# Episode 65 - Burnout  URL:: https://share.snipd.com/episode/1f3a96e4-4059-4084-94b6-ecb5e1fc8d5c Author:: This Jungian Life Podcast ## Highlights > The Strong Protest Psyche and Burnout > Key takeaways: > - The person's work life should be aligned with a deeper calling or set of values coming from the self. > - The balance between the conscious and unconscious aspects of the human psyche is essential. > - Overvaluing the ego life can lead to the unconscious asserting itself. > - Attention should be given to the dream life, fantasy life, the life of the body, and our relationship to nature. > Transcript: > Speaker 2 > The way that we would tend to look at it is where is perhaps the person's work life not in alignment with a deeper calling or a deeper set of values with something that's coming from what We would call the self with a capital S. > Speaker 1 > And the presence of the self at the center of our psychological life, whether or not we know this consciously, demands a balance of factors in the human soul, in the human psyche. And one of the primary balancing demands is that the conscious life and the unconscious life, that the rational and the irrational are both valued and tended to. And as Deb was saying earlier, when we're overvaluing the ego life, the waking life, that the unconscious begins to stage an insurrection. It begins to secretly depress the parking brake or flip us into first gear, although we're trying to drive 60 miles an hour as a signal for us to focus on the unconscious, to focus on the Dream life, the fantasy life, the life of the body, and our relationship to nature for that matter. ([Time 0:04:28](https://share.snipd.com/snip/eec1834c-1547-4f46-b019-44ecab8c2417)) > Burnout as a Message from the Unconscious > Key takeaways: > - Burnout could be associated with a call toward individuation and a message from the unconscious that something is out of balance. > - Burnout can act as a parking brake, an attempt to rebalance the psyche and prevent us from going down the wrong road. > - Burnout may paradoxically be a call to individuation and an invitation to come home to ourselves. > - Burnout can signify the need to pay attention to our inner psyche and prioritize self-care. > - Taking time outdoors and reconnecting with nature can potentially alleviate burnout symptoms. > Transcript: > Speaker 2 > Burnout could be possibly associated with a call toward individuation, that it is a message from the unconscious that something is out of balance, as you were both were alluding to. And therefore, the kind of parking brake effect, it is an attempt to rebalance the psyche. > Speaker 3 > It's an attempt to stop us because we're going down the wrong road. And I like what you said, Lisa paradoxically, it can be a call to individuation, a call to come home to ourselves, and pay attention to what's going on in the psyche, and perhaps even spend Some time outdoors sitting under a tree or at the beach or whatever basic, millennium old roots we have stop. ([Time 0:06:00](https://share.snipd.com/snip/1bf9f491-4517-4741-8f2e-7fd623427571)) > The link between burnout and a loss of meaning > Key takeaways: > - It was related to a loss of a sense of meaning. > - Burnout is often associated with a sense of cynicism. > - Doing something that doesn't feel meaningful can contribute to burnout. > Transcript: > Speaker 2 > I also think that it was related to a loss of a sense of meaning, and I think that burnout is often associated with a sense of cynicism, or when we're doing something that doesn't feel meaningful. ([Time 0:10:24](https://share.snipd.com/snip/c9903aa0-bdd3-4ef3-b456-117540ef9d21)) > The One-Sidedness of Corporate Life > Key takeaways: > - The demands of the job can lead to a one-sided focus on egoic life > - Lack of time for personal renewal can lead to burnout > - It's important to remember the capacity to say no in overwhelming work situations > - Work systems may need to fail in order to provide feedback for improvement > Transcript: > Speaker 2 > Yeah, and then we're back in this real kind of one-sided place, right, where the demands of the job are so much that we only have time and capacity to address egoic life, as you were talking About before, Joseph, there's kind of complete one-sidedness, and there's no time for the underground, to drink from the underground spring that could renew us. > Speaker 1 > And one of the things that I'll often be counseling someone in that situation is reminding them that they have the capacity to say no, that in many of these systems, people lose the capacity To say no, and they also forget that sometimes a work system has to fail and provide that feedback to the corporate leaders so that they actually could believe that the model that they're Using is not sufficient. ([Time 0:14:28](https://share.snipd.com/snip/1725274a-f74d-4e03-bce0-6d505ca5fd88)) > The Tale of the Ailing King and the Water of Life > Key takeaways: > - The tale involves the recovery of a wonderful elixir > - The story highlights the importance of a relationship with the feminine > - The ailing king symbolizes the worn-out dominant principle in the psyche > - Burnout can result from a guiding attitude that may not align with one's authentic self > - Burnout can be an opportunity for personal growth > Transcript: > Speaker 2 > And the rest of the tale, as you might imagine, is how this wonderful elixir is recovered. And it does involve a relationship with the feminine, which is very obviously lacking in the beginning of the story. We've got an old man, we've got the king and we've got the three sons. So this image, which crops up a lot in myth