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 recovery takes more than bubble baths and boundary scripts. It asks you to let yourself receive.

To celebrate 300 episodes of FRIED, Cait Donovan and Sarah Vosen are getting real about what it took to get here… emotionally, financially, and logistically. What do you do when your mission is to serve others, but you’re maxed out behind the scenes? How do you keep showing up with integrity when your inbox is full of amazing guest pitches you don’t have the capacity to accept?

Cait opens up about the guilt that still shows up when she says no, and the tension between wanting to help everyone and needing to protect her own energy. She and Sarah talk about money, sustainability, and the shift from giving endlessly to allowing themselves to receive in equal measure.

They also unveil a new tool made just for you: the FRIED Episode Finder, a searchable archive that helps you find exactly what you need without scrolling through 300 titles. Type in a keyword, a name, a question, and it serves up the episodes that match. (Burnout recovery with a little delegation joy? Yes, please!)

This milestone episode is full of gratitude, behind-the-scenes truth, and hard-earned wisdom for anyone working to stay well while helping others do the same.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 300 Episodes of FRIED!

02:14 Behind the Scenes

05:09 Boundaries, Guilt, and Saying No

06:44 The Real Cost of Podcasting

10:00 Learning to Receive

13:05 Using ChatGPT to Set Boundaries

15:09 Pricing Your Work Without Apology

17:00 Burnout Recovery Is a Long Game

19:13 Listener Impact and Gratitude

23:58 Introducing the FRIED Episode Finder

28:32 Delegation Joy Is Real

30:26 Send Us Your Questions

Links

Looking for the right episode? Use the free FRIED Episode Finder to search by keyword and find the support you need, fast: bit.ly/friedfinder

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]

Stress resilience isn’t a mindset trick. It’s built on your biology, your history, and whether or not you actually use the support available to you.

This week on #straightfromcait, Cait Donovan challenges the idea that self-awareness is where resilience begins. What if your stress response was shaped long before you ever had a chance to influence it? Cait walks through how genetics and early experiences, like trauma or family dynamics, lay the groundwork for how your body handles stress. Some people’s systems are just wired differently, and that wiring matters.

Cait breaks down the difference between reacting to stress and being truly resilient. Real resilience means facing your reality as it is, staying connected to what you care about, and adjusting when things go sideways. Are you living in a way that actually supports your nervous system, or are you just white-knuckling it through your day?

Cait also spotlights two powerful but often overlooked tools: leaning into your natural strengths and asking for help. Not just once, but consistently and without guilt. These choices expand your capacity and give you a better shot at bouncing back when life gets hard.

Self-awareness still plays a role, but it works best when it’s used to build a life that fits you, not a version of you that’s always running on empty.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 What Stress Resilience Really Means

01:20 How Genetics Shape Stress Response

01:55 The Role of Upbringing and Trauma

04:09 Three Core Traits of Resilience

06:01 Skills, Support, and Expanding Resources

07:49 Why Using Resources Matters

09:02 Self-Awareness as a Tool, Not a Starting Point

11:01 Signs Your Resilience Is Holding Up

11:22 Three Ways to Improve Resilience

12:25 Realignment and Radical Honesty

Links

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 doesn’t always look like falling apart. Sometimes it looks like holding everything together, until your body makes it clear you can’t keep going this way.

Cait Donovan is joined by her longtime friend Sarah Swanberg, a doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine and co-founder of Indigo Wellness Group. They talk about what burnout really feels like for women moving through major life phases such as fertility, postpartum, perimenopause, and why so many of us miss the signs until we’re deep in it.

Sarah shares how she left a high-pressure career in visual effects and followed a quiet sense of curiosity into acupuncture, eventually building a multi-practitioner wellness practice that supports both patients and providers. What does it take to build something sustainable? How do you know when it’s time to change course, and how do you do it without losing yourself?

This episode digs into the deeper patterns behind burnout, from the pressure to “do it all” to the fear of asking for help. Cait and Sarah offer a grounded, honest look at what it really means to care for yourself, your work, and your future.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Introduction

02:00 Sarah’s Career Shift from Visual Effects to Acupuncture

08:00 Spotting Burnout and Rethinking Success

10:00 Letting Go of the Sunk Cost Fallacy

14:00 Burnout, Perimenopause, and the Role of Yin

20:00 Restorative Practices and Sustainable Living

24:00 Building a Collaborative Wellness Practice

34:00 Overcoming Fear and Asking for Help

40:00 Resourcing Yourself for a Resilient Life

Links

Connect with Sarah Swanberg:

https://sarahswanberg.com

https://instagram.com/sarah.theacudoc

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahwswanberg/

https://sarahswanberg.com/free-download

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]

Sarah Vosen is back for another #sarahshares with a question many of us have quietly wondered: could you be happy if you never wanted to work again? This episode unpacks the deeper story behind that fear: the fight between the part of you that craves freedom and the voice that demands you stay responsible and practical.

Sharing her own experience, Sarah describes what happened when she finally stopped forcing herself to heal the “right way” and started listening to the rebel inside her. She opens up about letting go of the endless lists of shoulds and trusting herself to choose what actually felt good. How would your life change if you stopped living by rules that were never yours to begin with?

Sarah also talks about the idea that real recovery often means letting yourself receive help, even when every instinct tells you to stay independent. Are you willing to loosen your grip on doing it all alone? Could accepting support be the thing that changes everything?

