the whole and not selfish at all, as I previously viewed it….When you abandon yourself, you’re harming the people around you, too. You deserve to be cared for, you deserve your own attention, but other people also deserve you to have your own attention.” (10:37-11:01) • “I thought I knew what my values were, but when I did an exercise to unveil MY core values, what I came up with was different than what I expected. I was living according to values that I had inherited, from both my family and my community. The rules and expectations I was following had nothing (or very little) to do with how I actually wanted to live my life. Getting reacquainted with my OWN values was eye-opening and now something I revisit to check in with regularly because they change, because I change, because the world changes!” (13:00-13:35) • “My feelings of worthiness started to naturally build as a result of simply acknowledging my needs and allowing myself to meet them.” (15:02-15:15) • “Recovering from burnout should be slow, gentle and kind. It is built of pebbles and stones instead of bricks and cement blocks. It is built of tiny moments of self-love and care and attention in between hours and days and weeks of self-doubt and questioning your value and your worthiness. It is constantly reminding yourself what IS your knot and what isn’t. It is checking in with your values over and over again and allowing yourself to make aligned decisions. It is saying more YES to yourself, so much so that you don’t automatically say yes to everyone else around you when they have a need that pops up. It is allowing space and time for your nervous system and brain to rest, to heal and to reset at a lower level of functioning, to allow yourself to go at your own internal speed limit instead of putting the pedal to the metal at all times.” (16:20-17:23) LinksFree Breakthrough Burnout Call with Cait Podcast production and show notes provided by FIRESIDE Marketing

OverviewJennifer Cassetta first experienced burnout after a near death experience on September 11, 2001. At the time, she worked as an event planner at a loft downtown, located only three blocks south of the World Trade Center. On 9/11, she spent the morning frantically searching for shelter amongst smoke and ash, and finally found safety at her local dojo. In the months following, this dojo became the place where Jennifer was able to find the physical, mental, and spiritual grounding she needed to help her cope with her PTSD. After beginning to experience the incredible, multifaceted benefits of her HapKiDo practice, Jennifer decided to make a career out of helping others find similar empowerment through self-defense. Unfortunately, 9/11 was not Jennifer’s only burnout story. Several years later, Jennifer was still living in New York City and experienced an emotionally traumatic breakup. As a result, she ultimately ended up moving out of NYC to California in order to create the distance and space she needed to heal. It was during this time that Jennifer realized the powerful ability of her martial arts practice to defend her from internal wounds. Now, Jennifer is a speaker, author and consultant, who empowers audiences around the country through keynotes, self-defense and success coaching. Equipped with her 3rd degree black belt in HapKiDo, Master’s degree in Nutrition and NLP certification, Jennifer helps women release their inner warrior and feel strong, safe and confident from the streets to the boardroom. Jennifer’s first book, Hear Me Roar: How to Defend Your Mind, Body, and Heart against People Who Suck, employs personal anecdotes from her own life to inspire others to take back their power for a lifetime of health and happiness. Tune into this week’s episode of FRIED. The Burnout Podcast for a conversation with Jennifer Cassetta about burnout, boundaries, and badassery. Learn how to find comfort in confrontation, when to move on from toxic relationships, and how to find compassion for ALL people, even the sucky ones. Quotes• “It became like this metaphor. All I wanted to do was go to that dojo. I started to feel all of these amazing benefits. Physically, my body was getting stronger; mentally, I started to feel more confident again; spiritually, I started to feel grounded and not just like hyper- hyper-sensitive. And I know looking back that that really saved me from gosh knows what else. Obviously, then, the story continues to build an entire career out of wanting to share those benefits, those mental, physical, spiritual benefits with as many people as I could. And the story continues to get me to now where I am speaking about it all over the country.” (6:32-7:13) • “There’s a lot of principles in HapKiDo that are similar to an Aikido....which is more defensive strategies, basically taking on your opponent’s negative energy, not taking it on but blending with it and redirecting that energy either out into space or back at the attacker. Hapkido has those circular motions and also the ‘I’m gonna kick your ass afterwards.’ So there’s like a very nice balance of the soft and the hard.” (11:26-12:03) • “Not everybody knows what your boundaries are. And to expect that is impossible, right? So sometimes a nice soft boundary, a nice reminder like, ‘Hey, what you just said, it makes me feel like this. Was that your intention?’ So a softer block can be a redirect of that energy, asking a question, bouncing back a question to the other person, holding their gaze, waiting for an answer, which holds them accountable is an interaction which is soft, yet powerful at the same time. And I think those types of interactions are really important.” (13:47-14:23) • “Now in my self-defense classes, I teach people if people are going to be overstepping your boundaries or a person, place or thing is sucking your energy dry from you, you have two strategies essentially: create distance and space or communicate what your boundaries are.” (26:55-27:13) • “How I teach people to (and how I do it myself obviously) set a state is to go back, think of a time when you were in that state. So let’s pick confidence. Think of a time where you felt like a total rockstar – confident, badass, whatever it was – and then look around, see what you’re seeing, hear what you’re hearing, feel what you’re feeling, and really embody that emotion, that state….really get into your body and anchor it there.” (37:25-38:03) • “When we’re headed for burnout, if we remain in our heads, you’re gonna spiral into the burnout. And the connecting of the mind, body and spirit is the only way out.” (50:35-50:47) Linkshttps://jennifercassetta.com https://instagram.com/jenncassetta https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-cassetta/ https://facebook.com/JenniferCassetta https://jennifercassetta.com/confidence-course/ 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 Podcast production and show notes provided by FIRESIDE Marketing

