Burnout-Free Me

Want more of this? On Substack, I share longer reflections, practical tools, and honest conversations that don't always make it onto the pod. Join the Burnout-Free Me community: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com

The habits wearing you down the most are probably the ones people praise you for.

You're the dependable one. You push through when you're tired, hold yourself to a high standard, and say yes whenever someone needs you. From the outside it looks like you've got it all handled. Inside, you can't relax, you replay every mistake, and the to-do list never actually ends.

In this episode, Amy unpacks the everyday habits that look like strengths and quietly keep your brain and body stuck in survival mode. She shares how these patterns showed up in her own veterinary career, why they feel so automatic, and why the relief you get from giving in to them never seems to last. You'll leave with a simple way to start retraining your brain, one small rep at a time.

What You'll Learn

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About Amy

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Most of what we cover on Burnout Free Me lives at the individual level: nervous systems, mindset, and the tools we use to survive high-pressure work. This episode goes somewhere different.

My guest, Dr. Olivia Fisher, spent more than 25 years in the health sector before turning her research into a framework for trauma-informed leadership at the organizational level, and she's here to make the case that if the workplace itself is causing harm, the fix has to happen at the organizational level, and that the right support can help you advocate for yourself while that change catches up.

We talk about what trauma-informed leadership actually means, why comfort and psychological safety aren't the same, why a quiet, agreeable team might be a warning sign rather than a good one, and the real business case for why organizations should care, including the legal risk they're now carrying.

Dr. Olivia Fisher is a trauma-informed leadership consultant, researcher, lecturer, mentor, and implementation scientist. She holds a PhD in Public Health and has spent more than 25 years in the health sector, giving her a unique lens on what actually makes a workplace mentally healthy. She focuses on building evidence-based, proactive approaches to managing psychosocial hazards in the workplace. She's also an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at Charles Darwin University and a Sessional Lecturer at Queensland University of Technology. Her office manager is a dog named Dog, because he wouldn't answer to anything else.

Enjoyed this conversation? Come find me on Substack — I write there every week, going deeper into the ideas we only get to touch on here. And if this episode resonated with you, a quick rating or review helps more people find the show.

Want more of this? On Substack I share longer reflections, practical tools, and honest conversations that don't make it onto the pod. Join the Burnout-Free Me community: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com

In this episode, Dr. Amy Grimm breaks down the difference between venting, overthinking, and actually processing something hard, and makes the case that most of us default to one of the first two while thinking it's the third.

She shares a personal realization about what it's like to be on the receiving end of someone else's venting, and why that dynamic matters more than most people realize. Then she walks through the shorthand version of a six-question tool borrowed straight from clinical veterinary debriefs, built for anyone stuck replaying a hard day, whether you process out loud or in your own head.

What You'll Learn:

Links & Resources:

About Amy: Dr. Amy Grimm is a veterinarian, success coach, and wellbeing expert and the host of Burnout-Free Me — the podcast for high-achieving women who are done running on empty. Real talk, practical tools, and honest mindset shifts every week.

Enjoyed this episode? A quick rating or review helps this show reach more women who need it. And for the full six-question breakdown with examples, join the Substack community above.

Want more of this? On Substack, I share longer reflections, practical tools, and honest conversations that don't make it onto the pod. Join the Burnout-Free Me community: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com

Burnout Isn't Just a Job Problem And Leaving Won't Fix It:

You left the job. You left the relationship. You moved across the country. So why are you exhausted again?

In this episode, Dr. Amy Grimm gets honest about a pattern she sees constantly in her coaching practice, and lived through herself: the exhaustion that shows up again in a brand new life, months or years after you were sure you'd left it behind. This one is especially for anyone who's changed careers, changed clinics, or changed cities expecting relief, and found something eerily familiar waiting on the other side.

What You'll Learn:

Links & Resources:

Substack: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com

Website: https://burnoutfreeme.com

About Amy: Dr. Amy Grimm is a veterinarian, success and wellbeing coach, and host of Burnout-Free Me—the podcast for high-achieving women who are done running on empty. Real talk, practical tools, and honest mindset shifts every week.

Loved this episode? Join the community on Substack, and if you have a minute, a rating and review helps more people find the show.

Ready to go deeper? Learn more about coaching at burnoutfreeme.com.

A conversation with Michelle Anderson on burnout beyond the workplace, boundaries that flex, and learning to advocate for yourself.

Want more of this? On Substack, I share longer reflections, practical tools, and honest conversations that don't make it onto the pod. Join the Burnout-Free Me community: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com

Episode Info:

What happens when you're the person everyone relies on, and there's no job title for what you actually do?