and fairy tales and alchemical imagery as well, of the ailing king. That the dominant principle in the psyche is worn out, is spent and exhausted and needs to be renewed somehow. > Speaker 1 > That brings me back to even the term burnout, that when a candle is burned out, it's just run all the way down to the last bit of wax and the wick is finished. And then the flame finally just dies. There's just no more fuel to keep the fire going. And so in the tale of the old king dying, that often represents the dominant stance in life or the guiding attitude with which somebody has made decisions and established a set of values And independent from whether or not you like your job. The psyche can get sick and tired of having all of our decisions circling around a particular attitude that we may have just inherited from our parents or inherited from our educational System. Perhaps aren't aware of or haven't even really verbalized to ourselves before. And that that central value may have very little to do with who you are authentically. And then finally, just whatever juice that came in with just flickers out. And then we're in this kind of crisis, which we call burnout, which is also an opportunity. ([Time 0:26:13](https://share.snipd.com/snip/8258de3d-7b3b-44bd-aa61-3953a06825cb)) > The Tale of Burnout and the Opportunity for Renewal > Key takeaways: > - Renewal is important for addressing burnout. > - People have a sense of what brings renewal. > - Listening for the new thing that wants attention can be helpful. > Transcript: > Speaker 2 > Yes. And so when someone comes into my office reporting a sense of burnout, I think I'm looking for that opportunity that you mentioned, Joseph. And the question is sort of like, what would bring renewal? Like, where is the water of life? What is that thing? And my assumption is that there's something. And that something in that person's psyche has a sense of what it is. And so I would really be listening for what's the new thing that's wanting attention? What is the value that's been devalued, perhaps, that is looking to be paid attention to? ([Time 0:28:05](https://share.snipd.com/snip/f1153545-4b50-42f0-abc9-68fbdde482a9)) ## New highlights added October 18, 2023 at 3:02 PM > The Impact of Alienation from Instincts and False Attribution of Experiences in Culture > Key takeaways: > - People can be divorced from instinct, making it difficult to identify the source of their distress. > - Running towards false solutions does not resolve distress. > - Identifying the true source of distress can lead to effective interventions. > Transcript: > Speaker 1 > And then people are running towards a false solution to their distress which never really resolves it. And that's one of the things that happens when we're divorced from instinct is that we can't really smell out the way an animal would. What's the source of my distress, which often is rather a fairly straight line that has been obscured. And if we really had a straight line to what is actually distressing me, then we might have the choice of having an accurate and effective intervention of some kind. ([Time 0:35:30](https://share.snipd.com/snip/6a40f9fd-0381-4ccb-80f5-069d58c2cf2f)) ## New highlights added October 20, 2023 at 10:57 AM > Jung's View on Biography and the Importance of Gradient Formation > Key takeaways: > - Jung believed that a gradient or slope must be formed in his psychological world before he could make progress on something. > - The creation of his autobiography was at the base of this gradient, with the water of life flowing down and accumulating around this idea. > - Burnout is characterized by a feeling of the water being dried up and the absence of a gradient. > - The absence of a gradient may be influenced by external factors rather than originating from within the psyche. > Transcript: > Speaker 1 > Jung says, where I cannot move forward on something unless a gradient is formed. So by gradient, Jung had this feeling that his psychological world was a landscape and that libido moved like water. So a gradient would mean a kind of slope or a hillside had kind of developed in his psyche. And at the base of the hill was for him the creation of his autobiography and that there was enough water of life flowing down the gradient and accumulating around this idea that he could Imagine engaging the labor to bring it to fruition. > Speaker 2 > And so burnout would feel like the water is all dried up. > Speaker 1 > Yeah, there's no gradient in the psyche, but something external to the psyche is leveraging us in some way. ([Time 0:43:28](https://share.snipd.com/snip/4733be10-1cda-4a61-b95d-6f165eb9ed51)) ## New highlights added October 20, 2023 at 9:56 PM > Episode AI notes > 1. Burnout is a term referring to job-related distress or an unsatisfying life situation that creates a sense of despair. > 2. Burnout can be a result of the unconscious asserting itself when the ego is overvalued. > 3. Burnout can serve as a message from the unconscious that something is out of balance and a call to individuation. > 4. There is a link between burnout and a loss of meaning, as well as a sense of cynicism. > 5. Corporate life often leads to a one-sided focus on work and neglect of personal renewal. > 6. The tale of the ailing king emphasizes the importance of aligning attitudes and values with one's authentic self. > 7. Renewal is crucial in addressing burnout, and listening for new ideas and values can be helpful. > 8. Alienation from instincts and false attribution of experiences can hinder the identification of the true source of distress. > 9. Jung believed that creating a gradient