A Better Job Won't Help - The Truth about Burnout | Karen Curry Parker | TEDxColoradoSprings

What if the root cause of burnout isn’t being overworked, underpaid, or hating your job but unresolved trauma? If we don’t explore the relationship between burnout and unresolved trauma we run the risk of losing a generation of cultural creatives and missing the opportunity to find elegant solutions to the challenges facing humanity today. Karen Curry Parker is a best-selling author of multiple books. She has been speaking, coaching, training, and podcasting about high performance living for almost 30 years, touching close to 100,000 lives around the world. Her core mission is to help people live the life they were designed to live by discovering who they are, what they are here to do, and how to activate their potential and authentic life path. Karen's work has been featured on Fox News, Bloomberg Businessweek, CBS, ABC, and various radio shows and telesummits. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@autonomydepthconsciousness7633]

Burnout can result when we are spending most of our waking hours not being connected & expressing our inner creativity. Thanks.

[@babyboylovesmusic]

My burnout has nothing to do with unresolved trauma. The trauma is the jobs I've experienced - repeatedly negative experiences. I legit have lost 3 jobs in 6 years, experienced 2 additional company closures, filed 2 lawsuits because I was not being paid fairly, and yet to find a job in my field that is stable. I think it's simply I need a new profession.

[@swimm3r137]

Could be, but it's generally not the job that attracts the conditions. It's the conditions that attract the job

[@100Shummy]

Her explanation didn’t exclude your experience at all. I have no idea what you’re arguing with.

[@eclowe6594]

@@swimm3r137 that's a pretty privileged take ya got there bud

[@swimm3r137]

@@eclowe6594 You're right, and I'm privledged** to share it with you ;-).

[@discoveringthyself7246]

And yet if you peeled back the layers and themes of these jobs why you are in that industry what attracts you to certain jobs and why these experiences have occurred - voila - there’s a whole lot of unresolved trauma waiting for you to connect back to - just got to go digging and not sit on the surface - you’ll be glad you did

[@amuseern]

I'm 64 years old, been stressed all my life, over weight and have type 2 diabetes. Recently I've been to coaching sessions to address my weight issue. What I discovered is somewhere in my troublesome childhood I took responsibility for everything! I was stressed all the time! This was my core value. I'm now putting my needs first and I've starting to think more about what I eat, not through self discipline, but easily through self love. Suddenly my job has become alien to me because I was in it to rescue situations. What's interesting is these six coaching sessions have been funded by the UK National Health Service, where I live, via a charity that helps people like me. Keep up your great work, there must be so many people out dying because of unnecessary self inflected stress. Thank you 😊

[@ayahlifemiraclelife1909]

"A new definition of trauma.... "any event, perception or experience that causes us to lose our connection to our sense of value and our unique gifts that we have to bring to the world" Yes! this new definition is so much more honouring for the infinite variety of human experience. Burnout is so insidious and old definitions of 'trauma' cause many people to feel "undeserving" of the medicine (rest) they truly need & do not feel worthy of receiving help. Thank you, I appreciate your offerings immensely.

[@martynbeaumont1100]

"When you can't access your vitality, you burn out". That's very accurate.

[@coffeerevival7812]

This is, by far, the best, most accurate definition of burnout. I resonate with this, not as a person trying to function in this matrix, but also as a human-being.

[@Nokss87]

1. Corporal punishment 2. Strict parent (mother) 3. Domestic violence 4. Parents divorce 5. Mother leaving to study when I was young OMG the list is very long includinghealth conditions caused by the trauma, yet nobody wants to listen to my pain and I should get "over it, it happened years ago". I've experienced burnouts all the jobs that I've worked. I ended thinking maybe I'm just failure 😔😪😕

[@schipperstef]

“Nobody wants to listen”… outside is a projection of yourself. You (your heart, you in the Now) wants to listen to your Inner Child who is hurt. Don’t blame, don’t judge. Just feel your body (your past emotion) where it’s hurt and follow: - I forgive you (inner child) - I accept - I no longer need “you” (the pain) - I will let “you” go (the pain) - Be thankful (gratitude) You might need to repeat a few times to integrate. Do not do this at once. Step by step. ❤

[@mythicalmelodies276]

I feel like Karen takes some real scientific and psychological principles but she combines them with New Age psychobabble and well-placed buzz words and it really dilutes the message. DSM-V doesn't actually define trauma in the narrow ways that she describes; it doesn't only have to include explicitly violent or life-threatening situations. Neglect, negative social situations such as school bullying, or having a physically or mentally ill or incarcerated family member can all contribute to Adverse Childhood Experiences (as measured by the ACE Test). In addition, there have been many studies conducted on the long-term costs of childhood emotional abuse and neglect, which can sometimes lead to even longer-term mental health and self-esteem issues because children who are mercilessly criticized, ignored, or denied food, medical care, or affection often grow into adults with a deep sense of abandonment and the belief that their value as human beings is dependent on their performance or productivity. People with these kinds of problems are not just experiencing "burnout", they are very likely to have developed serious psychological problems such as depression, mood disorders, anxiety, addiction (including to caffeine like the man in the example given) that may require the treatment of mental health professionals and possibly a medical intervention. For many people whose illnesses have progressed to this point, hiring a life coach and just "getting in touch with your creativity and life's purpose" are not going to be enough; the work of dealing with early life trauma is extremely difficult and takes YEARS to complete. There are people who have been able to do the work without the help of medical professionals, but this requires a supportive system of family and/or friends, a healthy dose of introspection, and proper education on physical and mental health and wellness, as well as the willingness to utilize healthy coping skills (including but not limited to dietary adjustments and exercise). I also believe that we need to stop talking about cortisol and "the fight or flight response" in these dumbed-down, unscientific ways. Chronic stress truly does have extremely negative effects on your health, but cortisol is something that is required for human metabolism, it is the EXCESS production that causes the issues. You can reduce excess cortisol production by low-impact exercise or engaging in your hobbies in a meaningful way (like some of her clients did). The YT Channel Therapy in a Nutshell explains what is really happening in the so-called "fight or flight response" when she describes the machinations of the sympathetic vs. the parasympathetic nervous system in the human body. Finally, the reason the definition of "burnout" has been limited to work-related fatigue by the WHO organization is due to the fact that, as I expressed, there are other mental health terms that can better explain what is happening with some of Karen's clients. Karen, from what I can tell, is not a psychologist, so I do not believe she has a right to arbitrarily redefine a term that has been created SPECIFICALLY to explain work-related fatigue and dissatisfaction and disillusionment related to job satisfaction. The reason why burnout didn't encompass what was happening to Karen's clients is because they weren't experiencing burnout! Also, to assume that workplace dissatisfaction doesn't interact with "systemic racism" is absurd and really shows that authors like Karen have no understanding of how chronic stress at a job that requires long hours and does not provide financial stability can take a psychological toll on minority workers that WILL bleed into the rest of our lives; in fact, ANY GROUP, including poor white people, locked into physically demanding, unrewarding jobs is bound to incur physical and psychological strain that could affect them long-term and will negatively affect other areas of their lives. It's really that simple.

[@5hydroxyT]

yes thank you for clarifying these issues that I found confusing in this talk

[@felicianothorpe8998]

Love this.

[@moniqueloomis9772]

Wow. This critique is amazing. ☺👏👏👏👏

[@amandalemus]

Thank you Karen! I heard your talk 2 years ago for the first time, and listening to it again. Now I am your Student finishing QHDL4 THANK YOU SO MUCH, Human Designa and you and your team saved my life! I love you with all my heart! So proud of being part of the tribe! ❤❤❤

[@chelseahenry1110]

Beautifully stated and great observations and points. I’ve experienced “big traumas” and plenty of day to day in childhood and adulthood. Even when I’m high on my career and ambitious, I’m equally floored and burnt out. I have felt burnt out for many many many many years. Now I have kids and want this to shift for so much more than myself. It’s getting there but still have some ways to go. What I always loved was music but I was never “the best” at it. I certainly wasn’t good enough to go to school for it so I followed what made me feel competent and strong and smart, unlike anything before and that was health and wellness and public health. I do love it and it’s near to my heart but I think there is a core much deeper I need to remember and stop being afraid to explore and try to enjoy again.

[@letmeseemm]

This was great! I had a major episode of burn out at the beginning of the pandemic and went to therapy to address past traumas. Still not sure if I'm ready to reenter the workplace though.

[@KC-50]

Yeh, I agree..past trauma impacts current behavior. Recently was told that I'm so negative but that's because my good friend wasn't feeling well that day but point taken. I work with ppl sometimes who totally annoy me and wish I could be by myself. I dont know how to cope.

[@Widkey]

If you had time for therapy, chances are you don't have work burnout.. work burnout comes from having to work so many damn hours you have no time to do much of anything else.

[@breej3055]

The universe is pointing me in the right direction. It is making me figure stuff out that needs to be fixed. Thanks.

[@norahidalgo6494]

So timely! Your wisdom synthesized the "obvious/ not so obvious" theme that keeps most of us up at night! Thank you for your light!

[@ibrooks]

Woooww, bravo! We need more free-thinking people to conduct their own research like Karen and bring new solutions and ideas to the global table. I wrote a book on Burnout, so this talk was especially valuable to me and has added to my prospective. Thank you!

[@lynndebienne7896]

💃💃💃💃So good Karen!!!! I totally agree!!!!!! This made my heart dance with hope and love💞 Thank you Karen for speaking up🙏⚘🙏⚘A big hug of love and gratitude for being you💗💗💗

[@new.earth.]

you are such a gift to this world. thank you for sharing your astute wisdom with us all.

[@thereplenishinglifeproject293]

Beautiful talk Karen. Thank you for sharing this timely message of compassion & understanding 💜

[@KarenCurryParker]

Thank you!

[@alibi4876]

I'd love to give you 10 thumbs up just to help spread this video! Excellent message, thank you so much. It really fills that gaping hole in the vicious circle of self-accusation around not having the right to be "traumatised" in comparison to the trauma cases you listed in the beginning.

[@DrPreetiSahu]

Thank you! The internal disconnect between one’s own values and the perceived ones, due to whatever external reason in the past, can be so damaging. You lose the sense of self worth because the values are not your own in the first place. But also, it’s not one’s mistake that the trauma happened to them. Yes, being observant and mindful growing up can probably help keep an eye on when exactly there is a conflict in values.

[@jessicah3450]

You can perceive your job differently if you didn't land your dream job, which most of us probably didn't. I went to college to be a counselor, but ended up in retail. Luckily, I had one good manager that pointed out: I may not be helping my clients solve their problems in an office, but I can help my customers solve their problems by acknowledging them and helping them find products. I also listen to my regular customers if they're having a problem or a bad day. It brought some personal fulfillment to an otherwise grueling job. One nice customer and being able to make their day makes up for a dozen rude ones that I've had to deal with.

[@magdalenasikora5604]

You discovered the truth. Thank you for your work.

[@sandralee1miracleinspirations]

It was worth the wait. Thank you for bringing attention to a pervasive issue. Well done. Thank you. Breathe

[@kathrynbromfield9248]

Thank you ❤️

[@thaliahernandez125]

Awesome talk and great delivery. Thank you!!

[@francespeterson4968]

Your talk was both eloquent and inspiring. I hope your thought provoking talk reaches so many more people and those in positions that can create change. Thank you sharing your wisdom Karen! ❤️

[@maikenmilter4381]

Great video, but I do think changing your job to something more in line with your natural abilities will reduce burnout.

