Practical Strategies for Mental Wellness

The warning sign almost nobody catches is not exhaustion. It is guilt.

What if the thing burning you out is not your inbox, your clients, or your calendar? What if the call is coming from inside the house? This conversation went somewhere most burnout talks never go, and I am still thinking about it.

Burnout prevention is not a luxury topic for women in digital. It is survival. So many of us are high functioning, holding it together on camera and in meetings while our shoulders creep up to our ears. Marian knows that pattern from the inside, and she shares the practical strategies that helped her build what she calls a depression proof life.

Marian Mills is a mental wellness speaker, award winning voice artist, Army veteran, former social worker, and founder of Depression Proof Your Life. After burnout pushed her out of the career she loved, she built the Depression Proof Method, a practical approach to everyday mental resilience for professionals, women in leadership, and female entrepreneurs online.

Key Takeaways

Guilt about resting is one of the earliest and most overlooked signs of burnout among professional women in digital.

People do not burn out because they stop caring; they burn out because they care so deeply they forget to care for themselves.

Awareness is the foundation of burnout prevention, from tense shoulders to stress headaches to emotional numbness.

Asking for help is a muscle, and real strength is knowing when to reach out, not handling everything alone.

A simple pause between meetings, calls, and tasks can reset your nervous system before stress compounds.

Marian Mills said, 'People don't get burned out because they don't care. They actually burn out because they care so deeply and they end up forgetting to take care of themselves.'

Marian Mills said, 'I used to think that strength meant handling it all on my own. I learned that the real strength is actually knowing when to reach out.'

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome and meet Marian Mills

01:50 From social work to voiceover to Depression Proof Your Life

05:06 The burnout patterns professional women share

08:14 Rest is part of getting stronger

08:35 The Depression Proof Method in practice

14:04 Military discipline, recovery, and vulnerability

15:16 Ask, Give, Grow and learning to ask for help

23:25 Your voice, your energy, and your mental wellness

26:58 Protecting your energy in emotionally demanding work

32:20 Auditions, interviews, and positive self talk

36:26 Early warning signs: numbness, guilt, irritability, resentment

41:14 The first thing to do when burnout is on the horizon

46:40 Protecting your mental health in the year ahead

50:25 Power Round

55:26 How to connect with Marian Mills

Connect with Marian Mills

Website: https://www.depression-prooflife.com

Voiceover: https://www.marianmillsvoice.com

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/company/depression-proof-your-life

Email: [e-mail]

Support the show

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
Uh as a social worker, I didn't.
I mean, that's just just to behonest, I did not.
I did not protect I I I did itby drinking every night.
I think the number one thing wasum feeling guilty about resting.
That was one of the things thatI actually noticed within myself
is emotional numbness.

(00:20):
Burnout.
The call is coming from insidethe house.

SPEAKER_05 (00:23):
We always think it's all the external factors, right?
Hello, everyone, and welcome toour weekly power lounge.
This is your place to hearconversations from those who
have power to share.

(00:43):
My name is Amy Vaughn, and I amthe owner and chief empowerment
officer of Together Digital, adiverse and collaborative
community of women who work indigital and choose to share
their knowledge, power, andconnections.
You can join the movement atTogetherIndigital.com.
And today we are joined byMarion Mills, an award-winning
voice artist, Gold Tele Awardwinner, and founder of

(01:04):
Depression Proof Your Life witha background in social work and
lived experience as a disabledArmy veteran.
Marian brings a rare, rarebrings rare authenticity and
emotional depth to everythingthat she does, both in her
voiceover artistry and in hermission to help professionals
build resilience before burnouttakes hold.
Her work focuses on practicalstrategies for mental health

(01:27):
advocacy, burnout prevention,and creating what she calls a
depression-proof life.
We are thrilled to have her herewith us today to share her
insights on how to protect yourenergy, recognize the signs of
burnout, and ask for the supportwhen you need it most.
Welcome.
We're so excited to have youtoday.

SPEAKER_01 (01:44):
I am so happy to be here.
Thank you so much.
I really do appreciate it.
I'm always honored to be able totalk about uh such a subject
that's passionate, that I'mdefinitely passionate about.
So thank you.

SPEAKER_05 (01:55):
Exactly.
Yeah, no, we're more thanthrilled to have you here and
honored as well.
You know, these are the thingsthat we talk about a lot, even
though we are professional womenwho work in mostly digital and
marketing fields.
This is all very ramp, rampantand prevalent, and it bleeds
into the work that we do.
Um, but one of the things welike to do at Together Digital
is to also understand those whoare coming with their wisdom to

(02:16):
us.
And so we would love to hearmore about your journey from
social work to voice artistryand then defining like
depression proof of your life,which is all kind of feels like
a very unique journey.
What movement in your own lifemade you realize that you needed
to create some sort of frameworkor method like this to share
then with others?

SPEAKER_01 (02:34):
Yeah.
Um, yeah.
So thank you for the, again,like I said, for the
opportunity.
But in all honesty, it camefrom, of course, my own personal
experience.
And simply put, what made memove forward with creating
Depression Proof Your Life wasactually just seeing and hearing
so much, so many mental healthcases, so many cases of burnout.

(02:55):
Uh, when you know, just in beingin different rooms when you hear
about people losing um thepassion for something that they
they once had, you know, uh, oreven organizations losing good
people because of burnout.
And because of what happened tome, you know, in my journey in
social work, social work was allever all I ever wanted to do.

(03:16):
That's what I went to schoolfor.
I I loved where I was, what Iwas doing, but I was burnt out.
And yeah, I what I understoodwas um, well, I want to share
the journey as far as socialwork into voiceover.
I had no life.
I literally had no life outsideof social work.
Day and night I was doing socialwork.

(03:38):
Of course, I had I was on call,so I had to work on call.
Then because I had no life, Irealized because I had my
struggles in the past, I knewthe signs and symptoms of
overwhelm and burnout and whatwould land me in the hospital,
possibly.
So I was like, a lot of peoplehad told me I had a very strong
voice, so I was like, let melook into voiceover.

(03:59):
So I started being coached asvoice in voiceover.
That's what actually led me tothe journey of that.
When I realized that I had toleave social work to save my own
mental health, yeah, I was like,well, I have all this equipment
for voiceover.
Why don't I look into that?
So that's actually how I gotinto that journey.
So yeah, like I said, uh thejourney of uh depression brief

(04:23):
your life was you know,definitely trying to uh give
people tools the same way that Iwas able to um uh get out of
help someone else before theyactually lose uh the passion
that they actually have or uhfeel that they're so passionate
about.

SPEAKER_05 (04:37):
So I love that.
And that's so commonly like thejourney for a lot of women that
we have on here as guests thathave started their own
businesses and frameworks andspeaking and things like that,
is that they have a lot ofreal-world experience in the
sense of like what it is thatthey're trying to help others
with.
And then they see the pattern.
And then once they recognize thepattern, then they begin to

(04:58):
create things from it that thenin turn help others.
And it's just I love it so much.
I mean, I just think about forall the hardship that we all go
through, how many people we'vehad on this podcast that turn it
into a thriving business thatsupports them and their family,
but then actually helps otherpeople.
Helping other people, yeah.
I love that you took the thesteps, the necessary steps to
make this a thing versus justnoticing it and moving on,

(05:20):
right?

