You don’t have to carry burnout alone. The right support can help you breathe again—start here: https://caitdonovan.com/coaching

Burnout 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 Like

04:10 Understanding the WHO Definition of Burnout

10:06 Small Doable Steps for Burnout Recovery

14:51 Setting Boundaries and Time Blocks That Stick

22:32 Learning to Control What You Can Control

25:14 Dropping Self-Judgment and Reclaiming Energy

34:54 The Connection Between Burnout and Perimenopause

39:36 Building a New Operating System for Sustainable Work

45:07 Grace, Compassion, and Real Recovery

Links

If 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-web

Connect with Cait:

Initial Call with Cait

Initial Call with Sarah

You don’t have to carry burnout alone. The right support can help you breathe again—start here: https://caitdonovan.com/coaching

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm