Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] Speaker A: Welcome to youo Odyssey Podcast where your guides, Tara and Karen invite you on a transformative journey toward wholeness and personal growth.
Each week we'll discuss topics related to the human experience and offer insights to help you along the way.
Please note, this podcast should not replace medical care or advice. We are not licensed healthcare professionals or mental health therapists.
If you enjoy if you enjoyed today's episode, subscribe so you don't miss out on our future discussions.
So, explorers, let's dive into today's episode.
[00:00:53] Speaker B: Hey explorers, it's Tara. Karen and I are so glad you pressed play.
Quick check in. How's your body feeling today?
Not your to do list, not your mind racing, but your actual body.
[00:01:09] Speaker C: Remember that.
[00:01:11] Speaker B: Do you feel tension in your shoulders?
A heaviness in your chest?
That nagging headache you've been ignoring?
Hey, that's your body trying to talk to you. In today's episode.
We're talking about listening to it.
[00:01:28] Speaker C: Is your gut saying something right now? Is your pulse racing a little bit?
Are you getting a little anxious about the idea of exploring what we're talking about? Then this episode is for you.
[00:01:41] Speaker B: Today we're talking about the quiet burnout. The kind that doesn't crash in like wildfire, but sneaks in like a slow leak. It shows up when your body starts saying no long before your mouth does.
It looks like constant fatigue, irritability at the smallest things and that flat, numb feeling you can't shake. But because you're used to pushing through, you keep going until eventually your body decides for you and you're forced to stop.
[00:02:15] Speaker C: It's so interesting how our body's like, knock, knock, knock, tap, tap, tap. Excuse me. And then we're like, nope, gonna keep going. So like bang, bang, bang. And then all of a sudden it's like, boom. We are shut down. No electricity in the house. Nothing.
Lay down.
[00:02:30] Speaker B: All I saw was like a football tackle. Everybody was like, you're going down.
[00:02:33] Speaker C: I tried, tried to leave. I tried to tell you. I tried to point it out.
You're a little hard headed. Listen, I'm talking to myself right now.
[00:02:42] Speaker B: As we look in the mirror.
[00:02:44] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:02:45] Speaker B: Burnout isn't always loud. Sometimes it whispers.
Mmm.
Both of us. It looks like snapping over something tiny because you've got nothing left in the tank.
[00:03:01] Speaker C: Yeah, and, and, and, oh man.
[00:03:03] Speaker B: I mean, please.
[00:03:05] Speaker C: All day. Sometimes it takes me a while to figure out. After I snap like three, four times, I'm like, oh, okay. There's that little nagging feeling in your body though. You need something.
[00:03:16] Speaker B: It looks like sleeping all night but still waking up exhausted.
[00:03:21] Speaker C: That's the worst.
[00:03:23] Speaker B: I got 12 hours of sleep.
[00:03:26] Speaker C: Meanwhile, your body's like, Yep, we need 47, we need 12, we need 35 more.
That's how depleted you are.
[00:03:35] Speaker B: It looks like scrolling or snacking. Not out of joy, but to numb out.
[00:03:42] Speaker C: Guilty at times.
[00:03:44] Speaker D: Yep.
[00:03:46] Speaker C: Yeah, I've done both of those for sure.
[00:03:48] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[00:03:49] Speaker C: I mean, we all have, I think. But let's be honest, we all do.
[00:03:52] Speaker B: My relationship with social media was not the healthiest.
Hilarious.
It looks like not caring about things you usually love because you just don't have the capacity.
[00:04:04] Speaker C: Like, you don't have it if you don't have it in you for the things that you love. Like, what are we doing? What am I doing?
[00:04:12] Speaker B: And here's the kicker. When this happens, many of us start labeling ourselves as lazy or weak.
[00:04:21] Speaker C: Oh, we go right to the judgy.
[00:04:22] Speaker D: Judgy.
[00:04:23] Speaker B: Yes, we go right to judgy. The truth is, you are not lazy. You are overextended.
