Peace & Prosperity Podcast

Tired of Being Tired? The Burnout Solution You Need - Episode #88

• Jason Phillips

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The Peace & Prosperity Podcast is a bi-weekly conversation with Jason Phillips, LCSW, licensed therapist and confidence expert in Raleigh, NC, discussing all things related to self-love and self-confidence, and how we can improve ourselves personally and professionally. 

Ever said “I’m fine” when you were actually falling apart? That was Jason—managing a clinic and completely burned out without realizing it.

Burnout isn’t just stress—it’s ongoing exhaustion that drains your energy, motivation, and joy. It’s fueled by habits like perfectionism, people-pleasing, and trying to do it all alone.

The good news? Recovery starts with one small change. You don’t need a total life overhaul—just a simple, intentional step in the right direction.

In this episode, Jason shares how to spot burnout early and build sustainable self-care that actually works. Listen now and start your path to peace and prosperity.

To stay connected with Jason and learn about coaching, connect with Jason on social media:
 
 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jphillipsmsw/
 
 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/jphillipsmsw
 
 Visit Jason's website for a consultation:
 
 Website -https://www.jasonlphillips.com
 
 To book Jason to speak to your team or organization:
 
 https://peaceprosperitycoaching.hbportal.co/public/660d8068c9d2d600253b215b/1-Inquiry

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Speaker 1:

Well, this is the answer. This is the solution. Sometimes we know we're tired, we know we're stressed, we know we're irritable, we know we're not being a good person to ourselves, but we don't know exactly what we need and what to do about it. So those are some of the reasons why, when you're taking care of yourself, it does help for so many different reasons. It does help for so many different reasons you can pour into yourself All right. So now we're talking about what is burnout, and I'll say this one thing about burnout like myself, I didn't even realize I was burned out, like when I was in management running the clinic. It wasn't until somebody asked me hey, mr Phillips, you good, everything all right. What do you think I said? Of course, I said yes because I was not understanding what I was going through. I didn't realize I was looking tired, I was fatigued, I think just something about me seemed off. Now they recognized it. But the first couple of times people asked me, now they recognized it, but the first couple of times people asked me, I said no, I'm good, and I legitimately thought I was good. So that's why we're going to talk about how do we define burnout. What is it? What are the signs, what does it look like? And then what are the causes of burnout? And then we'll get into some of the self-care tools to know how to manage it.

Speaker 1:

Now the thing about it we want to look at the differences between being burned out and being stressed out. Do y'all know what the difference is? Because being burned out is different. So when you look at the difference between burnout and stress one, the stress can be situational, meaning it's something that doesn't last forever. It's short term. Maybe you're dealing with some deadlines or some external pressures, you're putting some expectations on you. For that moment You're still overwhelmed, you may still be irritable, but it doesn't last forever. When you are in burnout, it's going to be a state of emotional. When you are in burnout, it's going to be a state of emotional, physical, mental fatigue and it's going to last longer and the feelings are going to be much more intense.

Speaker 1:

With burnout, you may find yourself really just dreading going into work, feeling unproductive, feeling like man, I can't get anything done. So some of the differences are going to be in the intensity and the duration, like how, how bad does it feel and how long does it last? All right, now let's define what burnout looks like. How do I know? Again, one you're going to be exhausted, like you're like man, I am whooped. And this isn't just a tire where again you can take that weekend off or you can take a couple of days and take a little trip. No, I'm talking about you need a long break because the fatigue is really starting to set in. Also, you're going to find yourself being real cynical. You're that negative Nancy, that Debbie Downer, you're not your normal upbeat, you know chipper self. And then, lastly, you're going to feel like you are very inefficient, like why can't I get anything done? You may say things like oh, my house is a mess, or my to-do list is so long, or I used to be able to multitask all of these things. Now, just the slightest thing on my list, it starts to stress me out and you feel like I don't even know where to start. That's where it's more than just stress. You're talking about that chronic exhaustion again, the inefficiency, and you just need a break because now you're being pessimistic. So now we talked about what burnout is.

Speaker 1:

Let's talk about why self-care is important. It's something that, believe it or not, if you're taking care of yourself, it can prevent you from being burned out. One self-care. When you're pouring into you, you're going to have healthy boundaries. You're going to avoid or be able to manage those unhealthy work environments.

