PODCASTHappiness Break

Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.

Feeling burned out? Join Dr. Kristen Neff as she guides us through a calming practice to bring kindness and support to ourselves during tough times.

How to Do This Practice:

1. Sit in a quiet, comfortable space, close your eyes if you wish, and take deep breaths to center yourself.
2. Observe how you’re feeling—physically and emotionally—without judgment.
3. Acknowledge your struggle: This is hard. Burnout is a natural human response to stress.
4. Offer yourself kindness. Imagine a compassionate voice saying: I’m here for you, you’re doing your best, you’re loved just as you are.
5. Let these words fill you with warmth and calm.
6. When ready, open your eyes and bring this renewed energy into your day.

Today’s Happiness Break Guide:

Dr. Kristin Neff is an associate professor in the University of Texas at Austin's department of educational psychology. She's also the co-author of 'Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout,' which offers tools to help individuals heal and recharge from burnout.

More Happiness Breaks like this one:

The Healing Power of Your Own Touch: https://tinyurl.com/y4ze59h8

Take a Break With Our Loving-Kindness Meditation: https://tinyurl.com/2kr4fjz5

We’d love to hear about your experience with this practice! Share your thoughts at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Help us share Happiness Break! Leave a 5-star review and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Transcription:

DACHER: Welcome to Happiness Break, I’m Dacher Keltner.

Burnout is something so many of us deal with these days—feeling drained, disconnected from our work, exhausted.

But here’s the good news: self-compassion can help. Research shows that treating yourself with kindness and support when you’re struggling can make a real difference. It not only helps prevent burnout but also makes it easier to recover when you’re feeling worn out.

So today, Dr. Kristen Neff will be guiding you through a self-compassion practice to help with recovery and renewal.

Kristin's life's work is the study and teaching of self-compassion. And she's the coauthor of Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout: Tools to Help You Heal and Recharge When You're Wrung Out by Stress. 

When you're ready, here's Kristin.

KRISTEN NEFF: Self-compassion refers to the way that we show up for ourselves when we're struggling, when we're suffering in some way. Are we kind? Are we warm? Are we helpful? Are we supportive? Or are we cold, cruel, judgmental? And my research shows that when we can be with ourselves in times of difficulty with warmth and support, remembering that we aren't alone, that it's only human to struggle, that our mental health vastly improves, we're less depressed, we're less anxious, and actually, there's a whole other body of research that shows that self compassion increases physical well being, like immune system function and that's because self compassion works partly through the nervous system. What we know is when we are there for ourselves, we're triggering the same physiological response as is triggered in a child when they're cared for by their parents. We feel calm and safe, and it deactivates fight or flight responses. So we feel less agitated or fearful.

And one of my areas of research lately has been the role of self compassion in both preventing and recovering from burnout. We've done some research showing that, for instance, healthcare professionals who can be self compassionate about the stress that they're facing on the job, that they're less likely to feel exhausted, disconnected from their work, incompetent. These are core symptoms of burnout. 

So I'd like to lead you through a sample of what it may look like to give yourself compassion when you're experiencing burnout. 

So what I'd like you to do first is just settle into your body. Just notice how you're sitting, feeling your feet on the floor, the weight of your body in your chair. 

See if you can tap into what it's like to be here, you know, right here, right now. To be present. 

And also noticing if what's present are any feelings related to being burned out.

Maybe you're feeling exhausted. Or just tired, maybe you're feeling at the end of your rope, or numb, shut down, disconnected, that fun boatload of feelings that comes up when we feel burnt out. 

So just notice if any of those feelings are arising. 

And also, see if you can sense any discomfort in your body related to your feelings of burnout. It may be like a dull ache in your head, or a heaviness in your chest. See if you can just investigate.

And see if you can make some space for your experience. Just allow these feelings to be here, at least for now, without trying to get rid of them or push your difficult feelings away. 

Maybe you can imagine that you're a wide open field of awareness. Plenty of room and space for these difficult feelings to arise. 

And so when we bring compassion to our experience, the first thing you want to do is to really validate what we're feeling. You know, so see if you can just acknowledge it's hard to feel this way, it's hard to feel burned out. It hurts. It's not pleasant. 

And you just acknowledge that. Instead of just putting one step in front of the other like a good soldier, just pause for a moment and say, this is hard. 

And then we also want to just recognize that what you're feeling, feelings of burnout, it's completely human.  

There's a reason why so many millions of people are feeling burned out right now in the world. There's so much stress, so much pressure, so much responsibility. 

You know, you aren't alone. 

Burnout is a natural shutting down reaction to the stress of life. 

There's nothing wrong with you for feeling this way. It's human. It's natural. 

And now see if you can bring some words of warmth or kindness and understanding to yourself for feeling burnt out. You can imagine a part of yourself talking to another part of yourself. Another way we can do this, bring words of kindness, is to imagine that some other compassionate being, maybe, you know, a grandparent, or a dear friend or maybe even a spiritual figure is bringing compassion to you, whatever feels most natural. 

But the question is, what words do you need to hear right now to feel cared for and supported? 

And can you give those to yourself? Maybe they’re words of concern,  "I'm so sorry that you're going through this, I really feel for you."

Perhaps words of support, "We'll get through this, I'm here for you, I won't abandon you."

Or maybe words of reassurance of our value. "You know, you're, you're loved, lovable, just as you are.  Even if you're a bit of a mess, you're still loved and lovable, just as you are. You know, you're doing the best you can." 

What is it that you need to hear right now to feel supported and cared for? 

And can you silently, to yourself, give yourself the message that you really need to hear? 

True words of care and support. 

And see if you can give yourself permission to take some of this goodness in. 

We're often so busy doing, doing, doing. Can you just allow yourself for a few moments to receive your own goodness, your own care, your own warmth?

Imagining that this goodness is filling your entire body, filling your own aliveness, 

Taking care of yourself. 

And then when you're ready, you can open your eyes and hopefully take some of this goodness out with you into your day. 

Thanks.