[00:04:30] Speaker C: I am going to start using that word in my vocabulary every day. It's not you, it's me. I'm overextended.
No, thank you. I'm overextended. I'd love to, but I'm over overextended.
[00:04:43] Speaker B: Quiet burnout. Is your body waving the red flag while your mind is still trying to say, I've got this.
[00:04:49] Speaker C: I just got four more things to do. And then you can sit down. Then you can get some sleep.
Load the mind. Tricky things.
[00:04:59] Speaker B: So tricky. So why do we get here?
Many of us have been taught that productivity is worthiness.
We measure ourselves by how much we can carry, how much we can produce, how much we can check off the list, y'.
[00:05:15] Speaker C: All. I love a good list. We all do. I do too. My neurospicy is like, give me a list. Give me a deadline.
[00:05:22] Speaker D: Also.
[00:05:24] Speaker C: Simmer down.
Maybe only do three, not ten.
[00:05:28] Speaker B: Right?
We live in a culture that celebrates hustle and punishes rest, that applauds the late nights, the skip meals, the always on mentality.
[00:05:39] Speaker C: As if that is actually admirable.
And yet.
[00:05:44] Speaker B: And yet.
[00:05:45] Speaker C: Hmm.
[00:05:45] Speaker B: There have been plenty of times that burnout has shown up in my body before I wanted to admit it.
The weird, random migraines. I'm like, this is it. This is how I'm going. I could definitely.
[00:05:58] Speaker D: This is.
[00:05:58] Speaker B: This is it. This is how it happens.
[00:06:00] Speaker C: And your body's like, I'm just settled. I'm not. I just want you to slow down, woman. Slow down. My Love.
[00:06:07] Speaker B: Or the weird, random aches in your neck or your shoulder that you like. I pop a Tylenol, but it's still here.
[00:06:15] Speaker C: Yeah. Your body's like, no thank you to pain medication. That's not what we're about. I'm trying to tell you something else.
Please listen.
[00:06:23] Speaker B: Yeah, the forced naps. But I have gotten better about listening to my body when it's like, we have reached our limit. You could choose to do what you've been doing, which is push through and crash later, or you can listen to me now and take that nap. You eat the snack.
[00:06:44] Speaker C: Like, do the small thing.
[00:06:46] Speaker B: Yesterday, I had breakfast, and then a little bit later, I had a snack of white cheddar pop chips and apple. And then I was like, let me see if I can click. Oh, no. It's time. It's nap time.
[00:06:56] Speaker C: It's nap time.
[00:06:58] Speaker B: And now it is nap time.
[00:07:00] Speaker D: Ding, ding.
[00:07:00] Speaker C: A little bell rang. You're like, I'm gonna pull out my little mat and my little blankie and my favorite stuffy.
[00:07:08] Speaker B: It was great.
[00:07:09] Speaker C: Oh, it's so good. Yeah. Nap. It's so great. I want to be part of a culture, right? The siesta culture that says, like, when your body's. Like, now would be good to lay down, to be horizontal and close your eyes. You just do it like you're not gonna miss anything. Take the nap. We're all napping. It's nap time for everyone.
[00:07:30] Speaker B: We'll go into the wee hours. But right now. Yeah, we all taking a nap.
And pause.
[00:07:35] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:07:36] Speaker B: Burnout doesn't start in your calendar. It starts in your body. And when we ignore the whispers, eventually the whispers turn into shouts.
[00:07:45] Speaker C: Our bodies are really intelligent. Our bodies are responding to the energy factors. Our bodies are ahead of the curve. Our brain is the one that has to catch up. So, like, the body is energy.
So it knows before you know. You know what I mean? On that cerebral level, for sure.
Pay attention.
I'm saying this to me and Tara.
[00:08:09] Speaker B: Yes, we are saying this to ourselves. So how do we begin to listen? Listen and respond to our bodies.
Three steps.
[00:08:18] Speaker C: We love the three.
[00:08:20] Speaker B: First, trio trace.
[00:08:21] Speaker C: Three.
[00:08:22] Speaker B: Notice tension, fatigue, irritability. These aren't signs of weakness. They're signals that our bodies are asking for care.
[00:08:31] Speaker D: Those.
[00:08:32] Speaker C: It's so funny. I feel like in the workplace, in a real push work culture, those things are so prevalent, and people think that's how you operate.
[00:08:42] Speaker A: No.
[00:08:43] Speaker C: It's been trying to tell you something for a long time.
[00:08:46] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:08:46] Speaker C: So interesting.
[00:08:48] Speaker B: Second, choose real rest. Not just numbing there's nothing wrong with a Netflix binge or a scroll session, but true rest looks like sleep, quiet, joy, laughter, creativity. The things that refill, not just distract us.
[00:09:07] Speaker C: Yes, a refill, not a distraction. I love that.
[00:09:11] Speaker B: And third, practice saying no before your body does it for you. The truth is, if you don't set your limits, your body will absolutely do it for you. And that's not failure, y'. All. It's biology.
[00:09:26] Speaker C: It's not failure, it's biology. It's really interesting how we had that deadline that we were meeting with the course and working up to that.
I was like, oh, I just can't wait for that day and I'm going to start having fun on that day. And then I. I know, I know, I hear it. And then I were like, no, actually the fun should be like, you should be doing all of those things all along because it's all going to get done. But don't forget to relax and go have fun and dance and like, play with your kid.
[00:10:01] Speaker B: Happiness audit, essentially what you did. And you're like, I'm not having enough fun.
[00:10:06] Speaker C: I said, I'm not having enough fun. I'm like. But then I was like, but I've got this thing and this thing and this thing. Did I make it to the second thing? No, cuz I was burned out.
I was already done. And I was like, you got all this good stuff coming and your body's like, I'm sorry, dude.
And you're down for the count.
Yeah, for just a little bit.
[00:10:26] Speaker B: And as the old saying goes, if you don't pick a day of rest, your body will pick it for you.
Let's choose to rest on purpose instead of waiting for the collapse on purpose.
[00:10:39] Speaker C: Choose choices, choices, decisions, proactive, preemptive.
It was you and your nap time and me and the. I can't do something that's really important to me.
And then going to the beach the next day, and mother ocean, she dragged me. She literally engulfed me and said, come play with me.
[00:11:05] Speaker B: Let's have fun.
[00:11:06] Speaker C: Let's have fun.
Speaking of having fun.
[00:11:09] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:11:10] Speaker C: Can we just dance right down now?
Yeah. Yes.
[00:11:15] Speaker B: The words aren't enough. Sometimes we need music and dance and movement to help us feel what we've been holding back. Take the next few minutes to breathe, to soften, to let yourself pause.
Let the song be your reminder that you don't have to keep pushing at all costs.
It is Breathe Me by Sia.
[00:11:36] Speaker C: Now, if you're in the office, close that door, pull the blinds and start shaking Your booty.
[00:11:42] Speaker B: Let's dance.
[00:11:43] Speaker C: Let's dance, dance.
[00:11:48] Speaker A: Check out this week's song on the YO Podcast playlist on Spotify.
[00:11:56] Speaker B: Breathing.
[00:11:58] Speaker C: That orchestral section at the end that.
[00:12:01] Speaker B: Was, oh my goodness. I have no one else to blame but myself.
That's what she said to us in the beginning of the phone.
[00:12:08] Speaker C: She said, we are responsible. Responsible for our well being.
One choice at a time, my friends.
One little snippet of awareness, one little nudge listening to that voice, that inner voice, that intuition, and then saying yes, okay, to the rest.
[00:12:27] Speaker B: Here is today's question.
What's one signal your body has been giving you lately and how can you honor it instead of ignoring it?
