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
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Will Robins: How PGA Science Helps You Recover from Burnout
Sometimes the next step is simply asking for help. Sarah Vosen is here to guide you through it: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingBurnout hides best inside people who love their work so much they don’t notice it draining the life out of them.PGA coach and RGX founder Will Robins joins Cait to unpack how devotion to service can turn into slow-motion burnout, especially when you’re praised for being endlessly available. He shares how surviving the 2004 tsunami gave him purpose, but years later COVID thrust him into a different kind of survival mode, fielding nonstop crisis calls from golf pros worldwide. Passion became obligation, generosity became emotional labor, and saying yes became his default until resentment started to seep in. Together, he and Cait expose how burnout isn’t about workload—it’s about tension, expectations, and the belief that being needed equals being valuable.They map a way back through honest boundaries, aligned priorities, and Will’s Scoring Method as a metaphor for life: stop swinging for perfection and focus on consistent, pressure-free plays. You'll hear practical language for saying no without guilt, a reframing of stress as a physical reaction rather than a personal failing, and a challenge to stop optimizing your recovery like another achievement project. If you're the “reliable one” who keeps muscling through, this episode invites you to build a life where people need you less, and love you more because of it.Episode Breakdown:00:00 Burnout and Purpose After Surviving the Tsunami02:45 COVID Burnout and the Cost of Constant Service08:04 Why High Performers Miss Burnout Signs11:47 Burnout Culture in the Golf Industry and Beyond17:31 Rebuilding Life with Faith, Health, and Family21:02 Setting Boundaries Without Guilt32:02 The Scoring Method for Life and Burnout36:00 Mastering Emotional RegulationConnect with Will Robins:Will’s WebsiteFollow Will on Instagram Connect with Will on LinkedIn Connect with Cait:Initial Call with CaitInitial Call with SarahSometimes the next step is simply asking for help. Sarah Vosen is here to guide you through it: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingPodcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm
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Coaching with Sarah: How to Manage The Panic of Not Being Able to Control All The Things
Sometimes the bravest step is reaching out. Support is waiting for you here: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingControl shows up early in Christy’s story — first as protection, then as identity, and eventually as exhaustion. She has spent years anticipating other people’s needs, convinced that staying ahead of every outcome would keep things safe. Instead, it left her overextended and unsure how to take up space without earning it through service.In this real-time coaching session, Sarah helps Christy notice the cost of constantly shaping herself around other people’s comfort. She isn’t confused about what’s wrong, she’s simply never been given permission to stop carrying so much.The turning point comes when she names one commitment she quietly resents: a year-long carpool obligation she agreed to out of pressure rather than choice. Renegotiating that responsibility becomes the first act of repair. It’s not about convenience. It’s about finally allowing reciprocity.This episode offers an honest look at the earliest stage of burnout recovery, the moment you decide that exhaustion is no longer proof of goodness. One boundary. One ask. One hour of energy reclaimed.Episode Breakdown:00:00 Live Burnout Coaching with Sarah Vosen01:15 Christy Realizes She’s Burned Out for the First Time04:30 Control and Codependency as Burnout Fuel09:00 Parenting Crisis and Emotional Breaking Point16:00 The Tree of Life Exercise for Energy Awareness23:45 Naming Resentment and the Carpool Boundary29:00 Learning to Delegate Without Guilt37:30 Choosing Discomfort That Leads to Recovery40:00 Final Reflection: What Will You Prune from Your Life?LinksConnect with Cait:Initial Call with CaitInitial Call with SarahSometimes the bravest step is reaching out. Support is waiting for you here: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingPodcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm
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Coaching with Sarah: How to Calm Your Mind When You're Overwhelmed and Feeling Stuck
The right support changes everything. Our Director of Coaching, Sarah Vosen, combines expertise and compassion to walk beside you: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingBurnout recovery gets complicated as Sarah sits down with Janine, an anonymous guest who is more than halfway through medical leave but still unable to rest. She loves her team and takes pride in her work, yet the thought of returning to the same boss and culture fills her with dread. Even time away hasn’t quieted the anxious loop of questions: Should she go back? Ask for a different role? Step into something lighter? Or leave altogether? And how do you listen to the body’s warning signals when the brain insists you “should” push through?Through thoughtful coaching, Sarah helps Janine notice how her nervous system responds to each option and what those reactions reveal about her deeper truth. The turning point comes when Janine recognizes she isn’t looking for more information, she’s been waiting for permission to trust herself. One small next step, like reading a book without interruption, becomes more than rest. It’s an act of self-leadership.This conversation pulls back the curtain on the messy middle of burnout recovery. There’s no perfect plan or quick fix - just the slow work of honoring signals, taking honest steps, and remembering that rest isn’t earned, it’s allowed.Episode Breakdown:00:00 Real-Time Burnout Coaching with Sarah Vosen02:11 Janine’s Burnout Story and Medical Leave Struggles04:40 Recognizing a Toxic Work Environment07:27 Should I Return to Work or Walk Away?08:15 Financial Concerns and Early Retirement12:10 Anxiety About Returning to the Same Boss20:04 High Achievers and the Pressure to Recover Quickly24:52 The Trap of Maximizing Leave Time31:11 Brain vs. Body: Who Do You Trust?35:03 Learning to Trust Intuition and Body Signals40:08 Creating Safety Through Small Choices45:15 Choosing Restorative Activities Over ProductivityConnect with Cait:Initial Call with CaitInitial Call with SarahThe right support changes everything. Our Director of Coaching, Sarah Vosen, combines expertise and compassion to walk beside you: https://caitdonovan.com/coachingPodcast 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