What if having an impactful life didn’t mean sacrificing your health to achieve it?

In this episode, I’m joined by Bianca Best a former global executive, single mum of four, and the author of Flourish. Bianca shares how she went from overachieving and emotionally exhausted to building a life of intentional, graceful productivity.

We explore:

• The myth of “having it all”

• Emotional burnout masked as success

• The 8 strategies behind her Flourish framework

• How to prevent burnout in corporate cultures

• Why real change starts with energy, not time

Bianca didn’t wait for burnout to take her out she learned how to pause, recalibrate, and lead from a place of personal alignment. This is the episode you didn’t know you needed.

🎙️ Guest: Bianca Best - Author, Burnout Prevention Consultant & Founder of Flourish Global
📍 Follow Bianca: biancabest.com

What happens when burnout doesn't just steal your joy but nearly your life? In this episode, I speak with Kelly Swingler, burnout expert, author, and founder of the Burnout Academy. Kelly shares the raw truth of burning out twice once into chronic illness, and another time into a near-death experience.

We talk about the emotional labor of leadership, how identity loss and systemic toxicity contribute to burnout, and why the World Health Organization's definition doesn’t even scratch the surface. Kelly opens up about grief, purpose, and the dangerous illusion of "resilience" in a culture that rewards overwork and self-abandonment.

This is not just a story of survival it’s a powerful call to redefine what burnout really is, and how we move forward after it breaks us open.

📍 Follow Kelly: @kellyswingleruk | kellyswingler.com

When flexibility isn’t given but earned at the cost of your wellbeing. In this episode, I speak with Dr Elizabeth Blakelock, Diversity & Inclusion Lead at Monzo, about the hidden emotional toll of inclusion work, and how systems often fail to support us during life’s biggest transitions.

Elizabeth shares her personal story of burning out three times as a carer, a new mother, and a leader during crisis. We talk about what happens when identity shifts aren’t met with structural care, why flexibility must be the default and not the exception, and how leaders can show up differently in the moments that matter most.

This is a conversation about invisible labor, emotional honesty, and rebuilding trust in the workplace especially for women who keep giving until they can’t anymore.

📍 Follow Elizabeth: LinkedIn

We’ve all been there on the receiving end of change that was done to us, not with us. In this powerful episode, I’m joined by Ann-Marie Blake, change communicator, DEI advocate, and co-founder of True, a boutique agency helping organizations design truly people-first change.

Together, we unpack what it really takes to create a sustainable workplace beyond the yoga mats and fruit bowls. Ann-Marie brings decades of experience from inside large corporations and now on the outside, holding up the mirror to systems that leave people unheard, burnt out, and expected to perform without safety.

We talk about:
– Why leaders misunderstand the emotional toll of change
– The real meaning of psychological safety (hint: it’s not wellness perks)
– What listening beyond surveys looks like
– How ignoring culture and values post-M&A leads to disaster
– A shocking example of mental health negligence in the workplace

🎙️ Guest: Ann-Marie Blake — Communications Strategist & Co-Founder of True
📍 Follow Ann-Marie: www.trueltd.co.uk | @annmarieblake

Why do the hardest workers burn out first and get rewarded for it?

In this powerful episode, Caroline Dowd-Higgins, executive coach and workplace wellbeing advocate, joins Sophie to unpack the silent epidemic of burnout masked as high performance. From 5:30am meetings to 90-hour workweeks, Caroline shares the personal cost of being the “workhorse” and how she reclaimed her voice, her time, and her health.

Together, they explore:

• Why burnout isn’t a self-care issue: it’s a workplace design failure

• The danger of tying your worth to overachievement

• What to do when saying “no” feels like insubordination

• How to push back against toxic expectations (and survive it)

• The long-overdue shift from lip service to systemic change

This episode is for anyone who's ever been told they’re "too valuable to lose" while silently falling apart inside.

🎙️ Guest: Caroline Dowd-Higgins: Executive Coach, Author & Workplace Wellbeing Advocate
📍 Follow Caroline: carolinedowdhiggins.com | @carolinedowdhiggins

Fela didn’t burn out loudly.
She went quiet.

