Career Burnout: A Different Kind of Gap Year: Recent Episodes
Shannon Swales
Most of us take a gap year in our late teens or early 20s...not me, I started mine at age 41.
For 20 years I was either working towards or working as a Clinical Psychologist. One day in February 2021 I had a complete breakdown. I was mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted and unable to keep working.
Looking back I can see my mental health decline was a gradual build over time culminating in the events of Feb 2021. I know now that what I suffered from was a combination of career burnout, compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and depression found quite readily in the helping professions.
To assist with improving and healing from this breakdown, I started to write a blog, really a journal about my experiences. You can find my blog at www.adifferentkindofgapyear.com
In my blog I write candidly about my journey from the very beginning to where I am now. I have written blogs on the guilt and shame I carried for ages for letting down my clients, the practice I worked at, and my husband; the difficulty allowing myself to truly rest and recover; and dealing with the uncertainty of my future.
Besides the blog I knew quite early on it would be helpful for me to talk to other people who may have or are experiencing similar declines with their mental health. With this in mind I started to think it would be great to have a podcast where I interview these individuals about their experiences, to raise awareness, break stigma and learn from each other on how to recover from these experiences.
What could be more important than ensuring our mental health and wellbeing; it’s like what the plane safety briefing tells you before take off “you need to put the mask on yourself first before you can assist child/others.”
I hope you find DKGY podcast enlightening. I welcome feedback and you can do so via email adifferentkindofgapyear@outlook.com
Disclaimer: Despite holding my registration as a clinical psychologist, my podcast is not therapy. The ideas, views, tips and so on expressed by myself and others comes from a space of our own human experience only. If you or someone you know are struggling, please seek professional help.
Episode 16 of Burnout: A Different Kind of GAP Year Podcast brings you the first of many episodes like this one, where I, a Clinical Psychologist, share knowledge and skills to raise awareness and provide support to those who suspect that they are or are going through burnout, want to prevent it or are curious about it.
In this episode, I aim to provide you with information that will help you
- Be able to detect burnout in yourself
- Be able to detect burnout in others
- Be able to respond to your burnout
- Be able to respond to someone else's burnout.
I answer the following questions:
- What is burnout?
- How prevalent is it?
- Who's at risk?
- What impact can it have?
- How to overcome or prevent it?
- Where to get help?
If you have found this episode helpful, please like or comment to let us know; share so others can benefit. To keep up to date with episode releases, follow or subscribe to your podcast provider or subscribe at www.adifferentkindofgapyear.com/contact.
If you are an expert working in the field of burnout and would like to share your wisdom on burnout to support others, please email me at adifferentkindofgapyear@outlook.com.
If you have a burning question about burnout that you'd like answered on the podcast, please email me at adifferentkindofgapyear@outlook.com.
Disclaimer: The views, opinions, tips, etc., expressed in this podcast by myself or my guests are not a replacement for personalised therapy. Just like I have done for myself, I encourage those of you who are suffering to seek professional help.
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Episode 15 of Burnout: A Different Kind of GAP Year Podcast brings you Heart Place Hospital creator and champion Jacqui O'Connor's (aka "love rock star" and "hope merchant") burnout to recovery experience.
Jacqui takes us on a journey from a busy nurse, nurse manager, mum and wife who believed she was hitting all the culturally appropriate success markers to the 'mack truck' moment (aka burnout) that set her life in a new direction. As she describes it, she went from an "unhealed healer" to a "healed healer".
One thing you are bound to love about Jacqui's burnout to recovery story is how she tells it. She has a way with words that allows for a deeper understanding of what life was like for her in the thick of her burnout and how her life is now...magical.
If you'd like to stay in touch with Jacqui O'Connor and the Heart Place Hospital, visit and follow her at the following links
Facebook: www.facebook.ccom/heartplacehospital
Instagram: www.instagram.com/heartplacehospital
Website: www.opencollective.com/heart-place-charity-hospital
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqui-o-connor-98995081/
If you have found this episode helpful, please like or comment to let us know; share so others can benefit. To keep up to date with episode releases, follow or subscribe to your podcast provider or subscribe at www.adifferentkindofgapyear.com/contact
If you’d like to share your burnout to recovery experience, please email me at adifferentkindofgapyear@outlook.com
Disclaimer: The views, opinions, tips, etc., expressed in this podcast by myself or my guests are not a replacement for evidence-based therapy. These are our own human experiences. Just like I have done for myself, I encourage those of you who are suffering to seek professional help.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 14 of Burnout: A Different Kind of GAP Year Podcast brings you the burnout stories of two remarkable women, one of whom experienced job burnout (higher education industry) and the other mum burnout. Together they have created their movement based on sharing their own and others' resilience stories on their podcast and life happened. You can follow them on Instagram @and_lifehappened.
