Cyndie Spiegel: Use This Technique to Find Hope When You're Stuck in the Muck
Burnout isn’t the end of your story. With Sarah Vosen’s guidance, recovery becomes not just possible—but sustainable. Learn more: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingBurnout doesn’t end with a mindset shift—it begins when you finally allow grief, emptiness, and small sparks of joy to coexist without needing to fix any of them.Author and speaker Cyndie Spiegel joins Cait to talk about what it means to live inside the gray area, the space where both pain and beauty can exist at once. She shares how walking away from a high-profile fashion career led her to teaching, writing, and discovering the idea of microjoys: brief, accessible moments of light that don’t erase hardship but remind us life still holds goodness. Together, they unpack how black-and-white thinking fuels burnout, why forced gratitude doesn’t work, and how simple awareness can shift everything.What if healing starts with noticing what else is true? What might open up when you stop chasing “better” and start paying attention to what’s already here?Episode Breakdown:00:00 Introduction02:00 Cyndie Spiegel’s Burnout Story in the Fashion Industry08:35 Finding Purpose Through Yoga and Teaching10:37 Writing A Year of Positive Thinking16:08 The Birth of Microjoys18:40 Finding Hope When Life Isn’t Okay24:30 Living in the Gray: Holding Multiple Truths32:54 Practicing Microjoys in Daily Life39:21 Where to Find Cyndie Spiegel and Final ReflectionsConnect with Cyndie Spiegel:Cyndie’s Website Follow Cyndie on Instagram Connect with Cyndie on LinkedIn Sign up to Cyndie’s Email ListConnect with Cait:Initial Call with CaitInitial Call with SarahBurnout isn’t the end of your story. With Sarah Vosen’s guidance, recovery becomes not just possible—but sustainable. Learn more: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingPodcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm
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#straightwithcait: Why Behavior Change Is So Hard (and What Your Brain Has to Do With It)
Healing happens faster with guidance. Give yourself permission to ask for and receive help: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingMost people think they’ve failed at change when they’ve actually just hit the part where being human takes over.Cait Donovan is taking a closer look at why behavior change is so hard to maintain and why relapse isn’t a sign of weakness but proof that your brain is doing exactly what it’s designed to do. She explains how old habits never fully disappear, they just sit quietly, waiting for a moment of stress or fatigue to reappear. Change takes effort, repetition, and compassion for the part of you that’s still learning.Cait shares how progress depends on context and patience. A new habit might feel strong at home but crumble at work, and that’s normal. The real work isn’t about erasing the old pattern but building trust in your ability to return to the new one again and again. This episode is a reminder that being human is not the problem, it’s the process.Episode Breakdown:00:00 Understanding Why Behavior Change Feels Impossible01:39 How the Brain Builds and Keeps Old Habits04:10 Why New Behaviors Don’t Stick in Every Environment06:20 Relapse as a Normal Part of Behavior Change09:01 Final Takeaways: Being Human Is the ProcessConnect with Cait:Initial Call with CaitInitial Call with SarahHealing happens faster with guidance. Give yourself permission to ask for and receive help: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingPodcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm
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Coaching with Sarah: Spinning in the ‘Am I Burned Out?’ Loop? This One’s for You
You don’t have to carry burnout alone. The right support can help you breathe again—start here: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingBurnout doesn’t always look like collapse; sometimes it hides in the moments when you’re still performing, but your spark keeps flickering out, and that’s where this honest coaching session begins.In this episode, Sarah Vosen sits down with Jennie, an attorney and mom unsure whether what she’s feeling qualifies as burnout. Together they unpack the World Health Organization’s markers of burnout—exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced efficacy—and what those look like in real life. Is it possible to feel functional yet fried? How do you know when your capacity is shrinking faster than you realize?As Sarah guides Jennie through a clearer understanding of her patterns, practical steps begin to emerge: protecting space on the calendar, creating buffers between meetings, and rebuilding small habits that restore energy. The conversation also touches on the role of perimenopause in stress and recovery, giving Jennie a compassionate framework for why her old pace no longer fits.The episode leaves listeners with a grounded reminder: burnout recovery isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing differently, one small boundary at a time.Episode Breakdown:00:00 What Burnout Really Looks Like04:10 Understanding the WHO Definition of Burnout10:06 Small Doable Steps for Burnout Recovery14:51 Setting Boundaries and Time Blocks That Stick22:32 Learning to Control What You Can Control25:14 Dropping Self-Judgment and Reclaiming Energy34:54 The Connection Between Burnout and Perimenopause39:36 Building a New Operating System for Sustainable Work45:07 Grace, Compassion, and Real RecoveryLinksIf you’re ready to take the next step toward healing, you can explore 1:1 coaching with Sarah Vosen at bit.ly/unfriedcoach Download the Web of Causation Exercise to uncover the layers behind your burnout and begin creating your recovery plan: https://www.caitdonovan.com/freebie-webConnect with Cait:Initial Call with CaitInitial Call with SarahYou don’t have to carry burnout alone. The right support can help you breathe again—start here: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingPodcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm
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Coaching with Sarah: Letting Go of Shame from Failing to Meet Unrealistic Expectations
You deserve to feel whole again. Sarah Vosen’s coaching can help you get there—start here: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingAdmitting you’re burnt out can feel like failure, but as Heather learns in this live coaching session, it’s actually the first brave step toward freedom.In this coaching conversation, she opens up about the shame of slowing down and the fear that rest will undo everything she’s worked for. For years, she’s equated effort with worth, believing that if she just pushed a little harder, she’d finally feel secure. Now, even basic motivation feels impossible, and the idea of taking a real break feels terrifying. Through grounded, compassionate coaching, Sarah Vosen helps Heather untangle the shame that keeps her stuck and recognize that burnout isn’t a reflection of weakness, it’s what happens when capacity runs out but expectations don’t.The turning point comes when Heather admits she needs more time than she’s willing to allow herself. That moment of honesty marks the real beginning of recovery. This episode is a reminder that stepping back isn’t quitting; it’s choosing to rebuild your life at a pace that actually sustains you.Episode Breakdown:00:00 Welcome to Fried: The Burnout Podcast00:53 Live Coaching with Heather: Admitting Burnout04:50 The Shame and Fear Behind Taking a Break09:11 Capacity vs. Capability: The Core Burnout Distinction15:17 When Burnout Becomes an Existential Crisis20:24 Restoring Your Inner Ecosystem22:24 Learning to Stop and Rest Without Guilt25:07 Fear as a Symptom of Burnout31:09 How Unconscious Coping Leads to Burnout36:35 Taking the First Step Toward Recovery41:01 Reframing Burnout as an Opportunity for Renewal44:05 Reflections and EncouragementLinksSign up for our email newsletter and office hours invites Join our Facebook groupConnect with Cait:Initial Call with CaitInitial Call with SarahYou deserve to feel whole again. Sarah Vosen’s coaching can help you get there—start here: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingPodcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm
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#straightwithcait: What PT Taught Me About Burnout Recovery
Burnout recovery isn’t about doing more—it’s about finding the right help. Begin here: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingBurnout convinces you that rest should be enough, and when it isn’t, you assume you’re broken.In this #straightfromcait episode, Cait shares how a shoulder injury revealed a missing step in her own recovery process. Two months of full rest left her pain-free but not ready. When her physical therapist handed her one-pound weights and she could barely lift them, she realized the injury had healed, but her strength hadn’t returned.That moment reframed everything. Most of us focus on the pause — the sleeping, the pulling back, the stopping. But recovery isn’t just the absence of strain. At some point, rest has to turn into rebuild. Gently. Slowly. Without ego. This isn’t about going back to who you were before burnout, it’s about training for who you’re becoming.If you’ve been wondering why life still feels heavier than it should, maybe nothing’s wrong with you at all. Maybe you’re not fragile, just not rebuilt yet.Episode Breakdown:00:00 What Burnout Recovery Gets Wrong About Rest01:19 The Shoulder Injury That Sparked a Realization02:22 Physical Therapy and the Wake-Up Call of Weakness03:06 Rest vs. Rebuild in Burnout Recovery07:12 Nutrition, Movement, and Mental Habits That Restore Capacity09:09 Recovery as a Foundation, Not the Finish LineConnect with Cait:Initial Call with CaitInitial Call with SarahBurnout recovery isn’t about doing more—it’s about finding the right help. Begin here.Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm
FRIED: The Burnout Podcast by BurnBOLD™BurnBOLD™ is the powerhouse matchup of burnout experts Cait Donovan and Sarah Vosen. Together, they host FRIED as part of their mission to #endburnoutculture — with deep, real, and sometimes hilariously practical advice (yes, like #peewhenyouneedtopee).Each week, you’ll hear raw stories, powerful coaching sessions, and practical strategies to help you drop the shame, blame, guilt, and judgment so you can heal from burnout and rebuild your life.You can work with the BurnBOLD™ team as an organization or individually. Cait Donovan works globally as a keynote speaker and workshop leader, helping organizations and associations create burnout-proof cultures. Sarah Vosen guides individuals as a burnout coach using her signature UNFRIED process, working 1-on-1 or in small groups with people all over the world.Wherever you are in your burnout journey, FRIED is here to help you BurnBOLD™ and take your life back.Homepage: https://caitdonovan.comPodcast page: https://caitdonovan.com/friedBurnout Coaching page: https://caitdonovan.com/coaching
South Africa