Tune in and settle down to listen to this soothing and inspiring episode of the Second Act Actors podcast with the truly wonderful Dr Becky Van Iersel, who is a grounded, lovely doctor who also made a change in her career to align it more with her life and her feelings about health and wellness.

Becky has worked several different roles within medicine but struggled to balance the demands of her career with her family life and eventually experienced severe burnout. She now has a mental health practice that supports people with burnout as well as trauma and addiction. Becky and I discuss burnout and Becky gives an interesting theory as to why burnout is like PTSD, which could provide a better framework for treatment than is currently available. Listen out for what Becky learnt from her burnout and her words of wisdom on coping with change in your life.

You’ll also hear what Becky’s life is like now and how her farmstead provides a sanctuary for people to relax, get in touch with nature and hang out with alpacas.

If Dr Becky’s words of wisdom resonated with you, please subscribe or follow the Second Act Actors podcast and share what you learnt from her with a friend.

Timestamps

[0:35] Becky’s childhood, her career in medicine and her turning point

[9:00] A new job and a move to a homestead

[11:18] Becky’s training with Brené Brown

[13:11] Why does Brené’s work resonate with so many people?

[17:37] Becky’s experience of burnout

[21:17] How do you coach someone through burnout?

[25:18] “You’re stronger at the broken points”: True or false?

[27:55] How self-compassion allowed Becky to change

[31:10] Why do so many people feel trapped in their careers and make a switch to something more creative?

[34:48] Are we all creative and heading for crisis?

[39:35] Becky’s theory on why the pandemic pushed so many of us to make a big life change

[41:45] Life on Becky’s farm

[44:10] Outdoor yoga in the sheep pen

[45:53] The benefits of spending time in nature

[48:07] “It’s ok to struggle”: Becky’s final words of wisdom

Links

Second Act Actors website

Second Act Actors on Instagram

Second Act Actors on Facebook

Second Act Actors on YouTube

Janet McMordie website

Janet McMordie on Instagram

Janet McMordie on LinkedIn

Janet McMordie on Twitter

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.