Jessica and Samantha openly share their separate burnout to recovery experiences in this episode. Jessica shares the negative impacts of a toxic work colleague, the wave-like nature of her burnout, the difficulties accessing therapy during the peak of the pandemic in the US, and walks us through some of the therapeutics strategies that have helped her to recover. On the other hand, Samatha shares how her expectations of what she envisioned motherhood would look like contributed to her burnout, how she navigated her challenges with getting and engaging in support, and how instrumental this support was to her recovery once she found what she needed.
Together their stories showcase the individual differences experienced amongst individuals suffering from burnout, but the similarities cross-overs that are common amongst burnout to recovery experiences. I hope you find this episode helpful in your journey through or preventing burnout.
This is a preview version free for everyone to listen to. To get the exclusive full version, head over to www.patreon.com/burnoutadifferentkindofgapyear, where you will have exclusive access to Jessica and Samantha's whole story and my weekly burnout prevention blog and other exclusive content.
Thank you for listening to the podcast. You can show your support by liking, sharing, and leaving a comment. To stay up-to-date with new releases, content, etc., follow me on
Instagram: www.instagram.com/burnoutadifferentkindofgapyear
Facebook: www.facebook.com/burnoutadifferentkindofgapyear
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-swales-577a2145/
If you’d like to share your burnout to recovery experience, please email me at adifferentkindofgapyear@outlook.com
Disclaimer: The views, opinions, tips, etc., expressed in this podcast by myself or my guests are not a replacement for evidence-based therapy. These are our own human experiences. Just like I have done for myself, I encourage those of you who are suffering to seek professional help.
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Season 3, Episode 13 of Burnout: A Different Kind of GAP Year Podcast brings you my new friend, Erin, a primary school teacher who is no stranger to experiencing burnout. She shares with you her journey to awareness of suffering from burnout, what she has learnt so far that contributes to her experience of it, and what she has come to find out helps support her mental health to prevent further relapses into burnout. It is a definite must-listen, considering we will all have a teacher in our lives.
PLEASE NOTE: This is a preview version free for everyone to listen to. To get the full version, head on over to www.patreon.com/burnoutadifferentkindofgapyear
Thank you for listening to the podcast. You can show your support by liking, sharing, and leaving a comment. To stay up-to-date with new releases, content, etc., follow me on
Instagram: www.instagram.com/burnoutadifferentkindofgapyear
Facebook: www.facebook.com/burnoutadifferentkindofgapyear
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-swales-577a2145/
If you’d like to share your burnout to recovery experience, please email me at adifferentkindofgapyear@outlook.com
Disclaimer: The views, opinions, tips, etc., expressed in this podcast by myself or my guests are not a replacement for evidence-based therapy. These are our own human experiences. Just like I have done for myself, I encourage those of you who are suffering to seek professional help.
Get bonus content on Patreon
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Most of us take a gap year in our late teens or early 20s...not me; I started mine at age 41.
For 20 years, I worked towards or as a Clinical Psychologist. One day in February 2021, I had a complete breakdown. I was mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted and unable to keep working. Looking back, I can see my mental health decline was a gradual build over time, culminating in the events of Feb 2021. I know now that what I suffered from was a combination of career burnout, compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma, and quite possibly depression. Conditions found quite readily in caring roles.
I knew early on that it would be helpful for me to talk to other people who may have or are experiencing similar declines in their mental health. With this in mind, I started to think it would be great to have a Podcast where I interview these individuals about their experiences to raise awareness and break the stigma associated with mental health. Be a springboard for change in community attitudes and the attitudes towards getting much-needed help. What could be more important than ensuring our emotional and mental wellbeing? It’s like what the plane safety briefing tells you before taking off “you need to put the mask on yourself before you can assist child/others.”
Burnout: A Different Kind of GAP Year podcast is a monthly podcast, released on the Thursday of the first week of the month. Each month I have a guest who comes on the show and shares their personal, lived experience of burnout and recovery from it.
Thank you for listening to the podcast You can show your support by liking, sharing, and/or leaving a comment. To stay up-to-date with new releases, content, etc. go to
Instagram: www.instagram.com/burnoutadifferentkindofgapyear Facebook: www.facebook.com/burnoutadifferentkindofgapyear Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-swales-577a2145/
You can keep up to date by SUBSCRIBING at: www.adifferentkindofgapyear.com/contact
If you’d like to share your burnout to recovery experience please email me adifferentkindofgapyear@outlook.com
Disclaimer: The views, opinions, tips, etc expressed in this podcast by myself or my guests are not a replacement for evidence-based therapy. These are our own human experiences. Just like I have done for myself, I encourage those of you who are suffering to seek professional help.
In this final episode of the podcast's second season, your guest is...................ME :)
I've come back on the show to celebrate several massive milestones that I have reached over my GAP year after burning out working as a clinical psychologist in clinical practice.
Besides sharing and celebrating these milestones with you all, I will also be sharing exclusive news for BURNOUT: A Different Kind of GAP Year (blog, podcast, and social media community).
I have particularly loved making this episode as it is the first I have done using both visual and audio, and it helped push me out of my comfort zone by celebrating all I am proud of over this past year.
So grab a cuppa, sit back and tune in.
If you want to see me in the flesh, head over to YouTube https://youtu.be/segVB38Vyvk
I invite you to leave a comment, like and share; let me know what you like, what you don't like and what you want to hear in future podcast episodes.
Take care Shan
This month's episode brings you a hypnotherapist's burnout to recovery experience, Sarah Kuipers.
Sarah takes us on her journey of self-discovery, learning and growth from burnout to recovery (twice over); coming out the other side thriving in a new career direction (burnout researcher, lecturer, author, and counsellor).
Like all my guests, Sarah has a lot of wisdom to share that not only comes from her lived experience but from her extensive research in the area. Sarah is a strong advocate for seeing burnout as a springboard for change, and I would have to agree with her.
If you'd like to discover more about Sarah's work in burnout you can.
Go to her website sarahkuipers.com Here you will find her book chapter on Expressive Writing that we talk about in this episode.
To buy a copy of her book 'Thriving Giver' go to http://getbook.at/ThrivingGiver
Her 7-week LIVE online course, The Thriving Giver: Cultivate Your Resilience and Restore Balance to Prevent Caregiver Burnout, will be launched in October 2022. For further details, please sign up for her newsletter via her website, or email her directly at sarah@sarahkuipers.com
This month's episode brings you a Clinical Psychologist's burnout to recovery experience, Eunice's.
Eunice takes us through what contributed to her burnout both internally (e.g., perfectionism, focus on caring for others, high expectations, etc.) and externally (e.g., pandemic pressures - at home schooling, increased workload, etc.) and what supported her to recovery (e.g., therapy, support from loved ones, decreasing her workload, time off, etc.).
Her experience highlights the challenges of experiencing burnout during a pandemic, in a place that experienced the longest lock downs and tightest restrictions across the world (Melbourne, Australia).
A must listen for those who are psychologists, who are or suspect they are burning out, and for those supporting others with burnout.
It's okay to not be okay even if you are a psychologist who knows and treats these same conditions.....we are only human.
If this episode is anyway triggering for you and you need professional help, please consult your doctor as soon as possible.
I invite you to leave a comment, like and/or share; let me know what you like, what you don't like and what you want to hear in future podcast episodes.
Take care Shan
I have been wanting to interview a nurse since the conception of my podcast and episode 9 brings you a nurse's burnout story, Nichola Browning. I have worked alongside nurses here and there during my psychology career and this profession strikes me as one who is particularly vulnerable to burnout, compassionate fatigue, and vicarious trauma and mental health conditions such as depression and PTSD, and the research evidence agrees.
Sixty-one percent of healthcare workers report burnout and 28% report depression here in Australia (Australian Nursing & Midwifery Association, 2021). The percentage of nurses suffering burnout across the world was high prior to COVID-19 pandemic but has increased as a result of the ongoing nature of this pandemic.
Nichola is a veteran of the nursing industry with 30 plus years of service both in the UK and here in Australia. She has worked in clinic and non-clinic roles whilst also raising her family. She is on her own gap year at present and we have found many commonalities between our own stories, starting with the the name we have given it 'A Different Kind of GAP Year'. It's always nice to converse with someone who really gets what you are going through and so willing to share themselves with you. It is my pleasure to be able to bring her burnout story to you. She, like all my other guests are sharing because they want to help others who are or may go through burnout to.
If you are a nurse, have a friend or family member who is a nurse, see nurses (let's face it, we will eventually), please listen to this episode. When we understand something, we can do better.
Connect with Nichola here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nichola-browning-she-her-88927197
Organisations and information
https://strokefoundation.org.au/
Volunteer and Lived experience member for You g Stroke Project and Mind CVD with Heart Foundation
https://youngstrokeproject.org.au/about/lived-experience-working-group/
Heart Foundation
https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/
Founding member https://www.burnoutnomore.me/courses/burnout-no-more
https://www.fwards.com/
Support Crew coffee club host & supporter
https://genyusnetwork.com/
Episode 8 of Burnout: A Different Kind of GAP Year brings you the burnout experience of a young woman called Tahlia @goodluck_charliepod who experienced burnout during her senior years of high school.
In this episode she talks candidly about her burnout experience and how she stepped her way through it whilst completing year 12. She shares in hope that it will help others to recognise the signs and get the help they need. A must listen for all high school students and their carers (parents, teachers and the like).
My hope is that you or someone you know will benefit from hearing her story. Remember there is power in sharing our struggles. We can all learn something from each other.
I also urge you to check out Tahlia’s podcast where she shares her experiences of exploring the world of work/career opportunities by interviewing people in different fields of work, including me Jan 24, 2022 for clinical psychologist. Tahlia is on her own kind of gap year after finishing year 12 last year. A truly beautiful and inspiring young woman.
Good Luck Charlie Podcast Link: https://lnns.co/Nj3EHurnPUJ
If this episode is anyway triggering for you and you need professional help, please consult your doctor as soon as possible.
I invite you to leave a comment, like and/or share; let me know what you like, what you don't like and what you want to hear in future podcast episodes.
Take care Shan
Episode 7 of Burnout: A Different Kind of GAP Year brings you the story of Tracey Wood, a lady who bestowed kindness on me, at a time I needed it most. During one of our catch ups, she shared with me her own work gap experiences. Upon hearing her experiences, I knew her story would benefit others, so I asked her to be on the show; thankfully she agreed.
Tracey is a mother, a daughter, a wife, a worker and above all, she is herself, Tracey, a compassionate human being. Her work/life GAP experiences gives you insights into the why and the how she got through these very tough experiences in her life, juggling the many roles she had too at the time.
My hope is that you or someone you know will benefit from hearing her story. Remember there is power in sharing our struggles. We can all learn something from each other.
I highly encourage you to leave a comment, like and/or share; let me know what you like, what you don't like and what you want to hear in future podcast episodes.
If this is anyway triggering for you and you need professional help, please consult your doctor as soon as possible.
Take care Shan
Episode 6 of Career Burnout: A Different Kind of GAP Year brings you the next instalment of my GAP year since having to leave work abruptly because of my health in Feb 2021.
Just like Episode 1, where I talked candidly about my mental health experiences at the time, I will do so again, but from where I left off. I will share with you what has been going on for me and how I am moving forward (sometimes backwards) through it.
My hope by sharing part 2 of my mental health story that you and/or those around you will benefit from it. I am a big believer that speaking more freely about our mental health has such healing powers for ourselves and those hearing our stories.
Feel free to reach out if you would like to share your experience of this podcast with me, my email is adifferentkindofgapyear@outlook.com
You are welcome to comment, like and share to your hearts are content.
Take care Shan
Episode 5 of Career Burnout: A Different Kind of Gap Year brings you the story of my colleague and friend, who in my early days of my mental health breakdown was there for me in a simple but powerful way; she said “me too”. It was so powerful to hear a fellow psychologist say that she suffered from burnout and compassion fatigue to and had to take a leave of absence. It helps, because it breaks the SHAME you often feel for suffering, especially as a mental health professional, where there is an unwritten expectation that you SHOULD have it altogether.
Davina’s story is a unique one, just like every other guest I’ve had on the podcast. We may have all suffered from the same conditions, but our experiences are all different, and Davina’s is no exception. I think the most unique thing about her story is how she recovered from her burnout and compassion fatigue. You are going to learn so much from listening to her story and I am very excited to have her tell it to you.
It’s a long episode, but it is worth every minute you will get. I couldn’t with good conscious cut too much out of our conversation, as it is so valuable. Listen to it in instalments, maybe on your way to work in the car or on the train, before you know it you will be at the end.
If you feel this podcast can help you and/or others please share and subscribe. Also feel free to comment to let us know what you are liking or wanting for future episodes.
If you have a similar story of mental health and work and would like to be a future guest on the show, please contact me at adifferentkindofgapyear@outlook.com
Thank you and take care of you.
Episode 4 of Career Burnout: A Different Kind of Gap Year brings you a story from a woman, who in my opinion faces a tough role within the mental health field. Not only does she face a complex array of client traumas and losses, she also is a mum to 2 young kids. She talks candidly about the dual roles and how there was a lot of care going out, but not a lot coming back in.
Jenni is someone I met through social media after she reached out to me. She reached out to let me know she had found listening and reading about my mental health and work story helpful to take some important steps in her own work life, to improve her health and wellbeing. I am very humbled that sharing my vulnerability has helped her and it brings me much pleasure to have her as a guest to share hers, so she to can help others too.
Please forgive the audio quality of this one, I am still learning. It’s definitely an improvement from the last one. I am very proud that I have learnt how to fade in and out with this one. I hope you can see past any audio downfalls and focus on the very important message here, which is to help normalise mental health care for everyone.
If you feel this podcast can help you and/or others please share and subscribe. Also feel free to comment to let us know what you are liking or wanting for future episodes.
If you have a similar story of mental health and work and would like to be a future guest on the show, please contact me at adifferentkindofgapyear@outlook.com
Thank you and take care of you.
Episode 3 of Career Burnout: A Different Kind of Gap Year brings you a story from an unlikely profession, the legal profession. It’s a story that ran a lot of parallels to my own. It’s Sarah’s story of her mental health and career. Sarah is someone I met through social media after a friend of mine discovered she had a similar story to my own. After reaching out to her about my podcast and asking her to be part of it, it didn’t take Sarah long to come onboard. I am so grateful to have her as a guest because she gets to showcase her story of her mental health and being a lawyer. Furthermore she gets to fulfil her mission to help others in her profession to look to and start looking after their mental health. Sarah doesn’t want others to suffer as she has suffered. Please forgive the audio quality of this one. I am new to podcasting and this one was done remotely. I am learning as I go and doing this all on my own with no budget to employ others to help. I hope you can see past any audio downfalls and focus on the very important message here, which is to help normalise mental health care for everyone. If you feel this podcast can help you and/or others please share and subscribe. Also feel free to comment to let us know what you are liking or wanting for future episodes. If you have a similar story of mental health and work and would like to be a future guest on the show, please contact me at adifferentkindofgapyear@outlook.com Thank you and take care
A Different Kind of Gap Year Podcast Episode 2 brings you my brave friend, ex-colleague and fellow helping professional, Tricia Whipple’s story of her mental health and career. Tricia is my very first DKGY podcast so I am super excited to bring her story to life. Tricia has done such an amazing job in recounting her mental health and career story in this episode. It is a long episode (unedited). I don’t believe in editing someone’s story, all of it is important and tells us something about that person. I hope that Tricia’s story enriches you or your loved ones in some meaningful way. Please feel free to leave a comment, like and/or share. We welcome any feedback. If you have a similar story and would like to be a guest on a future episode please contact me at www.adifferentkindofgapyear.com/contact Thank you and take care
I am so excited to welcome you to the very first podcast episode of A Different Kind of Gap Year where I will be talking candidly with you about my mental health breakdown brought about by my work as a Clinical Psychologist. Check out my profile for more information on my podcast.