In honor of National Women Physicians Day 2026, this episode, Why Women Physicians Overfunction (and How to Start Doing Less Without Guilt) is an invitation to notice overfunctioning with compassion.

Overfunctioning may have helped you succeed in medicine—but it often costs intimacy, energy, and connection.

We explore overfunctioning and underfunctioning as relational dynamics, not personality flaw. When one person consistently does more, the system adapts: others do less, resentment grows, and "holding it all together" becomes a role that feels hard to step out of. We talk about why doing less can be an act of love—creating space for relationships and systems to reorganize—especially when you start by tending to your own nervous system instead of stabilizing everything around you.

If you've been asking, "Why am I always the one who handles it?" this conversation offers a grounded place to begin.

In this episode, we cover

• Why overfunctioning isn't a flaw—it's a role shaped by training, culture, and context

• How overfunctioning/underfunctioning patterns form in relationships and teams

• Resentment as information (often pointing to over-capacity)

• "Doing less" as a path to clarity, growth, and alignment

• Why change begins with your nervous system

Pearls of Wisdom

• Overfunctioning is a relational role developed in response to internal and external expectations.

• When one person consistently does more, others often do less; systems adapt that way over time.

• Resentment is information. It often signals over-capacity.

• Doing less can be an act of love that allows relationships to reorganize.

• When we stop stabilizing what's falling around us and tend to our nervous systems first, change begins.

Reflection Questions

• Where in your life are you doing more than your share simply because you are capable?

• What feels most uncomfortable about stepping back?

• What might happen if you rest or stop managing?

• What would love do this week in your relationships or at work?

Work with Jessie Mahoney

• Coaching + retreats: www.jessiemahoneymd.com

• Speaking: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking or [email protected]

• Mindful Love Small Group Coaching (intimate relationships)

• Leading from the Heart + Transition Well Small Group Coaching (career/life pivots, leadership)

• Retreats + advanced coaching (moving beyond overfunctioning across your life)

Work with Ni-Cheng Liang

• Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang: www.awakenbreath.com

The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast. Nothing shared on this podcast is medical advice.

Other Healing Medicine Podcast episodes specifically relevant to Women Physicians you may want to explore:

These episodes explore the inner experience of women physicians—without pathologizing it.

• 293. When Feedback Feels Threatening: Nervous System Wisdom for Women Physicians

• 292. When Physicians Stop Believing in Themselves: Burnout, Skepticism, and the Hidden Cost

• 290. The Overs, the Toxics, and Why Awareness Alone Isn't Enough

• 269. You Were Never Meant to Carry It All: Healing the Eldest Daughter Effect

• 259. What Are You Proud Of? A Conversation About Worth, Identity, and Redefining Success

• 154. Move Beyond Imposter Syndrome

These episodes highlight connection, culture shift, and the idea that "you don't have to carry this alone."

• 275. The Power of an Introduction: How Women in Medicine Can Change Lives and Culture Through Connection

• 281. Be Radiantly You: The Antidote to Exhaustion and Judgment

• 263. It's Okay to Have Fun: The Evolution of a Happy Doctor (with Dr. Beni Seballos)

• 262. Standing Tall in Surgery: Finding Fulfillment Outside the Mold (with Dr. Jenny Kang)

• 261. From ER Burnout to Soulful Living: Enia Oaks on Poetry, Pause, and Healing

These episodes give practical frameworks for agency, boundaries, and sustainability.

• 289. How to Take Intentional Action So You Don't Burn Out

• 280. From Powerless to Purposeful: Reclaiming Choice and Agency in Medicine

• 279. Victimhood in Healthcare: Naming the Problem with Empathy and Truth

• 282. The Art of Not Fixing People

• 278. Finding Peace by Letting Go of Fixing, Managing, and Controlling

• 285. Mindfulness + Money: Rewriting Financial Stories for Physicians

• 239. Breaking the Over Helping Habit: Valuing Your Expertise as a Woman Physician