[@breej3055]

I disagree because I could go get another job but if there is an underlying trauma I am missing I could continue to be burnt out at each job i try (i think ive been there done that already). Why don't I deal with it at this job now and then I could peacefully move on to a better job.

[@Widkey]

@@breej3055 Maybe so, but let's say you never experienced trauma before and you were a well balanced person.. then you get a job in a corporation and move up the ladder.. as you become more important to the company, they demand more and more of you until your entire life revolves around keeping the company going.. when you started the job you were working 40 hours a week, now you are working 70+ hours a week and have a mortgage and cars to pay.. and kids to put through college.. and you are older now and know would be hard to find another career job at your age that will pay the bills... I don't care how damn balanced you were before that, YOU WILL BE BURNED OUT! To think that trauma is the only cause of burnout is complete idiocy.

[@TheNPMogul]

Plot twist. What if the job WAS the source of trauma. Changing your job can help. There is no one size fits all.

[@ayanahmed7311]

Thank you!

[@carim2557]

Thank you for this.

[@betsybatista]

A POWERFUL talk! Thank you, Karen!! This should be necessary viewing!!

[@annacs87]

⁰

[@corysmith3447]

lol you called her KAREN, insulting!

[@sullygaming1137]

Yep my father continuously made me feel bad about wanting to do something I wanted. So now I work night shift at a Walmart and when I dream I only have dreams of working or nightmares. I've since gotten light insomnia I tried to write but my dad would always push it down and make me work the job he wanted

[@Widkey]

Let's say you never experienced trauma before and you were a well balanced person.. then you get a job in a corporation and move up the ladder.. as you become more important to the company, they demand more and more of you until your entire life revolves around keeping the company going.. when you started the job you were working 40 hours a week, now you are working 70+ hours a week and have a mortgage and cars to pay.. and kids to put through college.. and you are older now and know would be hard to find another career job at your age that will pay the bills... your ever demanding job has kept you away from your spouse and family, causing relationship problems.. I don't care how damn balanced you were before that, YOU WILL BE BURNED OUT after this! To think that trauma is the only cause of burnout is complete idiocy.

[@donnalarkin9216]

Each week I look forward to watching your Weekly HD Report and was excited for you that you got this opportunity to do a TED Talk! I would have loved seeing you up on stage as I'm sure you would have love that experience too. What an important and relevant topic to speak about during the pandemic. Thank you for all your wisdom and insight you continually offer into the world. :)

[@KarenCurryParker]

Thank you!!!!!

[@moehanadaden5127]

@@KarenCurryParker Karen this has really helped me, I felt like I got so much from this. Its as if you were talking to me only as you described my issue with burn out to a Tee. Where can I watch your show? Or do you have books you have written? Thank you soo much your an incredible speaker.

[@GuidetteExpert]

There should be two different words for particular burnouts. There is a different burnout for work and different burnout because of personal life.

[@jessicah3450]

Exactly! If you have bills to pay, it is difficult to leave a job. Plus many corporations congratulate what has been called "corporate narcissism" and it is ingrained in company culture. Leaving a toxic job can be as difficult as leaving an abusive relationship, because your job controls your finances, and you often have work relationships with your coworkers and bosses, who can also be very abusive and toxic. You do get to leave work each day, but it mentally doesn't leave you.

[@hadart1285]

Amazing.

[@melissacoates3722]

I’m sure what she saying is also possible. However, burnout can happens when you are doing the job of 2 people for years. Then they give you more work. When I asked other people about their jobs, they tell me it’s happening at their company too.

[@Virvepaulina]

I'm with Karen! 👏

[@Nokss87]

Omg! I can relate soooooo much!!! I quit my job for something better....to do fashion design. My mom also scared me out of doing what I love instead of whatever will get me a job. It's madness....

