Most of us have gotten up on a Monday morning and thought: I simply cannot do this today. Our job is grinding us down in that slow, invisible way that work does when we're not managing it well. Psychotherapist, author, and podcast host Guy Winch has spent his career sitting with people who have experienced this for a passel of reasons from sabotaging coworkers to unrealistic goals. His new book Mind Over Grind is a practical, science-backed guide to surviving your job—even when it really, truly sucks.

In this episode, Caitlin and Guy dig into why so many of us experience our jobs as far more stressful than they objectively need to be, what the Goldilocks zone of stress actually looks like, and how to catch yourself before you blow past it. Guy also speaks candidly about his own early burnout and the slow, identity-shifting work it took to come back from it—including why your Netflix queue might not be doing what you think it's doing when it comes to real recovery.

Resources

Mind Over Grind by Guy Winch

Guy's podcast: Dear Therapists (with Lori Gottlieb)

Caitlin's rec: How to Enjoy Your Life and Your Job by Dale Carnegie

Ben's rec: Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Amelia Nagoski

Let us know what you thought of this episode! Find us on Instagram at @simplifypod. Subscribe to our newsletter here. You can email us (or send us a voice note!) at [email protected]

This episode of Simplify was produced by Caitlin Schiller, Ben Schuman-Stoler, and Joao Lucas in Berlin, Germany, for Kollo Media.