Overview Today, I’m flipping the script and talking about “Other Care” as part of your self-care plan. And before you get your panties in a bunch, I don’t mean taking care of others. I mean letting and paying others to take care of you! While there is plenty of advice out there about when to hire a virtual assistant, freeing up time in your schedule often isn’t enough! What about the parts of your life beyond work that need a little TLC? Aren’t there other things that you should be delegating out in order to feel more fulfilled?  Unfortunately, I think that there is this new understanding of “self-care” as something you need to do alone. And while self-care is healthy and essential (for me, it’s taking midday baths and taking walks with my dog Flora!), it shouldn’t have to be yet another thing we have to do ourselves. That’s why this episode is dedicated to what I call “other care” or allowing others to help us heal, relax, and find fulfillment. As an acupuncturist, I have supported thousands of people in their “other care.” The energy and positive intention that we share in a room together creates a healing environment even before any acupuncture occurs! If you’re interested in finding out how that works on an energetic and scientific level, I highly recommend the book Energy Medicine by Jill Blakeway. Recently, I have found “other care” by returning to acupuncture as a patient. I found an incredible acupuncturist – Kelly Drury in Montclair, NJ – who is supporting me in ways that I can’t support myself. Another healer that has helped me tremendously is Lindsey from La Lune Healing. Lindsay is a reiki practitioner who helped me sleep again after many sleepless nights following my achilles surgery. Salutogenesis Chiropractic is yet another group of healers that I am able to receive “other care” from as soon as I start feeling out of alignment. Having a healer that you know and trust is essential, no matter who you are. It is especially important for those experiencing burnout, because it’s often easier to let others start doing the work of filling you up when you are incredibly depleted.  I’d love to start celebrating Other Care. I want you to comment on any post this week from this episode and tag your healer. Let’s get their work out there. Let’s tell each other that it’s okay to have background support that isn’t DIRECTLY related to business activities. Let’s normalize outsourcing a portion of healing and stop feeling like we are responsible for ALL the things, ALL the time.   Quotes “I believe that as entrepreneurs who are focused on both earning a great income and making a great impact on the world, we need to fill our cups as often as possible. Hiring a VA will take some tasks away, take some things off your plate, and make the liquid in your cup drop slower, but it won’t FILL it back up.” (2:42-3:02) “We’ve seemingly put self-care in yet another category of ‘things we must do ourselves.’ But what if the thing that fills you up most actually comes from allowing someone else to hold space for you, to create a healing environment for you, to support your energy, to fill your cup, so you can go on and change the world the way you imagine?” (3:25-3:48) “The energy we share in a room together really does make a difference. When you allow someone to create a healing space for you, your body enters a parasympathetic nervous state BEFORE any treatment even happens – that means you’re healing before your healer even does anything because of energy and intention.” (3:57-4:19) “I don’t have to be in charge of my care. I have to be involved. I’ve got to show up, I’ve got to pay, I’ve got to make appointments, I’ve got to follow her instructions. But I don’t have to ‘own the task.’ I’ve handed that part over.” (4:47-5:01) “Having a healer that you know and trust, no matter what their modality, is so important. In fact, I suggest to nearly all my burnout coaching clients that they start working with someone at the same time as they start their coaching because especially when you’re burnt out you need to leave the filling of your cup to other people.” (5:39-6:00)   Links Free Breakthrough Burnout Call with Cait Energy Medicine by Jill Blakeway WellEssence LLC La Lune Healing Salutogenesis Chiropractic   Can’t wait to celebrate the healers this week.<3,C   Podcast production and show notes provided by FIRESIDE Marketing

Overview Dr. Nan Nuessle first realized she was burnt out when she stopped at a stop sign and waited for it to turn green. She didn't even process what she was waiting for until the truck behind her honked. At the time, Dr. Nan was working up to 110 hours per week, chairing the Department of Pediatrics at both a large, multidisciplinary clinic AND a nearby hospital, and raising two children with a husband who wasn't pulling his weight. After realizing how burnt out she had become, Dr. Nan approached the Chief Medical Officer at her clinic and expressed her concerns...only to be told, "Well, what are you going to do about it?" Despite the incredible amount of hours and effort Dr. Nan was putting into her job, she still met with backlash when she sought some basic support. After this experience, Dr. Nan became a locum physician or traveling physician. This new role helped relieve some of the stress that had been suffocating her in previous positions, since she didn’t feel the same crushing responsibility to keep her employer happy at her own expense. However, throughout her travels, Dr. Nan began to realize how rampant bullying was in the healthcare world. Disguised as “politics,” physicians everywhere were bullied back into line if they ever defied the demands of their administration. This inspired Dr. Nan to begin combating bullying at the organizational level. She founded her own company, Beat Down Burnout, which works to address bullying and burnout from a standpoint of communication, so everyone at a given workplace can feel like a valued member of their team. Tune into this week’s episode of FRIED. The Burnout Podcast to learn more about how Dr. Nan works to reduce bullying in the workplace using the B.A.N.K. system of Personality Science. We discuss working with narcissists, the benefits and uses of meditation, and how to incorporate the principles of conflict resolution into all of your relationships, so you can meet people where they are. Quotes “I first realized I was burnt out when I was driving home post-call, and I stopped at a four-way stop, and I waited for the sign to turn green.” (1:26-1:35) “I went in to speak with the Chief Medical Officer at the clinic and told him, ‘I think I’m burnt out.’ And he looked at me and said, ‘Well, what are you gonna do about it?’” (2:21-2:29) “Everywhere I went, I saw bullying….Any time a physician stepped out of line of what administration wanted, these physicians were bullied back into line, myself included.” (8:09-8:28) “80% of what occurs with burnout occurs at the organizational level.” (9:51-9:55) “[Bullying] is both communication and action that doesn’t value the speaker or the listener, and it’s also communication and action that singles a person out to be treated differently.” (12:02-12:13) “When I have a patient that I want to do something with that is not what the nurses and the staff are used to doing, I have to go print up three articles that show why it’s going to work….This drives me nuts because I just want to go do it...but I do, every time.” (32:32-33:33) “With this training, I have learned a lot of tools to protect myself. I have learned to do what we call ‘be the cloud.’ So when somebody wants to be a narcissist, you learn to just let it flow through you and go on and be able to do your work. You have to learn at what point you just can’t. But that’s probably 25% [of the time] not 80%.” (38:10-38:39) “Once you’ve been bullied, you become highly sensitive about it. And you sometimes need to know where to go to rebuild your strength, to rebuild your walls, to get the tools to get back to normal. And that’s hard.” (40:33-40:54) “The Hawaiians have an attitude about the guy that cuts you off in traffic. They say, ‘If you don’t let at least two people in on your way to work and at least two people in on your way home, you’re not driving with aloha.’” (43:35-43:47) Links Dr. Nan’s website: https://BeatDownBurnout.com  Dr. Nan’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/beat_down_burnout  Dr. Nan’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nanette-nuessle-md-351b9116/  Crack your code: https://CrackMyCode.com/Beat-Burnout 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 Podcast production and show notes provided by FIRESIDE Marketing    

