About this episode

Cait Donovan shares her personal journey and the origins of her understanding of burnout in episode 350 of FRIED.

EPISODE SUMMARY Cait Donovan has spent the last seven years building one of the most rigorous, nuanced frameworks for understanding burnout in the world. In episode 350, she finally tells the full story of how she got there -- and it turns out it started long before she knew burnout was a thing. From a failed organic chemistry test at Boston University to an acupuncture practice in Poland with a six-month waitlist, from a 2016 article that named everything to years of peer-reviewed research and a second graduate degree, this episode is the origin story FRIED has been building toward. KEY TOPICS COVERED • How Cait went from pre-med dropout to Chinese medicine practitioner • Running a top-earning solo practice in Poland while burning out without knowing it • The moment in 2016 when she read her first burnout article and felt shame instead of relief • Why the WHO definition of burnout puts too much responsibility on the workplace • What people who don't burn out do differently when things go sideways • How childhood patterns drive hyperindependence, perfectionism, and people-pleasing • Why burnout repeats across jobs when the real drivers go unaddressed • The role of match and…

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