132: What Burnout Really Is & How to Prevent It

2025-09-08

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What if burnout isn’t failure, but your body’s protective shutdown?In this episode, I open up about burning out as a doctor and why it went far beyond just being tired. Burnout showed up as a split between my mind pushing forward and the younger part of me saying, “I can’t do this anymore.” The mask of “Dr. Russell Kennedy” gave me income, status, and validation, but it also crushed my sense of self. I get into how burnout differs from stress and depression, and why rest only scratch...

What if burnout isn’t failure, but your body’s protective shutdown?

In this episode, I open up about burning out as a doctor and why it went far beyond just being tired. Burnout showed up as a split between my mind pushing forward and the younger part of me saying, “I can’t do this anymore.” The mask of “Dr. Russell Kennedy” gave me income, status, and validation, but it also crushed my sense of self.

I get into how burnout differs from stress and depression, and why rest only scratches the surface before it pulls you back under. Healing started when I finally listened to the alarm in my body, reconnected with the child in me, and practiced things like yoga nidra, breath work, and inner child work.

You’ll Learn:

The real reason burnout can feel more like a spiritual crisis than simple exhaustion
How early childhood experiences of not being heard can set you up for people-pleasing and burnout
The surprising link between external validation and staying too long in a career that’s hurting you
What it feels like when your mind drives your body far past its limits
Why leaving a job can trigger shame and how to work through it
The quiet damage of tying your identity to your profession
How burnout differs from depression in symptoms and recovery
Practical ways to reconnect with the “younger version” of yourself to begin healing
Why burnout can be your body’s last attempt to get your attention
How practices like yoga nidra, breathwork, and inner child work can help rebuild safety in your body

Timestamps:

[00:00] Introduction

[01:17] How chasing external validation led to burnout and identity loss

[06:39] The cost of tying identity to caregiving and medicine

[10:10] When identity and overwork lead to burnout and breaking points

[14:25] The difference between depression and burnout as self-betrayal

[16:22] How people pleasing and endless demands drive burnout

[17:47] Healing burnout by reconnecting with the younger self and body

Find more from Russell:

Russell Kennedy | LinkedIn

Russell Kennedy | Facebook

The Anxiety MD | Website