FRIED. The Burnout Podcast

Summer can amplify anxiety, turning your emotions up to eleven. Sarah Vosen discusses how seasonal energy shifts—especially around the solstice—can trigger racing thoughts and fatigue. She shares relatable stories, including one from a program graduate who faced unexpected unease without clear reasons. To combat this, she offers hydration tips, grounding foods, and calming techniques like self-massage. The focus is on reconnecting with your body and finding balance amidst the chaos.

Burnout isn’t a personal failure. Sometimes it’s a sign that the system around you never made space for you to ask what’s actually sustainable.Kicking off Season 10 of FRIED. The Burnout Podcast, Cait Donovan is joined by Jen Fisher, the founder of The Wellbeing Team and the former Chief Well-being Officer at Deloitte, for a conversation that goes straight to the heart of what burnout really is, and why so many people are still afraid to talk about it honestly. Jen shares why, in her own experience, burnout was harder than cancer, and how the workplace responded to each in very different ways. Why do so many people feel like burnout is their fault? And what would shift if organizations started treating well-being as a core skill set, not a side conversation? Jen introduces the idea of well-being intelligence, a teachable approach to helping leaders spot the signs of burnout early and change the way teams operate. She and Cait talk about why clear language matters, what modeling healthy behavior actually looks like, and how leaders often fail to support their own well-being while trying to take care of everyone else.This episode leaves listeners with a strong reminder: hope is more than wishful thinking. It’s a strategy, and one that’s available to anyone willing to take the next right step.Episode Breakdown:00:00 Meet Jen Fisher02:00 Why Burnout Was Harder Than Cancer07:00 What Burnout Really Means (And What It Doesn’t)12:00 How Work Culture Fuels Burnout17:00 Rethinking Success, Sacrifice, and Leadership22:00 Building a Well-Being Strategy Inside Big Organizations28:00 What Is Well-Being Intelligence?35:00 How Leaders Can Learn to Prevent Burnout39:00 Hope Isn’t Wishful Thinking but a Tool for RecoveryLinksConnect with Jen Fisher:https://www.instagram.com/jenfish23/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jen-fisher-7403868/ https://jenfisher.substack.com/Connect with Cait:Cait Donovan is a keynote speaker, author, and host of FRIED: The Burnout Podcast, specializing in burnout, mis/match, and sustainable performance at work. She partners with corporate leaders, teams, and professional associations through keynotes, workshops, and leadership sessions that treat burnout as data, not failure, to help organizations reduce burnout without blame or shame and build healthier, high performing cultures.To bring Cait to your organization or event, book an inquiry call here: https://bit.ly/bookcaitLearn more about Cait’s speaking work: https://www.caitdonovan.com/speakingShort on time? Watch this 3-min video: https://bit.ly/caitdreel2025Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Burnout recovery takes more than bubble baths and boundary scripts. It asks you to let yourself receive.To celebrate 300 episodes of FRIED, Cait Donovan and Sarah Vosen are getting real about what it took to get here… emotionally, financially, and logistically. What do you do when your mission is to serve others, but you’re maxed out behind the scenes? How do you keep showing up with integrity when your inbox is full of amazing guest pitches you don’t have the capacity to accept?Cait opens up about the guilt that still shows up when she says no, and the tension between wanting to help everyone and needing to protect her own energy. She and Sarah talk about money, sustainability, and the shift from giving endlessly to allowing themselves to receive in equal measure.They also unveil a new tool made just for you: the FRIED Episode Finder, a searchable archive that helps you find exactly what you need without scrolling through 300 titles. Type in a keyword, a name, a question, and it serves up the episodes that match. (Burnout recovery with a little delegation joy? Yes, please!)This milestone episode is full of gratitude, behind-the-scenes truth, and hard-earned wisdom for anyone working to stay well while helping others do the same.Episode Breakdown:00:00 300 Episodes of FRIED!02:14 Behind the Scenes05:09 Boundaries, Guilt, and Saying No06:44 The Real Cost of Podcasting10:00 Learning to Receive13:05 Using ChatGPT to Set Boundaries15:09 Pricing Your Work Without Apology17:00 Burnout Recovery Is a Long Game19:13 Listener Impact and Gratitude23:58 Introducing the FRIED Episode Finder28:32 Delegation Joy Is Real30:26 Send Us Your QuestionsLinksLooking for the right episode? Use the free FRIED Episode Finder to search by keyword and find the support you need, fast: bit.ly/friedfinderConnect with Cait:Cait Donovan is a keynote speaker, author, and host of FRIED: The Burnout Podcast, specializing in burnout, mis/match, and sustainable performance at work. She partners with corporate leaders, teams, and professional associations through keynotes, workshops, and leadership sessions that treat burnout as data, not failure, to help organizations reduce burnout without blame or shame and build healthier, high performing cultures.To bring Cait to your organization or event, book an inquiry call here: https://bit.ly/bookcaitLearn more about Cait’s speaking work: https://www.caitdonovan.com/speakingShort on time? Watch this 3-min video: https://bit.ly/caitdreel2025Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Explore the intriguing concept of stress resilience, which goes beyond mindset to include biology and personal history. Discover how your genetic wiring and early experiences shape how you manage stress. Learn about the vital distinction between merely reacting to stress and cultivating true resilience. Cait emphasizes the power of leveraging your natural strengths and consistently seeking support without guilt. It's about aligning your life with your values to better support your nervous system and thrive amid challenges.

