Jan 18
1h 2m
Burnout is less a breaking point than a slow unravelling of identity and the seven messy phases high achievers cycle through on the way back to themselves.
We’re revisiting a conversation with Dr. Mandy Lehto that still holds relevance for anyone who has pushed past their limits and felt the ground shift beneath them. Mandy and Cait talk through burnout as a gradual process shaped by denial, urgency, over-efforting, and grief, rather than a single moment of collapse. Mandy’s “seven-ish” buckets offer language for patterns many high achievers recognize but rarely name. When the strategies that once drove success stop working, how do you begin to make sense of what comes next?
Burnout is framed here as an identity reckoning rather than a problem to fix or outwork. It often surfaces when performance quietly replaces self-trust and effort becomes the main source of worth. What happens when pushing harder no longer brings clarity or relief? What does it ask of you when the body stops cooperating with the plan?
The episode invites a different relationship with healing. One that allows uncertainty, grief, and slowness to exist without turning them into another project. Wholeness does not arrive as polish or resolution. It shows up through honesty, embodiment, and the growing ability to stop performing for approval. For anyone navigating the space between who they were trained to be and who they are becoming, this episode offers perspective, language, and permission to stay with the process.
Episode Breakdown:
00:00 The Seven Phases of Burnout Recovery for High Achievers
01:35 Denial and the Push-Harder Pattern That Starts the Slide
06:38 Triage Mode and Why Your Worth Can Feel Tied to Productivity
15:19 Reluctant Surrender and the Grief of Losing Your Old Identity
19:10 The Humbling and What Acceptance Actually Looks Like
30:31 Achievement Addiction, Dopamine, and the Crash After Big Wins
39:02 Chutes and Ladders and Practicing Self-Acceptance in Real Life
42:28 Wholeness Equals Whole Mess and Reclaiming Your Energy
47:14 When Support Helps Most and Why Recovery Becomes an Inside Job
If today’s episode sparked ideas for your team, Cait is available for keynotes, workshops, and leadership sessions. Learn more here: https://caitdonovan.as.me/inquire
Connect with Mandy Lehto:
Connect with Mandy on LinkedIn
Book Cait to Speak: https://bit.ly/bookcait