In this episode, we talk about high performers in toxic workplaces the shame, the brain fog, the fear of retaliation, and the moment pushing harder stops working.

Fela shares why burnout isn’t fixed with vacations or surface-level boundaries, how inner work changes everything, and what it really means to build a life and career you don’t need to recover from.

A grounded, honest conversation for anyone surviving instead of thriving at work.

🎙️ Guest: Fela Rosa: A high performer coach
📍 Follow Fela: @corporate_warriors

If this episode moved something in you, please follow, rate, or share the show.
One honest story at a time helps someone feel less alone.

This episode is a mirror.

In a raw, mid-season reflection, Sophie sits down with Sophie Power to talk about burnout that doesn’t look dramatic just numb, relentless, and quietly life-draining.

They unpack identity loss, being valued only for usefulness, walking away from work that once defined you, and what it really means to choose yourself after years of overgiving.

No lessons. No frameworks.

Just two women telling the truth about breaking down and slowly coming home to themselves.

🎙️ Guest: Sophie Power - survivor of multiple burnouts
📍 Follow Sophie : @sophiepower

If this episode moved something in you, please follow, rate, or share the show.
One honest story at a time helps someone feel less alone.

Burnout doesn’t always feel like collapse.
Sometimes it feels like coping until your body gives up first.

In this episode, former HR leader Katrina Bowles shares how chronic burnout led to autoimmune illness, forced rest, and a complete redefinition of ambition, identity, and care. We talk about burnout relapse, listening to the body, healing beyond therapy, and learning to lead yourself before leading others.

A grounded, honest conversation for high achievers who are tired of pushing through.

🎙️ Guest: Katrina Bowles: sound therapist, breathwork guide & leadership facilitator
📍 Follow Katrina: katrinabowles.com | @katrinabowles

If this episode moved something in you, please follow, rate, or share the show.
One honest story at a time helps someone feel less alone.

Hustle can give you momentum but it was never meant to be your permanent address. In this raw, in-progress conversation, founder-turned-creator Amber Gray shares how she recognized burnout in the quiet moments (sleep, stillness, numbness), what quitting alcohol revealed about her body’s signals, and why she ultimately sold her company to choose health over identity. We unpack identity beyond job titles, learning to listen to the body, and building a life where ambition doesn’t cost your nervous system.

We talk about:

• The whisper signs of burnout (and why numbness isn’t “fine”)

• “Hustle is a season, not an identity” reframing success without self-erasure

• Identity limbo: Who am I without my work?

• Delegation, boundaries, and Amber’s book Firing Yourself (micro “firing” from tasks to reclaim energy)

• Small steps that build real happiness: nervous system regulation, Qigong, 1% shifts, self-compassion

About Amber: Founder, writer, and coach exploring a gentler path to achievement. She’s building resources on delegation and focus while letting art and slow creativity lead.

Burnout isn’t a personal failure it’s often a systems problem. In this honest, grounded conversation, Sophie sits down with Katrina, a regenerative coach and strategist, to unpack why so many high performers end up exhausted in cultures that reward output over capacity…and what it takes to rebuild.

In this episode:

• What regenerative leadership really means (beyond KPIs, pizza Fridays, and “earning” rest)

• How to spot the gap between what a company encourages and what it actually rewards

• The difference between being a winning horse vs. a workhorse

• Trauma-bonding at work vs. resourcing each other for real change

• Practical boundaries that prevent collapse (starting with “Do you have capacity for this?”)

• Treating teams like a nervous system and using culture signals to recalibrate before burnout hits

Key idea: “You can’t heal in a system designed to keep you in survival mode.” If your body’s telling you the truth, listen.

If this episode moved you, follow the show, rate it, and share it with someone who needs to hear: It’s not you it’s the system.

About Katrina De Angelis:Katrina is a regenerative coach and strategist helping leaders rebuild their relationship with work by restoring balance, trust, and nervous system awareness. Follow her on Instagram @katrina.deangelis.