#straightfromcait: Death By Burnout. The Head to Toe List of Severe Health Issues

11/07/21 • 12 min

Many people do not fully understand the gravity of burnout and the devastating effects that it can have in both the long and short term. In an effort to illuminate the head to toe list of severe health issues that burnout can cause, I recently asked members of my Facebook and Instagram communities to share their biggest and most shocking burnout symptoms.

On today’s #straightfromcait episode, I read a list of these responses, which powerfully speak to the severity of burnout rock bottom. Some of items on this list include:

• Vision loss

• Trigeminal Neuralgia (severe nerve pain to the face)

• Suicidal ideations

• Near death experiences

• Three months (!!) of strep throat

• And many more...

As this partial list demonstrates, burnout is not a joke. Instead, if it is not addressed properly, it can become the catalyst for a wide range of shocking health issues. If you are an employer, it is crucial that you properly support any and all employees who may be suffering from burnout. And if you’re not sure where to start, I can help. Just visit my website, linked in the show notes, to learn more.

Quotes

• “I asked all of you recently...to share your biggest and most shocking symptoms with me with the hopes that this information compiled in one easy place, you can use it to reach ears outside of just the burnt out amongst us.” (01:33-01:50)

• “Somebody might have a genetic predisposition to bipolar disorder that was not activated for any reason in their lives. And burnout activated it in their lives.” (03:18-03:30)

• “Panic attacks feel like a heart attack. Panic attacks make you feel like you’re dying. This is really really scary stuff.” (05:08-05:15)

• “Most commonly, the pattern that I hear is this: ‘I knew I didn’t actually want to die, but I couldn’t bear living anymore, so I started imagining driving off a road or falling off a cliff or jumping in front of a bus. And maybe I wouldn’t die, but maybe I’d get some time in a hospital, so I could rest.’” (05:25-05:45)

• “‘I was afraid that I’d be found dead at my desk. I was literally working myself to death.’” (07:10-07:16)

• “What we’re talking about with burnout is really severe illness, possible inability to function and death. We are not talking about just being a little bit tired. We’re talking about bodies physically breaking down in various ways under the pressure of stress.” (09:34-09:54)

• “When somebody comes and says that they’re burnt out, it needs to be taken seriously....A week or two weeks or even four weeks of time off is not going to solve someone’s burnout.” (10:08-10:47)

Links

https://caitdonovan.com/speaking

XOXO,

If you know that it’s time to actually DO something about the burnout cycle you’ve been in for too long - book your free consult today: bit.ly/callcait

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s #straightfromcait episode, I read a list of these responses, which powerfully speak to the severity of burnout rock bottom. Some of items on this list include:

• Vision loss

• Trigeminal Neuralgia (severe nerve pain to the face)

• Suicidal ideations

• Near death experiences

• Three months (!!) of strep throat

• And many more...

Quotes

• “Somebody might have a genetic predisposition to bipolar disorder that was not activated for any reason in their lives. And burnout activated it in their lives.” (03:18-03:30)

• “Panic attacks feel like a heart attack. Panic attacks make you feel like you’re dying. This is really really scary stuff.” (05:08-05:15)

• “‘I was afraid that I’d be found dead at my desk. I was literally working myself to death.’” (07:10-07:16)

Links

https://caitdonovan.com/speaking

XOXO,

If you know that it’s time to actually DO something about the burnout cycle you’ve been in for too long - book your free consult today: bit.ly/callcait

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Previous Episode

Elizabeth Collins: The Burnout Witch Talks Leaky Gut, Tarot, and Optimal Blood Work

“Just keep going, it will change.” This is Elizabeth Collins’s burnout story, simplified into six words. The Cait-proclaimed Burnout Witch, Elizabeth now specializes in helping others recover from burnout. However, she was only able to truly thrive in this role after confronting her own feelings of not-enough-ness and developing the boundaries and coping skills she needed to regain a sense of balance in both body and brain.

Elizabeth is the owner and director of The East West Company, an integrative wellness practice specializing in burnout recovery coaching, functional medicine, acupuncture and more. Elizabeth explains that functional medicine is a crossover between biomedicine and Eastern medicine; it uses a wide range of testing to identify and address the root cause of a presenting issue. Because the incredible breadth of functional medicine testing can seem overwhelming to someone who is burnt out, Elizabeth suggests starting simple with a blood panel and a stool test. This approach helps individuals correct any initial imbalances, which sets them on a more manageable path towards burnout recovery.

