Fighting Burnout Using Nobu with Allison Walsh & Dr. Angela Phillips

Memorable Moments:

• 4:21 Being a leader, you learn so many things, but nobody prepared any leader for leading through COVID and leading through a pandemic.
• 4:31 There was just so much that I put on my shoulders because I wanted to, right? I wanted to help my team, I wanted to help the company, I wanted to help all the people that we serve. But what I wasn’t noticing is that as I was slowly or quickly putting on more responsibility, or just trying to get us through, I was chipping away or neglecting some of the things I needed to do for myself to keep myself in an optimal well being status or really taking care of myself.
• 5:08 I’ve been in the mental health industry for like 20 years, literally. And I was even struggling to recognize some of the warning signs, because they had never presented themselves the way that they were at that point.
• 6:03  I reached out for help immediately when I really recognized like, this isn’t good. But it took me, that was probably a year of building or nine months, and really like building and building and building and building and I wasn’t realizing it.
• 6:23 I also realized that there was a deeper situation and something that needed to be addressed. And that was just where I’m at, in this stage and phase of my life and, things needed to look different and feel different. And I needed to show up differently in order to be the best mom and wife and boss and colleague and everything else that I could possibly be. And ultimately, that meant that I needed to have some really brave conversations. 
• 6:50 I had been advised on so many different occasions, well, if you’re feeling this way or you’re not doing well, maybe you should just quit, maybe this is time for you to start something different, right? Like, from professionals in this space saying this. You know, oftentimes, some people need to do that when they’re struggling with burnout. But I was not subscribing to that. I love it here, I’m not ready to move on.
• 7:49 And the farther I get away from that really brave conversation, the more grateful I still become, because, you know, it could have been different, but it wasn’t. And now I’m happier, they’re happier. I feel like I can show up as my full self again. I’ve continued to heal from burnout, I’ve continued to do the work I needed to do and really be mindful of prioritizing myself first, because I can’t pour into the cups of anybody else if I’m not taking care of myself first.
• 8:28 You know, it wasn’t my first battle with burnout, but it was the first battle that looked like this. And I think that’s the other thing to recognize is it’s not always going to show up the same way every time.
• 11:42 Because if you’re listening to this, and you think it doesn’t impact you from that systemic or organizational piece, you’re wrong. If you are in the workforce, you know someone who’s in the workforce, you plan to become someone in the workforce…all of this impacts us and how how we carry and sort of interpret the weight of and burden of potentially what burnout could look like for us.
• 12:13 I found myself in a position where I was not really seeing it. I was kind of blinded to that, and I was just crunching through everything. And then finally had to really take a step back and say, if I want my future to look like x, I cannot continue to do y. It’s not going to happen. And like what really are my goals here? Is this the environment? I want to continue in? Why? And so it’s asking all of those questions. 
• 13:13 I’m so glad that we’re talking about this again, just so that we can have these conversations and really make folks more aware and support one another. Because this isn’t anything to be ashamed of. We’re not weaker because we need to have a personal life or because we can’t, you know? Everyone has a limit, every individual, every team, every organization.
• 15:46 There wasn’t just like, one thing, right? It was a lot of different things. It was a lot of different things at different times that helped me. And, you know, ultimately, I had to trust that everything was going to work out too, on the job front side of it, and be okay with things looking different. 
• 16:06  I knew I couldn’t sustain at the pace that I was on, and I couldn’t continue to take on more. And so being able to really define what was a healthy life gonna look like for me? And what could it look like and still accomplish the goals that we have, and you know, personally and professionally, was really important too. And really being honest and clear about what I can and can’t handle.
• 16:47 I had to learn about which are the right yeses, right? And putting up some boundaries for myself and protecting my time and energy and not just saying yes to say yes, but saying yes to make a huge impact, when it’s the right time to be able to do so. 
• 20:06 We know people are expecting more support, they’re expecting that their employer is going to support their employees, whether it’s offering mental health days or just being aware of what’s actually contributing towards burnout, and how they can support their employees through whatever it is, EAP other support systems. 
• 23:33 I love the fact that employers are starting to pay attention to this in a more significant way. There’s always been, you know, the ones that are leading the pack, but now people are realizing, “wow, I have good people. I don’t want to lose them because we’re not doing what we need to do to take care of them.” And I think there’s just so many more businesses that are finally prioritizing mental wellness.
• 30:57 I think that we have to prioritize our children’s mental health just as much as we’re prioritizing everybody else’s. Because this pandemic impacted us all in so many ways the last couple of years, but I think it’s we’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg when it comes to, you know, what has it really done to our kids? What is it done to us emotionally and mentally and so I’m very concerned about making sure that they’re okay, making sure that I’m okay. And that I’m able to show up for them as the best possible mom that I can be. 

Dear Mind, You Matter is brought to you by NOBU, a new mental health and wellness app. To download NOBU, visit the app store or Google Play. 

This podcast is hosted by Allison Walsh and Dr. Angela Phillips. It is produced by Allison Walsh, Ashley Tate, and Nicole LaNeve. For more information or if you’re interested in being a guest on this podcast, please visit www.therecoveryvillage.com/dearmindyoumatter.