Burnout doesn’t always look like falling apart. Sometimes it looks like holding everything together, until your body makes it clear you can’t keep going this way.Cait Donovan is joined by her longtime friend Sarah Swanberg, a doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine and co-founder of Indigo Wellness Group. They talk about what burnout really feels like for women moving through major life phases such as fertility, postpartum, perimenopause, and why so many of us miss the signs until we’re deep in it.Sarah shares how she left a high-pressure career in visual effects and followed a quiet sense of curiosity into acupuncture, eventually building a multi-practitioner wellness practice that supports both patients and providers. What does it take to build something sustainable? How do you know when it’s time to change course, and how do you do it without losing yourself?This episode digs into the deeper patterns behind burnout, from the pressure to “do it all” to the fear of asking for help. Cait and Sarah offer a grounded, honest look at what it really means to care for yourself, your work, and your future.Episode Breakdown:00:00 Introduction 02:00 Sarah’s Career Shift from Visual Effects to Acupuncture08:00 Spotting Burnout and Rethinking Success10:00 Letting Go of the Sunk Cost Fallacy14:00 Burnout, Perimenopause, and the Role of Yin20:00 Restorative Practices and Sustainable Living24:00 Building a Collaborative Wellness Practice34:00 Overcoming Fear and Asking for Help40:00 Resourcing Yourself for a Resilient LifeLinksConnect with Sarah Swanberg:https://sarahswanberg.com https://instagram.com/sarah.theacudoc https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahwswanberg/ https://sarahswanberg.com/free-downloadConnect with Cait:Cait Donovan is a keynote speaker, author, and host of FRIED: The Burnout Podcast, specializing in burnout, mis/match, and sustainable performance at work. She partners with corporate leaders, teams, and professional associations through keynotes, workshops, and leadership sessions that treat burnout as data, not failure, to help organizations reduce burnout without blame or shame and build healthier, high performing cultures.To bring Cait to your organization or event, book an inquiry call here: https://bit.ly/bookcaitLearn more about Cait’s speaking work: https://www.caitdonovan.com/speakingShort on time? Watch this 3-min video: https://bit.ly/caitdreel2025Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Explore the fear of never wanting to work again and the tug of war between freedom and responsibility. Discover how breaking free from self-imposed rules can lead to genuine joy and healing. Embrace your inner rebel to prioritize what truly feels good in life. Learn the value of accepting support from others when recovering from burnout, and see how it can transform your journey. This conversation will inspire you to rethink your relationship with work and happiness.

