Burnout-Free Me

Many high-achieving women quietly wonder the same thing:
Is it actually possible to have a fulfilling career and a fulfilling relationship?
When you care deeply about your work, carry a lot of responsibility, and want to do things well, it can start to feel like your career and your love life are competing for the same limited energy.
You may find yourself emotionally exhausted at the end of the day, mentally preoccupied with work when you're trying to be present with your partner, or wondering if pursuing success has unintentionally pushed relationships to the side.
In this episode of Burnout-Free Me, Dr. Amy Grimm explores why this happens and why the real issue is often not time management or “balance.”
Instead, the root of the problem often lies in the productivity trap many ambitious women grow up internalizing. When your worth becomes unconsciously tied to achievement and responsibility, work can slowly consume more energy and capacity than you ever intended.
Over time, this affects your nervous system, your emotional availability, and your ability to fully connect with the people you love.
In this conversation, Amy shares how burnout and chronic stress influence intimacy and presence in relationships, why nervous system regulation is essential for connection, and how high-achieving women can build careers that support their lives rather than quietly draining them.
You’ll also hear a real coaching example that shows how shifting your internal experience of work can dramatically improve your relationship without requiring you to sacrifice your career.
This episode is for any ambitious woman who wants success, meaningful relationships, and a life that actually feels aligned.
 
In This Episode
Amy explores:
Why high-achieving women often fall into the productivity trap• How unconscious beliefs about worth and achievement affect relationships• Why burnout and chronic stress make emotional connection more difficult• The role your nervous system plays in communication, presence, and intimacy• Why “work-life balance” may not be the right goal• The concept of life-work alignment and how it changes everything• A real coaching example of improving a relationship without leaving a demanding career• Simple shifts that help ambitious professionals reconnect with themselves and their partners
 
Resources Mentioned
The Burnout FixA practical tool designed to help high-achieving professionals regulate their nervous system and break free from the productivity trap.
Learn more at:burnoutfreeme.com
Work With Amy
If you're a high-achieving professional who feels like you're constantly running on empty, Amy helps ambitious women understand burnout, regulate their nervous systems, and build careers that support their lives rather than consuming them.
Learn more or book a consultation:burnoutfreeme.com
 
Subscribe & Review
If you enjoyed this episode of Burnout-Free Me, make sure you're subscribed so you never miss a conversation about burnout recovery, nervous system health, and creating success without sacrificing your wellbeing.
Leaving a quick review also helps more high-achieving women find the show.

“We’re like family here.”
It sounds warm, supportive, and welcoming. But in many workplaces, this phrase can quietly blur boundaries and create pressure to sacrifice more of yourself than is healthy or sustainable.
In this episode, Dr. Amy Grimm explores why the “work family” narrative can contribute to burnout, especially for high-achieving professionals who already tend to overextend themselves. When loyalty, belonging, and identity become tangled up with our jobs, it becomes much harder to recognize when our needs are being pushed aside.
Amy shares how language like this can subtly shape expectations in the workplace, why healthy boundaries are essential for protecting your mental and emotional well-being, and how patterns like perfectionism, people-pleasing, and over-responsibility can keep us stuck in cycles of overwork.
You’ll also learn why having meaningful relationships at work is still important, and how the real goal isn’t distance from colleagues but clarity about roles, expectations, and limits.
If you’ve ever felt pressure to give more than you realistically have to give, or struggled with the guilt of setting boundaries in your career, this conversation will help you rethink what healthy success actually looks like.
By the end of this episode, you’ll understand how recognizing your boundaries and using them intentionally can help you build a career that supports your life instead of consuming it.
In This Episode
Why the phrase “we’re like family” can create unhealthy workplace dynamics
How blurred boundaries contribute to burnout
The role perfectionism and people-pleasing play in overworking
What cognitive schemas are and how past experiences shape your work patterns
Why connection at work still matters and how to balance openness with healthy limits
How understanding your boundaries can transform your work experience
Resources & Next Steps
If this episode resonated with you, there are a few ways to continue the conversation:
Join the Burnout-Free Me Newsletter for deeper insights and tools to help you stop running on empty and start building success that actually feels good.
Download The Burnout Fix, a practical tool to help you identify what’s really driving your exhaustion and how to start shifting it.
You can find both at burnoutfreeme.com.
Subscribe & Review
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to Burnout-Free Me so you never miss a conversation about burnout, nervous system regulation, leadership, and building a life that feels as successful on the inside as it looks on paper.
And if you’ve listened to a few episodes and found them helpful, leaving a review helps more people discover the show.
Thanks for being here.
 

