We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Caroline Young a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Caroline, thrilled to have you on the platform as I think our readers can really benefit from your insights and experiences. In particular, we’d love to hear about how you think about burnout, avoiding or overcoming burnout, etc.
After working as an eating disorder nutrition counselor for years, I realized that if I want to continue to do this work (that I love very much), I have to diversify and outsource to avoid burning out. So, I started to work towards adding in other forms of work that fill me up in different ways and are less emotionally expensive, such as writing, working with the media and brands, and teaching yoga. Simultaneously, I started to build my counseling practice and created a team of dietitians. Now, I feel less alone and more engaged, and I can pour from a full cup, instead of only being able to give little drops from a drained one.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My business, Whole Self Nutrition, has three focus areas, including media, nutrition counseling, and yoga—all with the same intent: to help people find freedom and peace with food and their bodies. Our nutrition counseling practice includes a team of four licensed dietitians who help people virtually with nutrition, exercise, and body image. I also work with the media (both as a spokesperson and a writer) and values-aligned brands, and I teach yoga from a trauma-informed lens.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Having courage to take risks and follow my intuition with my business’ evolution was key in helping it thrive while keeping myself well mentally, emotionally, and physically. Having a mentor to help support me along the way continues to be incredibly valuable to me. Continuing to learn and educate myself will always be something that helps my business and ensures the highest quality services possible.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
Allowing myself to create space in my days to go back to writing and make that a large part of what I do has been a huge area of growth. Learning how to work with the media as a way to help people cultivate healthy relationships with food, body, exercise, and themselves, has been pivotal for my career, and so fun and rewarding!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thewholeyogird.com/
- Instagram: wholeselfnutrition
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewholeyogiRD
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-l-young-ms-rdn-ld-ryt-7b428234/