SPEAKER_01 (05:21):
Yeah, thank you.

SPEAKER_05 (05:22):
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (05:23):
I remember asking the question.
I was like, how can I I waslike, okay, now that I'm on the
other side of it, how can Icreate something where it can
help other people?
And it took time uh lookingdeeply within myself and trying
to figure out how what thosesteps look like.
And right, it's can it's acontinuous journey as well.
So yeah.

SPEAKER_05 (05:40):
Mm-hmm.
No, definitely.
And because of it, you've beenable to work with everyone from
major corporations and brands toveterans' organizations and in
all these spaces.
You know, speaking of patternrecognition, what was a common
like burnout pattern that youwere seeing either then or now,
especially among women,professional women?

SPEAKER_01 (05:58):
Right.
Um I I think the number onething was um feeling guilty
about resting.
Like, you know, um, yeah, I uhwhether it's taking a vacation
or just taking breaks, thosemany breaks that you need
throughout the day.
Um believing that they actuallyhave to do it all and not

(06:18):
reaching out for help, not uhdelegating.
Um and then also settingboundaries.
Uh uh and I think that thatcomes with the whole, you know,
not being able to say no, um,and prioritizing things.
So yeah, but you know, with itfor myself, but even in talking
to whether it's individuals,corporations, students uh at

(06:41):
different universities that I'vespoken to, people don't get
burnout because they don't care.
They actually burn out becausethey care so deeply and they
forgetting they end upforgetting to take care of
themselves.
And that's exactly what happenedto me.
And that's another running thingthat I've seen amongst a lot of
uh, you know, women inleadership as well as uh, you

(07:02):
know, as entrepreneurs as well.

SPEAKER_05 (07:05):
Yeah, I can see that.
Guilt's an interesting onebecause I don't know that I
would have like that would havebeen like the first thing that I
would have thought like that'sthat's the sign of burnout, but
it is that constant guilt of Ican't be everyone and everything
and everywhere all at once, butI always feel the need to
because that is exactly what'sgoing to because you can't, you
won't be able to, and that's atthat point where you're burning
out because you can't.

SPEAKER_01 (07:27):
And you know, um, it's funny, I used to pride
myself on being able tomultitask.
And yeah, as once I um got onthe other side of of uh mental
health and and and just wasbuilding this this program, I
realized that is something thatis like you said, it's it's it's

(07:49):
it's unreasonable, but that usedto be one of the skill sets that
you would list, you know, likeI'm able to multitask.
Like that is, you know, I'm I'mgood at what, you know, I'm able
to juggle a lot of differentthings.
But um as I've I told someone, Iwas like, as I got older, I said
I realized that multitasking, II I can't do it.
I can't take on too much.
But I think that that'ssomething that's good to be

(08:11):
aware of.
It's like I I can't just say no.

SPEAKER_05 (08:15):
You know, that and I would also emphasize too, the
rest, you know, this idea oflike rest as a revolution, this
idea that rest is actuallyproductive.
Like I I even have to tell my13-year-old daughter that, you
know, sometimes she's like, youknow, she had soccer tryouts
this week and she was reallyhard on herself about drilling
herself every single day andrunning every single day.
And there was one point where Isaid, What if you just took a

(08:36):
rest day?
Because you're gonna performbetter tomorrow if you rest
today.
She was like, I never thoughtabout that.
You just always think aboutimproving and getting better and
getting stronger and gettingfaster.
And it's like you don'tunderstand that rest is actually
a part of getting stronger.
You know, giving your body achance to heal so that you can
go further the next day.
So yeah, rest is another reallyimportant one.

(08:58):
Let's talk a little bit aboutdepression, your
depression-proof method.
Could you walk us through alittle bit of like what that
means, what it looks like inpractice for someone who is
maybe spinning on the hamsterwheel of life, like many of us
are right now?

SPEAKER_01 (09:12):
So I really love this question.
Uh you know, as I told youbefore we came on, I really love
uh the questions, but this isone of my favorite, I think, uh,
because when people heardepression proof your life, I
think sometimes peopleautomatically think you'll
never, I'll never experiencedepression uh again.
And that's not what it means.
It means being intentional aboutbuilding habits, being aware,

(09:34):
and building resilience, youknow, to actually strengthen
those things.
And some of some of the thingsthat we were just listing, a lot
of times people experience thosethings, you know, whether
they're you know, have a lot oftension in their shoulders,
having stress headaches, butthey chalk it up to oh, I had a
stressful client, I had adifficult phone call, I had a
really stressful meeting.
But those are all signs and sicksignals that our body is letting

(09:58):
us know.
Like so that awareness that thatis what it's all about.
So imagine you're running late,right?
You're running late for ameeting, and you're going from
meeting to meeting, day by dayby day, just going from one
thing to the next, one thing tothe next.
Your phone hasn't stoppedringing, people have to stop
knocking on your door.
You're exhausted when you gethome, don't have time for your

(10:20):
family.
Again, need instead of resting,you're running around trying to
make up for different thingsthat you weren't able to do.
So you have that, that's wherethat hamster will, right?
That everyone is actuallyexperiencing.

SPEAKER_02 (10:33):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (10:33):
But the but the thing is is to take time
throughout your day.
When you you hang up that phone,just take a deep breath and just
literally take a minute andpause.

SPEAKER_03 (10:45):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (10:46):
And that's however you can find it in your day, to
pause, take a minute before yourush to the next thing.
It doesn't mean that you'veactually handled whatever that
stressful thing was that youhave had had to deal with on the
phone.
But before you go to that nextmeeting, holding that and
carrying it with you, yeah, youknow, that that is that is the

(11:06):
that is the that is what burnoutcan begin to look like.
But like you said, it's it's itcreeps up on you.
It's very it's very subtle.
But that's why we have to bevery intentional every single
day and um and consistent,because every day we have some
type of stress that can throw usoff.
Uh, but we have to actually beaware of those different things,

(11:27):
you know.
Like ask yourself like, hold on,what exactly is happening?
What just happened?
What's draining me?
Why do I feel this way?
Um, and what and sometimes evenwhat do I need to do right now
to kind of calm my nerves alittle bit before I go into this
next thing?

SPEAKER_05 (11:44):
Yeah.
I mean, what you're talkingabout, that awareness is so key
because I think for me, burnoutis numbness.
Like it's, you know, it's meliving from my neck up and not
my neck down.
Like I don't notice, and it'sfunny because I thank God for my
girlfriends, we'll be likehaving a conversation.
And my friend Lacretia, ifyou're listening, I love you,
Lou, she'll be like, Amy, dropyour shoulders, drop your

(12:06):
shoulders, because they'll be upby my ears and she can just tell
that I'm tense.
But because I'm looking at themand not seeing myself, they I
don't, I don't even notice, youknow.
And then when you do come homeand you kind of just crash or
you feel the aches and the painsin your body, you think, Well,
what did I do?
How did I move today?
Sometimes it's not at all howyou moved physically.

SPEAKER_03 (12:25):
It was like that emotional work thing you're
everything feeling.
Yes.

SPEAKER_05 (12:28):
So yeah, I think that there's a lot to be said
about that and just recognizingthat burnout might not even feel
like anything.
It could be numbness.
And that's literally you justlike you said, I love that
analogy of like going from onething to the next, to the next,
to the next.
It's like this building, right?
Of all this tension and all thisstress that you literally carry
from one thing to the next.
But that simple moment of pauseand breathe and get your nervous

(12:52):
system back in check.
How huge is that?
That's definitely gonna help youcope and be less likely to fall
into a sense of despair, right?
Because you feel like you have asense of control over your body,
because it is really like yournervous system informing your
brain.
Like, hey, we're not you're notlistening to us down here.
Hello.

SPEAKER_01 (13:11):
We're trying to let you know.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 (13:13):
And that's true.

SPEAKER_01 (13:14):
And that just say I applaud your girlfriend, like to
have people in your life.
It that's twofold.
Like it's really important.
It's twofold.
It's not only having someoneimportant in your life that can
actually tell you, hey, yeah,drop your shoulders.
Do you realize you're hunchedover or whatever it may be?
But you actually accepting itand and and and and and not
getting upset and offended byit.

(13:35):
It's like, I appreciate you fornotice, noticing that in me,
because sometimes we we aren'treally aware, like you said, of
things that we do and ourphysiological state, but other
people can notice those things.
So that's important to havethose people in your life.
So awesome.

SPEAKER_05 (13:50):
Oh, so much.
And I think a lot of women thatare listening right now are
those A-type, likehigh-functioning women who, you
know, we know how to put on theshow.
We know how to wear the masks,we know how to show up looking
calm and composed, no matterwhat's going on inside, right?
It's like the duck on the water,right?
And the feet are paddling reallyfast underneath.

SPEAKER_03 (14:08):
Exactly.
Yes.

SPEAKER_05 (14:09):
You definitely need people who can look at you and
be like, I see, I know what'sgoing on.
And then call you out for it.
So, yes, 100% very fortunate tohave friends like that.
So, yes.
All right.
Let's talk a little bit aboutyour experience too.
Like you were an art, you are anArmy veteran, um, and you have
navigated systems and challengesthat many of our members maybe

(14:32):
haven't experienced, although wedo have a few veterans within
the community.
How has this shaped yourapproach to resilience and
mental health advocacy?
Because I think that isdefinitely an area where there's
a lot of love, support,attention needed there,
obviously.

SPEAKER_01 (14:47):
Yeah.
Um, I I don't think Iappreciated it, of course, at
the time.
I think over the years, uh, youknow, I've uh can can honestly
say that I appreciate what Ilearned.
But I believe that the militarytaught me, of course, discipline
and also perseveranceperseverance.
But recovery taught mevulnerability.

(15:08):
And the reason I think thatthat's so important is because
both all of those go well withresilience.
They help build resilience.
Uh because I feel likevulnerability is about being
honest and open with ourselves.
We have to be aware of thatvulnerability.
So um, so yeah, I I would Iwould say that collectively,

(15:28):
that's what mental health, andwhen I say recovery, I'm talking
about uh the recovery fromalcoholism as well as the you
know the mental illness, uh, andand having that uh discipline
and the perseverance to keepmoving forward, but at the same
time being honest with myself.
But I can't go on.
It's like, you know what, I needto take a break.
I I I need this moment to myselfor whatever it is, what steps I

(15:50):
need to take.

SPEAKER_05 (15:51):
So that's phenomenal.
Love it.
All right.
So many of our members strugglewith asking for support.
We do have a framework withinthe community, our ask give girl
philosophy, which is reallyabout helping women learn to ask
for what they need, no guilt, noshame, to give without judgment.
Um, but asking for help andreceiving help is a very hard
thing.

(16:11):
So for me, it's like a muscleyou have to learn how to build.
Yeah, I like that to kind of getused to because a lot of times
too, you'll even just finish ameeting with a woman and you've
maybe shared a lot, talked abouta lot, griped about a lot.
And then you look at her and yousay, How can I help you?
And then she'll be like deer inheadlights, or she'll maybe get
a little teary because one,she's not used to somebody
asking her what she needs andhow they they can have help.

(16:33):
And then also they just don't wejust don't even know like a
million things to ask for yourhelp on, but like what feels
right, what isn't right, what iswhat's fair to ask, what's not
fair to ask.
And so you really have to justlearn.
Um, and then there's also thisunderlying belief that you know,
if we're asking for help or weakor that we should be able to
handle this alone.
How do you address that mindset?

SPEAKER_01 (16:56):
Yeah, um, I I can relate to all of what you said,
and and I really love the deerin the headlights type of thing.
Because, like you said, a lot oftimes people's like, wow, like I
don't even know how to answerthat because I'm not used to
someone I'm yeah, um, but I I Iused to think that you know,
strength meant handling handlingit all on my own and you know,

(17:16):
being able to multitask, um, andeven in asking for help, I had
to learn that that there wasstrength in that.
So I learned that the realstrength is actually knowing
when to reach out, understandingthat I can't handle it all on my
own.
Uh you know, and and I said theword earlier, you know, even
just delegating, and but I stillI go back to awareness.

(17:40):
Awareness is the the thefoundation of the framework of
Depression Proof Your Life.
If you're not aware of thesethings, yeah, building your
awareness, getting to know self,really understanding what makes
you because everyone isdifferent, you know.
It may be that your shouldersare tense, it may be that you

(18:01):
have stress headaches, yourhands are sweaty, you're
grinding your teeth, all ofthose different things.
And the lady said that sherealizes that she grips her
hands so tight that you know andand uh that was the first time

(18:23):
that I'd ever heard that, butthat is self-awareness, just
realizing like I I need to takea minute.
So, so yeah, um I believe thatbeing aware is like the the
first is the first step.
Being aware and then knowingexactly what's the next step
that I need to do, and alwaysmaking sure that you're taking a
pause between and not notrushing.

(18:46):
I think so many times we rushthrough so many different things
just in life.
Just go, go, go, go, go, go, go,go, go.
And sometimes just pausing.

SPEAKER_04 (18:55):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (18:56):
And doing nothing is good.
As you said, rest is good, youknow, not just physical rest,
but just you know, taking amoment.
Yeah, just a mental break.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 (19:05):
I think we've forgotten how to be bored.
You know, I have thisconversation also with my kids.
We were on earlier, they're nineand 13, and I tell them bored is
a privilege.
You know, bored is such aprivilege that you need to, and
we our brains need that time andspace, you know.
And then we need to figure outhow to fill it constructively
versus, you know, kind of just,you know, mindlessly.

