People often hide behind a facade of being busy, working ridiculous hours and then wearing it as a badge of honour, but this way of life isn’t sustainable and is actually very detrimental to our health and wellbeing. 

My guest today is designer Debbie O’Connor from White River Design. Debbie started White River Design in 2002 and has built it into Penrith's most awarded graphic design and branding studio. Debbie has been awarded Penrith’s Business Person of the Year in 2012 and again in 2017. She was also awarded Mulgoa Woman of the Year Award in 2017. 

In this episode, we’re discussing how burnout isn’t a myth. As you can see from Debbie’s accomplishments, she has always been a very committed, hard working and successful person. But her incredibly dedicated work ethic and changes in her business led her to be diagnosed with burnout and adrenal fatigue causing her to make drastic changes in her life to recover. 

Debbie shares her journey to rock bottom and her plan of rehabilitation that will take two years of constant self-awareness and focus. She explains the exact strategies she is incorporating into her everyday life to ensure she prioritises her body and mind and prevent her from becoming stressed and overwhelmed. 

Debbie describes burnout as a frog in a pot of water that is slowly increasing in temperature. You don’t realise you’re experiencing symptoms of burnout until you’ve hit your limit. She advocates for everyone to take a moment to self-reflect on the symptoms and triggers that indicate you’re overwhelmed to prevent yourself from receiving this diagnosis. 

After all, the recovery path is long and requires big changes to your life and work. 

This conversation is incredibly important to everyone experiencing high levels of stress for long periods of time. Take the time now to address approaching burnout in your work-life and use Debbie’s tips to build a lifestyle that aligns with your goals and health.

LINKS:

Resources mentioned: 

• 10 Signs You Are Experiencing Burnout

Previous episode mentioned: 

• Navigating the road of trauma with Jo Muirhead

Connect with Debbie:

• Website:https://www.whiteriverdesign.com/ 
• Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/debbieobrands/ 
• The Creative Fringe:  https://thecreativefringe.com.au/ 

Connect with Rebecca:

Check out my 5 Part Video series about how to really plan a live virtual event here.

Website:https://www.rebeccasaunders.com/

Instagram:@therebeccasaunders

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