Hey Fried Fans,   This week’s episode has been a long time coming and something that I’ve thought a lot about over the years. It’s about privilege and the good and bad of how it’s interwoven with burnout. It is extremely difficult for people that I grew up with to accept that they are the recipients of any sort of privilege and I understand why. Fall River, Massachusetts isn’t a city that dreams are made of. Our police motto is “We’ll Try” and we’ve been high on the list of most heroin per capita since long before the opioid epidemic. It is a downtrodden place that comes with an extreme sense of pride - that pride sometimes feels like the only thing that keeps the city going. Most families I knew growing up, including my own, struggled to make ends meet, often working multiple jobs to keep the lights on and food in the fridge. Having this as your lifestyle and acknowledging your privilege is a big ask. There is no room for feeling privileged or worrying about how others are disadvantaged when you’re simply trying to survive yourself. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs tells us that unless basic needs are met (basic being defined as: food, shelter, drink, clothing, warmth, and some level of stability) it is nearly impossible to expect anyone to be reaching toward ‘higher’ ideals such as self-actualization and personal growth. I believe that it is in this area of personal growth that one can begin to identify one’s privilege. At least, that’s how it worked for me. It wasn’t until I was highly successful that I was able to turn around and realize that my life was easier because of the following factors: White Skin A 2 parent home Supportive, involved parents that encouraged reading and education  A large, well connected extended family A close circle of friends around my parents Always having enough food, a place to live, clean clothes, and heat in the winter Cis gendered In a hetero relationship Able-bodied Sporty physique   None of those things prevented me from burning out. They did make it easier for me to find help when I was burnt out AND they kept me on a burnout cycle because I was comparing my life situation to lives around me and taking note of my luck and my privilege.  It lead to increased feelings of guilt and shame (which burnout has enough of in and of itself) and a lot of beating myself up for not appreciating what I had more, for not being grateful enough, for not using everything I was gifted with to create a life that was fulfilling to me and useful to others. I believe strongly in recognizing my privilege. I think it’s important because it helps to remind me to leave a piece of my ego at the door. No matter what I’ve accomplished, there have always been things that gave me an edge. It helps me to both take credit for my work AND rest on the fact that it wasn’t ‘all me’. Back to burnout. When you read the research on burnout, it’s mostly been studied in corporate and hospital settings (read: settings that prefer white skin) and the result of said studies is that the environment, the company, the hospital - is at 80% fault for causing burnout.When I did my own research, at the bottom, in the depths of what I truly believe sits behind burnout is trauma. Trauma that causes nervous systems to be on high alert which leads to behaviors that burn us out. It doesn’t have to be one singular traumatic event that an after school special would be made about - it can be an adult with unstable and inconsistent emotional states, it can be a constant cutting down of your self worth through comments about your clothes, style, way of being, body, it can be emotional disconnection and abandonment - even from parents that were physically there. It can be a society that thinks of you as less than. It can be living in skin that makes you more likely to be not believed by medical professionals and more likely to be violently attacked/killed by the people whose job it is to protect you. It can be a sexual orientation or a gender that leaves you at risk for familial/societal/religious rejection.    Every single aspect of your life that makes you unsafe: Mentally, physically, and emotionally - can lead to burnout.   So yes, recognize your privilege and also pay attention to what created a lack of safety in your life, at any stage. Recognize your privilege and also give yourself the space for grace and the right to heal. Recognize your privilege and acknowledge your burnout - because you healing your nervous system will affect everyone you come into contact with. Adding more regulated nervous systems to the world raises us all up - the more regulated we are, the less likely we are to create more trauma for others - the more likely we are to recognize another’s pain and take action toward solving it. If you’re privileged and burnt out - Please know this: Recognizing and healing your burnout helps you AND all of us. You deserve to heal no matter how ‘good’ you’ve got it.If you’re lacking privilege and you’re burnt out - Please know this: you are seen, heard, acknowledged, and loved. Your healing, too, is all of our healing. You deserve to heal, no matter who has told you differently.   If you want to listen to an episode on Burnout and Racism, please go listen to the episode that I recorded with Khadijah Tishan Washington.    We all need to bring our regulated nervous systems to the world so that the world can start to heal.    If you’re burnt out and you’re denying it because you’re privileged: book a call now. Let’s get started healing.If you’re burnt out and you’re underprivileged and coaching is out of your range: book a call now. Let’s get started healing. There is a group called Peer Hopes, you can find them at https://peerhopes.com, that offers low cost 1:1 and group counseling.   You all deserve to heal.<3 XOXOC

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 ShowThe 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

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, 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   Find The World’s Most Mindful Office (LINK TO BOOK COMING SOON!)   Get The Best Acupressure Point For Inducing Calm Here! Get the Desk Mat Cait Mentioned   PartnersCaveday: https://www.caveday.org/ Sochill.io: https://sochill.io/   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/ Digestive Ease Ayurvedic Spice Blend from: https://sanghanyc.com MINDALT deodorant: https://mindalt.co

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. Chinese medicine teaches us that every single emotion we have helps our body to work as it should. The Liver uses the combo of anger, frustration, and compassion and the Heart uses joy and anxiety, the Spleen uses contemplation and worry, the Kidneys use courage and fear, the Lungs use grief, sorrow, and empathy. When an organ system is overloaded, the ‘negative’ emotion can get stuck and when a negative emotion is stuck, an organ system can be overloaded - these are the only scenarios where the effect of an emotion can create a low vibe - not because it’s happened but because it’s stuck. On the same token, overuse of the ‘positive’ emotions is also considered bad in Chinese medicine. Too much joy leads to mania, too much courage can be physically dangerous, too much empathy and compassion blurs our boundaries, too much contemplation leads to inaction. The world of life coaching and mindset work has a bit of growing up to do. Maintaining an ideal that you must feel all good all the time and ‘keep your vibes high’ keeps you separate from living a real human experience, leaves you at risk for leaving old, unprocessed emotions in your body that can turn into physical issues later in life, and puts you in a position of moral superiority where you walk around telling everyone that if they just ‘raised their vibe’ their whole lives would be better. It allows you to ignore real world problems like racism, sexism, ageism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and more. When you’re ‘above all that’, you put yourself above other humans. You’ve dissociated yourself and therefore you’re not contributing to solving the problems that are right here and right now. That being said, I believe in meditating and focusing on love when you’re capable and that’s real for you. I believe in finding the good in your life on purpose if you aren’t currently sitting in the muck. I believe in your ability to use the highs and lows of life equally. There are studies that show that a large number of meditators, working together in a community will actually change the overall feel of it. Energy matters, and it works, and focusing on the good on purpose works - as long as you aren’t lying. As long as you can still allow yourself to grieve when someone dies, to be angry when your safety is threatened, to have fear in the unknown that scares you. 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. XOC Need some help balancing all the madness and sick of being angry at everyone around you? Book a call! bit.ly/callcait

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!

