100. What I've learned about Burnout (with Micah Freeman)

Quick note: Enrollment is open for Love It or Leave It (Leaving the Chair).

Closes January 30 (at the time of recording).

Join Love It or Leave It (Open Enrollment):

https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/jhvxnbroxe

Book a consult call (limited availability):

https://calendar.app.google/JBkK3aUPXyvxr46F7

About this episode

Micah Freeman interviews Jen for Episode 100.

We talk about milestones, burnout (in real life), cognitive overload, and why so many therapists are done with 1:1 as it’s currently structured.

What we cover

• What 100 episodes actually feels like (and why “arrival” doesn’t land the way we expect)
• The arrival fallacy and the “have done list”
• Jen’s current relationship with burnout and learning to be gentler with herself
• Cognitive burnout: screens, tabs, constant input, nervous system fatigue
• The added layers for many therapists: caregiving, emotional labor, hormones/menopause
• Why Jen started studying burnout before becoming a psychologist (therapeutic foster care)
• Burnout vs depression and the overlap in symptoms
• Therapist isolation, clinical grief, and why support matters
• Community, meaning, and the messy middle of spirituality/faith
• Why listener emails and reviews matter more than you think

A few lines that stuck

• “Earth School is very hard.”
• “There are only so many times you can walk through fire and not get burned.”
• “I wanted to give it the breadth of time. 100 felt like doing that.”

Reflection questions

• What am I waiting to achieve so I can finally feel okay?
• What would be on my “have done list” this year?
• What’s burning me out most: work, life load, cognitive overload, or all of it?
• What would a sustainable next step look like (not a dramatic pivot)?

Guest

Micah Freeman

Website: egostrength.net

Podcast: the self-study lab