in one's psychological world is crucial for progress and avoiding burnout. ([Time 0:00:00](https://share.snipd.com/episode-takeaways/c1457783-2e79-4e25-ae89-c0c4178c7dca)) --- Title: Episode 65 - Burnout Author: This Jungian Life Podcast Tags: readwise, podcasts date: 2024-01-30 --- # Episode 65 - Burnout  URL:: https://share.snipd.com/episode/1f3a96e4-4059-4084-94b6-ecb5e1fc8d5c Author:: This Jungian Life Podcast ## AI-Generated Summary None ## Highlights > Episode AI notes > 1. Burnout is a term referring to job-related distress or an unsatisfying life situation that creates a sense of despair. > 2. Burnout can be a result of the unconscious asserting itself when the ego is overvalued. > 3. Burnout can serve as a message from the unconscious that something is out of balance and a call to individuation. > 4. There is a link between burnout and a loss of meaning, as well as a sense of cynicism. > 5. Corporate life often leads to a one-sided focus on work and neglect of personal renewal. > 6. The tale of the ailing king emphasizes the importance of aligning attitudes and values with one's authentic self. > 7. Renewal is crucial in addressing burnout, and listening for new ideas and values can be helpful. > 8. Alienation from instincts and false attribution of experiences can hinder the identification of the true source of distress. > 9. Jung believed that creating a gradient in one's psychological world is crucial for progress and avoiding burnout. ([Time 0:00:00](https://share.snipd.com/episode-takeaways/c1457783-2e79-4e25-ae89-c0c4178c7dca)) > The Strong Protest Psyche and Burnout > Summary: > Our work life should align with our deeper calling and values from the self. Balancing conscious and unconscious life is crucial for psychological harmony. Overvaluing ego leads to unconscious rebellion and the need to focus on dreams, fantasies, the body, and our relationship with nature. > Transcript: > Speaker 2 > The way that we would tend to look at it is where is perhaps the person's work life not in alignment with a deeper calling or a deeper set of values with something that's coming from what We would call the self with a capital S. > Speaker 1 > And the presence of the self at the center of our psychological life, whether or not we know this consciously, demands a balance of factors in the human soul, in the human psyche. And one of the primary balancing demands is that the conscious life and the unconscious life, that the rational and the irrational are both valued and tended to. And as Deb was saying earlier, when we're overvaluing the ego life, the waking life, that the unconscious begins to stage an insurrection. It begins to secretly depress the parking brake or flip us into first gear, although we're trying to drive 60 miles an hour as a signal for us to focus on the unconscious, to focus on the Dream life, the fantasy life, the life of the body, and our relationship to nature for that matter. ([Time 0:04:28](https://share.snipd.com/snip/eec1834c-1547-4f46-b019-44ecab8c2417)) > Burnout as a Message from the Unconscious > Summary: > Burnout may be a message from the unconscious that something is out of balance and a call to individuation. It is a parking brake effect, an attempt to rebalance the psyche and steer us away from the wrong path. Lisa suggests it can be a call to come home to ourselves and pay attention to our psyche, even spending time outdoors. > Transcript: > Speaker 2 > Burnout could be possibly associated with a call toward individuation, that it is a message from the unconscious that something is out of balance, as you were both were alluding to. And therefore, the kind of parking brake effect, it is an attempt to rebalance the psyche. > Speaker 3 > It's an attempt to stop us because we're going down the wrong road. And I like what you said, Lisa paradoxically, it can be a call to individuation, a call to come home to ourselves, and pay attention to what's going on in the psyche, and perhaps even spend Some time outdoors sitting under a tree or at the beach or whatever basic, millennium old roots we have stop. ([Time 0:06:00](https://share.snipd.com/snip/1bf9f491-4517-4741-8f2e-7fd623427571)) > The link between burnout and a loss of meaning > Summary: > Burnout is often related to a loss of meaning and a sense of cynicism that arises from doing something that feels meaningless. > Transcript: > Speaker 2 > I also think that it was related to a loss of a sense of meaning, and I think that burnout is often associated with a sense of cynicism, or when we're doing something that doesn't feel meaningful. ([Time 0:10:24](https://share.snipd.com/snip/c9903aa0-bdd3-4ef3-b456-117540ef9d21)) > The One-Sidedness of Corporate Life > Summary: > In a demanding job, it's easy to get caught up in egoic life and forget about personal renewal. It's important to remember that we have the capacity to say no and provide feedback to leaders when the work system is not sufficient. > Transcript: > Speaker 2 > Yeah, and then we're back in this real kind of one-sided place, right, where the demands of the job are so much that we only have time and capacity to address egoic life, as you were talking About before, Joseph, there's kind of complete one-sidedness, and there's no time for the underground, to drink from the underground spring that could renew us. > Speaker 1 > And one of the things that I'll often be counseling someone in that situation is reminding them that they have the capacity to say no, that in many of these systems, people lose the capacity To say no, and they also forget that sometimes a work system has to fail and provide that feedback to the