(19:28):
And I think um the other thingyou said that I wanted to kind
of reinforce it's so true.
How many of you that arelistening right now?
What are you holding tight?
What are you clenching?
For me, it's like my upper bodyis usually my legs, my lower
body, my glutes, my jaw, likethere's always something.
But like you said, it's such aneasy, simple practice.
The next time you're sitting ina tense meeting or on a phone
call or just driving in the car,think about like what am I

(19:51):
holding on to?
What is so tight right now?
And just kind of letting that gois a big step.
And then I think in the askingfor help and then also receiving
it, it is, it's just practice.
And I the other thing I try toencourage our women to do is to
remember that people really wantto help.
They do like, yeah, it makes usfeel good.
And as long as you're not takingadvantage of everyone, which

(20:13):
none of the listening are gonnado that, you'll be so surprised
by how many people are justthrilled that you ask for their
help and support, right?
Because they get to show up,they get to be the hero.
And who doesn't want to do thatsometimes, you know?
And then I also think go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 (20:29):
No, no, no, go ahead.
I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_05 (20:31):
Outsider perspective as well, something that you said
sparked a memory of somethingthat happened this week.
My daughter called me, had amassive migraine.
I was at work, she startedthrowing up.
I was really worried she mighthave had a concussion from
soccer.
And I was like, I think I needto go home.
Um, my community manager wasworking from home that day, and
I felt terrible because I waslike, I called her, I was like,
I need you to come in.
I need, I have to go home now.

(20:52):
You know, and she's like 24years old.
She's like, doesn't have kids.
And she's like, Why do you needto go?
Like, she didn't ask me this,but she her first thought was
like, Why do you even have to goin?
My mom, I could be at home or atschool, wherever, thrown up, and
she wouldn't come rushing to myside.
But she's like, that's she toldme, she's like, I'm telling you
this as a compliment.
She's like, But that's just thekind of mom you are.
That's the kind of person thatyou are.
You will drop everything and goto your kids.

(21:13):
Because I was telling her that Iwas making plans for tonight,
and I'm like, I feel guilty forgoing out tonight.
And she's like, You have beenthere for your kids all week
long with doctor's appointmentsand her getting sick and all of
this.
You do so much for them.
You can have one night.
So it's again, this is where theoutside perspective, having
people, when you like you saidearlier, allow yourself to be
vulnerable.

(21:33):
They can they can be that mirrorfor you and be like, yo, listen,
why are you like the guilt?
You said it, the guilt, like,why are you feeling guilty, Amy?
You've shown up for your kidsall week.
Yes, you can take care of it.

SPEAKER_01 (21:43):
Yeah, yeah.
What were you gonna say?
You know, um you know, this thissubject as you were talking,
just made me think about aconversation I had with someone
in my family.
Um, they were always that thatperson that you go to, you know,
if you they they they were goodlistener.
Well, I say were, I mean theystill are.
You know, but but one day hecame to me and said it it's a

(22:07):
lot to hear, you know, toconstantly hear and to
constantly try to be there.
And and I felt so bad.
And I said, you know what?
I appreciate you for pointingthis out.
I said, but you handled it sowell.
I didn't realize that it was tooheavy for you or that it was too
much for you just over time.
So I so what you're saying is sotrue that a lot of times people

(22:30):
do want and need that help.
Sometimes even if they're not uhif uh if they're uh they afraid
or don't know how to ask butyeah that was so and this was
just a couple of years ago itwas just so um eye opening eye
opening for me like I was likewow he's handled this stuff like
for years and it's like yeahthis is too much like I I can't

(22:54):
yes and I rem and I remembertelling and I rem I remember as
you were saying it that's why itpopped in my head I was like I
remember literally having thatconversation with him and saying
but you've always had I'm likeyeah okay I've always handled it
but it's not it it wasn't thebest and and and I'm telling you
now yeah I'm telling yeah I'mtelling you now like I I it's
too much I can't handle it's theboundary absolutely absolutely

(23:15):
and I appreciated it yeah yeahthat's so good and that's also
another reason to always checkon your strong friends right and
your strong family you knowabsolutely they got that get old
exterior but there's you knowwe've all got something going on
that we could use a little helpor support in or some better
boundaries we could create rightall right um you know the as I

(23:36):
was kind of looking through likeyour work and some of your
voiceover talent there's just somuch um empathy and authenticity
in all the projects that you do.

SPEAKER_05 (23:43):
So do you think that there's a connection between how
you show up this is just kind ofmore fun technical for um those
of you are audiophiles whoactually do talent like casting
and and uh things for vocal umso the difference between do you
think there's a difference in aconnection of how we show up
vocally or energetically and ourmental wellness and then how do

(24:04):
you protect your own energywhile doing a lot of them well
actually let's answer that firstquestion first because the
second question is a very bigquestion too.
So do you think there's aconnection between how we show
up vocally or energetically andour mental wellness and then
we'll get to the other half.

SPEAKER_01 (24:17):
Oh absolutely it is it absolutely is um um again I
told you already but this isanother one of my favorite
questions um it absolutely isand it's because you know people
hear you know the voice and andand they hear the finished
product not realizing you knowthe emotion that that really
goes behind it.
Just a little short story I wasin a um study group a couple of

(24:40):
weeks ago and this creativedirector she is amazing like she
knows how to pull things out ofyou and and again you know we we
have it's it's all about beingauthentic to the copy you're
reading words that aren't yoursbut you need they need to sound
like they're coming from youthat you yeah that you
understand what what's beingsaid.

(25:00):
So she asked you know you knowwhat how you know who are you
talking to who who you knowasked all these questions.
I was in tears and like matterof fact I remember looking at
her and I said I can't look atyou she said I need you to look
at me I need you to look at youknow this is this is how you're
going to get what they they needfor you know for this particular
piece.

(25:21):
And I was in tears but uh beforethe end of it but it was like
wow but again what she was whatwhat we were able to create in
doing that.
So yeah that just speaks to youknow actually having to to to
give of yourself emotionally uhbut again uh uh it happened to
someone else in in the grouplater on uh and she again had to
take that moment she said uh youknow whenever she was finished I

(25:44):
need to go off camera you knowand just to take that moment and
sometimes that's what that iswhat we have to do and I know
for myself uh I love uh beingable to go outside watch my
hummingbirds uh garden doingdifferent things like that you
know just to kind of resetmyself sometimes you know and I
remember talking to her early onin my career uh I told her if I

(26:04):
had not been through all thethings mentally that I had been
through yeah voiceover wouldhave been very difficult for me
because you know you're in abooth by yourself you're not
getting a lot of feedback on howwell you're doing and then on
top of that you're doing 50 youknow 25 50 75 uh auditions a day
yeah you might not hear anythingback for quite some time and

(26:26):
sometimes you may getshortlisted which means they're
interested but they're kind ofyou're narrowing down and you
still might not be be chosenthat can play with your mental
so um yes yeah you know so so uhso yeah I that so definitely
they definitely go hand in hand.
So what was the second part ofthe question?

SPEAKER_05 (26:43):
Oh real quick I was gonna say it just takes me back
I used to do a lot of uhvoiceover casting and coaching
and uh directing when I was acreative director and it's such
a great art form.
I love it so so much.
There's just so much behind umlike the intonation of the voice
and the emphasis you create onthings like it you just wouldn't
think that there's a millionways something can be said that

(27:04):
there are absolutely a millionways something can be said and
it's it's truly an art form.
So I love that you're it's yeahit's one of those things like we
just we need those good voicesespecially when you're like and
I love what you said too aboutlike it needs to sound like
they're your words.
If that's not on your profileyou need to add that to your
profile.
I will make your words soundlike my words because that's how

(27:24):
much I believe them.
I love that so much as a CDcreator director be like done
hire this lady outside of yourvoice being thank you I'm
definitely I'm taking note ofthat.
Thank you I appreciate that andthen this one here is a big
question of like how do youprotect your own energy while
doing such emotionally demandingwork I mean especially again
like I would imagine even forthis in social work like there
you hear and see a lot how doyou protect your own sense of

(27:48):
peace and energy when you'rehaving to show up for people who
are just going through so muchyeah um you know um as a social
worker I didn't I mean that'sjust just to be honest I did not
I did not protect I I I did itby drinking every night I and
and and and it took you knowover time but I realized over

(28:10):
time I wasn't just drinking onthe weekends.

SPEAKER_01 (28:12):
I wasn't just drinking you know like on
Wednesday you know that halfwaymark to the it was ever you know
it got to to be a point of everysingle day and like I said
earlier I did not have a lifeoutside of social work.
I I I wasn't going I wasn'tdoing things you know of course
I spent time with my family butagain it was like all right I
got to get back you know I wastrying to play catch up with
notes so I poured everything Iwas holding everything

(28:34):
everything that I saw everythingthat I heard if that I was I was
just holding it and I was usingalcohol you know of course with
with the mental health was nothelping um but now like I said I
I I I really appreciate beingable to if I if I can't connect
with a copy for example insteadof just trying to beat it up

(28:56):
beat it up because people canhear that people can hear even
when I'm in a speak you know ina speaking engagement if I'm
like like really really rushedand I feel you're gonna feel it
people can hear that you knowpeople can hear so it's really
important I remember when Ifirst got into voiceover this
guy asked me he said do youmeditate?
I said sure he was like his ownthing to do he said because you

(29:18):
he said you you you're just allover the place.
He was like you're all over he'slike calm now right and I'm like
this is just my energy he waslike do you drink coffee he said
no don't and I was like I don'tdrink coffee he was like okay if
you do it but it's got like hewas and I was like and I just
did not understand but of courseover over time of being in
voiceover I realized yeah youknow you really have to center

(29:39):
yourself like for example ifsomeone is really anxious
because they haven't bookedanything for a while um and and
they're like okay I gotta getthis that that anxiety of oh I
gotta get this I gotta it comesthrough and you're you know and
even if you don't hear itbecause like you were saying
what we the way we think wesound is not always the way we
actually sound you know butother people can actually tell

(30:00):
us or you know different thingsthat we may be doing it's the
same way in voiceover um and andthat's why I appreciate some
there are times that I cannotconnect with a copy it's like I
know how it's I know I know whatthe script is saying I know the
meaning but the words aren'tcoming out the way that you know
with the intensity on certainwords the way I need it to I'll

(30:20):
go outside watch my hummingbirdsjust bring me joy um gardening
you know just just something andwhile I'm out there I'm not
necessarily thinking about ohokay I gotta figure out how it's
not even on my mind anymore butwhat I have found is however
long I stay out there whenever Icome back in bam it's like that

(30:42):
there it is and it's becausesometimes that that is why it's
so important just to be able tostep away.
Yes and and and I realize when Italk to different organizations
that's why talking about burnoutis extremely important to me
because just I I I like talkingto uh the organization as a
whole but of course when I havesmaller groups where I I have

(31:04):
supervisors you know only I I Ican have conversations and real
conversations with letting themknow how important it is to make
sure that you give your staffthat time that break you know
even if it's five minutes ifthey say that they are feeling
overwhelmed give them that timeor maybe you step in for for for
for your for your staff umwhatever it is that you need if
they're telling you that they umneed something you know try to

(31:27):
be there for them uh so so yeahuh I I I appreciate being able
to just step away coming backlike and just refreshed and
being able to do whatever I needto do.
And I think when people can dothat in the organizations for
themselves that's why it's soimportant and when I talk to
these organizations when I talkto students it's important for
you us to do what we can do forourselves but also setting

(31:51):
boundaries and letting uppermanagement know and leaderships
and leadership know these arethe steps that you need to take
as well because one question Ialways ask uh people uh you know
especially you know when I haveleadership in the room how
comfortable are you having aconversation if your staff was
to come to you about somethingheavy or about something that

(32:13):
emotional just whatever it maybe and a lot of them like I I I
I wouldn't really know how tohandle that.
Yeah and I although I appreciatethe especially in the helping
field I I'll I want to make thatpoint especially in uh fields
where uh people are actuallycarrying things heavy uh with

(32:33):
for their clients and a lot oftimes I I hear them say no I I
wouldn't really feel comfortableI wouldn't really know what to
say it's like that's somethingto work on because that's
something that they need and ifyou're not the person you need
to be able to say I need you youcan go talk to Amy.
I'll send a yes call Amy or sendher an email let her know that
she's gonna you know that you'regonna go talk to her or
something like that.

(32:54):
So yeah.

SPEAKER_05 (32:56):
Yeah a lot of good stuff in there one of the things
I was thinking of as you weretalking about auditioning it
kind of even relates to jobinterviewing.
Oh so I think a lot of folks whoare listening right now are kind
of in that in-between of youknow job searching and uh
whether they're not working andlooking or working while looking
that stress that tension it doesreally come through you know and

(33:18):
it it does change the tone andthe shape of the interview.
And I think people can willaccount for nerves but um you
know at the same time it's stilllike first impressions are first
impressions.
And I love how you keepreferring to your hummingbirds
like my family, my greatgrandmother loved hummingbirds.
I have like a hummingbird tattooon my arm.
My mom, my sister have the sameone.

(33:39):
So I love my hummingbirds.
I love birds in general and umit sounds wild but I did hear a
while back about actually no itwas a therapist who told me that
um this bird song actually doesreset your nervous system.
So even if you can't stepoutside just pulling up like
some bird sound and like sittingin a quiet room for a minute
what it does is like from anevolutionary standpoint, we

(34:02):
would never hear bird song ifthere were threats nearby.
So when you hear bird song, youknow your body knows
instinctually that you are safe.
If there are no birds it's tooquiet.

SPEAKER_01 (34:12):
That is so good.
That is so true.

SPEAKER_05 (34:14):
But if you hear the song you're like okay your
nervous system knows you're notin danger.
And so that can really help usif they're calm you can be calm
right yeah yep yep I love thatI've learned that that's been
right isn't that cool and I meanbetween that and bird watching I
think like it's just people likewill tease you about it like oh
bird nerd but I'm like from anevolutionary standpoint there's

(34:36):
a reason why we are drawn tothese things and why people do
it and they find it so soothing.

