Burnout Isn't Necessary

Grab a cuppa and join Meiyoko and I for our intimate chat about:

• His burnout experience(s)

• How to know if you’re a people-pleaser and what that has to do with burnout

• Grief and it’s connection with burnout (and our personal experiences with it)

• The 1 thing you need to do if you’re at/ near burnout

About Meiyoko Taylor:

Meiyoko Taylor is an author, inspirational speaker, mental health advocate and Life Coach.

Today’s chat is all about success with Karen Mangia who is a real expert on Success creation.

We talk about:

• How she created success the hard way
• Her 8 year journey of recovering from a debilitating illness without missing a day of work 
• Her insights into how we can create Success with Less
• And her beloved grandfather, Salvator

About Karen Mangia:

Karen is one of the most sought after keynote speakers in the world. She is The Wall Street Journal best selling author of 5 books and she's the host of the Success from Anywhere podcast. She has held senior positions in Cisco and Salesforce and is now the President and Chief Strategy officer for The Engineered Innovation Group.

Karen is passionate about tech and leads teams who are delivering the future.

Karen is also an Executive Coach working 1:1 with clients and runs group events too. Here's how to find out more:

In this episode Karen Hallsman and I talk about:

• Karen's personal experience of burnout
• How knowing your strengths can be a cornerstone to burnout recovery
• The connection between your greatest strengths and achilles heel

• Karen’s take on the body mind connection

• And more...

About Karen Hallsman:

Karen is a strengths-based burnout coach for high achieving women professionals.

Today we’re talking stress in the tech sector. 

Join Kieran Gilmurray and Hannah Holden as they share their personal experiences of stress and burnout while working in tech roles.

We talk about why all too often we need a big wake-up call to realise the trouble we’re in with stress.

We explore the symptoms of stress and how you can spot stress earlier than the big wake-up call and how you can navigate the stressful and uncertain times we find ourselves in.

About Kieran Gilmurray:

Hi, I'm Kieran 👋 My and my teams mission is to help 100,000 businesses make a monumental impact on the world using digital technologies. Our work has generated over $200m dollars of value to date and changed the lives hundreds of people in ways they never thought possible. 🏆6x Global Tech Award Winner

Meet Andrew Hartman, the first person I've met who lost his sense of smell and taste due to stress – the unique ways stress shows up for each of us never cease to amaze me!

After his wakeup call, Andrew found ways to revolutionise his relationship with time, allowing him to create more impact while experiencing peace. And get this, all while still being a Project Manager – now that's impressive!

Let's dive in; I'm sure you'll enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

In this episode Shona and I talk about:

• The toxic work environment she experienced after returning from maternity leave
• Her burnout symptoms which included her hands ceasing up and her feet feeling like they were on fire!
• A near-fatal cycling accident at a time she was tired, stressed out and trying to do-it-all
• A study that found a link between high stress levels and early menopause - corroborating Shona's own personal experience

• Shona's recovery and big goals that she's been hitting and continuing to set for herself

About Shona Hirons:

Shona helps women achieve a joyful menopause. And yes, you read correctly; a joyful menopause" really is possible!

My burnout experience was 10 years ago. Burnout isn’t necessary. It’s preventable and recoverable and yet many people are still getting burned out.

In this podcast my guests and I share our real-life experiences with burnout. We get into the science of stress and share actionable tips on how to prevent burnout and how to recover from it. Together we will:

• Normalise conversations about burnout
• Share our experiences of burnout
• Delve into the science of stress & burnout
• Share actionable takeaways to prevent and recover from burnout

I’m Hannah Holden, ex-Management Consultant, burnout survivor and specialist. I help consultants who are experiencing burnout get intentional about their choices and rebuild their energy, so that they can recover and get back to loving life.

NB: This podcast was initially called "Let's Talk About Stress"

About Hannah Holden:

Hannah Holden is an ex-Management Consultant, burnout survivor and burnout specialist. She now empowers consultants to avoid and overcome burnout so they can love life.

Life threw a lot my way recently – from overwhelm to grief – and I'm sharing how a simple mind map transformed it all, just when I needed it most.

Tune in to discover how you can navigate those stormy moments too.

Ready to embrace the whirlwind? Let's go!

And remember to get my best tips and techniques to soothe your nervous system for when things are looking stormy in your world, you'll find it here:

John Menzies shares insights into his darkest days when he grappled with questions like:

• Why am I not happy when I've done all the things?
• What does happiness mean to me?
• What do I want?