[@SamSam-to1fb]

I disagree. Actually in most cases a better job where people are valued and efforts are rewarded would definitely elevate work related trauma and burn out. I worked for Walmart software side of things. I was worked like a horse, promised the sun and the moon on projects but in the end passed on like a banana peel after that project was finished. My bosses took all the credit and rarely would give credit. I never got a pay raise for 3.5 years. I never went on vacation. And I never got a pay raise. Despite all promised to me before every major project. In the end I burnt out and couldnt even look at programming for while. If my work did not bash my expectations over and over again, gave me some credit and valued me especially in reward ie salary I would not have burnt out. I still feel trauma and wish I left sooner when I saw other people leave. I just thought they could not hack the work until it hit me.

[@letakeokuk5446]

I wholeheartedly agree with you…

[@RandomActsOfMusic1]

100%

[@Skatamska]

There has been a study about this: The ACE study (Adverse Childhood Experiences). Later in life these people are at higher risk for cancer, stroke and other serious illnesses.

[@casario2808]

True, but it is not a given or written in stone. With approaches like emotional processing of trauma and tools like meditation we can chart a different path than what ACE or anything else says (and/or better heal from illness, physical or mental).

[@trishawalsh7832]

Perhaps. But I still think I need to a career change.

[@treasurelu]

Letting the context off the hook helps no one... The ideal of 'exceptional living' is a mirage - and one that actually leads to burn-out..

[@robertellis6505]

4 years at working at Goodwill all ways doing the same duties without moving up.. at 50 something and now with one kidney and trying keep up with the speed of every one àlse and the special education from California

[@StopDropandRoll17]

so? how do i keep in touch with my sense of value?

[@anonomyss]

I became useless after I got what I thought was my dream job. I was good at it too, but I just couldn't force myself to work anymore. I'd scroll endlessly on my phone, play games, or do anything to avoid doing work, and I'd scream at myself in my head saying "wtf are you doing??"

[@susanbaylor9106]

I read your comment and wondered if I actually wrote it. You described what I'm going through right now. Did you find anything that has helped you resolve your issue or to start working towards recovery?

[@dAvrilthebear]

6:20 I am absolutely 'Mark' from this story, not able to set up realistic targets and deadlines! What should I do?

[@abdouramanediallo5068]

It's is said in Africa that you need your parents blessing to succeed in life. Now I see why..

[@zorgate]

I can't find a job.

[@coolconandy]

Has the job market burnt out the workforce due to focus on low value work?

[@LucasDanielSantoro]

5:27 Her definition of trauma

[@jameslucena1020]

TedX the Goodwill of self help talks

[@rowdyrager-9403]

I'm a cnc lathe programmer/editor. I knew 0 about it but learned on the job. I am at a low to mid level pay range with what I know and can do. If I stick with it I can potentially make a very good wage. But I'm so sick of making parts LOL. I think I might just have to get new jobs everytime I get sick of them. Not the best but I gotta work. But I dont wanna be miserable either.

[@HarryOsirian]

Someone referencing the fraudulent W.H.O is a huge NO for me

[@jenniferh.2150]

Hard disagree on redefining Trauma on this way. Trauma is a clinical term that explains very unambiguous mental illness and redefining it in such a vague way even subjective way does deserve to its clinical use.

[@RossBoss203]

Not true. Burn out is not a medical problem that you can get treatment or help for, at lest not in Texas. Your on your own to figure out how to survive

[@timwannell6477]

This could not be more wrong

[@nocturnalreptilian]

Agreed.

[@leopemberton5439]

Burnout to much ME to little GOD People I help not doing what I think they should do 🤔🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@johnpark5602]

sound is low

[@stadvardom]

Good talk until the virtue signaling started. Racism, racism everywhere!

[@Censored-Doomer]

All talk no solitions, like all tedx bs

[@JoJoJ0]

I don't trust a Karen