SPEAKER_01 (34:40):
Look I told my family I'm literally turning
into a bird lady because I haveum well four hummingbird feeders
but I also have uh you know justregular bird feeders in my yard
hanging from the trees yeahhanging from a stream of lights
like but but they are there'sjust such a joy to watch just so
peaceful yeah um you know uh tothe auditions and uh job

(35:04):
interviewing self self-talk umpositive self-talk is extremely
important in my mental healthjourney I realized just how
powerful the mind is your mindcan your mind can believe
whatever you tell it whetherit's if it whether it's
something positive or whetherit's something negative it's

(35:26):
going to be true that your yourwhatever it is um and what I had
to tell myself uh is and I'veall and I'm a believer so I I
believe that what what what'sfor me is for me.
Like if if something is for me Idon't care how many other people
audition for it I don't carewhat mistake I may think that I
have made right or you know orlike you said even for uh an

(35:48):
interview if you feel and and Idon't know about you but I I can
remember some of the times thatI actually I just I was like uh
I don't think I got it you knowhow do you think you did I don't
think I got it I I I made amistake I tripped up I spilled
what you know whatever it is andthey were like I got the job I I
didn't think I you know um so soif it's if it's for you it's for
you and I think that that'ssomething that we should you

(36:10):
know try to tell ourselves yeahso that we don't beat ourselves
up and and blame ourselvesbecause we can't force it right
we can't force it because wedon't know what people want um
and sometimes as a believer formyself sometimes you may not get
the job because it's somethingthat God is trying to protect
you from right that that youdon't need to be in that space
even though no matter how badyou want it.

(36:31):
So yeah just wanted to sharethat yeah I love it.

SPEAKER_05 (36:33):
No I absolutely wholeheartedly agree.
It also reminds me of the linewhether you think you can or
can't you're right.

SPEAKER_01 (36:38):
Yes.
Yeah that never made sense to meyou know but but of course over
time it makes a lot of sense init.

SPEAKER_05 (36:45):
Yeah we do a good job of getting in our own ways
that's for sure.
Absolutely we do all right sowe've talked quite a bit about
burnout but we're gonna keeptouching on it because it's a
big big topic and is probablygoing to continue to be for some
time but it definitely creeps upon us slowly.
I mentioned earlier for me it'skind of almost like numbness um
which can definitely make itsneaky.

SPEAKER_01 (37:07):
What are some of the early warning signs that you've
learned to recognize both inyourself and the people that you
work with when it comes toburnout yeah well it's funny
that of course I know you saidit earlier but that was one of
the things that I actuallynoticed within myself is
emotional numbness especiallyaround the lab um right before
in 2021 before I actually uhleft social work that's where I

(37:28):
was I I it was just I was goingthrough the motions it was and I
had been that way for quite sometime and because I know the
signs and sometimes not onlybecause of my own self but just
because of my degree I'm veryaware of all the different um uh
all the things that you can doto you know you know self-care I

(37:50):
was not doing any of thosethings and of course
irritability I think that that'sanother big one that sometimes
people dismiss um I know formyself anytime I have a
conversation with someone I'mdealing with someone that I have
dealt with in the past and I Iyou know they they're very short
I I'm very like are you okay youyou just don't sound like

(38:12):
yourself you know I'm I'm justchecking in you know um and
sometimes it goes over well andsometimes it doesn't and the
reason I'm saying that isbecause I I think a lot of times
when we are trying to reach outto someone to help them if we
get our head bit off like leaveme alone there's nothing wrong
with me it's like I won't botheryou then answer your answer.

(38:35):
Right.
Yeah you know and sometimes yeahthat that is that is just the
answer and and but some a lot oftimes we get offended ourselves
and it's like well I just wantto help you then it's like but
that's that's you can tell thatthat that that's not them that
you touched the nerve.

SPEAKER_05 (38:49):
Yeah another one I think I would throw out there is
resentment.
Oh as a sign of burnout becauseI've worked with so many folks
that I think are so fantasticand talented and capable and
competent.
And they just become so bitterand resentful.
And it's not because they're badpeople it's just because they

(39:10):
know and feel the weight of allthe work they're doing and they
just can't believe that anybodyelse can do it.
And then they're holding on toperfectionism and then it just
makes them increasinglydisappointed and ultimately
resentful.
So I would throw resentment inthere for sure.

SPEAKER_01 (39:26):
No I love that one and again you know that you know
the list could go on and on youknow uh you know but when you
said resentment it kind of kindof smiled because it made me
think uh when I was uh going toschool for um uh to get to get
my degree in uh my master'sdegree I failed my um my
research class and of course inmaster's in program you cannot

(39:47):
fail anything right you can'tmake anything below a C and I uh
failed my class and um it wasvery hard that that was that was
a very hard pill to swallowbecause of course the the vision
that I had for myself right andand for you know the way that
everything was going to work outand of course I was you know on
on Facebook at the time um umand um I was seeing people post

(40:12):
you know their graduation peoplethat I would gone to school with
uh people that I was ininternships with that they had
they actually got the job at theinternship that I you know it's
like I I started I startedresent I I I had to get off of
social media because I startedlike really like that was
supposed to be me like no thatwasn't supposed to be you you

(40:32):
know like I was I that thatresentment I could tell it
started setting in and I waslike what am I doing?
Like I'm hating on these peoplethat that that that are you know
that are are are where I want tobe but they didn't do anything
wrong you know uh so I had toreally check myself and I I
actually had to get off socialmedia for a while because I if I
didn't you know it would just itwould have just festered and

(40:52):
festered yeah yeah and I waslike matter of fact that was the
first time I actually did like auh a a 5k or 8k I started doing
these things it was like I haveto get out like I cannot sit
behind this computer like whatare you doing?

SPEAKER_05 (41:05):
Oh you got the job you know I was like I can't do
that that cannot be me so yeahright well good for you for
turning that around and forrecognizing I mean sometimes it
is like basic also another goodline is like comparison is the
thief of joy.
And I find when I start tocompare myself to other people
it's not that I'm jealous.
It's I have an unmet need orthere's something there that I

(41:26):
want that I'm not acknowledgingthat I want and need.
And so for me it's not reallyabout jealousy or envy.
It's like I'm I'm there'ssomething I am lacking that I
haven't taken the steps tobecome aware of and do something
about it.
And there's just no sense incomparing yourself to others
because their journey iscompletely different than yours.
You have no clue what they'vegone through to get where they
got to it might look easy butthat doesn't mean it was easy.

SPEAKER_01 (41:48):
It doesn't mean it was yeah that's true.

SPEAKER_05 (41:51):
100% all right so for women who are just starting
to recognize they might beheaded towards burnout what is
one thing that they should dofirst um I guess I would say be
aware of what it is.