He describes how he came to find clarity and answers to his questions and how that led the way in the transformation of his life.

About Hannah Holden:

Hannah helps IT professionals & consultants to navigate workplace stress by adopting mindful techniques and habits so they can maintain their calm amid the chaos.

There are 3 pillars of Self-Esteem:

1. Self-worth

2. Self-belief

3. Assertion

In this episode Jo Watt and I are discussing these 3 pillars and how you can use self-esteem to save you from burnout. You will learn how to identify if you're in a toxic work environment, what self-esteem, the benefits of self-esteem and how to bolster your own self-esteem. Jo describes how adopting an assertive communication style helps to protect you but also boosts other's self-esteem and even improves the success of the business you're working in since a "diversity of opinion creates a robust business". Listen in to hear how you can become a "pebble in the ocean" creating your own ripple effect of self-esteem in those you meet.

Mindfulness is not for me because...

• I don't know how
• I tried it once and it didn't "work"
• I'm not into that spiritual stuff
• I can't clear my mind, it doesn't work for me
• I get restless and can't sit still that long
• I fall asleep

Mindfulness is a powerful tool in avoiding and recovering from burnout. There are 5 main obstacles that we have to overcome when practicing mindfulness. In this episode I cover the first 2, we look at the challenges and some solutions to overcome them. 

About Hannah Holden:

Hannah Holden is an ex-Management Consultant, burnout survivor and burnout specialist. She helps consultants to rebuild their energy level and get intentional about their choices, so they can avoid and overcome burnout and get back to loving life.

Today Gaby Grzywacz and I are talking about Management Consultancies and burnout. Gaby shares her personal experience of burnout while in a big 4 consultancy. She now coaches consultants who are heading towards or recovering from burnout. She provides her insights and ideas about how consultancies could better prepare and support their people for the high-pressure world of consulting.

Gaby Grzywacz:

Gaby is a burnout prevention and recovery coach and trainer with a Big 4 tax background. As many others before her, she burnt out to a crisp, and by the time she became a Manager, she was ready to go. Gaby runs her own company, The Un-Specialist, helping individuals and companies make burning out an exception, not the rule. 

You can’t think yourself calm: What happens when you tell yourself to calm down? Or better still when someone else tells you to calm down?

...

We can use our body to calm the mind and there are many ways to do this and that's what this episode is all about.

We talk about ways to hack the nervous system and how we can use the body to affect our mood and mental state. I share some of the scientific theory behind how this works and most importantly I give some hands-on experiences of this to try out as you listen.

Unlock your instant calm so that you can regain your focus, creatively solve problems and beat burnout. Get my free download that accompanies this episode here:

What does burnout feel like?

What does burnout look like?

These are the questions I am answering in today’s mini episode. We’ve touched on these topics before but here are the key points condensed into just 10 minutes! 

Other Episodes of this podcast I recommended during this episode:

• Episode 1 where I talk about my personal burnout experience
• Episode 6 where I talk about some of the symptoms that I experienced on the road towards burnout
• Episode 9 where Sam Robinson (consultant psychotherapist) and I talk about burnout, including the symptoms to look for and the phases of stress leading into burnout.

About Hannah Holden:

Hannah Holden is an ex-Management Consultant, burnout survivor and burnout specialist. She helps consultants to rebuild their energy level and get intentional about their choices, so they can avoid and overcome burnout and get back to loving life.

What is a High Performance Mindset? Reiner Kraft and I are discussing what it is and how to get it. Reiner shares his data-driven approach to mindfulness, using KPIs to monitor progress in cultivating a high performance mindset. If you like data and science then this episode is for you!

About Reiner Kraft:

Reiner is a seasoned technology leader, engineer, scientist, technical advisor, executive leadership coach, micronutrient expert, and teacher who shares transformative principles of presence, mind management, and biohacking using the latest science of epigenetics.

Connect with Reiner:

Anna Stando and I are back to talk about our personal experiences with gratitude.

We received such great feedback on our initial episode (#004) that we thought we would get together to talk about why we love gratitude and how we use it for our wellbeing. If you want a deeper dive into how you can practice gratitude try the original episode.

Anna Stando is the creator of My Gratitude Challenge.

Did you know that what we think about has a bigger impact on our happiness than what we are doing?

Yep, we are at our happiest when we are focused on the present moment, regardless of whether we are doing something we love or are stuck in traffic. 

To take advantage of this we can learn to be present more often through the act of practising mindfulness.