Speaker 1:

Sometimes we can't just pick up our job and move like we want to, or sometimes we can't just say you know what, you're fired and we get a whole new boss. I wish it worked that way, but oftentimes it doesn't. Well, what we can do is we can learn to advocate for ourself. We can learn to speak up and be more assertive and not so passive. We can learn to assess what do I need? Those are some questions that you want to be asking yourself on a consistent basis, because once you know what you need, then you can know oh well, this is the answer, this is the solution. Sometimes we know we're tired, we know we're stressed, we know we're irritable, we know we're not being a good person to ourselves, but we don't know exactly what we need and what to do about it. So those are some of the reasons why, when you take care of yourself, it does help for so many different reasons. You can pour into yourself.

Speaker 1:

Now we talked about what burnout is, what it looks like, what are the causes of burnout, why does it happen? One too much workload, there's unrealistic demands on our plate, we have so much to do with, not enough manpower, not enough time, or the deadlines are just too short, and sometimes you don't have any control over that. Another reason you're burned out, though, is because you've said yes too much, you've overcommitted. You know how it is when you get that promotion or you get the new position and you start saying yes to everything. Yep, sign me up for this, sign me up for this committee. Oh, I can help out on that project. Have you really looked at what you already have going on, not just at work, but in your personal life too? Do you have capacity to do all of the things? Because that's what you're signing up for?

Speaker 1:

And then, another reason why we ended up being burned out is because we feel like I have to do it all, I have to be perfect, we have the expert role, or we have that do it all yourself mentality, and we bring that from the old workplace into the new workplace. As much as we want to point the finger and say this is the reason or it's my boss's fault, the onus can still fall on us too, so we can't avoid accountability for causing our own burnout and you're like, wow, you know what? I think you're a little bit stressed because I'm getting the vibe that you don't like this client, or I'm getting a vibe that you're not able to show up. Just on how you're talking about it, you might find yourself dreading.

Speaker 1:

Going into work, you will find yourself being super tired, overly fatigued, and you're getting good rest, but you're still waking up feeling exhausted. Or when you do go to sleep, you're tossing and turning. Either your mind won't shut off or, when you wake up again, you don't feel like you got any sleep. And then there are the behavioral signs as well. So when you're burned again, you don't feel like you got any sleep, and then there are the behavioral signs as well. So you, when you're burned out, you sometimes feel like I can't take a day off, so you continue to show up when you don't need to. Yeah, I had a colleague one time. She showed up to work super sick and what did she do? She got other people in the office sick, when what she should have done was say you know what, let me take some time for myself, let me take care of me so that I can show up as a better version and a healthier version for the people that I'm working with.

Speaker 1:

And then there's cognitive science too. Now, what does that look like? You're forgetful, you're overthinking things and it's hard for you to concentrate. It's like the slightest thing that requires any mental energy. You feel like, oh my gosh, here we go again. Am I going to get through this? Like you're just off feeling a little nervous and ultimately you're not feeling like yourself. Now, what can you do about it? We talked about assessing what you need, but one of the main things that I want you to do for burnout is execute on the things that you know you should do.

Speaker 1:

What happens is we tend to wait. We wait until the perfect time. We get into this analysis, paralysis, we start to overthink okay, I'm going to start my routine on the first of the month or at the top of the week or the top of the year. This is what I'm going to start my routine on the first of the month or at the top of the week or the top of the year. This is what I'm going to get into it. Or if we're going to the gym, it's like well, what do I wear? What do I work out on? What body part do I hit? Do I do cardio? Do I do weights first?

Speaker 1:

And you become so exhausted by all of these questions that you're like you know what, by all of these questions that you're like you know what, I'm not ready. You stress yourself out even before you start the process of healing from the burnout. If this is you, you're not alone, but this is why we have to talk about it, so we can work through it and not use this as other excuses for us not to heal. This is what I would suggest. If you are like okay, jason, you are definitely talking to me on this. I want you to start small. What is one thing not a zillion, not five, not 10, not even three? What is the one thing that you can take action on that can better your personal life or better your work situation? What is the one relationship where you can set a clear boundary on that's going to help you long term? What is the one thing at work that you can delegate to someone else or that you cannot commit to because you already have a lot of things on your project list that's not overcomplicated. I actually want you to simplify it so that you can feel better about yourself and, overall, just be a healthier version of you too. All right, thank y'all. Peace.

Speaker 1:

Thank you all for listening to another episode of the Peace and Prosperity podcast. Again, if you are feeling like, hey, I'm experiencing high functioning anxiety, don't beat yourself up about it. It is okay. We all experience anxiety from time to time and I gave you a couple of things that you can do on your own, but don't hesitate to reach out to a professional to better manage what you're going through. Okay, and lastly, make sure, if you have not like share, subscribe to the podcast and send this out to a friend. And if you want to hear certain episodes or have certain conversations, let me know. You can shoot me a DM or just leave a review and I will definitely follow up. All right, y'all be blessed, peace.