Burnout in the Bedroom: When Sex Becomes Another To-Do with Laura Jurgens
When you’re burned out, overwhelmed, and running on empty, intimacy is often one of the first things to change—and one of the hardest to talk about. Desire fades. Connection feels harder. Sex can quietly turn into another obligation on an already too-long to-do list.
In this episode of Burnout-Free Me, I’m joined by relationship and intimacy coach Laura Jurgens, host of the The Desire Gap Podcast, for an honest, shame-free conversation about burnout in the bedroom. We explore why desire gaps are so common—especially for high-achieving, people-pleasing women—and how chronic stress and nervous system overload affect desire, arousal, orgasm, and emotional connection.
Laura helps us unpack why thoughts like “I should want sex” or “What’s wrong with me?” are not only unhelpful, but deeply disconnected from what’s actually happening in the body. Together, we talk about duty sex, relationship anxiety, and how intimacy changes when your nervous system has been stuck in survival mode for too long.
This conversation isn’t about fixing yourself or forcing desire. It’s about understanding what’s happening beneath the surface, letting go of shame, and finding more compassionate, sustainable ways to reconnect—with yourself and with your partner—without making sex another performance or productivity goal.
If you’ve ever felt successful everywhere except here… this episode is for you.
 
About Laura:
Laura Jurgens, PhD is a dual-certified Master relationship and intimacy coach and host of The Desire Gap Podcast. She is a desire-arousal specialist helping individuals and couples discover authentic sexual connection, shed relationship anxiety, gain confidence, master communication, and release shame around intimacy. Her approach is play-based, practical, inclusive, trauma-informed, and grounded in the latest research. She is a former university professor with a PhD in biological sciences and certifications from the Somatica Institute, the Life Coach School, and the NeuroAffective Touch Institute.
Learn more about Laura’s work:🌐 Website: https://laurajurgens.com✍️ Blog: https://laurajurgens.com/the-desire-gap-blog/🎧 The Desire Gap Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-desire-gap-real-solutions-for-couples-with/id1728337669📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura.jurgens.coach📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurajurgenscoaching/
 
Burnout & Wellbeing Coaching With Amy:
✨ Ready to break free from exhaustion and stop running on empty, so you can create real balance, reclaim your energy, and finally feel like yourself again? Book your free Burnout-Free Me consultation today!
🌐Visit www.daringdvm.com to learn more about coaching and ways we can work together. You can also find out about team trainings and speaking engagements here.
JOIN the Burnout-Free Community for weekly inspiration, coaching tools, special offers, and more!
📩Let's connect on Instagram or LinkedIn
 
Meet Amy:
Dr. Amy Grimm is a success and well-being coach, speaker, and veterinarian who helps high-performing professionals lead with clarity, energy, and purpose without sacrificing their well-being.
A former medical director who experienced burnout firsthand, Amy now coaches leaders across industries to recognize the hidden costs of hustle culture and create sustainable success through strategic prioritization and people-first leadership.
She also hosts the Burnout-Free Me Podcast (previously Daring DVM Podcast), a free resource for high-achievers and career professionals who want to live with less stress and create a life of balance, fulfillment, and joy.
Outside of work, Amy and her fiance enjoy travel and all things outdoors. You’ll most likely find them on top of a mountain, in the middle of a desert, somewhere underwater, or 100 miles into a ride on their tandem mountain bicycle.

How Gratitude Changes Your Brain When You’re Under Pressure
When life feels heavy and pressure is high, your brain doesn’t respond by becoming calm or rational—it narrows its focus, scans for problems, and stays on high alert. That’s not a personal failing. It’s biology.
In this episode of Burnout-Free Me, Dr. Amy Grimm breaks down what neuroscience actually says about gratitude—and why it works very differently than most people think. This is not about pretending everything is fine or forcing positivity when you’re exhausted. It’s about how gratitude, when practiced in small, grounded ways, changes how your brain processes stress, recovers from pressure, and carries mental load over time.
You’ll learn
how gratitude affects attention, memory, and nervous system regulation,
why it can help pressure feel less intense and less sticky,
and how it supports faster recovery after stressful moments.
Amy shares practical, science-backed prompts you can use even on your busiest, most overwhelming days—no journaling marathons required.
If you’re a high-achiever who feels constantly “on,” mentally compressed, or unable to fully relax even when nothing is actively wrong, this episode will help you understand what’s happening in your brain—and give you tools to work with it instead of fighting it.
✨ If this episode resonated, consider sharing it with someone who helps you feel a little steadier under pressure.
 
Burnout & Wellbeing Coaching With Amy:
✨ Ready to break free from exhaustion and stop running on empty, so you can create real balance, reclaim your energy, and finally feel like yourself again? Book your free Burnout-Free Me consultation today!
🌐Visit www.daringdvm.com to learn more about coaching and ways we can work together. You can also find out about team trainings and speaking engagements here.
JOIN the Burnout-Free Community for weekly inspiration, coaching tools, special offers, and more!
📩Let's connect on Instagram or LinkedIn
 
Meet Amy:
Dr. Amy Grimm is a success and well-being coach, speaker, and veterinarian who helps high-performing professionals lead with clarity, energy, and purpose without sacrificing their well-being.
A former medical director who experienced burnout firsthand, Amy now coaches leaders across industries to recognize the hidden costs of hustle culture and create sustainable success through strategic prioritization and people-first leadership.
She also hosts the Burnout-Free Me Podcast (previously Daring DVM Podcast), a free resource for high-achievers and career professionals who want to live with less stress and create a life of balance, fulfillment, and joy.
Outside of work, Amy and her partner enjoy travel and all things outdoors. You’ll most likely find them on top of a mountain, in the middle of a desert, somewhere underwater, or 100 miles into a ride on their tandem mountain bicycle.
 