SPEAKER_01 (42:10):
It's almost like what you were just saying what
what what what have you done?
Are you actually comparingyourself you know what is it you
know is it's are there lessonsthat you have ignored in the
past that you need to actuallyget over those little humps in
order to achieve whatever goalit is um are you are you in a

(42:34):
situation where you couldpossibly stay in the field that
you're in but just be go inanother area and I I I told
someone that's what what I loveabout social the degree having a
degree in social work.
You can work with any number ofpeople any you know number of
agencies um talk to someonewhether it's someone

(42:55):
professionally or um you know aclose friend family member
something like that.
And then of course just figureout if there's what you can
actually do about it becauseearly stages of burnout people
can um take the steps to fixthat burnout and I mean to fix
the burnout isn't even thereally uh what uh the proper

(43:17):
thing to say but you know it canactually be prevented but uh so
if it's early or early on in thestage yeah talk to someone talk
to if if if it's someone that isuh you're you're actually
working for yourself take thetime off that you need hire
other people to to to actdelegate some work because
sometimes you may just be takingon too much um and take a look

(43:41):
at the goals that you havewritten down because sometimes
you you you may need to readjustthem you know um not not
necessarily saying that theycan't can't be met but maybe
change change the timeline thatyou're actually because
sometimes we can put so muchpressure on ourselves and
because we're not finished bythis particular date and it's
like Yeah.
And we just give up.

SPEAKER_05 (44:01):
We're like, I didn't mean to get line, so I'm just
never going to happen.

SPEAKER_01 (44:04):
Right.
It's your journey.
So you can take the time.
Right.
You know, yeah.
You can take the time that youthat you actually need.
Uh so yeah, sometimes we it it'sjust simply taking pressure off
of ourselves.
So it's so many differentthings.
But yeah, those are a couple ofthings that I would actually say
that that someone can do if theyfeel like they're uh, you know,
that burnout is on the horizon,you know?

SPEAKER_05 (44:23):
Yeah.
Well, and to me, I just think Irealized I had this little bit
of an epiphany while you werespeaking too.
It's like uh burnout.
The call is coming from insidethe house.
We always think it's all theexternal factors, right?
We always think it's everythingelse in the world that's burning
us out.
But we have to look inward andsay, why am I not saying no

(44:47):
more?
What is it?
Like, is it my people pleasingtendencies?
Is it like my childhoodhardwiring?
Like, there's something deepergoing on.
And if you don't get to thesource of that, nothing on the
surface is going to change.
And your body is the oneresponding and reacting, and you
think it's all just because ofthe external factors, but it is
literally coming from inside thehouse.

SPEAKER_01 (45:07):
I love that.
That is so good.
You know, um, I I remember, Idon't know, maybe the first year
or two in voiceover, I wasconstantly like getting going
into this workshop and thisworkshop and that workshop, just
collecting information, justcollecting information.
Yeah.
But then I was looking at allthese people that were, and

(45:30):
that's when I said I was tryingto attain a particular, you
know, um uh any accolades, butit's like, why are what are
these people that are constantlyand consistently booking?
You hear them everywhere.
You're always they're alwaysbooking.
What are they doing?
So I talked to some of thesepeople, reached out, like, how
are you able to do thisconsistently across multiple

(45:51):
genres?
And what I realized isconsistency.
Consistency played a huge rolein the person that they were
working with or their technique,you know, um, not trying to
change it.
Then what I realized, all theseworkshops that I was signing up
for, I was getting all thisinformation from different

(46:12):
people, but I wasn't necessarilyusing the information that I was
getting that I actually hadright in front of me.
So once I actually kind ofcollected all this, figured out
what was working and what wasn'tworking, it's like, okay.

SPEAKER_02 (46:23):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (46:24):
Then that consistency started, you know,
happening for me.
And it's the same way it is inyour business, in your work.
You know, kind of dial in, but II love that uh the call is
coming from in the yeah, it'sit's all up here, right?

SPEAKER_05 (46:38):
Yeah, yeah, it is, it is.
I love that.
And yeah, you're right,consistency is so key through
all of it.
Showing up is such a big part ofit.
Um, and like you said, takingwhat you've learned and and
figuring out how to apply it.
And it's not like a wholeoverhaul.
It's like, what is one smallthing?
What's one little thing I canchange?
Like, even if today from thiswhole conversation, the thing is
you just remembering to check insomatically once a day, twice a

(46:59):
day, to just be like, what am Iholding tight?
Like that's such a good start.
And that's sometimes all youneed to get rolling because then
it's gonna build.
All right, looking at the yearahead, what do you want women,
um, professional womenspecifically, uh, to know about
protecting their mental healthwhile still showing up uh
powerfully in their work?

SPEAKER_01 (47:22):
I I would have to say don't don't wait until you
know it's you know, the all thisbuildup is happening.
Um pay attention to those littlethings.
Um don't don't just talk them upto oh I I had a stressful client
because yes, that it's not takenaway, yes, you had a stressful
client, you were audited, youknow, that's stressful, no

(47:43):
matter what it is, but payattention to those things and do
something about them.
Deal with them in the and when Isay deal with them, not
necessarily because it's gonnatake a while to deal with that
audit, right?
Yeah, but deal with how you'rehow you're handling the stress
of it all.
Deal with how you're respondingto it throughout, and that's why

(48:03):
consistency and intention, youhave to be intentional every
single day about your thoughts,about your movements, all of
that, you know.
So building resistancethroughout the same, uh, you
know, it's the same way someonebuilt you you built your career.
The same way you built yourcareer, you had goals, you you
had timelines, you know, you youit was broken down and and it

(48:26):
was steps that you had to take.
They were very intentional, andthey were very you were very
consistent in doing so.
It's the same way that you haveto do when it comes to your
mental mental health, mentalwellness, and mental resilience
over time, but it is intention.
Yes, intentional with those.
So, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 (48:43):
I love that.
The intentionality, I thinkthat's I think that's such a
good sign of like strong mentalhealth and self-awareness is
that intentionality because youare moving from reacting to
responding, right?
Like I don't react to that emailfrom the client.
I will carefully, intentionallytake time, step away, go
outside, listen to the birds,right?

(49:04):
Come back in and maybe processwith a friend, maybe talk to a
coworker about it.
And then when I'm in a goodheadspace within 24 hours, then
I'll respond.
You know what I mean?
That that's different thanreacting.
Um, not to say that we can't orcouldn't react, but like as the
response to your reaction.

SPEAKER_01 (49:21):
Absolutely.
And and that's the thing, youknow, uh telling again, uh
having that space and that timejust to pause and like, you know
what?
I I don't have to respond rightnow because a lot of times it's
that's what we do.
Even for example, inauditioning, it's like, oh, we
got this, I got this audition, Igotta ask.
Like, yeah, no, we can take aminute.

(49:43):
Take a minute to read thescript.
Make sure that you understandexactly what it's saying.
Because the more that youunderstand the intention behind
the words, you'll be able todeliver that intention
authentically.
It's the same way it is showingup for yourself in your business
and in your work.
Um, and and again, I of coursewe're talking talking to uh
business women, uh lead peoplein leadership, but this is even

(50:06):
in your everyday life.

SPEAKER_04 (50:07):
Yes.

SPEAKER_01 (50:08):
You know, if you feel like you're you're you're
you're kind of snapping at thekid, snapping at the spouse,
kind of, you know what, I justneed a reset.
I you know I and communicate,you know, communicate with
people, you know, in your lifeto let them know, you know what,
I had a rough day today.
You know, um I I think all ofthose different things, um,
because that's all about oursetting boundaries as well, you

(50:29):
know.

