Burnout Recovery works better with support. UNFRIED is our small group (5 people max!) coaching program to help guide you through your recovery. Apply now! [http://bit.ly/unfried]

If your brain screams ‘lazy’ every time you try to rest, it’s time to stop trusting a bully and start listening to the one part of you that never lies: your body. So many people in burnout recovery hear the same harsh inner dialogue. “You’re lazy.” “You should be doing more.” “You’ll never be enough.” But what if those thoughts aren’t reflections of reality, just echoes of a brain running on exhaustion and fear?

Sarah Vosen is back for another #sarahshares episode to unpack a powerful community poll that revealed just how mean our minds can be when we try to rest. She walks through what it means to recognize those messages as lies and gives guidance for tuning into your body’s truth instead. Because when the body says “I’m too tired,” it isn't a weakness. It’s wisdom.

This episode invites you to try a different approach - one rooted in self-compassion, small moments of rest, and the radical idea that your worth isn’t tied to your productivity.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 What Your Brain Says When You Try to Rest

03:02 The Lying Brain vs. the Truthful Body

07:09 How to Rest Even When Guilt Creeps In

08:13 Why Self-Compassion Is Key to Burnout Recovery

10:00 Sarah’s Personal Turning Point with Self-Kindness

13:03 Can Wearable Data Help You Trust Your Body Again?

Links

Listening to your body:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7f3rMZ42rwnWW3c8kuAKk5?si=YSkz0JS0RTyOwWu6LN4XOA

Kristin Neff:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5vHiMpzVHcOYRdvDXwbyE1?si=AmhF8nCERjm5zLBY2rKsFw

How to resolve exhaustion:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0W65Yv1l2aOI7F5ZyebfXs?si=Eyt5XV8uS8ODyv7DxoJfeg

Connect with Cait:

Initial Call with Cait: bit.ly/callcait

Initial Call with Sarah: bit.ly/callsarahv

Burnout Recovery works better with support. UNFRIED is our small group (5 people max!) coaching program to help guide you through your recovery. Apply now! [http://bit.ly/unfried]

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Burnout Recovery works better with support. UNFRIED is our small group (5 people max!) coaching program to help guide you through your recovery. Apply now! [http://bit.ly/unfried]

Imposter syndrome has a way of creeping in when we’ve spent so long meeting everyone else’s expectations that we forget what we actually want for ourselves.

In this episode, Cait Donovan reconnects with Nicole Kalil for a conversation about burnout, confidence, and the stories we tell ourselves when we’re doing all the right things but still don’t feel like we belong. Nicole shares what happened when she finally cleared space in her life and was left with a surprising sense of emptiness, a feeling that’s all too common but rarely talked about. What do you do when achievement no longer feels satisfying? How do you navigate that awkward in-between where you’re no longer burned out, but not quite sure who you are without the hustle?

Together, Cait and Nicole explore the deeper patterns behind imposter syndrome, including the habit of blaming yourself when things go wrong and dismissing your role when things go right. They talk about how women especially are conditioned to internalize failure, and how that mindset can make even well-deserved success feel like a fluke. They also raise an important question: when you say you don’t belong, is it because of the culture around you or because you haven’t figured out what belonging actually feels like for you?

This isn’t a step-by-step guide. This episode’s an invitation to pause, question what you’ve been carrying, and consider what it might look like to build confidence from a place of self-trust rather than constant achievement.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Welcome to FRIED: The Burnout Podcast

02:16 The Link Between Burnout and Feeling Underwhelmed

07:22 What Imposter Syndrome Really Means

12:28 Why High Achievers Struggle to Own Their Success

17:06 Recognizing Red, Yellow, and Green Light Phases

21:05 How to Manage Head Trash and Build Confidence

24:23 Gender, Expectations, and the Pressure to Perform

30:02 Is It a Toxic Workplace or Just a Bad Fit?

36:56 Separating Facts from Feelings

41:26 Rewiring Your Brain with Cognitive Reappraisal

47:11 Where to Find Nicole Kalil and Her Confidence Quiz

Links

Connect with Nicole Kalil:

https://www.instagram.com/nicolemkalil/

www.linkedin.com/in/nicolekalil

https://nicolekalil.com/confidencequiz

Connect with Cait:

Initial Call with Cait: bit.ly/callcait

Initial Call with Sarah: bit.ly/callsarahv

Burnout Recovery works better with support. UNFRIED is our small group (5 people max!) coaching program to help guide you through your recovery. Apply now! [http://bit.ly/unfried]

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Burnout Recovery works better with support. UNFRIED is our small group (5 people max!) coaching program to help guide you through your recovery. Apply now! [http://bit.ly/unfried]

Burnout quietly hijacks your focus, your memory, your sleep, and eventually, your sense of self.

In this #straightfromcait episode, Cait Donovan unpacks the results of a burnout symptoms survey answered by over 150 listeners. What shows up again and again? Brain fog. Forgetfulness. Sleep issues. That heavy, unshakable sense of dread. She walks through the patterns in these responses with honesty and insight, weaving in what we know about how burnout affects the brain and what it feels like to lose your ability to think clearly or remember what used to bring you joy.

Have you ever found yourself feeling disconnected from who you are? Struggling to rest even when you finally have time? Wondering why everything feels harder than it used to? Cait gets it. She’s been there, and she knows how isolating it can feel. This episode offers language for what you’ve been living through and a reminder that self-abandonment doesn’t have to be your default setting. Healing starts when you begin listening to yourself again.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Introduction

01:30 How the Burnout Survey Was Conducted

02:33 Why Burnout Impacts Your Brain

07:26 The Emotional Weight of Dread

10:39 When You Can’t Think, Plan, or Remember

13:50 How Burnout Disrupts Sleep and Fuels Anxiety

16:22 Shame, Guilt, and the Struggle to Rest

18:29 Burnout and the Loss of Self

21:02 Reclaiming Compassion in the Healing Process

Links

Connect with Cait:

Initial Call with Cait: bit.ly/callcait

Initial Call with Sarah: bit.ly/callsarahv

Burnout Recovery works better with support. UNFRIED is our small group (5 people max!) coaching program to help guide you through your recovery. Apply now! [http://bit.ly/unfried]

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm