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Burnout to brilliant: an interview with Dr Marny Lishman
Wednesday April 2, 2025
Dr Marny Lishman is an in-demand Perth-based psychologist, author, speaker, media commentator, and professional wellbeing and leadership coach who is the author of Burnout to Brilliant.
She designs and delivers bespoke mental health and team mindset learning and development experiences to workplaces all over Australia. She is also the author of Crisis to Contentment on getting mid-life wisdom.
Medicus sat down with Dr Lishman to discuss Burnout to Brilliant and ask her the secret to not just surviving, but thriving.
What inspired you to write the book?
Psychologists spend a lot of time listening to people’s stories. Being in a safe space with a supportive person for quite a long period of time means that our clients often share how they really feel and what they’re really thinking. Many people don’t have another person in their life with whom they can be this vulnerable and raw about their inner world. So, when I think about who inspired me to write this book – it’s my clients whom I’ve worked with over the years; those who’ve struggled with burnout. It’s wonderful to work alongside people to help them navigate the experience of burnout and heal from it, but there are so many people who (for a myriad of reasons) don’t reach out for help during this difficult time. This is why books are so great; they have a far reach.
How common is burnout? How many Aussies suffer from it every year?
Burnout is very common. I think the data would be underestimated because many people don’t report it, don’t talk about it, and might not even know they’re suffering from it. Reports usually state around 30-40% of people suffer from burnout in Australia. Burnout seems to be more common in high-stress, high-responsibility and high-expectation industries like healthcare, where doctors face long hours, emotional strain, low control over certain aspects of their jobs (i.e. patient outcomes), and are heavily regulated. Research indicates around 40% of doctors experience burnout. There also seems to be something significant about caring for others that seems to exacerbate burnout.
How do you know when you’re suffering burnout?
Burnout is the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual exhaustion experienced by an individual as a result of unrelenting stress or other negative emotions. For many people, it’s a slow creep; with some not realising they’re burned out until breaking point. I often say to people that our brain and body are whispering things to us all the time, and often we’re too busy to listen. It might be exhaustion; irritability; losing interest in activities you once enjoyed; feeling cynical about the job you once loved; and it might even be feeling disconnected from everyone around you.
How is burnout different from just being tired?
Usually when we’re tired, we can take some time out, perhaps relax or sleep…
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