[00:12:43] Speaker C: I'm just going to jump right in. When I was in that work mode that I almost couldn't get out of it, and the last several days of it, my head was hurting in a way. Like it felt like sinuses, but it was like behind my eyes hurt and it just hurt. And I was like, I don't usually get get headaches like this. I did try taking something one of the days and it didn't touch it. I was like, I wonder if this is indicating that I am far too much in my head and I'm just thinking and ruminating and rehearsing and going through all of this mental action is happening and my head's just like, please, please, please just go to sleep. Please stop.
[00:13:26] Speaker B: So how do you choose to, to honor that instead of just ignoring it? Well, you tried to medicate it.
[00:13:32] Speaker C: I tried to medicate it away. That was when I decided I was taking myself to the ocean.
24 hours of off the grid unplugged. Nobody's going to find me.
It's just me in the ocean.
[00:13:46] Speaker B: I love that you said nobody's going.
[00:13:47] Speaker C: To find fluffy bed.
[00:13:49] Speaker B: You found someone there like, oh, I'm.
[00:13:53] Speaker C: Telling you, that's wacky for me.
[00:13:55] Speaker B: It's definitely the shoulder tension against my body telling me you've been carrying. Like, I feel like, is it atlas.
[00:14:02] Speaker C: The Like I'm holding the world, holding up the world.
[00:14:04] Speaker B: Like, oh my goodness, you gotta hold it all up. And I'm like, oh, my shoulders hurt.
[00:14:08] Speaker C: Can I put it down?
[00:14:09] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:14:10] Speaker B: What happens if I like drop it just a little bit?
So a way that I've chosen in addition to having the snack and the nap to honor it is actually incorporating like restorative yoga. So doing a couple of cat cows was it? The supine twist stretches. So like a couple of things stay on recording days. Actually, my restorative yoga day Incorporating some more stretching and breathing and recentering throughout the week to remind myself to release what is in mind. To carry or to hold.
[00:14:44] Speaker C: I love it.
Yes, restorative yoga. Releasing what is not yours. To carry her home. Even if you're the one that put it there.
You can have a do over. You can have a change of heart. You can pivot at any point and just be like, you know what, I'm.
[00:15:01] Speaker B: Going to put this down.
[00:15:02] Speaker C: I'll put it down.
[00:15:03] Speaker B: Explorers Burnout doesn't just appear out of nowhere.
It builds slowly. In the moments of the when we.
[00:15:11] Speaker C: Override our own limits, it's a slow tap, tap, tapping.
[00:15:15] Speaker B: But the same is true for healing. It builds in small choices. To rest, to pause, to listen, to.
[00:15:25] Speaker C: Breathe, to stretch, to get your feet on the ground and like take a walk in nature. It's like those little moments, those choices, they matter.
[00:15:35] Speaker B: I have a quote from one of Karen's favorite writers.
This quote is from the poet Rumi.
Rumi wrote, there is a voice that doesn't use words.
[00:15:48] Speaker C: Listen me.
Oh love that soul.
[00:15:55] Speaker B: This week, let that be your reminder. Listen to the quiet voice of your body. Pay attention to the signals before they turn into crisis. Your body isn't betraying you, it's protecting you. It's inviting you to slow down. Once again, Karen and I thank you for pressing play today. If this conversation spoke to you, share it with a friend or tag us on Instagram at your Odyssey life so we can keep the conversation going and don't miss next week as we close out Emotional Wellness Month together. Until until then, stay honest, stay connected and take care of your body. It's been taking care of you.
[00:16:34] Speaker C: Yeah. This beautiful vehicle is also a messenger and if we can hone in on the whispers right and responding to the whispers, we are as a whole. Humanity as a whole will be better off for it. We love you so much. Thanks for joining us this week and we'll see see you next time. Take good care.
[00:16:59] Speaker D: Thank you to Queenies in downtown Durham for the use of their community podcast studio and for welcoming us so warmly each week.
[00:17:08] Speaker C: We'd like to give a shout out.
[00:17:09] Speaker D: To Coco Cinnamon, the birthplace of 1023 Media and the yo podcast. Please support your local women owned minority owned coffee shop in downtown Durham.
Brought to you by Durham based 1023 Media, a heart centered woman owned multimedia company.