In this episode, Dr. Amy Grimm sits down with Michelle Anderson, founder of J and B Inspired and host of the podcast Nervous System Reset for Caregivers. Michelle's caregiving journey started over fifteen years ago in a hospital she wasn't prepared for, and today she supports three children with complex medical needs along with an adult family member. Amy and Michelle dig into the parallels between caregiving in the traditional sense and the kind of caring that happens in high-responsibility careers, plus the very real ways those two experiences diverge.

This conversation covers advocating for yourself in rooms where you're outnumbered and outranked, why boundaries need to move like the banks of a river instead of staying rigid, and the difference between something that looks like rest and something that actually is.

What You'll Learn:

Links & Resources:

Michelle's website: https://jandbinspired.com

Amy's Interview on the Nervous System Reset for Caregivers:

Substack: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com

About Michelle:

Her focus is regulated advocacy: helping caregivers steady their body so their brain comes back online and they can speak clearly without self-abandoning. She hosts Nervous System Reset for Caregivers and created the 90 Second Reset Program — a self-paced toolkit of micro-resets that helps caregivers leave the room with clearer words, a next step, and less aftershock.

About Amy:

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A 2025 workplace study tested the trade every high-achieving woman makes with herself...

Want more of this? On Substack, I share longer reflections, practical tools, and honest conversations that don't make it onto the pod.

Join the Burnout-Free Me community: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com

You already know that staying late doesn't make tomorrow feel lighter. So what gives?

This week, Dr. Amy Grimm breaks down a 2025 workplace study that finally proves it, and explains the one factor researchers found that changes everything about how overwork actually affects you.

Almost every high-achieving woman operates on the same math: work harder today, and tomorrow's pile gets smaller. A team of researchers tracked real workers across real workweeks to test whether that math actually holds up. What they found reframes why the backlog never seems to clear, no matter how much you get done, and points to one specific shift that changes the entire equation.

What You'll Learn:

Links & Resources:

Substack: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com

Coaching & Website: https://burnoutfreeme.com

Baethge, A., Kern, M., & Vahle-Hinz, T. (2025). Working longer and more intensively to get the work done: the unintended effect of self-endangerment on quantitative stressors. Work & Stress, 40(1).

About Amy:

Dr. Amy Grimm is a veterinarian, success coach, and wellbeing expert and the host of Burnout-Free Me, the podcast for high-achieving women who are done running on empty. Real talk, practical tools, and honest mindset shifts every week.

If this episode resonated, head to Substack to read the companion essay and get more of this every week: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com

Loved this episode? Please rate, review, and subscribe wherever you're listening. It helps other ambitious women find the show.

Ready to go deeper? Learn more about coaching with Amy at https://burnoutfreeme.com

Want more of this? On Substack, I share longer reflections, practical tools, and honest conversations that don't make it onto the pod. Join the Burnout-Free Me community: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com

We talk about burnout more openly than ever. Psychological safety, boundaries, work-life balance- it's all part of the cultural conversation now in a way it wasn't ten years ago. So why hasn't any of it actually changed the way work works?

In this episode, Dr. Amy Grimm gets honest about the gap she sees every week in her coaching practice: the growing distance between how much we talk about wellbeing and how little the actual structure of work has moved to match it. Pulled from a recent interview on Work Sucks But I Like It, this episode takes a clear stand on what to do with that gap instead of just being frustrated by it, and how to stop waiting for permission that was never going to come from the top down.

What You'll Learn:

Links & Resources:

Read the companion essay, "The Skill That Matters More Than Confidence," on Substack: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com

Listen to Amy's full interview with Tony Tenaglier on Work Sucks, But I Like It: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2509955/episodes/19511498

Learn more about coaching with Amy: https://burnoutfreeme.com

About Amy:

Dr. Amy Grimm is a veterinarian, success coach, and wellbeing expert and the host of Burnout-Free Me, the podcast for high-achieving women who are done running on empty. Real talk, practical tools, and honest mindset shifts every week.

If this episode resonated, head to Substack to read the companion essay and get more of this every week: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com

Loved this episode? Please rate, review, and subscribe wherever you're listening. It helps other burned-out women find the show.

Ready to go deeper? Learn more about coaching with Amy at https://burnoutfreeme.com

Want more of this? On Substack, I share longer reflections, practical tools, and honest conversations that don't make it onto the pod. Join the Burnout-Free Me community: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com

Caring less has never once fixed burnout. So what actually does?

In this episode, Dr. Amy Grimm gets personal about the years she spent running on empty as a young veterinarian, from the friend group she quietly disappeared from to the surgery she still can't stop thinking about. Inspired by a raw conversation she had as a guest on another podcast about nervous system support for caregivers, Amy breaks down why burnout is so much more than an occupational hazard, and why it shows up in your body long before you'd ever call yourself "burned out."