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. The major difference is: I don’t feel unsafe, bad, guilty, wrong, or inadequate when I have a bad day. It’s just information. My body/brain/spirit need some extra love - it doesn’t even matter why, it just matters that I got the memo and can respond. If you feel like you’re relapsing, the question you should ask yourself are: Is this really a relapse or have I been burnt out this whole time? If you feel like you truly recovered previously and you are actually having a relapse, the first thing you do is reach out for help. The best option is to put yourself in someone else’s care as soon as possible. When you’re burnt out, self-healing is so much harder because not only is your cup empty, but it’s likely also cracked. So, you might find yourself doing all. the. things. but not getting the results you want. We’ve all heard that you can’t pour from an empty cup, you also can’t fill your own empty cracked cup without outside help. That outside help could be: therapy, Chinese medicine (acupuncture/herbs) reiki, coaching, somatic healing, rtt, hypnosis, massage, or any number of other techniques. Here’s what is most important when choosing them: You want to do it. There is another person in the room (even zoom room), helping to create a healing space. Other people’s energy MATTERS when you’re healing from burnout. End of story. If you want to know more about people creating healing spaces, I recommend the book Energy Medicine by Jill Blakeway. While it’s happening, you are focused on it and nothing else. Right now, it can be hard to go places to get help with restrictions still in place in many cities, but you can get assistance online - just be sure that your do not disturb is enabled and you’re not checked FB during your healing time (yeah, I see you ;))   If you feel like the truth is that you’ve actually been burnt out this whole time, the same advice applies. Reach out for help. The reason that asking the question is important isn’t that the advice is different, it’s that it makes you feel right with yourself. You understand what you’re undertaking. You know what to tell the practitioner that you’re working with. It’s always easier to move forward from clarity and it’s always easier to heal with honesty.   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!

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!

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.  In the online business world, there is always talk about nailing down your messaging. Being sure that the people you are talking to know that you are talking to them - and when I started burnout coaching in 2017, I thought it was obvious to everyone that burnout was burnout and I could help them with it. Then, 2020 happened and burnout started to get niched down even further. There are people that only talk to organizations. There are people that do all somatic processing. There are people who use functional medicine, Chinese medicine, reiki, and/or coaching. Here’s what I learned about myself and my work during that clubhouse room last week: My niche is helping you heal from burnout - using boundaries, systems, and emotional transformations. By helping you to uncover truths about yourself, by giving you permission to have things be easier, by teaching you to ask for help, by getting you to a place where you’re being REALLY HONEST with yourself - by giving you communication patterns, specific words to use when building boundaries, and carrying the belief in your healing for you until you’re ready to hold it yourself.    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

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!

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: IndigestionStomach painDepressionSighingHiccupsEasily FrustratedExplosive/Inappropriate AngerPlum Pit Qi (a feeling of a lump in your throat)Cough Diarrhea and Constipation (often alternating like IBS)Tight neck and shouldersHeadaches, MigrainesHeightened PMS symptomsMenstrual crampsSore breastsDiscomfort in flanks/diaphragm/etcBitter 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

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   There's a reason that Sarah Dawn is my first repeat guest on FRIED. You can hear her original episode with her burnout story here: https://friedtheburnoutpodcast.com/post/sarah-dawn But before you do that, tune into this week's episode to hear: - The Entrepreneurial Condition [6:41]- Finding Energy Leakes [11:09]- This is how it’s always been done syndrome / free coaching from Sarah [13:18]- Reframing Waste [15:42]- Examples of deciding to let things go [22:07]- Exercising Your Emotional Intelligence Muscle [32:10]- Every Entrepreneur’s Deep Dark Secret [34:24]- Who to hire as your first team member [37:00]- Where to leave the personal touch in your business [44:10]   Find Sarah: Instagram: https://instagram.com/sarahdawnbiz Sarah’s Website: https://www.sarahdawnconsulting.com/   Resources Mentioned in the Show:The Resentment Journal Mini Course:  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!

Hi Fried Fans, This week, I released an episode about when the world's gone mad and told you that I'd be following it up with a yoga nidra, or body scan meditation that you can use as a tool to help ground yourself when the world has gone mad and your overwhelmed. This is it. <3 Enjoy C