Burnout recovery doesn’t always come with the luxury of stepping away from your job, and Cait Donovan knows that firsthand. In this episode, she speaks directly to those who feel stuck in burnout but still have to show up for work every day.Cait offers a starting point: pick one small shift and commit to it for a few weeks. Just one. She lays out two clear paths, depending on how you're feeling right now.If you’re angry, the Resentment Journal mini course is your first step. Resentment shows up when you're pouring energy into something that gives little or nothing back. Identifying those moments and adjusting them where you can help you reclaim the energy you need to move forward.If you’re not angry but just numb or depleted, Cait recommends rebuilding the basics of self-care. That means responding to your body’s most essential needs: rest, hydration, nourishment, movement. Even something as simple as peeing when you need to (yes, really) can rebuild your ability to listen to your body and regulate emotions.Once you’ve started to clear some space, Cait suggests exploring proprioceptive writing to access deeper emotional clarity. Because while burnout follows patterns, your story is your own and so is your recovery.Wherever you begin, the message is clear: start small, stay kind to yourself, and don’t wait for the perfect moment to begin healing.Episode Breakdown:00:00 Introduction01:09 How to Recover from Burnout Without Quitting Your Job01:33 Step 1: Start with the Resentment Journal03:55 Step 2: Foundational Self-Care That Actually Works07:05 Rebuilding Awareness Through Small Body Signals08:30 Step 3: Try Proprioceptive Writing10:06 Two Tools for Burnout Recovery That Work in Any CircumstanceLinkshttps://caitdonovan.com/resentment-journalhttps://www.caitdonovan.com/blog/why-you-need-proprioceptive-writing-even-if-you-ve-never-heard-of-ithttps://pod.link/1469939920/episode/ce0aa3d0c445b69d1c6ad6f3a31d2251Connect with Cait:Cait Donovan is a keynote speaker, author, and host of FRIED: The Burnout Podcast, specializing in burnout, mis/match, and sustainable performance at work. She partners with corporate leaders, teams, and professional associations through keynotes, workshops, and leadership sessions that treat burnout as data, not failure, to help organizations reduce burnout without blame or shame and build healthier, high performing cultures.To bring Cait to your organization or event, book an inquiry call here: https://bit.ly/bookcaitLearn more about Cait’s speaking work: https://www.caitdonovan.com/speakingShort on time? Watch this 3-min video: https://bit.ly/caitdreel2025Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Anger is a message from your body that, if ignored, can quietly fuel burnout.This week, Sarah Vosen digs into something most of us don’t talk about enough: why spring often brings a spike in anger, and how that ties directly to burnout. Could your short fuse or simmering resentment have more to do with your body than your circumstances? According to Chinese medicine, the liver and gallbladder take center stage this time of year. When they’re overwhelmed, emotional tension builds.Sarah breaks down what that means in real life, and more importantly, what to do about it. She offers five ways to process anger before it turns into something heavier. Some are physical. Some are emotional. All are meant to help you feel more grounded and less reactive.If you’ve been feeling off lately but can’t quite explain why, this episode might give you a new lens. What if your anger is trying to move through you? And what would happen if you let it?Episode Breakdown00:00 Introduction00:55 Why Spring Triggers Anger01:27 How Chinese Medicine Explains Emotional Shifts03:24 Five Ways to Process Anger04:06 Move Your Body06:16 Express and Release Emotion08:03 Ground Yourself10:01 Connect with Nature15:00 Support Your Liver with Lemon Water and SleepLinksBurnout isn’t a personal failure or a lack of resilience. It’s a signal that something in the system, expectations, roles, pace, or support, is out of alignment. Conversations like this one help surface the human experience of burnout, while the broader work continues to explore how organizations can respond more intelligently and sustainably.To explore burnout, leadership, and sustainable performance through a workplace and organizational lens, connect with Cait Donovan: https://bit.ly/bookcaitLearn more about Cait’s speaking work: https://www.caitdonovan.com/speakingShort on time? Watch this 3-minute reel: https://bit.ly/caitdreel2025Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Returning to work after burnout can feel overwhelming, but understanding the environment is crucial. Cait Donovan explores whether a workplace is toxic or simply a bad fit. She shares a valuable three-step process for self-assessment, emphasizing the importance of self-respect and intention. Discover how old habits can resurface and learn to navigate workplace challenges with self-compassion. This discussion focuses on prioritizing mental health and finding balance in career paths after recovery.

Self-sabotage isn’t a personal flaw. It’s your nervous system doing its best to keep you safe.In this whole new episode of #FRIEDguides, Cait Donovan and Sarah Vosen take a closer look at why so many people feel like they’re getting in their own way during burnout recovery. What if those moments where you fall back into old habits aren’t failures, but signals that your body is overwhelmed and reaching for something familiar? What if the behavior you’re judging is actually trying to protect you?Cait and Sarah break down how our nervous systems react to change, why recovery often feels messy, and how shame can make everything harder. Instead of trying to push through with force, they talk about how to meet yourself with compassion, curiosity, and a little more patience.They also get personal. Cait shares her ongoing relationship with sugar and the deep-rooted comfort it represents. It’s a reminder that coping strategies aren’t always the problem. Sometimes they’re part of the process.If you’ve ever wondered why change feels so hard, or why you can’t seem to stick with “good” habits, this conversation will help you see things in a new light. Recovery is a dance. You’re allowed to take small steps, shift directions, and give yourself grace along the way.Episode Breakdown:00:00 Introduction03:04 Why Cait and Sarah Don’t Believe in Self-Sabotage05:00 The Nervous System’s Role in Familiar Behaviors07:04 Shame, Judgment, and the Myth of Failure09:27 Coping Mechanisms and What They’re Really Doing10:41 Burnout Recovery as a Non-Linear Process13:21 Listening to Your Body and Meeting Yourself with Compassion22:05 Redefining Progress and Practicing Gentleness Along the WayLinksBurnout isn’t a personal failure or a lack of resilience. It’s a signal that something in the system, expectations, roles, pace, or support, is out of alignment. Conversations like this one help surface the human experience of burnout, while the broader work continues to explore how organizations can respond more intelligently and sustainably.To explore burnout, leadership, and sustainable performance through a workplace and organizational lens, connect with Cait Donovan: https://bit.ly/bookcaitLearn more about Cait’s speaking work: https://www.caitdonovan.com/speakingShort on time? Watch this 3-minute reel: https://bit.ly/caitdreel2025Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm