September 24, 2025 • 28 mins
Why do we stay stuck in burnout, even when we say we want to heal? In this episode, Dr. Mylaine Riobé explores the hidden role of self-sabotage. From “I don’t have time” to “I don’t remember what to do,” these excuses are more than words — they’re patterns that block your recovery.
Listen in to discover:
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5 common self-sabotage habits that keep you trapped in burnout
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How to reframe excuses into opportunities for healing
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Quick, practical tools to build momentum even when motivation is low
Being stuck in burnout doesn’t mean you’re weak — it means your body is out of rhythm. This episode will help you break free from the cycle and reclaim your energy.
Take the next step: Join the 7-Day Burnout Challenge and learn how to move past self-sabotage with structure, support, and simple strategies.
For more info, click here
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:08):
Hey, Wellness Warriors.
Welcome to the Burnout Resolution Podcast.
I'm your host, Dr. Mylaine Riobé.
Today we're talking abouthow self-sabotage keeps
you trapped in burnout.
One of the biggest challenges when wework with our burnout clients is the
self-sabotaging excuses that we all tendto make to explain away why we can't
(00:29):
feel better or resolve our burnout.
The short word for them are the excuses.
We've all used them.
I still catch myself using them fromtime to time as much as I allegedly
know about getting out of burnout.
It's just part of human nature.
Excuses are your brain's wayof keeping itself comfortable.
When your brain is going haywire andyou're stuck in burnout, the last thing it
(00:52):
wants to do is change its habits, becausethat feels overwhelming to the brain.
It feels like something uncomfortablethat it has to go and figure out.
It's going to come up with allkinds of stories as to why it
should just stay stuck where it is.
Excuses are not laziness.
They're actually part of burnout.
(01:13):
Your brain has been so comfortablein sending those stress signals
down and knowing exactlywhat to expect all the time.
Your body has worked its way into these,what we call pathological imbalances,
to keep the peace, and it just settlesinto this rhythm and groove where it's
getting by every day, but it's doingthe same thing every day to get by.
(01:37):
Meanwhile, you feel like crap.
You're exhausted.
You have brain fog, you're gainingweight, you have inflammation,
you can't sleep well, you have anxiety.
All of these things are coming as aresult of the comfort that your body
has settled into through having tohandle chronic stress for so long.
When we disrupt that pattern, whenwe disrupt that comfort, and we
(02:00):
make a decision like, Hey, I'mgoing to do something to get myself
going Your brain kind of rebels,it's like, wait, wait, wait.
Not so fast.
I'm pretty comfortable over here.
Leave me alone.
all of a sudden we're on this regimen,doing perhaps more exercise or we're
doing more breath work, or we'rehaving to go to bed at different times.
We're eating different foods, right?
(02:21):
That's all more stuff your brain has totry to figure out, remember, organize.
If you're in burnout, that's thelast thing your brain wants to do.
So it starts telling you littlestories about why it should stay where
it's at, and these are the excuses.
Now they're subconscious.
we don't even know we're makingthese excuses as we're making them.
(02:42):
So until someone points them out to us,or somehow we get over some type of hurdle
where we can see them for ourselves,we just stay trapped in these excuses.
So we're going to go over the topfive excuses that I've heard from my
clients and occasionally from myself.
We'll talk about how towork through them today.
(03:02):
Excuse number one.
It's too expensive.
This one comes up a lot.
And listen, I get it.
I find myself doing that when it's timeto make an important decision about the
things that I do to take care of myself.
And I find myself havingconversations with myself about how
important these things are for me.
(03:23):
I've learned how to work throughthese hurdles with my clients to get
them to understand that your healthis an investment, not an expense.
So you're either investing in your healthnow or investing in your diseases later.
Our younger generations already invest inall types of wellness apps, supplements,
gym membership, meal delivery services.
(03:46):
In fact, they spend themost money on their health.
The question isn't so much whetheryou spend on your health, but
how you spend on your health.
Every dollar you invest in yourown healing comes back to you
with compounded interest later.
When you avoid having to take thosemedications, avoid that surgery,
(04:06):
avoid feeling even worse overtime and get to live a happier,
more joyful, fulfilling life.
Every dollar you invest in a strategyto get yourself out of burnout and to
heal saves you way more, especiallyif you're an entrepreneur in business
for yourself or a professional.
Every missed workday costs thousandsof dollars, and even if you're an
(04:30):
employee, while that missed workdaymay not cost you directly because you
may have sick benefits, the price ofgoods is actually influenced by the
lack of efficiency of the workforce.
if a company has to pay more in overheadand expenses due to absenteeism or
presenteeism, which is when you show upto work, but shouldn't because you're
(04:51):
sick, inevitably when they have to spendmore money to produce the products,
they're going to charge more money.
even if you're still getting paid forthat sick day, when you go out into
the world and you buy stuff, that hasa lot to do with the cost of goods.
Not only do you save on doctor's visits,delay medical conditions, you also
(05:12):
gain by feeling better, tired sucks.
Being sick sucks.
There's nothing fun about not feelingwell, and making sure that you're making
the right investments in yourself iscritically important for your future.
The irony about thinking that takingcare of your health is expensive, is
that being sick is way more expensive.
(05:33):
It's actually the oppositeof what people think.
What makes holistic care feelexpensive is because most of
it is not covered by insurance.
We have this idea and younger generationsare a little bit less likely to fall
into this trap, but we have this ideathat if something's not covered by
my insurance, that I can't have it.
But what I've noticed as an integrativemedical doctor is that the things
(05:56):
that keep you well are actually a muchbetter investment than the things that
keep you from dying once you get sick.
Investing into health savings accountor flex spending accounts if you
have the opportunity, is a greatway to cover wellness expenses.
My tip is to make sure that youare investing wisely in things that
(06:18):
will keep you healthy and help youto feel good on a day-to-day basis.
Know which supplements youneed as opposed to guessing.
That way you feel better fasterknowing that you're taking the right
things and not wasting your money.
Very often people come into my officealready taking numerous supplements
they read about on the internet or sawin a video or on TikTok, and when we
(06:41):
actually assess them and determine theirDynamic Metabolic Type®®, the majority
of the supplements are not useful tothem, we end up revamping their list.
Had we known this information tostart with, then they would've saved
sometimes thousands of dollars knowingexactly what to do and how to do it.
I also have clients who willtake, supplements, like vitamins
(07:02):
but not have had the testing doneto know exactly what they need.
They're taking all these supplementsand they're not feeling better.
they're spending all this money, butthey're not feeling better because they
don't know exactly what their needs are.
The investment in testing informswhat supplements would be best and
helps you match feeling better faster.
The other thing too, is if youhave any gastrointestinal symptoms
(07:25):
and you're taking supplements andyou're not feeling better, you're
completely wasting your money.
Because those supplements aregoing right into the toilet
bowl and not into your body.
You're likely not absorbing them.
Well, that's another big, expensethat people incur is they're taking
really high quality, good supplements.
They've done all this research into them.
(07:46):
They're not absorbing them, so they'renot getting the benefit, and again,
they're wasting their money timesthousands and thousands of dollars.
Having the guidance of an integrativemedical doctor or a wellness coach is huge
and actually saves you money in the end.
That takes us to excuse number two.
I don't have time.
(08:06):
That's a super common one.
In fact, I probably hear thatmore than excuse number one.
And it's real, right?
You have a full-time jobor you're also a parent.
Some people feel a lot of pressureto socialize after work and by the
time you're done doing all thosethings, there's no time left for you.
People don't get enough sleep,they don't exercise properly, and
(08:26):
they fall into the burnout trap.
When you give them recommendationsto get back on level ground,
they'll say, I don't have time.
The irony is burnout steals your timebecause you become much less efficient
I have people tell me this all the time.
I walk from room to room and keepforgetting why I walked into this room or
I left something behind, or I lost this.
(08:48):
I can't find that.
I waste all this time.
And that's burnout, right?
People will think that they haveADHD under those circumstances,
but really what's underneaththe ADHD is very often burnout.
There's all this wasted timebecause your brain can't function
well when it's burnt out.
Now you would think why would the brainwant to stay in such a chaotic state?
(09:11):
Why wouldn't it want to jump on theburnout resolution train and feel better?
And that goes back tohow the brain functions.
Your brain functions in patterns.
It wants to recognize patterns,things that it can very quickly
identify and respond to.
If you break the pattern andall of a sudden now we're going
this way instead of this way.
This is the way to burnout, and we'vebeen very comfortable with these routes.
(09:34):
We know exactly how to get fromplace to place, in the brain.
The brain knows exactly whatloops to go around and how to
operate in that circumstance.
When you break the pattern,it gets very uncomfortable.
It doesn't want to learn a new thing,even if that new thing is going to help it
feel better, because it doesn't know that,
(09:55):
Your brain doesn't know thefuture, so it doesn't understand.
It just knows right now, in thismoment, I have been taken out of
my comfort zone and put way overhere where I'm not comfortable.
I'm going to find my way back to thatplace where I'm comfortable regardless
of how that place makes me feel.
It's familiar to me,it's comfortable to me.
That's how your brain actually functions.
(10:17):
We have to keep bringing itback to where we want it to be,
and that's not just willpower.
It's not just a matter of making adecision and forcing the body to do that.
We have to work on getting the brain tobe healthier so that it's less stressed
as it's moved into a new pattern.
That's where your lifestyle decisionsmake a huge difference- what you're
(10:40):
eating, how much oxygen the brain gets,what nutrients the brain is getting,
how much sleep the brain is getting.
Circulation -how blood is flowingthrough the brain, through exercise and
activity, and also removal of toxins.
The four pillars of wellness thatwe talk about so much, are important
to make sure that your brain has theplasticity to be able to accept the
(11:04):
change that you're making, the new quote,unquote demands you're making on it.
To stay over here on this sidewhere we're going to work on getting
healthier and not have a burnout.
The idea that you don't have time issimply your brain playing tricks on you.
Your brain doesn't know the future.
The brain doesn't know if Ido this, I'll feel better.
(11:24):
Your brain can't makethat kind of calculation.
Your heart can make that calculationthough, your intuition, so you have
to keep falling back on coherenceand the four pillars of wellness,
making sure that you're just feedingthe brain and supporting the brain
so that it can move into the placeyou need it to be and stay there.
(11:45):
Once it's there, it becomesmuch more efficient.
You don't forget why youwalked into the room.
You don't lose things.
You're much more efficient at doingyour work, and you actually save time.
You get your time backwhen you're not in burnout.
It's actually the opposite.
It's not that you don't have time.
You get to make time whenyou resolve burnout and feel
(12:09):
great fulfilled and happy.
This is where patterninterruptions come in.
We talked about that a couplepodcasts ago, but pattern
interrupts are really important.
Where you give your brain theflexibility, to keep reminding
it this is where we want to go.
I know you're comfortable overhere, but we're going this way now.
I'm going to pattern interrupt you sothat I get you comfortable over here
(12:33):
so that this becomes the new familiarand you don't keep jumping back to the
burnout side of the world as the familiar.
Those pattern interrupts arethings like using interruptions.
When you walk into a room andsuddenly you forget why you walked in.
That's your cue.
Let me just stand here andtake three deep breaths.
(12:54):
This is my reminder that Imust have not been focused.
I must have not been present, ifwe are present, we'll remember
why we walked into the room.
If we're present, we'll be much moreefficient about getting our work done,
and we won't lose things as much becausewe'll be present when we put it down,
Making sure that you use those cues,those points at which you're in chaos as
(13:16):
the reminder to get yourself into highcoherence and to take those deep breaths,
even if it's just three deep breathsin a row, and then you move on and do
the thing that you came in there to do.
Or if you can't remember, you go backand you figure out why you walked into
the room or whatever the case might be.
But every time you forget something,use that as a pattern interrupt.
(13:37):
Use that as a tap on the shoulder tosay, let me take some deep breaths.
Let me refocus on being present andtry and stay here as long as I can as
I'm moving through the rest of my day.
Also, missing meals, When people feellike they don't have time, they don't eat.
I have clients who eat once a daysometimes, and we have to break them
out of that habit because if you don'tfeed your brain, it can't function.