Today, I’m recording last minute - which I never do. I am usually recorded a week or even a month in advance, but the combination of having taken time off over the holidays and the shit show at the white house this week means that I’m taking a beat to stop and be with you here, now and to let you know that if productivity is not your focus right now - that’s okay.It might sound contrite to suggest self care above all else when the world has gone mad, but self care is a rebellious, and political act. You cannot aim to fix injustices that you see if you haven’t slept, had good nutrition, or taken a mental health day. This is especially true for everyone who is battling the ‘isms’. Racism, sexism, ageism, homophobism - when the world is not a safe place for you, your body and nervous system REQUIRE that you take time to restore in a place of your own creation that feels as safe as possible.This is necessary so that when it is time to face the world again, to fight, to break down barriers, to be yourself in a world that asks you not to be, you have the energy for it. Self-care, in and of itself, is an act of political power. This week, I posted a meme on my socials that said, “Everytime a woman prioritizes herself, the patriarchy crumbles a little” and I meant it, but it should have read: “Everytime anyone who has ever been marginalized prioritizes themselves, the patriarchy crumbles a little.”The basics of this come down to: First, Rest. Second, Rebel.   First, REST. Second, Rebel.   But FIRST - first, REST. Restore. Treat yourself like the prize you are. Rejuvenate. Recollect your power. Engage your anger in a way that makes it useful. But first, REST. Scream. FEEL.   Second, Rebel.    This first step requires you to have some knowledge about how to regulate your nervous system. Don’t worry, I’ve got you - I know that they don’t teach this at school. Regulation of the nervous system starts with a feeling of safety and creating that feeling is an individual process. Do you need to grab a soft blanket? Make sure your doors are locked? Clean the kitchen? Organize paperwork? What is it that needs to be in place for you to feel safe?Right now, I’m home alone for a couple of weeks and I’m in a home that we just bought - we have lived here for less than 2 months - so it isn’t my safe place yet. In order to regulate my nervous system, I need to make sure all my doors are locked - not because I don’t trust my neighbors but because I don’t want to have to think about the door that used to be in a hallway with other apartments and now points straight out onto the street. There is a layer of ‘protection’ that I’ve had my entire adult life that is now gone, so I have to secure the next layer to feel safe.For me, next is making sure all the basics are clean. I don’t feel as safe when my bed isn’t made and there are dirty dishes on the countertops (and if I’m honest, on the coffee table). I need to put it all away, wipe down the counters, and make my bed. After that, I need to be clean. In order to feel like I’m taking care of myself and am safe, I need to be freshly showered. It makes me feel ready for rest AND ready for action. There’s a preparation ritual that goes with washing yourself that is important to me (it might not be to you - and that’s okay - I’m simply giving examples so that you can try to figure out what helps you feel safe).   After you feel as safe as possible, one of the best ways to regulate your nervous system is to do a short meditation called yoga nidra, or body scan. Don’t worry, it doesn’t take long and you don’t have to sit in lotus position. This particular meditation is also known as sleeping yoga. You can do it on your bed, on your yoga mat, on your couch, anywhere you can lay down comfortably and feel safe.You may have experienced this before if you’ve taken a yoga class in a studio (I know, don’t remind you that you used to be able to go to a yoga studio…). You know, at the end, when you’re in savasana, also known as corpse pose, and the teacher tells you to relax the skin of your scalp, your eyes, your jaw, and moves down your body - and it feels like the best thing in the whole world? Yes, that. That is one of the best ways to regulate your nervous system. So this week, I’m releasing two episodes. This one, to let you know that there is a tool that you can implement and one right after that, giving you the tool - with no introduction or interruption so that you can listen to it again and again without having to relisten to or skip the introduction by fast forwarding. I want you to be able to access this ASAP whenever you want it.   So, step one: make your surroundings feel safe. Step two, listen to the next episode of FRIED and give your nervous system what it needs. All the changes last year have not been integrated yet into our bodies and we’re still sort of waiting for normal to come back. It’s not likely to come back as it was before and in order to move forward, our nervous systems need to have the ability to be flexible, agile, and ready. It’s a practice, a lifelong one, but if the last year taught us anything it is that we never know what’s about to happen and making ourselves more comfortable in the ‘now’ is something we should all be striving for so that when life falls to shit, we can fall to shit for a moment and then recoup and get on with our desires to make change, seek justice, empower ourselves and each other, and be the changes we want to see in the world.Sending you lots of love.XOC