This episode will leave you thinking differently about burnout, healing, and the way you treat the voice inside you that simply wants more joy.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Introduction

00:52 Fear of Never Wanting to Work Again

01:25 Freedom Versus Responsibility

02:07 Breaking Free from Burnout and Self-Imposed Rules

05:08 Letting the Inner Rebel Lead

06:02 Building Trust and Safety with Yourself

08:00 Accepting Help and Embracing Vulnerability

09:57 Prioritizing Freedom and Happiness

11:03 Finding and Honoring Your True Desires

13:07 Choosing Joy and Contentment

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

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 recovery doesn’t always come with the luxury of stepping away from your job, and Cait Donovan knows that firsthand. In this episode, she speaks directly to those who feel stuck in burnout but still have to show up for work every day.

Cait offers a starting point: pick one small shift and commit to it for a few weeks. Just one. She lays out two clear paths, depending on how you're feeling right now.

If you’re angry, the Resentment Journal mini course is your first step. Resentment shows up when you're pouring energy into something that gives little or nothing back. Identifying those moments and adjusting them where you can help you reclaim the energy you need to move forward.

If you’re not angry but just numb or depleted, Cait recommends rebuilding the basics of self-care. That means responding to your body’s most essential needs: rest, hydration, nourishment, movement. Even something as simple as peeing when you need to (yes, really) can rebuild your ability to listen to your body and regulate emotions.

Once you’ve started to clear some space, Cait suggests exploring proprioceptive writing to access deeper emotional clarity. Because while burnout follows patterns, your story is your own and so is your recovery.

Wherever you begin, the message is clear: start small, stay kind to yourself, and don’t wait for the perfect moment to begin healing.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Introduction

01:09 How to Recover from Burnout Without Quitting Your Job

01:33 Step 1: Start with the Resentment Journal

03:55 Step 2: Foundational Self-Care That Actually Works

07:05 Rebuilding Awareness Through Small Body Signals

08:30 Step 3: Try Proprioceptive Writing

10:06 Two Tools for Burnout Recovery That Work in Any Circumstance

Links

https://caitdonovan.com/resentment-journal

https://www.caitdonovan.com/blog/why-you-need-proprioceptive-writing-even-if-you-ve-never-heard-of-it

https://pod.link/1469939920/episode/ce0aa3d0c445b69d1c6ad6f3a31d2251

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]

Anger is a message from your body that, if ignored, can quietly fuel burnout.

This week, Sarah Vosen digs into something most of us don’t talk about enough: why spring often brings a spike in anger, and how that ties directly to burnout. Could your short fuse or simmering resentment have more to do with your body than your circumstances? According to Chinese medicine, the liver and gallbladder take center stage this time of year. When they’re overwhelmed, emotional tension builds.

Sarah breaks down what that means in real life, and more importantly, what to do about it. She offers five ways to process anger before it turns into something heavier. Some are physical. Some are emotional. All are meant to help you feel more grounded and less reactive.

If you’ve been feeling off lately but can’t quite explain why, this episode might give you a new lens. What if your anger is trying to move through you? And what would happen if you let it?

Episode Breakdown

00:00 Introduction

00:55 Why Spring Triggers Anger

01:27 How Chinese Medicine Explains Emotional Shifts

03:24 Five Ways to Process Anger

04:06 Move Your Body

06:16 Express and Release Emotion

08:03 Ground Yourself

10:01 Connect with Nature

15:00 Support Your Liver with Lemon Water and Sleep

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

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]

You did the healing, took the break, felt better. So why does going back to work feel like a total relapse?

Cait Donovan tackles a common (and confusing) moment in recovery: feeling like you’re right back where you started after returning to your job. She breaks down how to tell if the workplace is toxic, a bad fit, or simply triggering habits you haven’t had a chance to practice in that environment yet.

With honesty, Cait shares a three-step process to help you figure out what’s really going on, so you can stop blaming yourself and start responding with more intention and self-respect. This episode is a reminder that burnout recovery isn’t about doing everything perfectly. It’s about learning to live, and work differently, one small step at a time.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Introduction

02:12 Why Practicing Recovery Skills at Work Matters

03:05 How to Identify a Toxic Workplace

05:13 Toxic vs. Bad Fit: Knowing the Difference

06:26 What a Bad Fit Can Teach You

09:05 Why Old Habits Resurface at Work

12:07 Three Steps to Assess Your Work Situation

13:32 Final Thoughts and Community Invitation

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

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]

Self-sabotage isn’t a personal flaw. It’s your nervous system doing its best to keep you safe.

In this whole new episode of #FRIEDguides, Cait Donovan and Sarah Vosen take a closer look at why so many people feel like they’re getting in their own way during burnout recovery. What if those moments where you fall back into old habits aren’t failures, but signals that your body is overwhelmed and reaching for something familiar? What if the behavior you’re judging is actually trying to protect you?

Cait and Sarah break down how our nervous systems react to change, why recovery often feels messy, and how shame can make everything harder. Instead of trying to push through with force, they talk about how to meet yourself with compassion, curiosity, and a little more patience.

They also get personal. Cait shares her ongoing relationship with sugar and the deep-rooted comfort it represents. It’s a reminder that coping strategies aren’t always the problem. Sometimes they’re part of the process.

If you’ve ever wondered why change feels so hard, or why you can’t seem to stick with “good” habits, this conversation will help you see things in a new light. Recovery is a dance. You’re allowed to take small steps, shift directions, and give yourself grace along the way.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Introduction

03:04 Why Cait and Sarah Don’t Believe in Self-Sabotage

05:00 The Nervous System’s Role in Familiar Behaviors

07:04 Shame, Judgment, and the Myth of Failure

09:27 Coping Mechanisms and What They’re Really Doing

10:41 Burnout Recovery as a Non-Linear Process

13:21 Listening to Your Body and Meeting Yourself with Compassion

22:05 Redefining Progress and Practicing Gentleness Along the Way

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