(14:00):
Even if it's a quick healthy protein baror a quick protein shake, that's better
than grabbing an unhealthy snack out ofa vending machine or skipping a meal.
We give people these quick tips of thingsthat you can do, like make sure you have
some healthy protein bars or proteinshakes available in case of emergency.
When I have a long workday, I have
(14:21):
two or three protein bars or Jerkies,Turkey jerkies or mushroom jerkies
i'll take two minutes just to woof downon a busy day so I don't miss meals.
That keeps your body fueled,even though you're not sitting
down to have a formal meal.
It's better to sit down, mindfully eatwhen we're not doing anything else.
We're just focused on the eating,like we talked about mindful eating in
(14:43):
one of our prior podcasts Just beingwith that food, being grateful for
that food, that's really importantso that you digest properly.
Eating on the run, eatingon the fly is not ideal.
You're not going to absorb this asoptimally as if you sat down and
really focused on that meal by itself.
You'll be shocked at how much energy youhave when you take a few deep breaths
(15:05):
with each pattern interrupt, and makesure the body is fueled and hydrated.
Use the pattern interrupt asa hydration point as well.
Take a few sips of water every timeyou forget something If you put
that water bottle in the same placeand keep it full, you'll remember.
It'll be, a pattern in your brain.
My water bottle is alwayshere, so you'll remember.
(15:27):
It's a pattern.
This is how we set the patternsin our brain to remember things.
Because if it's too haphazard andrandom when you're in burnout,
you're just going to forget again.
That takes us to excusenumber three, too many pills.
This one usually comesfrom being overwhelmed.
It is a lot of pills.
But again, if you know why you'retaking those pills, if there is a
(15:48):
strategy, if you've had the propertesting, the proper evaluation, you're
working with a professional who'smaking those recommendations so that
you know why you're taking them, ithelps them to stick a little better.
Having meaning behind the pills matters.
If it's something random and you'redoing trial and error to see if it
helps, you are going to be less likelyto stick with a program than if you
(16:09):
know, I did this test and it showedthese results, and therefore I need
these pills to correct those results.
It has meaning as opposed to somerandom thing I grabbed off the shelf.
Remember that supplements area bridge, they're not something
intended to take forever.
The goal is to rebalancea system in the body.
Supplements will be neededfor different durations.
(16:31):
For example, if you have significantnutrient deficiencies, you might need
those supplements for two to threeyears until the gastrointestinal
system is completely healed.
Now, that doesn't mean you waittwo and three years to feel better.
It just means that your body consumesthe supplements very quickly.
When you know that you have nutrientdeficiencies and you're taking them,
(16:52):
you're giving the body what it's beenmissing, it will immediately use them
and won't have stored them anywhere.
I tell my clients, it's like you havetwo different energy, tanks in your body.
There's a checking accountand a savings account.
In traditional Chinese medicine, wecall one of them the pre-heaven qi
and the other one, the post heaven qi.
(17:12):
It's when the pre heaven qi we equatewith a savings account goes empty, that
people spiral downhill and feel awful.
They get really sick.
When there's still money in savings, whenthe pre-heaven qi is still there, the
post heaven qi, the checking account, cankeep tapping into savings if it needs to.
if you're running low on nutrients,but you have nutrients stored inside
(17:33):
the cells your body will tap intothose stores in order to use them.
When you become depleted and deficientand suddenly you're putting them into the
body, your body will just use them up.
That's like you're just spendingmoney in checking, but you don't have
anything left to put into savings.
It's only when savings gets to befull again that you're out of danger.
(17:54):
You'll feel better just becauseyou're taking the supplements.
You should start to feelbetter just from that.
But that doesn't mean thesavings account is full.
It's still empty until there's anoverflow that goes into savings.
That's what takes all the time.
That's why nutrients need to be takenfor what feels like a long time,
sometimes two, three years or more.
(18:15):
The testing we do will help you to know ifit's time to back off on the supplements.
That'll be reflected in the testing.
This is something I explain to my clientsYou'll feel better when checking is
cranking again, but you'll crash and burnif you don't allow savings to build up.
The adrenals are even tougher toheal because everybody's always
feeling stressed, and so it's reallyhard to allow that system to fully
(18:40):
recover in a short period of time.
Sometimes people are on thesesupplements for several years.
It does make a difference thatyou take the supplements for the
specified amount of time that yourbody requires so that you heal.
And yes, sometimes it is a lot of pills.
It probably take about 10 to 15 pillsevery morning and then another few in the
(19:01):
afternoon for various things - adrenalsupplements, nutrients for vitamin
supplementation, digestive enzymes.
I take thyroid replacementand, DHEA as well.
And so it adds up.
It does, but I know if I don'ttake them, I will go into burnout.
I will feel terrible.
I make the investment to make surethat I'm remembering to take them and
(19:26):
that I do take them, so I encourage allmy clients to do the same especially
when you feel like I don't have time.
It takes a while to, take the sips ofwater that you need to swallow each
of the pills, so when you feel pressedfor time, those two excuses collide.
It's a lot of pills andI don't have the time.
Or even excuse number one,they're expensive, right?
(19:46):
They all start swirling around in yourhead, trying to sabotage you into leaving
it alone so it can settle back into theburnout pattern that it's familiar with.
And so having an accountabilitybuddy is really, really helpful.
A good friend, a family member, orjust sometimes having your phone
remind you, did you take your pills?
(20:07):
Did you take your stuff today?
As you pattern interrupt the brain,you have to keep gently moving it
onto the side of being burnout-freethat you want it to be in.
The motivation, also theforethought to know, if I take
these things, I'll feel better.
Your brain doesn't know that though.
Your mind knows that.
Your heart knows that,but your brain doesn't.
(20:29):
Your brain doesn't reallyunderstand future things.
Engaging the mind or intuition or theheart in your treatment plans is really
important to give the treatment meaningso that guides your brain from day to day.
Setting prompts, just reminders.
My phone is going off constantlyreminding me to do this, do that.
(20:50):
Take this pill, take that pill untilit's a habit, and then when it's a
habit, I don't need the reminder asmuch, I wanted to switch up my meal
plan a few weeks ago, so I had promptedchat, GPT to give me a new meal plan
based on the parameters that I set, andI asked it to give me a printable PDF.
I printed it out and it's in myface all day so I remember, okay,
(21:11):
this time I'm going to do this,this time I'm going to do that.
I have it set in my mind and it'sright there in writing for me.
I'll take it to work with me.
It's in my kitchen.
These are prompts, pattern interrupts,ways that I reset my brain to get it
to do the things that I would prefer.
Your brain's almost like a petthat you're trying to train into
(21:32):
a new habit, We give the brain alot of, credit, which we should.
it's not that it's not useful,it's just not as intuitive, as
we would think, because intuitionis not in the realm of the brain.
It's in the realm of the heart.
When you're feeling overwhelmed,take that deep breath, center
yourself and remind yourself ofthe meaning of what you're doing.
(21:55):
It has to be meaningful toyou for you to stick with it.
Really sit in how you want to feeland envision yourself in that state,
Envision yourself burnout free.
Envision yourself happy.
Envision yourself fulfilled.
Envision yourself with all theenergy that you desire to do all
the things that you want to do.
(22:17):
If it's traveling, having a ton ofmoney in your bank account, hanging
out with your kids more, havingmore energy to exercise, whatever
it is, envision yourself there.
Give what you're doing meaning,if it doesn't have meaning,
you won't stick with it.
Excuse number four- myjob is too stressful.
Work stress is real.
And if your job is very stressful,that's all the more reason why
(22:40):
you need to take care of yourbody so it doesn't fall apart.
Even if your goal is to changejobs, if you take your broken body
with you to another job, it's justgoing to keep falling apart there.
You might delay it for a while if thejob that you get is less stressful,
but if the body is already out ofbalance, it's just going to stay out of
balance unless you actively interveneto get it out of a burnout state.
(23:04):
Healing burnout doesn't necessarilymake the stress go away.
It helps your body be muchmore resilient despite it.
It also helps your body tothink more clearly so that you
can do it more efficiently.
Now, whether that efficiency leadsyou to a different job, a different
career path, or whether you find muchmore efficient ways to do the work
(23:24):
that you're doing, helping your bodyto resolve burnout will give you the
clarity to make those important decisions.
There's a lack of clarity when peopleare in burnout, That same brain
fog gives you a lack of clarity.
I've seen it over and over again.
When people start feeling better, they'relike, wait, I should have been doing
this this whole time, rather than that,They realize that there was something
(23:46):
they were doing every day or at work.
It was not the most efficient thing forthem to be doing, but they would just
do it mindlessly because they were inburnout and couldn't think clearly enough.
Once they got themselves out of burnout,they were thinking more clearly.
They were like, wait, I shouldhave never been doing that.
Let me come over here and do this instead.
Sometimes that's a career change.
Sometimes it's a job change.
(24:06):
Sometimes it's a relationshipchange or even moving.
Sometimes the clarity comeswhen the burnout goes.
The stress won't vanish,but your capacity to operate
efficiently despite it will grow.
And excuse number five, I can'tremember when to do things.
When you're overwhelmed and inburnout, it's hard to remember,
(24:27):
you walk into a room and you can'tremember why you walked into the room
or you put your phone down somewhereand you can't remember where it is.
That overwhelm is a sign that youneed more structure until your
brain can operate more efficiently.
I tell people, don't tryto do too much at once.
Pick one thing.
If that one thing is simply drinkingmore water for the day, do just that.
(24:51):
Don't try to remember your breathingand drink more water and get more sleep.
Pick one thing, set a reminder on yourphone to keep doing that one thing.
Or you can do sticky notes oranything that works for you.
Get that one habit down.
When you're comfortable with that onehabit, and it can take a month to be
comfortable, that's okay, then move on
(25:12):
to adding one more thing.
You keep drinking more water and nowyou start remembering to do your breath
work, set your phone to remind youto do that until it becomes a habit.
And then the next thingand then the next thing.
It's okay to do it that way.
You don't have to doeverything all at once.
So for me, in order to build thehabit of drinking more water.
(25:33):
I put on my meal plan first thingthat I get up is to drink 32 ounces
of water with some lemon and, seasalt in it before I have my coffee.
I wasn't allowed to have my coffeeuntil I had 32 ounces of water.
And so I took advantage ofthat to just take my 10 pills
with those 32 ounces of water.
Then I would have my coffee.
(25:55):
it became a habit as I didthat day after day after day.
Now I'm drinking a lot more waterso you can unload the burden on
technology, prompts and reminders.
I have chat, GPTreminding me to do things.
Can easily prompt it to remindyou about anything you would like.
So quick recap.
Excuse number one, it's too expensivereally means you just haven't reframed
(26:18):
it yet as an investment in yourself.
That's part of self-care and self-love.
Excuse number two, I don't have time meansburnout is already stealing your time.
Self-sabotage, excuse numberthree, too many pills means you
need simplicity and reminders.
if you're taking supplements and youdon't know why you're taking them or if
(26:40):
you need them, see an integrative medicaldoctor so that you can get some guidance.
You've gotta have meaning aroundwhy you're taking those pills.
Otherwise you will feelthat they're too many.
Number four, my job is too stressful,it's time to build resiliency and clarity.
If you stay in that job, look atmaking a career change or operate more
(27:02):
efficiently if it is a job that youlove by using technology or getting
your brain to be much more clear andefficient so there's less brain fog
and you do your work with more joy.
And finally, I don't remember what todo means you need structure prompts,
accountability, like an accountabilitybuddy, until you've re-pattern the
(27:22):
brain so that it's a new, healthy habit.
These self-sabotage techniquesare just your brain trying to
survive because it's struggling.
It's not really self-sabotageso much as a cry for help.
When you learn to decode thehidden language of your body,
when your brain sends you thoseself-sabotaging thoughts, they stop
holding you back and start pointingyou towards what you need the most.
(27:45):
If any of these self-sabotagepatterns has been holding you back,
I invite you to join our sevenday burnout resolution challenge.
It's simple, structured anddesigned to help you move past
these blocks once and for all.
Healing isn't about being perfect, it'sabout making small steps one at a time.
(28:06):
And if it helps, even I, a burnoutresolution expert, still have to
coach myself and remind myself ofthese same things from time to time.
Just part of being human, butwe get to be human much more
joyfully, much more efficiently,in a much more fulfilling way.
I invite you to visit ourwebsite awakenedwellnessnow.com.
(28:29):
If you want to know about our corporateprograms, visit our website to get
more information there as well.
And until next time, many, many blessings.
Thank you for listening and watching.
Hey, Wellness Warriors.
Welcome to the Burnout Resolution Podcast.
I'm your host, Dr. Mylaine Riobé.
Today we're talking abouthow self-sabotage keeps
you trapped in burnout.
One of the biggest challenges when wework with our burnout clients is the
self-sabotaging excuses that we all tendto make to explain away why we can't
(00:29):
feel better or resolve our burnout.
The short word for them are the excuses.
We've all used them.
I still catch myself using them fromtime to time as much as I allegedly
know about getting out of burnout.
It's just part of human nature.
Excuses are your brain's wayof keeping itself comfortable.
When your brain is going haywire andyou're stuck in burnout, the last thing it
(00:52):
wants to do is change its habits, becausethat feels overwhelming to the brain.
It feels like something uncomfortablethat it has to go and figure out.
It's going to come up with allkinds of stories as to why it
should just stay stuck where it is.
Excuses are not laziness.
They're actually part of burnout.
(01:13):
Your brain has been so comfortablein sending those stress signals
down and knowing exactlywhat to expect all the time.
Your body has worked its way into these,what we call pathological imbalances,
to keep the peace, and it just settlesinto this rhythm and groove where it's
getting by every day, but it's doingthe same thing every day to get by.
(01:37):
Meanwhile, you feel like crap.
You're exhausted.
You have brain fog, you're gainingweight, you have inflammation,
you can't sleep well, you have anxiety.
All of these things are coming as aresult of the comfort that your body
has settled into through having tohandle chronic stress for so long.
When we disrupt that pattern, whenwe disrupt that comfort, and we
(02:00):
make a decision like, Hey, I'mgoing to do something to get myself
going Your brain kind of rebels,it's like, wait, wait, wait.
Not so fast.
I'm pretty comfortable over here.
Leave me alone.
all of a sudden we're on this regimen,doing perhaps more exercise or we're
doing more breath work, or we'rehaving to go to bed at different times.
We're eating different foods, right?
(02:21):
That's all more stuff your brain has totry to figure out, remember, organize.
If you're in burnout, that's thelast thing your brain wants to do.
So it starts telling you littlestories about why it should stay where
it's at, and these are the excuses.
Now they're subconscious.
we don't even know we're makingthese excuses as we're making them.
(02:42):
So until someone points them out to us,or somehow we get over some type of hurdle
where we can see them for ourselves,we just stay trapped in these excuses.
So we're going to go over the topfive excuses that I've heard from my
clients and occasionally from myself.
We'll talk about how towork through them today.
(03:02):
Excuse number one.
It's too expensive.
This one comes up a lot.
And listen, I get it.
I find myself doing that when it's timeto make an important decision about the
things that I do to take care of myself.
And I find myself havingconversations with myself about how
important these things are for me.
(03:23):
I've learned how to work throughthese hurdles with my clients to get
them to understand that your healthis an investment, not an expense.
So you're either investing in your healthnow or investing in your diseases later.
Our younger generations already invest inall types of wellness apps, supplements,
gym membership, meal delivery services.
(03:46):
In fact, they spend themost money on their health.
The question isn't so much whetheryou spend on your health, but
how you spend on your health.
Every dollar you invest in yourown healing comes back to you
with compounded interest later.
When you avoid having to take thosemedications, avoid that surgery,
(04:06):
avoid feeling even worse overtime and get to live a happier,
more joyful, fulfilling life.
Every dollar you invest in a strategyto get yourself out of burnout and to
heal saves you way more, especiallyif you're an entrepreneur in business
for yourself or a professional.
Every missed workday costs thousandsof dollars, and even if you're an
(04:30):
employee, while that missed workdaymay not cost you directly because you
may have sick benefits, the price ofgoods is actually influenced by the
lack of efficiency of the workforce.
if a company has to pay more in overheadand expenses due to absenteeism or
presenteeism, which is when you show upto work, but shouldn't because you're
(04:51):
sick, inevitably when they have to spendmore money to produce the products,
they're going to charge more money.
even if you're still getting paid forthat sick day, when you go out into
the world and you buy stuff, that hasa lot to do with the cost of goods.
Not only do you save on doctor's visits,delay medical conditions, you also
(05:12):
gain by feeling better, tired sucks.
Being sick sucks.
There's nothing fun about not feelingwell, and making sure that you're making
the right investments in yourself iscritically important for your future.
The irony about thinking that takingcare of your health is expensive, is
that being sick is way more expensive.
(05:33):
It's actually the oppositeof what people think.
What makes holistic care feelexpensive is because most of
it is not covered by insurance.
We have this idea and younger generationsare a little bit less likely to fall
into this trap, but we have this ideathat if something's not covered by
my insurance, that I can't have it.
But what I've noticed as an integrativemedical doctor is that the things
(05:56):
that keep you well are actually a muchbetter investment than the things that
keep you from dying once you get sick.
Investing into health savings accountor flex spending accounts if you
have the opportunity, is a greatway to cover wellness expenses.
My tip is to make sure that youare investing wisely in things that
(06:18):
will keep you healthy and help youto feel good on a day-to-day basis.
Know which supplements youneed as opposed to guessing.
That way you feel better fasterknowing that you're taking the right
things and not wasting your money.
Very often people come into my officealready taking numerous supplements
they read about on the internet or sawin a video or on TikTok, and when we
(06:41):
actually assess them and determine theirDynamic Metabolic Type®®, the majority
of the supplements are not useful tothem, we end up revamping their list.
Had we known this information tostart with, then they would've saved
sometimes thousands of dollars knowingexactly what to do and how to do it.
I also have clients who willtake, supplements, like vitamins
(07:02):
but not have had the testing doneto know exactly what they need.
They're taking all these supplementsand they're not feeling better.
they're spending all this money, butthey're not feeling better because they
don't know exactly what their needs are.
The investment in testing informswhat supplements would be best and
helps you match feeling better faster.
The other thing too, is if youhave any gastrointestinal symptoms
(07:25):
and you're taking supplements andyou're not feeling better, you're
completely wasting your money.
Because those supplements aregoing right into the toilet
bowl and not into your body.
You're likely not absorbing them.
Well, that's another big, expensethat people incur is they're taking
really high quality, good supplements.
They've done all this research into them.
(07:46):
They're not absorbing them, so they'renot getting the benefit, and again,
they're wasting their money timesthousands and thousands of dollars.
Having the guidance of an integrativemedical doctor or a wellness coach is huge
and actually saves you money in the end.
That takes us to excuse number two.
I don't have time.
(08:06):
That's a super common one.
In fact, I probably hear thatmore than excuse number one.
And it's real, right?
You have a full-time jobor you're also a parent.
Some people feel a lot of pressureto socialize after work and by the
time you're done doing all thosethings, there's no time left for you.
People don't get enough sleep,they don't exercise properly, and
(08:26):
they fall into the burnout trap.
When you give them recommendationsto get back on level ground,
they'll say, I don't have time.
The irony is burnout steals your timebecause you become much less efficient
I have people tell me this all the time.
I walk from room to room and keepforgetting why I walked into this room or
I left something behind, or I lost this.
(08:48):
I can't find that.
I waste all this time.
And that's burnout, right?
People will think that they haveADHD under those circumstances,
but really what's underneaththe ADHD is very often burnout.
There's all this wasted timebecause your brain can't function
well when it's burnt out.
Now you would think why would the brainwant to stay in such a chaotic state?
(09:11):
Why wouldn't it want to jump on theburnout resolution train and feel better?
And that goes back tohow the brain functions.
Your brain functions in patterns.
It wants to recognize patterns,things that it can very quickly
identify and respond to.
If you break the pattern andall of a sudden now we're going
this way instead of this way.
This is the way to burnout, and we'vebeen very comfortable with these routes.
(09:34):
We know exactly how to get fromplace to place, in the brain.
The brain knows exactly whatloops to go around and how to
operate in that circumstance.
When you break the pattern,it gets very uncomfortable.
It doesn't want to learn a new thing,even if that new thing is going to help it
feel better, because it doesn't know that,
(09:55):
Your brain doesn't know thefuture, so it doesn't understand.
It just knows right now, in thismoment, I have been taken out of
my comfort zone and put way overhere where I'm not comfortable.
I'm going to find my way back to thatplace where I'm comfortable regardless
of how that place makes me feel.
It's familiar to me,it's comfortable to me.
That's how your brain actually functions.
(10:17):
We have to keep bringing itback to where we want it to be,
and that's not just willpower.
It's not just a matter of making adecision and forcing the body to do that.
We have to work on getting the brain tobe healthier so that it's less stressed
as it's moved into a new pattern.
That's where your lifestyle decisionsmake a huge difference- what you're
(10:40):
eating, how much oxygen the brain gets,what nutrients the brain is getting,
how much sleep the brain is getting.
Circulation -how blood is flowingthrough the brain, through exercise and
activity, and also removal of toxins.
The four pillars of wellness thatwe talk about so much, are important
to make sure that your brain has theplasticity to be able to accept the
(11:04):
change that you're making, the new quote,unquote demands you're making on it.
To stay over here on this sidewhere we're going to work on getting
healthier and not have a burnout.
The idea that you don't have time issimply your brain playing tricks on you.
Your brain doesn't know the future.
The brain doesn't know if Ido this, I'll feel better.
(11:24):
Your brain can't makethat kind of calculation.
Your heart can make that calculationthough, your intuition, so you have
to keep falling back on coherenceand the four pillars of wellness,
making sure that you're just feedingthe brain and supporting the brain
so that it can move into the placeyou need it to be and stay there.
(11:45):
Once it's there, it becomesmuch more efficient.
You don't forget why youwalked into the room.
You don't lose things.
You're much more efficient at doingyour work, and you actually save time.
You get your time backwhen you're not in burnout.
It's actually the opposite.
It's not that you don't have time.
You get to make time whenyou resolve burnout and feel
(12:09):
great fulfilled and happy.
This is where patterninterruptions come in.
We talked about that a couplepodcasts ago, but pattern
interrupts are really important.
Where you give your brain theflexibility, to keep reminding
it this is where we want to go.
I know you're comfortable overhere, but we're going this way now.
I'm going to pattern interrupt you sothat I get you comfortable over here
(12:33):
so that this becomes the new familiarand you don't keep jumping back to the
burnout side of the world as the familiar.
Those pattern interrupts arethings like using interruptions.
When you walk into a room andsuddenly you forget why you walked in.
That's your cue.
Let me just stand here andtake three deep breaths.
(12:54):
This is my reminder that Imust have not been focused.
I must have not been present, ifwe are present, we'll remember
why we walked into the room.
If we're present, we'll be much moreefficient about getting our work done,
and we won't lose things as much becausewe'll be present when we put it down,
Making sure that you use those cues,those points at which you're in chaos as
(13:16):
the reminder to get yourself into highcoherence and to take those deep breaths,
even if it's just three deep breathsin a row, and then you move on and do
the thing that you came in there to do.
Or if you can't remember, you go backand you figure out why you walked into
the room or whatever the case might be.
But every time you forget something,use that as a pattern interrupt.
(13:37):
Use that as a tap on the shoulder tosay, let me take some deep breaths.
Let me refocus on being present andtry and stay here as long as I can as
I'm moving through the rest of my day.
Also, missing meals, When people feellike they don't have time, they don't eat.
I have clients who eat once a daysometimes, and we have to break them
out of that habit because if you don'tfeed your brain, it can't function.
(14:00):
Even if it's a quick healthy protein baror a quick protein shake, that's better
than grabbing an unhealthy snack out ofa vending machine or skipping a meal.
We give people these quick tips of thingsthat you can do, like make sure you have
some healthy protein bars or proteinshakes available in case of emergency.
When I have a long workday, I have
(14:21):
two or three protein bars or Jerkies,Turkey jerkies or mushroom jerkies
i'll take two minutes just to woof downon a busy day so I don't miss meals.
That keeps your body fueled,even though you're not sitting
down to have a formal meal.
It's better to sit down, mindfully eatwhen we're not doing anything else.
We're just focused on the eating,like we talked about mindful eating in
(14:43):
one of our prior podcasts Just beingwith that food, being grateful for
that food, that's really importantso that you digest properly.
Eating on the run, eatingon the fly is not ideal.
You're not going to absorb this asoptimally as if you sat down and
really focused on that meal by itself.
You'll be shocked at how much energy youhave when you take a few deep breaths
(15:05):
with each pattern interrupt, and makesure the body is fueled and hydrated.
Use the pattern interrupt asa hydration point as well.
Take a few sips of water every timeyou forget something If you put
that water bottle in the same placeand keep it full, you'll remember.
It'll be, a pattern in your brain.
My water bottle is alwayshere, so you'll remember.
(15:27):
It's a pattern.
This is how we set the patternsin our brain to remember things.
Because if it's too haphazard andrandom when you're in burnout,
you're just going to forget again.
That takes us to excusenumber three, too many pills.
This one usually comesfrom being overwhelmed.
It is a lot of pills.
But again, if you know why you'retaking those pills, if there is a
(15:48):
strategy, if you've had the propertesting, the proper evaluation, you're
working with a professional who'smaking those recommendations so that
you know why you're taking them, ithelps them to stick a little better.
Having meaning behind the pills matters.
If it's something random and you'redoing trial and error to see if it
helps, you are going to be less likelyto stick with a program than if you
(16:09):
know, I did this test and it showedthese results, and therefore I need
these pills to correct those results.
It has meaning as opposed to somerandom thing I grabbed off the shelf.
Remember that supplements area bridge, they're not something
intended to take forever.
The goal is to rebalancea system in the body.
Supplements will be neededfor different durations.
(16:31):
For example, if you have significantnutrient deficiencies, you might need
those supplements for two to threeyears until the gastrointestinal
system is completely healed.
Now, that doesn't mean you waittwo and three years to feel better.
It just means that your body consumesthe supplements very quickly.
When you know that you have nutrientdeficiencies and you're taking them,
(16:52):
you're giving the body what it's beenmissing, it will immediately use them
and won't have stored them anywhere.
I tell my clients, it's like you havetwo different energy, tanks in your body.
There's a checking accountand a savings account.
In traditional Chinese medicine, wecall one of them the pre-heaven qi
and the other one, the post heaven qi.
(17:12):
It's when the pre heaven qi we equatewith a savings account goes empty, that
people spiral downhill and feel awful.
They get really sick.
When there's still money in savings, whenthe pre-heaven qi is still there, the
post heaven qi, the checking account, cankeep tapping into savings if it needs to.
if you're running low on nutrients,but you have nutrients stored inside
(17:33):
the cells your body will tap intothose stores in order to use them.
When you become depleted and deficientand suddenly you're putting them into the
body, your body will just use them up.
That's like you're just spendingmoney in checking, but you don't have
anything left to put into savings.
It's only when savings gets to befull again that you're out of danger.
(17:54):
You'll feel better just becauseyou're taking the supplements.
You should start to feelbetter just from that.
But that doesn't mean thesavings account is full.
It's still empty until there's anoverflow that goes into savings.
That's what takes all the time.
That's why nutrients need to be takenfor what feels like a long time,
sometimes two, three years or more.
(18:15):
The testing we do will help you to know ifit's time to back off on the supplements.
That'll be reflected in the testing.
This is something I explain to my clientsYou'll feel better when checking is
cranking again, but you'll crash and burnif you don't allow savings to build up.
The adrenals are even tougher toheal because everybody's always
feeling stressed, and so it's reallyhard to allow that system to fully
(18:40):
recover in a short period of time.
Sometimes people are on thesesupplements for several years.
It does make a difference thatyou take the supplements for the
specified amount of time that yourbody requires so that you heal.
And yes, sometimes it is a lot of pills.
It probably take about 10 to 15 pillsevery morning and then another few in the
(19:01):
afternoon for various things - adrenalsupplements, nutrients for vitamin
supplementation, digestive enzymes.
I take thyroid replacementand, DHEA as well.
And so it adds up.
It does, but I know if I don'ttake them, I will go into burnout.
I will feel terrible.
I make the investment to make surethat I'm remembering to take them and
(19:26):
that I do take them, so I encourage allmy clients to do the same especially
when you feel like I don't have time.
It takes a while to, take the sips ofwater that you need to swallow each
of the pills, so when you feel pressedfor time, those two excuses collide.
It's a lot of pills andI don't have the time.
Or even excuse number one,they're expensive, right?
(19:46):
They all start swirling around in yourhead, trying to sabotage you into leaving
it alone so it can settle back into theburnout pattern that it's familiar with.
And so having an accountabilitybuddy is really, really helpful.
A good friend, a family member, orjust sometimes having your phone
remind you, did you take your pills?
(20:07):
Did you take your stuff today?
As you pattern interrupt the brain,you have to keep gently moving it
onto the side of being burnout-freethat you want it to be in.
The motivation, also theforethought to know, if I take
these things, I'll feel better.
Your brain doesn't know that though.
Your mind knows that.
Your heart knows that,but your brain doesn't.
(20:29):
Your brain doesn't reallyunderstand future things.
Engaging the mind or intuition or theheart in your treatment plans is really
important to give the treatment meaningso that guides your brain from day to day.
Setting prompts, just reminders.
My phone is going off constantlyreminding me to do this, do that.
(20:50):
Take this pill, take that pill untilit's a habit, and then when it's a
habit, I don't need the reminder asmuch, I wanted to switch up my meal
plan a few weeks ago, so I had promptedchat, GPT to give me a new meal plan
based on the parameters that I set, andI asked it to give me a printable PDF.
I printed it out and it's in myface all day so I remember, okay,
(21:11):
this time I'm going to do this,this time I'm going to do that.
I have it set in my mind and it'sright there in writing for me.
I'll take it to work with me.
It's in my kitchen.
These are prompts, pattern interrupts,ways that I reset my brain to get it
to do the things that I would prefer.
