Ending Physician Overwhelm

Send us Fan Mail You don’t have “insomnia.” You have too much on your mind, too much on your plate, and a healthcare system that treats your sleep like an optional hobby. In this episode of Ending Physician Overwhelm , we’re diving into sleep as a radical act of self-preservation for physicians. This is Week 4 of the 10-Week Recharge Challenge, and we’re getting honest about why you’re not sleepin...

Send us Fan Mail You’ve been told to “just take a deep breath” more times than you can count. Usually by someone who doesn’t realize you’ve been holding your breath since pre-med. This week on Ending Physician Overwhelm, we’re talking about something deceptively simple — breathing. Not the kind of “calm down” breath that makes you want to throw a stethoscope, but intentional, physiologic breathing...

Send us Fan Mail This week, we’re getting a little leafy. In Week 2 of our 10-Week Recharge Challenge, we’re focusing on feeding your cells from the inside out. No, you don’t need to become a kale evangelist — but yes, your mitochondria are begging you for some help. As physicians, we’ve been trained to care for everyone else first. We run on caffeine, cortisol, and guilt, and we convince ourselve...

Send us Fan Mail Hey friend — can we talk about the badge of busyness for a minute? That invisible medal we wear to prove our worth? In medicine, we’ve turned endurance into identity. We work through exhaustion, chart through dinner, and treat rest like a reward we haven’t quite earned. But that constant hustle for worthiness isn’t just costing us our joy — it’s literally aging us faster. In this...

Send us Fan Mail You're Not Broken. You're Just in a Broken System. After four years of coaching women physicians, I've noticed patterns; patterns that show up again and again in brilliant, capable doctors who feel like they're barely holding it together. If you've ever felt like a hot mess inside while everyone thinks you have it all figured out, this episode is for you....

Send us Fan Mail What if you gave yourself permission to dream bigger? We spend so much time answering questions about our patients, our practice, our responsibilities. But when was the last time someone asked you questions just about you ? Not you as a physician. Not you as a professional. Just... you. In this episode, we're doing something different. I'm inviting you to sit down with m...

Send us Fan Mail How to keep showing up when the system keeps breaking down Recording from my car today because perfectionism can take a back seat - we've got more important things to talk about. Let's not sugarcoat this: Healthcare is a dumpster fire right now. Between government officials spreading vaccine misinformation, declining reimbursements, inadequate staffing, and the general c...

Send us Fan Mail The question that reveals everything about why you're stuck (and how to get unstuck) Before we dive in, I want you to do something. Right now, finish this sentence: "If I had more help, I'd..." Don't filter it. Don't edit it. Just let your brain complete that thought. What came up for you? Was it "see more patients" or "finally start th...

Send us Fan Mail When you're stuck in a grumpy spiral and can't seem to shake it off We've all been there - that Sunday afternoon where everything feels irritating, you're snapping at people you love, and you just can't seem to pull yourself out of the funk. This week, I'm sharing the exact process I used to work through my own "petty pity party" and how you...

Send us Fan Mail What are you waiting to give yourself permission to do? Let me guess. You want to leave work on time. Say no to that extra committee. Cut down your FTE. Set an actual boundary with that colleague who dumps last-minute requests on you. But you're waiting. Waiting for someone in authority to tell you it's okay. Waiting until you've "earned" enough loyalty po...

Send us Fan Mail Death by a thousand paper cuts. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Those small, repetitive frustrations that chip away at your energy every single day. The outdated dot phrase you keep meaning to fix. The cluttered workspace that makes you cringe. The workflow that slows you down every. Single. Time. We tell ourselves these things shouldn't bother us. That we shoul...

Send us Fan Mail Ever wonder why setting boundaries as a physician feels like trying to learn rocket science? You're brilliant, you've mastered complex medical concepts, yet saying "no" to one more request feels impossibly difficult. Here's the truth: You weren't taught how to set boundaries – you were actively trained to sacrifice yourself for others. The Car Manual...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to Ending Physician Overwhelm! As we head into the last week of August 2025 and prepare for back-to-school season, it's time to think about something we do constantly as physicians: learning. The Evolution of Medical Learning You've been a professional learner your entire career. Medical school, residency, fellowship, boards, CME requirements - you've m...

Send us Fan Mail Last week, we talked about the toxic assumptions that make everything worse when crisis hits. This week, we're diving into what to actually DO instead - because bad things will happen in your medical career, but they don't have to destroy you in the process. The Framework That Changes Everything When something goes catastrophically wrong - termination, disciplinary actio...

Send us Fan Mail ⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING : This episode discusses challenging topics including job loss, disciplinary actions, and references to physician suicide. While this episode is not about physician suicide specifically, these topics are mentioned in the context of understanding how certain thought patterns can contribute to physician mental health struggles. Please prioritize your wellbeing - i...

Send us Fan Mail The strategic art of dialing friction up and down to protect your sanity Friction Management? Friction management is the work of boundaries, and it might just be your secret weapon against overwhelm. In this episode, we dive deep into how technology has reduced friction in ways that are actually making your life harder, and what you can do about it. The Problem: When "Conveni...

Send us Fan Mail How to return to self-care and self-kindness when you're struggling What’s in This Episode You're not failing at self-care; you're navigating something unprecedented. As we hit the end of July (yes, summer is flying by!), it's the perfect time to remember how to come back to taking care of yourself when you feel like you've been struggling. Drawing from Dr...

Send us Fan Mail Recording live from the Washington coast - because sometimes the best content comes from breaking your own rules. The Big Question That Changes Everything Last week we talked about what's NOT possible - all those unrealistic expectations we carry. This week? We're flipping the script. What IS actually possible when you stop following rules that don't serve you? Brea...

Send us Fan Mail When "Impossible" Becomes Your Superpower You know that feeling when you're drowning in demands that feel completely unrealistic? When you're staring at a schedule that would require 26.7 hours in a 24-hour day? When you're being held responsible for things that are literally impossible for one person to handle? We've all been there. And today, we&apo...

Send us Fan Mail The Epic List You've Been Waiting For: What Women Physicians Are DONE Caring About Welcome back to the revolution, my friends. This is Part 2 of our "We Do Not Care Club" series, and today we're sharing the crowdsourced, unfiltered, absolutely brilliant list of things that women physicians are officially done caring about. But first, let's give proper cred...

Send us Fan Mail What if you could stop wasting your precious brain energy on things that don't deserve it? Welcome to a very special edition of Ending Physician Overwhelm, where we're diving deep into the revolutionary concept of the "We Do Not Care Club" – specifically designed for perimenopausal women physicians who are DONE with burning themselves out for a system that does...

Send us Fan Mail What You'll Learn Life doesn't pause for your perfect plans. Whether it's a scary diagnosis, staffing changes, or family emergencies, curveballs are coming. But here's what we don't talk about enough: how to navigate these storms with self-compassion instead of burning yourself out trying to hustle through everything. In this episode, we're diving dee...

Send us Fan Mail Stop Playing Around and Start Making AI Work FOR You If you're still on the fence about AI tools, or you've tried them and felt frustrated, this episode is for you. We're talking about how to actually use these tools to make your life easier—not add another complicated task to your already overwhelming day. What We Talk About The three non-negotiable rules for using...

Send us Fan Mail Recorded from the car on a Monday morning because sometimes life doesn't wait for perfect circumstances - and that's exactly the point. When Crisis Hits Close to Home This is a different kind of episode. Raw, real, and recorded in the midst of what I'm calling a "semi-urgent medical crisis" in my family. You know the kind - not a code blue emergency, but t...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to another edition of Ending Physician Overwhelm - this time recorded from the car because life happens, and we roll with it. The Question That Changes Everything When we talk about cutting back on work or reducing FTE, we often focus on what we want less of. But here's what we miss: What do we actually want MORE of? This episode dives deep into a conversation I had w...