FRIED. Burnout Recovery Services

FRIED. Burnout Recovery Services FRIED. Burnout Recovery Services are designed to help you end burnout and live a fulfilling life.

01/29/2026

If I ever believed that I don’t talk with my hands, these photos from last week’s event with behind the camera says otherwise 🤣🤣🤣

01/28/2026

Burnout prevention sounds great in theory.
In real life? It’s often not how burnout actually works.

In this video, I answer the question I get more than any other: How do you prevent burnout? And I explain why the answer is more complicated than most workplace wellness advice wants to admit.

Using a real client story, I break down why many people don’t “see burnout coming” even when the signs seem obvious in hindsight. Burnout isn’t usually caused by ignoring one big red flag. It’s caused by years of overriding basic body signals like hunger, rest, stress, and exhaustion until those signals fade into background noise.

If you’ve ever said:
• “I don’t know how I got here”
• “My life wasn’t that bad”
• “I should have noticed sooner”
• “Why didn’t anyone see this coming?”

This conversation is for you.

In this video, we explore:
• Why burnout prevention often fails even for high performers
• How disconnection from basic body needs leads to chronic workplace stress
• Why missing burnout warning signs is not a personal failure
• The role of culture, habits, and conditioning in burnout at work
• What burnout recovery really requires before prevention is possible
• Why leaders often miss burnout on their teams and why that doesn’t make them bad leaders

This is a no-blame, systems-aware look at burnout prevention, burnout recovery, and organizational burnout. Whether you’re a leader, HR professional, or someone currently burned out, this video offers clarity, compassion, and a much more realistic path forward.

Burnout is not a moral failing.
Burnout is not a motivation problem.
Burnout is not always preventable.

And once we accept that, we can actually start building healthier, more sustainable ways of working.

I’m Cait Donovan, burnout expert, keynote speaker, author, and host of FRIED: The Burnout Podcast. If this resonated, like, subscribe, and share it with someone who needs a little grace today.

My husband making the rare IG feed appearance. Happy New Year, y’all!
01/01/2026

My husband making the rare IG feed appearance. Happy New Year, y’all!

11/30/2025

Things I would tell you as a burnout expert if I wasn’t afraid to hurt your feelings.

1. Alignment reduces stress. Stop chasing what you thought would look or sound good, tune in, and shift slowly toward the life you truly want. This will require building the alignment muscle. It’s annoying, repetitive work that will take longer than you want.

2. Be good with a C grade. Alignment doesn’t mean that you don’t haven’t to do or experience sh*tty things. If you can get to 60% matched up, 20% sort of matched, and 20% mismatch (read: sacrifice), you’ll be good.

3. Unless your workplace has frequent: bullying, harassment, ostracism, or incivility - it’s not toxic. It might be a mismatch for you in speed, hours, skills, values, workstyle, knowledge or more but those things aren’t toxic. They’re misalignment.

4. If you want a completely personalized workplace that is totally aligned with you - stop trying to work for other people. Learn how to build a business and then take all the associated risks and stretches to make it happen. Most people don’t actually want this. See #2.

5. Burnout isn’t your fault AND your normal operating mode allowed it to happen. That is a paradox you need to learn to hold. You cannot live the same life (or a different life) the same way and expect to avoid burnout. It’s why so many people have burnout relapse.

Listen to for more.

11/11/2025

Adaptability requires resources.

10/02/2025

Help! What am I bringing to wear!!!

Wouldn’t have these options without the help of the magical

I started my masters in Chinese medicine over 22 years ago. It was on the very first day of school that I met .vosen.She...
09/24/2025

I started my masters in Chinese medicine over 22 years ago. It was on the very first day of school that I met .vosen.

Shelves like these that I walked past in Chinatown were my everyday. During and after school, I’d spend a total of about 6 months in China for various trainings and self cultivation retreats.

Sitting here in Chinatown now - with the smells and the people - brings me back there in a second and seeing these shelves makes me nostalgic.

I still use Chinese medicine theory daily but it would be a lie to say that I remember everything, that I haven’t forgotten herb and formula names along the way.

You can have a deep deep passion and even love for your work & for your knowledge - and still burn out.

One of the best things I’ve noticed doing burnout coaching over the years is that 80% of clients actually stay in their jobs and careers because they found their way back to loving them.

My burnout happened, my world shifted and covid happened and I needed to share the things I learned on a larger scale and so - for now - I’m not practicing acupuncture.

And yet. I’m still licensed and still do my CEUs. I still love an herb shop in Chinatown and I’m still amazed at what acupuncture can help people accomplish with their health and wellbeing.

You can take your loves with you as you grow. They can grow and change and adapt with you. And you never know, life may bring you full circle someday.

How about you? Did burnout change your career trajectory or help you stay in work that you were passionate about?

Flora loves the grass outside of our local library. So she lays here and I wait for her.Flora has a 0% burnout risk beca...
09/18/2025

Flora loves the grass outside of our local library.

So she lays here and I wait for her.

Flora has a 0% burnout risk because she has great boundaries and always lets us know exactly what she wants - very clearly.

Where you could be more clear about an accessible desire?

What could you actually have or do that you want to have or do but you’re holding back because of emails or false deadlines?

When I’m not banishing burnout - I’m on the river.
09/10/2025

When I’m not banishing burnout - I’m on the river.

UNFRIED is a balm for burnout. Don’t miss out.
09/10/2025

UNFRIED is a balm for burnout.

Don’t miss out.

It can feel relieving to find reasons for behaviors, patterns, beliefs, and reactions in your life. But finding those re...
09/09/2025

It can feel relieving to find reasons for behaviors, patterns, beliefs, and reactions in your life. But finding those reasons shouldn’t be the end of your growth - it should be the beginning.

Finding new context allows you to reintegrate parts of your story in new ways. When you’re in the process of reframing you get to choose how the story gets told.

Address

Little Falls, NJ
07424

Telephone

+18622339096

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when FRIED. Burnout Recovery Services posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to FRIED. Burnout Recovery Services:

Shortcuts

Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn
Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share via Email
Share on WhatsApp Share on Instagram Share on Telegram

Category