Caren Paskel
Keynote Speaker · Bestselling Author · Creator of Midlife Body Alignment
Burnout is not a wellness problem. It is a performance problem.
The Signs No One Sees
Your highest performers are the ones you worry about least. They deliver. They absorb more. They never ask for anything.
They are also the ones running closest to empty — and nothing in your engagement survey will tell you.
Caren calls it High Functioning Survival Mode: succeeding on the outside while the body runs on adrenaline underneath. It does not look like burnout until the day it does. By then you are replacing someone it took three years to develop.
She knows the physiology because she lived in it for seven years — two as a caregiver during her husband's terminal illness, five more rebuilding afterward while appearing entirely fine.
What she teaches now is what brought her back: a body that feels safe produces work that does not have to be done twice.
That is not a benefit. It is a performance input.
Signature Talks
High Functioning Survival Mode: The Signs No One Sees
The most exhausted people in your organization are often the most accomplished. This talk names what high performers rarely admit — that thriving on the outside can mask a body running on empty — and gives both individuals and leaders the signs to watch for before they become resignations.
Your room leaves with: the specific markers of pre-burnout in high performers, and what to do at each stage.
Nervous System Recalibration: Flow, Safety and Sustainable Energy
Lasting performance is not built on hustle. It is built on a body regulated enough to sustain it. Caren walks audiences through the physiology of survival mode, why conventional wellness programming fails to shift it, and the practices that actually restore capacity.
Your room leaves with: an understanding of why they cannot rest their way out of exhaustion, and what works instead.
From Survival to Truly Alive: Rebuilding After Loss
Drawn from Caren's own seven years — two as a caregiver, five rebuilding after loss — a grounded, non-performative path through grief, burnout, and reinvention. Not a story about bouncing back, but about coming home.
Your room leaves with: permission to stop performing recovery, and a real framework for rebuilding.
Who Caren Speaks To
Corporate leadership teams and all-company gatherings
HR, People, and Learning & Development programming
Healthcare systems and clinical staff
Universities, faculty and staff development
Conferences, summits, and association events
Executive retreats and offsites
Formats
Keynote, 30 to 60 minutes
Extended session or workshop, 90 minutes to half-day
Panel and fireside conversation
Delivered in person or remotely
Based in Breckenridge, Colorado. Available to travel.
Fees
Speaking fees begin at $10,000. Travel, multi-session formats, and full-day intensives are quoted individually.
Recent and Past Engagements
Featured speaker, The Women's Burnout Recovery Blueprint Summit, September 2026
Faculty, staff, and students, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University.
Corporate conference keynote
Myasthenia Gravis Foundation, in person and online
Published contributor on workplace wellbeing
Watch Caren Speak
The Power of Self-Belief — Signature Talk
What People Are Saying
“Caren’s fantastic at captivating the audience, big or small. Her story is profound, and the lessons she has passed on from her experience have helped shape my life and the lives of countless others.”
“Caren is a master teacher when it comes to evoking your inner sense of personal belief and courage to rise to greatness. She is an inspirational storyteller who opens you up to fly beyond what you thought was even possible.”
“I knew I needed Caren to assist and guide me through what I knew would be my journey of self-discovery, self-love, self-realization, self-transformation, and self-belief.”
Book Caren to Speak
For availability, formats, and fees, reach out below. Caren responds to every inquiry personally.