burnout

know a woman struggling with burnout?

[Edited to add: this post was written in October 2020—the EAT™ | Your way to health program continues to be offered a few time a year. Visit the course information page to find out when the next cohort launches!]

As I wrote about last week, I’m launching my next group coaching program this month for women experiencing burnout—with partial scholarships available to participants thanks to a grant from the Michigan Small Business Restart program!

And I have a few more slots to fill, so I’m asking for your help in filling them.

Here’s the thing: the deadline to apply for the program and/or a scholarship is October 9, 2020!

Who am I looking for?

Women who are burning out in mission-driven work—specifically those who might not normally consider health coaching to be within their means.

Does that sound a bit squishy? Need more information? I’m going to break it down.

women

While most of my clients are women in their 40s–50s, this group is open to those who identify as women of any age.

burnout

Let’s go straight to the source for this one, the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases, Revision 11 (ICD-11):

Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions:

  • feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
  • increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job
  • and reduced professional efficacy.

While the ICD-11 emphasizes that burnout refers to the working world, let’s face it: the women who show up at work are the same ones who show up at home.

mission-driven

“Mission-driven” can be a somewhat fluffy concept—and that’s why I keep it vague. To me, mission-driven work prioritizes people and planet over profit: it makes the world a better place for everyone.

Yes, it can apply to nonprofits and volunteerism—and also to education (faculty and staff and administration), nursing and other healthcare work, hospice and elder and childcare, social work….

In short, most of those on the pandemic’s front lines qualify in my book!

work

We women work a lot, whether we work outside the home, from home, or inside the home. Stay-at-home moms have some of the most important mission-driven work there is: raising the next generation to navigate this world we’ve created—and hopefully to be kinder to each other and to Mother Earth than we have been.

financial need

The pandemic has brought the wealth gap in America into stark relief—and it’s widened it considerably: I recently read that families with an income of $100,000 or less now face financial difficulties that were previously the province of those with much lower incomes.

And the outsized impact of Covid-19 on Brown and Black bodies, coupled with the continued violence against those bodies, has made historic economic inequality something that can no longer be ignored or swept under the rug if we are to stitch a new garment—”one that fits all of humanity and nature.”

It’s been my mission since the days I was training to be a health coach to make the service accessible to those who would not normally consider it within their means—because usually, they could benefit from it the most!

but nobody’s got time for that!

Let’s face it—women are overwhelmed. It feels impossible to add one more thing to our plates.

Ah, but that’s really the point, isn’t it?

We are not renewable resources, and if we keep depleting ourselves, who will do our work in the world?

Health coaching is all about creating a sustainably healthy lifestyle, one in which we can nourish ourselves and honor the important obligations we have to others.

make the connection

Now that I’ve clarified who I’m looking for, I have an ask of you: do you feel like you fit the definition of “a woman who is burning out in mission-driven work—specifically one who might not normally consider health coaching to be within your means?”

I’m so grateful for your help!