corporate leaders so that they actually could believe that the model that they're Using is not sufficient. ([Time 0:14:28](https://share.snipd.com/snip/1725274a-f74d-4e03-bce0-6d505ca5fd88)) > The Tale of the Ailing King and the Water of Life > Summary: > The tale tells of an old and ailing king, representing the worn-out dominant principle in the psyche. It explores the concept of burnout, where one's guiding attitude and values may not align with their authentic self. This can lead to a crisis, but also presents an opportunity for renewal. > Transcript: > Speaker 2 > And the rest of the tale, as you might imagine, is how this wonderful elixir is recovered. And it does involve a relationship with the feminine, which is very obviously lacking in the beginning of the story. We've got an old man, we've got the king and we've got the three sons. So this image, which crops up a lot in myth and fairy tales and alchemical imagery as well, of the ailing king. That the dominant principle in the psyche is worn out, is spent and exhausted and needs to be renewed somehow. > Speaker 1 > That brings me back to even the term burnout, that when a candle is burned out, it's just run all the way down to the last bit of wax and the wick is finished. And then the flame finally just dies. There's just no more fuel to keep the fire going. And so in the tale of the old king dying, that often represents the dominant stance in life or the guiding attitude with which somebody has made decisions and established a set of values And independent from whether or not you like your job. The psyche can get sick and tired of having all of our decisions circling around a particular attitude that we may have just inherited from our parents or inherited from our educational System. Perhaps aren't aware of or haven't even really verbalized to ourselves before. And that that central value may have very little to do with who you are authentically. And then finally, just whatever juice that came in with just flickers out. And then we're in this kind of crisis, which we call burnout, which is also an opportunity. ([Time 0:26:13](https://share.snipd.com/snip/8258de3d-7b3b-44bd-aa61-3953a06825cb)) > The Tale of Burnout and the Opportunity for Renewal > Summary: > When someone reports burnout, I look for opportunities to bring renewal. I believe there is something that person's psyche knows can help. I listen for what new thing wants attention and what value is seeking to be recognized. > Transcript: > Speaker 2 > Yes. And so when someone comes into my office reporting a sense of burnout, I think I'm looking for that opportunity that you mentioned, Joseph. And the question is sort of like, what would bring renewal? Like, where is the water of life? What is that thing? And my assumption is that there's something. And that something in that person's psyche has a sense of what it is. And so I would really be listening for what's the new thing that's wanting attention? What is the value that's been devalued, perhaps, that is looking to be paid attention to? ([Time 0:28:05](https://share.snipd.com/snip/f1153545-4b50-42f0-abc9-68fbdde482a9)) > The Impact of Alienation from Instincts and False Attribution of Experiences in Culture > Summary: > People often seek false solutions to their distress instead of addressing the source. When divorced from instinct, we lose the ability to perceive our distress like animals do. This makes it difficult to identify the straight line leading to the true source of our distress. By understanding the true cause, we can make informed choices and implement effective interventions. > Transcript: > Speaker 1 > And then people are running towards a false solution to their distress which never really resolves it. And that's one of the things that happens when we're divorced from instinct is that we can't really smell out the way an animal would. What's the source of my distress, which often is rather a fairly straight line that has been obscured. And if we really had a straight line to what is actually distressing me, then we might have the choice of having an accurate and effective intervention of some kind. ([Time 0:35:30](https://share.snipd.com/snip/6a40f9fd-0381-4ccb-80f5-069d58c2cf2f)) > Jung's View on Biography and the Importance of Gradient Formation > Summary: > Jung believes that he needs a gradient in order to make progress. He compares his psychological world to a landscape where libido flows like water. The gradient represents a slope or hillside that forms in his psyche. At the base of the hill is his autobiography, and the water of life flowing down the gradient gives him the motivation to bring it to fruition. Burnout occurs when the water dries up and there is no gradient in the psyche. However, something external to the psyche is still influencing us. > Transcript: > Speaker 1 > Jung says, where I cannot move forward on something unless a gradient is formed. So by gradient, Jung had this feeling that his psychological world was a landscape and that libido moved like water. So a gradient would mean a kind of slope or a hillside had kind of developed in his psyche. And at the base of the hill was for him the creation of his autobiography and that there was enough water of life flowing down the gradient and accumulating around this idea that he could Imagine engaging the labor to bring it to fruition. > Speaker 2 > And so burnout would feel like the water is all dried up. > Speaker 1 > Yeah, there's no gradient in the psyche, but something external to the psyche is leveraging us in some way. ([Time 0:43:28](https://share.snipd.com/snip/4733be10-1cda-4a61-b95d-6f165eb9ed51))