Eliza Collins

Introduce yourself to our audience. Tell us who you are and what you are currently focused on.

Eliza Collins - Integrative Wellness + Burnout recovery expert. I'm pumped to help individuals address their burnout by combining my backgrounds in both the biomedical and integrative healthcare systems with my coaching experience.

Tell us about your favorite Ellevate Network memory or success story. Why are you a member?

I have the most amazing Squad! The support, feedback, and sense of community has been so incredible. Our group really bonded and we continue to meet monthly. The non-squad connections I’ve made thus far have been stellar, as well. I’m truly thrilled to be here.

How would you define your professional mission?

I'm on a mission to help individuals take a comprehensive yet easily accessible approach to addressing burnout. Many of the available resources that we’re familiar with - meditation, exercise, etc. - are aces for prevention but ineffective for recovery. I'm passionate about helping people understand the difference between recovery and prevention and arming them with simple, effective tools to tackle whatever stage they happen to be in at the moment.

We’d love to hear more about your career path. What led you to where you are today?

Simply put, I burnt out! I was running my own acupuncture clinic in a way that was deeply out of alignment with my values. I was completely bogged down by imposter syndrome. In addition, I had some underlying health imbalances (undiagnosed Lyme, gut microbiome issues, etc.) that meant that my brain and body literally *couldn't* function optimally. Once I started addressing my burnout from both the physical and psychological aspects, everything changed - my perspective on my circumstances, my ability to handle stress, and how I felt about my business and my life. As that healed, I realized that other people could really benefit - much more quickly - from the lessons that I learned the hard way.

What legacy do you hope to leave through your work?

I hope that through my work, and the work of others like me, we're able to see the cultural shift needed to properly end burnout. While I mostly work with individuals, burnout is a systemic issue. To really see a change, we need to dismantle and/or heal the systems that perpetuate it. As we find more individuals willing to address their own burnout, that increased volume can have a major impact, and I think that's when we'll see the tide start to change. I'd love to see that in my lifetime, but if not, I hope that I can inspire more individuals to take up the mantle so that the work continues.

What is your morning ritual?

During burnout, I intentionally didn't put pressure on myself to create any kind of daily ritual or activity. The stress of forgetting or “failing” was too much for my crispy little brain. It took me about two and a half years to get to a point where I felt good about engaging in an activity every day, and that activity is meditating. Sometimes it's guided, sometimes it's just to ambient sounds, and lately it's been a new breathing technique that I learned to help regulate immune function, which I've found also really stabilizes my mood. Something that used to feel like it would be grueling - committing to daily meditation - is now a real joy, but I had to allow myself to grow into that organically.

What is your favorite social media site? Why?

I love Instagram. It allows me to be an absolute goofball while still putting out useful content that isn't too long or difficult for people to digest. Burnt out brains need bite sized healing, so I enjoy the time limitations that help me curate said content while still being entertaining, relatable and real. You can find me @theburnoutwitch

What would you say your personal superpower is?

Empathy. It's something that started out as a trauma response - monitoring my environment to anticipate the needs of anyone and everyone around me - not so healthy. As I learned and engaged more with what healthy empathy looks like, it allows me to really be present and hold space for the individuals I work with. While I don't know everyone's personal struggle when they come to me, because those are as unique as your DNA, I have a deep and profound history with the feelings that often accompany burnout - feelings of hopelessness, powerlessness, resentment, frustration, grief, and sometimes not even knowing *what* you feel because you're so overwhelmed. Being able to validate someone’s feelings & experiences is really transformative.

Is work-life balance a problem for you? What is one no-fail tactic you use to create balance?

As an entrepreneur, work-life balance can feel like a never-ending struggle, and it's one that I am nearly constantly mindful of. One of the biggest things for me was adjusting the questions I ask myself when my brain is going 5,278 miles per hour. If I get sucked into a tornado of hyper-productivity, I'll often flip the script on the question, "What do I need TO DO right now?" and eliminate two very small (but big) words to make it "What do I need right now?" It helps me remember that my circumstances aren't happening to me - I'm still in control. I also stopped "shoulding" on myself - "I *should* fold that laundry", "I *should* write up a new one sheet", etc. It’s okay to sit on your tail, eat a few potato chips, and watch an episode of Schitts Creek. If it’s not actively on fire, I don’t treat it like an emergency anymore.

What is the best career advice you ever received?

Know your core values. You absolutely cannot show up in the world if you don't have the first clue of what's important to you. This was especially impactful as an entrepreneur. I started out building a business they way everyone else with “more experience” told me I should - that’s how I’d be “successful.” Except I’m not everyone else. My needs are very different, so my business and my success will look different. Accepting that and being okay with it was a really healing experience. Once I knew my values, I had a better idea of what my ideal business looked like, and the downstream effects that filtered into the rest of my life have been spectacular.