SPEAKER_05 (50:31):
Love it.
This has been such a goodconversation.
I'm not surprised, Mary.
I'm so glad that we've had this.
I think it's just such a deeperdive on understanding the ways
in which burnout can show up andhow simple it can be through
just simple awareness as abeginning point to start to
build and grow from that.
But even talking about, youknow, burnout showing up as

(50:51):
guilt or resentment, like Idon't think these are words that
we've used in all the burnoutconversations we've had over the
last, I don't know, six years onthe podcast.
So it's fantastic.
All right.
Well, I'm gonna move into ourpower round questions as we wrap
things up.
So these are kind of fun rapidfire questions.
All right.
So um for the power round,wanted to get your thoughts on a
couple of quick rapid firequestions.

(51:13):
This one, you've mentionedgardening and watching the
birds.
So I'm gonna push you to give usmaybe one more.
What's your go-to groundingtechnique when stress hits?

SPEAKER_01 (51:24):
Um I would say like just movement.
Like usually I'll just dancearound and be silly.
Like and I think it's because uhconversation that we were having
before we came on, just nottaking myself so serious.
It's like, you know what, it'snot that important.
It's you know, just kind ofshake it off type of thing.
So yeah.

SPEAKER_05 (51:43):
Yeah.
In the last year, I've had a lotof life changes and I've learned
and have learned to embrace somuch more about somatic work and
you just getting up and movinglike that, we don't realize how
much emotion we hold in ourbodies throughout the day.
And I think when we are kind ofalways rigid, always sitting,
always like standing kind of ina certain way and having to be
professional, which I get likeit's hard because our bodies

(52:04):
like inside, we're still kind ofagain, call coming from inside
the house, it's screaming.
So I think getting up and andgetting your boogie on, that's a
great tip.
I love it.
Or just taking a walk, going fora run.
What is one boundary that you'vehad to set more than once
because it keeps trying to slipaway?

SPEAKER_01 (52:24):
Um the example that I gave earlier, just trying to
try to feel like I have to do itall.
Um you know, of course, early inmy career, of course, you know,
because I have such a heart ofgiving and serving others, you
know, I felt like if if Ididn't, you know, help this
client in the moment or Ididn't, you know, my coworker
needed some help, whatever itis, just saying yes, but I
realized that I was pulled inevery direction and overwhelmed

(52:48):
myself.
But I also saw that in myvoiceover career, like I said
earlier, you know, probably twoyears into my voiceover career,
I realized I was just I wasdoing a lot.
I was just doing everyeverything that was being
offered, I was signing up forit.
And it was like, this isn'tserving me anymore.
I I I don't know that it everwas, you know, probably early on

(53:11):
it was, but it's like just takethe time to slow down and and
and do nothing.
Take in what you actually havein front of you.
So uh definitely that is a thatis a boundary that I have to
constantly remind myself of andbe intentional with, you know,
like making sure, are you takingon too much?
No, right?
Okay, make sure I don't I I Ilike for example, I don't I I

(53:31):
try to make sure that I don'thave too many, like more than
three things a week to do.
Because again, when I have somuch to too much to do, I
realize how overwhelmed I canget, you know, very easily.

SPEAKER_05 (53:41):
So because life's gonna throw some things in there
too, right?
There's always something that'sgonna go sideways.
So if you overbook yourself andthen something else comes
plowing in out like the ninthinning, not ready for that to
appear, you're gonna, you'regonna spiral out for sure.
Um, there was something else Iwas gonna say before that, too,
while you were speaking, um, butno, I don't remember what it
was, so that's okay.
Um, I know what it was.

(54:03):
It was uh that whole like alwaystaking on more and more and
more.
And I think a lot of that has todo with our like a lot of
people's core belief that myproductivity is my worth.
Like my ability to do is whatmakes me valuable as a human.
That was a big lightning strikemoment for me where it was like,
if I'm not showing up andhelping and doing for others,

(54:24):
who am I?
What am I doing here?
And I that's uh that's somethingyou have to sit with and figure
out.
Um that's therapy right therethough, but that's not for rapid
fire.
All right, what is somethingthat you thought you had to do
for your career that you'vesince realized that you don't?

SPEAKER_03 (54:49):
Something that I thought that I needed in my
career.

SPEAKER_01 (54:54):
I don't know.
I guess I would say um Yeah, I Iguess you know, realizing that
my and this is supposed to berapid fire.
Um not so rapid, but you know, II think it's I think it's um

(55:17):
that it didn't social work wasso important, I thought that
that's that was gonna be the theend all be all, right?
Like that that was it.
You know, and just realizingthat it it it one thing it it
can be more than one thing.
I I didn't have to have all ofthese different experiences.
Um being in the military, yeah,being a social worker, actually,

(55:39):
even going through you know thethe uh substance abuse and and
mental illness, all of thosedifferent things created all of
what is here with the pressureproof your life, you know.
So just really taking taking onand appreciating everything that
happens in life professionallyand personally, because it all
are building blocks, you know?

(55:59):
Yep.
So I I guess that's what I wouldsay.

SPEAKER_05 (56:01):
Yeah, I love it.
That's great advice.
That's so true.
All right.
I want to know next how canpeople find you, learn more
about you, listen to the workthat you're doing, share the
work you're doing, all that goodstuff.

SPEAKER_01 (56:13):
Yeah, thank you.
Um I can be reached at info atdepression dash prooflife uh.com
uh or as well as my uh websiteis depressionproofyourlife.com.
And I'm also on my podcast, isactually on Spotify and uh
Apple's podcast.
And of course, if someone wantedto reach out to me for a

(56:34):
voiceover, I can be reached atuh Marion at Marion Mills Voice
dot com.
And my voice my website isMarion Mills Voice.com.
But yes, it's such an honor tobe on the show, you know, to
talk about mental health and youknow, just to kind of dive in
and support women, really,really is.

SPEAKER_05 (56:51):
Yeah, and we appreciate you for sharing your
story, your vulnerability, yourwisdom.
All of that's been sohard-earned, and I love that
you're willing to take that andgive it to others.
It's such a gift, it's sowonderful.
Um, so if you're ready to buildyour resilience, your energy,
learn more about depressionproof method, you can definitely
check out her website.
We'll include all of thosethings in the show notes that
she just shared with us.

(57:12):
And remember, Together Digitalis here for you as well.
You've got your community,you've got over 500 women that
are always have your back.
Um, we've got our communitySlack, we've got our peer
groups, which applications areopen for until tomorrow.
So, members, if you'relistening, make sure that you
apply for your dedicated peergroup, your own personal board
of directors that are going tosee you through all things
digital in life and become yournew professional soulmates.

(57:34):
That's such a great memberbenefit and feature.
If you're not in a peer groupyet, I highly recommend it.
Um, we are all about sharing ourknowledge, power, and
connections.
And so, Marion, we are sograteful that you came and did
that with us today.
Thanks for sharing your power.
Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 (57:46):
Really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_05 (57:47):
Of course.
All right, everyone.
That's all we've got for now.
We will see you again soon.
Until then, keep asking, keepgiving, and keep growing.

SPEAKER_02 (58:03):
Produced by Heartcast Media.