This one is for anyone who's the person everyone counts on, whether that's at work, at home, or both.

What You'll Learn

Links & Resources

Substack: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com

Coaching & more: https://www.burnoutfreeme.com

About Amy

Dr. Amy Grimm is a veterinarian, success coach, and well-being expert, and the host of Burnout-Free Me—the podcast for high-achieving women who are done running on empty. Real talk, practical tools, and honest mindset shifts every week.

Enjoyed This Episode?

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Subscribe to Substack for more in-depth discussion, strategies, and tools for building a burnout-free life you love.

And if you're ready for hands-on support, learn more about coaching with Amy at https://www.burnoutfreeme.com.

Sometimes the hardest question isn't "What do I want to leave behind?" but "What do I want to move toward?"

What happens when you've accomplished the thing you worked so hard for, but you can no longer imagine doing it for another twenty years?

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Shahrzad Rafiee, an emergency physician, therapist, writer, and educator, for a thoughtful conversation about burnout, moral injury, identity, and what it means to create a life that feels meaningful, not just successful.

After nearly three decades in emergency medicine, Dr. Rafiee found herself questioning whether she could continue on the same path. Rather than walking away from medicine entirely, she began exploring what else might bring purpose and fulfillment to her life. That journey eventually led her to become a therapist, where she now helps healthcare professionals and other high-achieving individuals navigate stress, burnout, anxiety, and life transitions.

Together, we explore burnout in high-pressure environments, why so many successful people struggle to identify what they actually want, and how emotions can serve as valuable information rather than obstacles to overcome. We also discuss career pivots, identity shifts, emotional processing, and the challenge of building a life that feels aligned after achieving the goals you once thought would make you happy.

Whether you're questioning your career, feeling trapped by an identity you've outgrown, or simply wondering if there's more to life than checking the next box, this conversation is for you.

Want more of this?

About Amy:

Dr. Amy Grimm is a veterinarian, success coach, and wellbeing expert and the host of Burnout-Free Me — the podcast for high-achieving women who are done running on empty. Real talk, practical tools, and honest mindset shifts every week.

If this episode resonated, please take 30 seconds to leave a rating and review — it helps more women find the show. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Dr. Shahrzad Rafiee (Mushi) is an emergency physician, associate marriage & family therapist, speaker, and educator with a unique perspective on the intersection of medicine, mental health, and human resilience.

After years of caring for patients in the emergency department, she expanded her work to include psychotherapy, helping healthcare professionals and other high-achieving individuals navigate stress, burnout, anxiety, and the emotional demands of modern life.

Her approach combines evidence-based psychology, practical clinical experience, and a deep understanding of the challenges faced by people working in high-pressure environments.

Dr. Rafiee has spoken on physician wellness, burnout prevention, emotional resilience, and executive functioning in healthcare settings. She has also facilitated longitudinal process groups for emergency medicine trainees, helping physicians develop healthier ways to understand and respond to the emotional challenges of their work. Through her clinical practice, South Bay Therapy Works, and her writing and speaking, Dr. Rafiee is passionate about helping people move beyond survival mode and create lives that are both successful and sustainable.

Connect with Dr. Rafiee:

Website: SouthBayTherapyWorks.com

LinkedIn: Dr. Shahrzad Rafiee

Article in Psychology Today: When the System Overloads: Lessons From the ER

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-tools-school/202606/when-the-system-overloads-lessons-from-the-er

Want more of this? On Substack I share longer reflections, practical tools, and honest conversations that don't make it onto the pod. Join the Burnout-Free Me community: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com

Episode Details:

You've done the work. You've built the career. So why does it still feel like you're dragging yourself through every single day? In this milestone 150th episode, Dr. Amy Grimm gets real about the three things she wishes she'd known before becoming a coach — and why every ambitious woman in a high-responsibility role needs to hear them.

This episode isn't just for aspiring coaches. It's for the new grad vet suddenly expected to lead a whole team. The woman who just got promoted and is quietly terrified. The entrepreneur who left stability to chase something that actually lights her up. These are the lessons nobody tells you — and they might change how you see everything.

What You'll Learn:

Plus — Amy celebrates 150 episodes and reflects on the evolution from The Daring DVM Podcast to Burnout-Free Me, and what it means to finally be building something that feels like her.

Links & Resources:

About Amy:

Dr. Amy Grimm is a veterinarian, success coach, and wellbeing expert and the host of Burnout-Free Me — the podcast for high-achieving women who are done running on empty. Real talk, practical tools, and honest mindset shifts every week.

If this episode resonated, please take 30 seconds to leave a rating and review — it helps more women find the show. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.