In today’s episode we will look at a study of happiness, studies into mindfulness and the impact it has on our brains and of course how you can practise mindfulness: There are loads of options so I hope you will find a way to give it a try!

Here's the free mindfulness-based guided relaxation I promised to share in the episode. With this recording you will reset your nervous system, refresh your mind and come back to the present moment feeling clear-headed and ready for whatever you have next, all in under 10 minutes! Perfect to prep for a tricky meeting or to clear your mind before focused work or even to clear your mind of work stuff before unwinding with loved ones. Here it is:

Welcome to the first in my mini series where I will be diving into a specific tip or technique for 5-10 minutes.

I've shared the physiological sigh with you before. Today I will give you some more insights into why this technique works and what is happening in your body when you sigh. We will of course also practice this together.

Make sure you listen and pop this technique straight into your instant calm toolkit!

Want more tips like this?

Checkout my free download:

Tim Ferris has described journaling as the most cost effective therapy he’s found and let’s face it Tim has probably tried everything out there!

Today we are talking about the benefits of journaling, why journaling is relevant to burnout and most importantly I give you 5 ways to get started with journaling. 

When I first started with journaling I worried I was doing it wrong. By the end of this episode you will be confident in using journaling as a powerful tool to support your wellbeing.

Welcome to this 2-part series on the bodymind connection We will be covering:

1: The mind influences the body.

2: The body influences the mind

This week is part 1 and we are starting with how the mind influences the body. We cover:

• Examples and evidence of the mind changing the biology of the body.

• What's happening at the subcellular level so you get to understand how thoughts translate into a physical change in our biology.

• Some ideas of what you can do with this new knowledge

But Hannah, what does all of this have to do with coffee stains?

You'll have to listen to find that out.

Hx

About Hannah Holden:

Hannah Holden is an ex-Management Consultant, burnout survivor and burnout specialist. She helps consultants to rebuild their energy level and get intentional about their choices, so they can avoid and overcome burnout and get back to loving life.

In this episode I'm joined by Shig Hayre, Director, SP Bespoke.

We discuss Shig's experience as a successful entrepreneur and millionaire running multiple businesses. Shig explains how his perfectionism and controlling approach in his businesses caused him to suffer burnout. He pushed onwards and found support and solace in the form of alcohol. With alcohol he found a way to quiet his racing mind. Alcohol allowed him to keep working away like a machine, avoiding the downtime and connection he really needed. However, with alcohol came poor-decision making and as he explains, his burnout and alcoholism ultimately cost a lot more than money.

Shig has turned his life around with the love of family and friends and shares with us his secret sauce to staying out of burnout and away from alcohol.

Shig now has a business that he loves and is inspired by. SP Bespoke specialises in tailor-made at-home rehabilitation from addictions. They support individuals and their families through the recovery process. They take an holistic approach to the individual's situation, business and underlying root causes (such as burnout) that the drugs are simply masking and medicating. SP Bespoke create permanent change in people's lives and Shig has found a business he's passionate about.

Shig Hayre:

On this week's episode I'm joined by Consultant psychotherapist Sam Robinson.

Join us as we explore the stages of burnout, how we can spot it early and what Sam suggests as early interventions. To quote Sam: "Sometimes people are amazed by the small adjustment they can make and the massive impact it can have".

Sam explains how burnout involves being in-our-head all the time and disconnected from our bodies and therefore why recovery involves a reconnection with the body. Sam shares how he enhances his psychotherapy sessions by walking in nature. We discuss how breathwork and movement such as yoga, pilates, Tension (or Trauma) Release Exercises and playing superheroes can all help in recovery!

Sam Robinson:

Sam is a Consultant psychotherapist based in Bristol and London. A significant part of his work is helping high performing individuals that experience Burnout define meaning from the processes that led to this, and understand how to break the cycle of overwhelming stress that impacts all areas of his clients lives

To mark the renaming of the podcast we put Hannah in the spotlight as she is interviewed by her ex-colleague and friend, Adam James. 

Join us as we discuss the rationale for changing the name of the podcast from "Let's Talk About Stress" to "Burnout Isn't Necessary". We delve deeper into Hannah's own burnout experience, the prevalence and cost of burnout, who is susceptible to burnout, the world of management consulting and more.

About Hannah Holden:

Hannah Holden is an ex-Management Consultant, burnout survivor and burnout specialist. She helps consultants to rebuild their energy level and get intentional about their choices, so they can avoid and overcome burnout and get back to loving life.