Tune into this week’s episode of FRIED. The Burnout Podcast to hear more about the intersections between functional medicine and burnout. Learn about the ins and outs of leaky gut, why Elizabeth uses tarot cards to broaden her clients’ perspectives, and why feelings of gratitude and frustration can and should co-exist.

Quotes

• “I had ‘Big T’ trauma, so that very much set me up for a lifetime of perfectionism, a lifetime of not really understanding that I am worthy of love simply because I exist.” (04:00-04:10)

• “My burnout story was: ‘just keep going, it will change.’” (07:26-07:32)

• “That happens to people who are chronic people pleasers, who are prone to burnout....It’s very easy for you to set aside what you like because you’re more concerned about what needs to happen now, and it’s like, but what you like is what needs to happen now!” (10:49-11:05)

• “[Functional medicine] is kind of like if biomedicine and Eastern medicine had a baby.” (15:14-15:17)

• “When we’re in burnout, it’s very difficult to see anything other than what we’re focusing on, which is usually panic, stress and anxiety. And the benefit when I started reading my own tarot cards again was...oh, this card popped up and it means this. How does that relate to my current situation? What is it about this card that can give me the opportunity to stop focusing on the minutia and look at the bigger picture?” (31:28-31:55)

• “Being able to address different aspects of your personality and speak to them directly like they’re individuals gives a sense of agency to the experience, and it really gives people the opportunity to fully integrate those personalities.” (36:28-36:42)

• “We are complicated enough individuals that we can feel very bad about something that we’re going through and still be very grateful for the good things that it gives us or the other good things in our life....They’re not mutually exclusive, and the idea that we have to inhabit one thing at any given time is unsustainable and unfair and will absolutely perpetuate burnout.” (38:00-38:28)

• “If you have symptoms or you are living a life that is in your experience suboptimal, but in the greater perspective not catastrophic....you are not crazy, and there is help.” (49:10-49:35)

Links

https://insighttimer.com/

www.theeastwestco.com

www.instagram.com/theeastwestco

www.instagram.com/thevintagemystic

XOXO,

If you know that it’s time to actually DO something about the burnout cycle you’ve been in for too long - book your free consult today: bit.ly/callcait

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Next Episode

Erika Ferszt: Eyesight Issues, Mood Regulation, and Burning Out When You're 'Happy'

“I lost my vision working for a company that provides vision,” says Erika Ferszt, Founder of Moodally and former Media & Digital Director at Ray-Ban. During her ten years at Ray Ban, Erica loved her job, loved the people she was working with and for, and loved her life...or so she thought. Then, one morning Erika woke up with no vision in her right eye, and the immense stress of her work life began to catch up with her. While Erika thought she was “happy,” her body was telling her otherwise.

After doctors concluded that her vision loss was stress-related and due to her working lifestyle, Erika decided to quit her job and re-evaluate her priorities. She returned to school to study the effects of stress on the mind, body and brain and learned about mood induction, the scientific process of altering participants’ mood states. This inspired Erika to create Moodally, a company that brings this approach beyond the bounds of scientific studies and offers innovative, science-backed mood management solutions for the workplace.

Tune into this week’s episode of FRIED. The Burnout Podcast to hear more about how Erika’s burnout story led to the founding of her company. Learn about the science behind Erika’s vision loss, how our thoughts (whether conscious or subconscious) dramatically impact our bodily reactions, and how our mood informs just about every aspect of our day.

Quotes

• “I lost my vision working for a company that provides vision.” (13:13-13:17)

• “I think one of the things that’s probably most misunderstood about burnout is that . . the assumption is that it’s a psychological breakdown. And that can be one of the ways that it manifests, but it is a physiological issue.” (18:09-18:25)

• “One of the first things that I learned to do [after quitting my job] was to acknowledge what I needed and not feel guilty about giving it to me.” (20:25-20:32)

• “Who are you when the title goes away, when the employees go away, when the money goes away?” (23:48-23:58)

• “When you don’t know where you’re going, you don’t have to see the final destination...you just have to see enough road in front of you to get you to the next step.” (29:10-29:25)

• “Where everything ladders up to is your thoughts. The thoughts are sort of the command center for the reactions in your body. There is a cognitive element to stress: you subconsciously and automatically decide that whatever is coming at you is greater than your capacity to handle.” (35:02-35:25)

• “Music is the easiest gimme I can give you ....Outside of laughter, it’s the fastest technique to shift you into a better mood.” (52:08-52:20)

Links

www.moodally.com

https://www.instagram.com/moodally.wellness/

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

XOXO,

If you know that it’s time to actually DO something about the burnout cycle you’ve been in for too long - book your free consult today: bit.ly/callcait

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices