Mónica Pina Alzugaray on Burnout as a Door Back to Self (And What Happens When You Walk Through It)

Season #3 November 24, 2025

"I think that burnout provides that door back to self." - Mónica Pina Alzugaray

In this episode, Casey sits down with Mónica Pina Alzugaray, the first woman who responded to Casey's call for conversations about change, burnout, and transformation when she first arrived in Barcelona. A year later, they reflect on Mónica's journey from burnout to vitality—and what's changed.

This is a conversation about moving beyond doing things because they look good and into doing things because they feel aligned. Mónica shares the moment on her beautiful couch with her cashmere sweater when everything looked perfect but felt empty, the pattern of performing through burnout recovery the same way she performed at work, and what shifted when she finally connected back to her soul. They explore how asking for help creates real relationships, why discomfort is the pathway to connection, and how burnout became a portal to a deeper, more authentic way of living.

In This Episode, You'll Discover:

Why nothing external can reconnect you to your soul—you have to do that yourself
The difference between doing yoga because it looks good and doing it because it grounds you
How asking for help (even watering plants) transforms surface-level connections into real relationships
Why we've become a society that avoids discomfort—and what that costs us
The importance of in-person connection in a professional world (even when it means getting on a plane)
How burnout provides a door back to self—and what's possible when you walk through it

Resources & Next Steps:

Find Mónica on LinkedIn here.
Learn with Casey through her Free Training: Your Pathway to a Calm, Purposeful Career or Business That Fuels a Life You Love
Follow Casey on LinkedIn
Say hello to Casey on Instagram
Check out the Worthy and Well website

Episode Transcript

Casey Berglund:

So about a year ago, at the time that this is being recorded, I sent out a note on the Juno House membership area, the forum online, asking to speak with women who have gone through some sort of change. Maybe they've gone through a burnout or they've moved to another country or they've gone through a relationship change, something that has shaken them up a bit and made them question deeper who they are and what they really want to do next for work. And you were the first person who responded to that post. I just remember it so clearly. You commented and I replied back to you and you're the first person that booked a call and then we ended up meeting in person at Juno and you were the first person I had a conversation with about that and I remember it so clearly, not just because of your story and what you shared in that time that was like, yeah, these are my people. There are women here who I can support the same way that I supported women back home. So that was really beautiful for me. But also you particularly had a presence about you. And I remember when you sat down in that chair, this feeling that, well, if I'm honest, this feeling that this isn't just gonna be a, you know, collegial or client type of relationship or a, you know, brief conversation about your experience. I had this feeling that I would come to really know you and deepen with you and be part of your journey in a bigger way, in some way beyond what I could see in that moment, but I just had this sense about it. And you were so vulnerable and open and generous with your story. And I just remember appreciating that so much. Like I just love that from humans in general. And it was also so helpful for me in that moment where I'm in a new country and I'm kind of wondering like, is my work relevant here? Do I do the same thing with these women that I was doing back home in Canada? And so I'd love for you to start by sharing where you were at in that moment a year ago. And then I'll of course have more questions for you from there. But what do you recall about that experience and where you were at as it related to your burnout journey, your journey as a working woman who had taken some time off? Tell me more.

Monica Pina Alzugaray:

You did take me there. I really... The first thing that came up is, wow, this was just a year ago. I can't believe that... I feel like I've traveled so much and yet, you know, I'm still here, but it feels like there's been so much learning in this past year. So back then I had been on leave, I think for six to eight months or so. And I had gone through, yeah, the couple of phases that you go in when you have a burnout, I guess. And I was feeling vital again. And I was feeling ready to start working. However, I was not ready to start doing it the same way I was doing it, right? This was not the first time I had found myself burnt out. And I did want to bring everything that I had learned in these months into my next chapter. I didn't want it to be, you know, quote unquote, in vain, because I had sort of shed a few layers and was closer and more connected to myself and I wanted to bring that to my next chapter because doing it the same way I was doing it felt—and I think I used this word when we met, I think I said it feels like a straightjacket—and I didn't want that anymore.

Casey Berglund:

I'm remembering you telling me that you had a moment that week or that day where you were sitting on your beautiful couch with your beautiful cashmere sweater and a cozy blanket and you were like, everything looks so beautiful, but why doesn't it feel that way? And that stood out to me because I've heard that so many times. And I just remember like you, you are beautiful, you were dressed beautifully. You had in my mind on that first meeting, like the image of perfection, having all of these things together. You know, I love when we get to know each other and it's like, yeah, we're all a little bit messy and that's kind of where the gold is and the juice is. And I think these moments awaken us to those deeper layers. So I'm just remembering you saying it looks really good, but why isn't it feeling so good? And I want to make sure that things feel good in my next chapter. And so I just wanted to reflect that back. What comes up for you when I just remind you of that comment you made?