“So many roads lead back to cortisol” says Sheila Kenneally, Accredited Naturopath and Specialist in Energy, Metabolism and Hormones. Sheila’s talking about all the disparate symptoms that her clients present with that are influenced by their stress levels, or more specifically, their cortisol levels. We discuss issues including the following that are linked to stress:

• Weight gain, body composition and fat distribution
• Immune system suppression and therefore increased susceptibility to infections
• Fertility and sexual dysfunctions due to the production of cortisol being prioritised over the sex hormones

Cortisol is essential for life, without it we wouldn’t get out of bed in the mornings! It is one of the key hormones involved in regulating our stress response and signals to many systems, glands and organs to take action. Chronic stress means chronic cortisol levels and that’s where the problems start arising.

We explore the 5 types of stress which all collectively contribute to our overall cortisol levels:

1. Perceived
2. Digestive stress
3. Glycaemic stress
4. Inflammatory stress
5. Circadian stress

Here are some of the earliest symptoms of elevated cortisol taking it's toll:

• Digestive stress:  bloating, gas, constipation & diarrhoea
• Tired and wired in the evenings - difficulty getting to sleep
• Recurrent infections including colds indicating impaired immunity
• Delayed recovery after exercise / exertion and from injury
• Difficulty concentrating 

Sheila’s top tips

• Begin your day with bright light: Get outside for 10 minutes so you set your circadian rhythm off to a good start.
• Start your day with 25g of protein to establish blood sugar regulation and give your body the building blocks for neurotransmitters and hormones
• Get in touch with your body and listen to the signals - stop ignoring the bloating/ gas etc. It’s not normal even if it’s your normal.

Sheila Kenneally:

Sheila Kenneally is an Accredited Naturopath and Specialist in Energy, Metabolism and Hormones. Sheila works with people who have chronic fatigue, hormonal imbalances and difficulty losing weight and nervous system imbalances like anxiety, depression, insomnia.

4 years before burnout a homeopath told me that she couldn't help me unless I reduced my work hours. I wasn't ready to hear her and couldn't see what was coming. I experienced a number of early warning signs that I was heading towards burnout but I had no idea. Today's episode is all about  those early warning signs so you can spot it sooner than I did!

On today's episode Phil Stanley describes his personal transformation from self-flagellation to self-care. Phil used to take a 10k run at 5am every morning before hitting the road for a day's work. He "ran on fumes", caffeine and adrenaline all day then binged all night.

He looked great but the internal dialogue said "I can’t accept the way that I am so I need to destroy myself a little bit more"

Then he met his coach and the transformation began. Now he says he "I know who I am, I know I’m worthy, I know I’m good enough".

Phil and I have distinct experiences and yet there are overlapping themes. I hope you enjoy listening to a diversity of voices on this podcast. Thank you Phil for being one of the pioneers with me!

Phil Stanley:

Phil Stanley is the founder of Come On Coaching. He helps miserable men to smile again by getting healthy, happy and excited about life. His coaching focuses on creating healthy habits & routines, managing stress and learning how to like yourself a bit more!

Contact Phil via email:   hello@comeoncoaching.co.uk

On LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/comeoncoaching/

On Instagram:   https://www.instagram.com/comeoncoaching/

Give the meditations Hannah mentioned a go!

Anna Stando, creator of My Gratitude Challenge, joins me to discuss how gratitude can increase our ability to deal with stress. We talk about how we can use gratitude to create shifts in mindset and Anna offers up tips on how to start your own gratitude practice. 

And, as an extra bonus, we even fit in a conversation about the benefits of gratitude in the work place and what steps you can take to start a gratitude trend in your workplace!

Here's how to find Anna:

When you think about your goals and resolutions I want you to feel inspired!

Let's say goodbye to resolutions that lead to self-flagellation and failure. 

In this episode I discuss the importance of understanding the underlying motivations for resolutions and how this is the key to success. I share stories from my life to illustrate the difference between success and failure. I also share tips on how to stick to resolutions.

In today's episode Hannah describes what happens in the body when we experience stress. She discusses the most effective ways to process stress (or complete the stress cycle) and why these are so effective.

References quoted during this episode:

Nagoski, E. & A. (2020) Burnout: Solve Your Stress Cycle. London. Vermilion. 

Welcome to the first episode of Let's Talk About Stress (now renamed to Burnout Isn't Necessary).

In this episode I share my experience with burnout, which ultimately motivated me to specialise in this area and create this podcast. Together let's normalise conversations about stress and burnout.