Your brain's almost like a petthat you're trying to train into
(21:32):
a new habit, We give the brain alot of, credit, which we should.
it's not that it's not useful,it's just not as intuitive, as
we would think, because intuitionis not in the realm of the brain.
It's in the realm of the heart.
When you're feeling overwhelmed,take that deep breath, center
yourself and remind yourself ofthe meaning of what you're doing.
(21:55):
It has to be meaningful toyou for you to stick with it.
Really sit in how you want to feeland envision yourself in that state,
Envision yourself burnout free.
Envision yourself happy.
Envision yourself fulfilled.
Envision yourself with all theenergy that you desire to do all
the things that you want to do.
(22:17):
If it's traveling, having a ton ofmoney in your bank account, hanging
out with your kids more, havingmore energy to exercise, whatever
it is, envision yourself there.
Give what you're doing meaning,if it doesn't have meaning,
you won't stick with it.
Excuse number four- myjob is too stressful.
Work stress is real.
And if your job is very stressful,that's all the more reason why
(22:40):
you need to take care of yourbody so it doesn't fall apart.
Even if your goal is to changejobs, if you take your broken body
with you to another job, it's justgoing to keep falling apart there.
You might delay it for a while if thejob that you get is less stressful,
but if the body is already out ofbalance, it's just going to stay out of
balance unless you actively interveneto get it out of a burnout state.
(23:04):
Healing burnout doesn't necessarilymake the stress go away.
It helps your body be muchmore resilient despite it.
It also helps your body tothink more clearly so that you
can do it more efficiently.
Now, whether that efficiency leadsyou to a different job, a different
career path, or whether you find muchmore efficient ways to do the work
(23:24):
that you're doing, helping your bodyto resolve burnout will give you the
clarity to make those important decisions.
There's a lack of clarity when peopleare in burnout, That same brain
fog gives you a lack of clarity.
I've seen it over and over again.
When people start feeling better, they'relike, wait, I should have been doing
this this whole time, rather than that,They realize that there was something
(23:46):
they were doing every day or at work.
It was not the most efficient thing forthem to be doing, but they would just
do it mindlessly because they were inburnout and couldn't think clearly enough.
Once they got themselves out of burnout,they were thinking more clearly.
They were like, wait, I shouldhave never been doing that.
Let me come over here and do this instead.
Sometimes that's a career change.
Sometimes it's a job change.
(24:06):
Sometimes it's a relationshipchange or even moving.
Sometimes the clarity comeswhen the burnout goes.
The stress won't vanish,but your capacity to operate
efficiently despite it will grow.
And excuse number five, I can'tremember when to do things.
When you're overwhelmed and inburnout, it's hard to remember,
(24:27):
you walk into a room and you can'tremember why you walked into the room
or you put your phone down somewhereand you can't remember where it is.
That overwhelm is a sign that youneed more structure until your
brain can operate more efficiently.
I tell people, don't tryto do too much at once.
Pick one thing.
If that one thing is simply drinkingmore water for the day, do just that.
(24:51):
Don't try to remember your breathingand drink more water and get more sleep.
Pick one thing, set a reminder on yourphone to keep doing that one thing.
Or you can do sticky notes oranything that works for you.
Get that one habit down.
When you're comfortable with that onehabit, and it can take a month to be
comfortable, that's okay, then move on
(25:12):
to adding one more thing.
You keep drinking more water and nowyou start remembering to do your breath
work, set your phone to remind youto do that until it becomes a habit.
And then the next thingand then the next thing.
It's okay to do it that way.
You don't have to doeverything all at once.
So for me, in order to build thehabit of drinking more water.
(25:33):
I put on my meal plan first thingthat I get up is to drink 32 ounces
of water with some lemon and, seasalt in it before I have my coffee.
I wasn't allowed to have my coffeeuntil I had 32 ounces of water.
And so I took advantage ofthat to just take my 10 pills
with those 32 ounces of water.
Then I would have my coffee.
(25:55):
it became a habit as I didthat day after day after day.
Now I'm drinking a lot more waterso you can unload the burden on
technology, prompts and reminders.
I have chat, GPTreminding me to do things.
Can easily prompt it to remindyou about anything you would like.
So quick recap.
Excuse number one, it's too expensivereally means you just haven't reframed
(26:18):
it yet as an investment in yourself.
That's part of self-care and self-love.
Excuse number two, I don't have time meansburnout is already stealing your time.
Self-sabotage, excuse numberthree, too many pills means you
need simplicity and reminders.
if you're taking supplements and youdon't know why you're taking them or if
(26:40):
you need them, see an integrative medicaldoctor so that you can get some guidance.
You've gotta have meaning aroundwhy you're taking those pills.
Otherwise you will feelthat they're too many.
Number four, my job is too stressful,it's time to build resiliency and clarity.
If you stay in that job, look atmaking a career change or operate more
(27:02):
efficiently if it is a job that youlove by using technology or getting
your brain to be much more clear andefficient so there's less brain fog
and you do your work with more joy.
And finally, I don't remember what todo means you need structure prompts,
accountability, like an accountabilitybuddy, until you've re-pattern the
(27:22):
brain so that it's a new, healthy habit.
These self-sabotage techniquesare just your brain trying to
survive because it's struggling.
It's not really self-sabotageso much as a cry for help.
When you learn to decode thehidden language of your body,
when your brain sends you thoseself-sabotaging thoughts, they stop
holding you back and start pointingyou towards what you need the most.
(27:45):
If any of these self-sabotagepatterns has been holding you back,
I invite you to join our sevenday burnout resolution challenge.
It's simple, structured anddesigned to help you move past
these blocks once and for all.
Healing isn't about being perfect, it'sabout making small steps one at a time.
(28:06):
And if it helps, even I, a burnoutresolution expert, still have to
coach myself and remind myself ofthese same things from time to time.
Just part of being human, butwe get to be human much more
joyfully, much more efficiently,in a much more fulfilling way.
I invite you to visit ourwebsite awakenedwellnessnow.com.
(28:29):
If you want to know about our corporateprograms, visit our website to get
more information there as well.
And until next time, many, many blessings.
Thank you for listening and watching.
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