Monica Pina Alzugaray:

I remember that moment very well, actually. I think that burnout provides that door back to self because everything looks good, right? Everything, you're at work, you're performing well, it seems like you have it all together, then you don't and you take leave. And then you kind of do the same thing, you go to yoga, you go to, you do therapy, you do everything outside—it looks like she's doing the thing and she's doing what she's supposed to do in a way. I'm not sure, but why doesn't it feel that way? And I think that the reason it doesn't feel that way is because nothing external can—the word is not fixed. I was going to use the word fixed and it's not that. Nothing external can connect you back to your soul. Like you have to do that, right? So maybe I will sit back on my couch with my very old cashmere sweater that I love and with my book. And it's the same situation, but this year it will feel different. And I think it will feel different because I am more connected and the reason I am sitting on that couch with my book is because I have set up a boundary for myself that I need to rest. There is a reasoning behind that. Whereas sometimes, or I guess before, I would just do things for how they looked. And of course, we have so much information now of, you know, how life is supposed to be and what you're supposed to be doing when you have a burnout or you don't have a burnout that you very easily put yourself in that situation. You go to the yoga class and you—this is my case—I was so worried that I couldn't do any of the positions. It's not like I'm not doing yoga now, same with the couch. I am. It's just that there is a reason behind it and I know. That makes the difference.

Casey Berglund:

It makes so much sense. It's like the felt sense underneath the behavior is the click, is the difference. And I love that you illuminated how you went from performing or doing what on the outside looked good in your work to being on a leave post-burnout and doing what on the outside looked good in terms of your healing, in terms of... yeah, the yoga and the therapy, et cetera. And it's not that those things aren't useful. I'm sure you received great value from those. But I'm curious if you could slow that down even a little bit more and tell me about what happens when you apply that—I don't want to call it hustle necessarily or that performance, I suppose, in work—to the next phase of the quote unquote healing journey.

Monica Pina Alzugaray:

It absolutely does. I think that at a professional or personal level, I think connections in person really do matter. And I'm pretty sure the science backs us up here. Also, it's interesting, something that came up when you were speaking, you also mentioned asking for help and how that is a beautiful opportunity for connection as well. And this, you know, is drifting a bit more on the personal side, but like giving the people that are around you the chance to help you is also doing something for them. Right? It is, that is connection. And maybe that is uncomfortable for both parts because it's important. Let's say that, I don't know, you're going—I went on vacation this summer and I needed someone to water my plants that I love. And that person needed to come to my house in the two weeks I was away, twice. I had a lot of plants and she had to spend quite a long time here, you know, watering them. That was not comfortable for her. It wasn't comfortable for, God knows it was not comfortable for me to ask at all. But that's something that has shifted in our relationship, right? Like we don't live far away. If she gets sick and she needs a prescription, I could go to the pharmacy and get it for her. Those are the types of relationships that are, or the connections that are not just connections that transition into being relationships. Because connections, sometimes we use that word and it feels fast and it feels quick. What comes after that, right? Building into a relationship is not comfortable. And I love that you brought this up because no matter if we're talking at a personal level or a professional level in the office, it is not comfortable maybe to take a plane and go to Berlin in my case or Manchester or, but you do it to connect and that connection is worth a lot more than that time that you had to spend on the plane or whatever, but it is uncomfortable. I think that this also brings up another topic that I don't know that we have time to discuss today, but it is that we are a society that doesn't want to feel discomfort.

And I think that, I think it was Brené Brown that was saying this in the context of children that we, she in her case, she was saying we brought up these children that didn't, or we wanted to avoid adversity. You know, we didn't want them to experience adversity. And apparently this is very, very, very useful for development that you feel some sort of adversity. And yeah, I don't know if it's the pandemic, I don't know if it's the online world, I don't know, but I fear sometimes that we are evolving into feeling that we need to be comfortable all the time. And that maybe is at the expense sometimes of connection. And connection is infinitely more important, right?

Casey Berglund:

Most important. Yeah, I appreciate you bringing that up. And as you're speaking about it, I'm also just appreciating you, appreciating you for being here for my discomfort, for leaning into your own discomfort. You know, there's something about when you've been someone who's learned how to perform and like fit and mold yourself into the person that you think others want you to be, and you're a relatively high performer and like to be seen as having your shit together, there's something that is so, so uncomfortable about asking for help. Like you feel like you wanna die before you ask for help. And it's wild. And I just am so grateful as we wrap up this conversation for this deep knowing that you and I have a deep, true, authentic level of connection and friendship and relationship. And you know, this has been one of the biggest gifts of the season is I know that I have built relationship. You know, when you meet someone and then you are leaving to another country and they're like, don't worry, we'll keep in touch. And it's like, and then you never hear from that person again. I know that the relationships with people that I've built here and you being one of them, that they're real and long lasting and that there will be effort made to be in presence in person, even when there's an ocean between us. And like, what is more important than that? What is more important than like being on your deathbed and knowing that you loved wholly and wholeheartedly and connected with the people that you were meant to connect with and really like, yeah, move through the vulnerability and the discomfort of what it took to build that. Like, I don't know. I think on my deathbed, I want to be like, damn, I was good with people and my heart was open and I showed myself and I laid it all out there, you know. So I love that and I love that you know burnout is a portal to that, moving to another country is a portal to that, losing a loved one is a portal to that, going through a relationship change and having your heart broken is a portal to that. There's a deeper truth that rises in the breaking open and it's such a gift when you connect with other people who've been through that, there's a natural way of developing deepness. So I appreciate the way that you have shown up for your journey, the way that you've let it crack you open. And you know, we were just talking from a work perspective. There are other things that you've been through that have opened your heart and pummeled you into another messy middle that has made you who you are and a person of like, soul and strength. So anyway, I just want to love up on you and appreciate you as we wrap up this conversation.

Monica Pina Alzugaray:

Thank you so much, Casey. All everything right back at you. I think it's been one of the highlights of this year to build that connection with you, that relationship with you. Thank you so much.

Casey Berglund:

Thank you and thank you so much for being here and sharing your story.