The Human Cost of Caring: Burnout, Compassion, and Meaningful Work with Dr. Marie Holowaychuk
Caring deeply about your work can be meaningful—and exhausting. In this episode of Burnout-Free Me, I’m joined by Dr. Marie Holowaychuk, veterinary specialist and author of A Compassionate Calling, for a powerful conversation about the human cost of caring in high-pressure, high-responsibility careers.
While Marie’s work is rooted in veterinary medicine, the themes we explore extend far beyond one profession. We talk about stress, burnout, perfectionism, professional identity, and the emotional weight that comes with work that truly matters. Together, we unpack what happens when high-achieving women hold themselves to impossible standards—and what it takes to stay human, connected, and resilient without losing yourself in the process.
This episode is for anyone who loves their work, cares deeply, and is quietly wondering if there’s a better, more sustainable way to keep going.
About Dr. Marie:
Dr. Marie Holowaychuk, DVM, Dipl. ACVECC, is a passionate advocate for mental health and wellbeing in caregiving professions, and empowers veterinary teams and other caregiving professionals to prevent burnout, build resilience, and cultivate fulfilling careers.
With over 20 years of experience as a veterinarian and critical care specialist, Marie founded Reviving Veterinary Medicine to provide evidence-based resources through transformative programs like From Burnout to Balance and From Toxic to Terrific.
As a certified coach, yoga and meditation teacher, and wellbeing facilitator, Marie blends science, empathy, and practical insights to engage and inspire audiences. She also hosts the Reviving Vet Med Podcast, exploring topics such as mental health and workplace culture. Her contributions have earned her the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association’s Communication Award and the Alberta Blue Cross Face of Wellness Award, as well as being recognized as one of Canada’s Top Keynote Speakers of 2025 by Eureka Education and Top 100 Health & Wellness by Top 100 Magazine. 
Marie’s book, A Compassionate Calling: What It Really Means to Be a Veterinarian, offers a candid exploration of the challenges and rewards of a career in veterinary medicine, shedding light on the emotional complexities and deep sense of purpose that drive those in the profession.
Learn about Dr. Marie's work:
Website: https://marieholowaychuk.com/
Reviving Veterinary Medicine: https://revivingvetmed.com/
A Compassionate Calling (book): https://acompassionatecalling.com/
 
Burnout & Wellbeing Coaching With Amy:
✨ Ready to break free from exhaustion and stop running on empty, so you can create real balance, reclaim your energy, and finally feel like yourself again? Book your free Burnout-Free Me consultation today!
🌐Visit www.daringdvm.com to learn more about coaching and ways we can work together. You can also find out about team trainings and speaking engagements here.
JOIN the Burnout-Free Community for weekly inspiration, coaching tools, special offers, and more!
📩Let's connect on Instagram or LinkedIn
 
Meet Amy:
Dr. Amy Grimm is a success and well-being coach, speaker, and veterinarian who helps high-performing professionals lead with clarity, energy, and purpose without sacrificing their well-being.
A former medical director who experienced burnout firsthand, Amy now coaches leaders across industries to recognize the hidden costs of hustle culture and create sustainable success through strategic prioritization and people-first leadership.
She also hosts the Burnout-Free Me Podcast (previously Daring DVM Podcast), a free resource for high-achievers and career professionals who want to live with less stress and create a life of balance, fulfillment, and joy.
Outside of work, Amy and her partner enjoy travel and all things outdoors. You’ll most likely find them on top of a mountain, in the middle of a desert, somewhere underwater, or 100 miles into a ride on their tandem mountain bicycle.

Can Burnout Affect Your Sex Drive? The Effect of Chronic Stress on Desire
When you’re exhausted, overwhelmed, and constantly running on empty, desire is often one of the first things to fade. But that doesn’t mean something is wrong with you or your relationship.
In this episode of Burnout-Free Me, Dr. Amy Grimm explores how burnout and chronic stress affect the nervous system—and why that directly impacts libido, intimacy, and pleasure. This isn’t a conversation about fixing desire or forcing intimacy. It’s about understanding what your body is doing when it’s been in survival mode for too long.
Amy breaks down how the fight, flight, and freeze response can turn inward, leading to self-criticism, avoidance, and overthinking around intimacy. You’ll learn how burnout quietly reduces capacity for pleasure, why desire often goes offline as a protective response, and what to pay attention to if you suspect burnout may be affecting your sex drive.
If you’ve ever thought, “Everything is fine, so why don’t I want this?”—this episode will help you make sense of what’s happening with compassion, clarity, and a nervous-system-informed lens.
 
Burnout & Wellbeing Coaching With Amy:
✨ Ready to break free from exhaustion and stop running on empty, so you can create real balance, reclaim your energy, and finally feel like yourself again? Book your free Burnout-Free Me consultation today!
🌐Visit www.daringdvm.com to learn more about coaching and ways we can work together. You can also find out about team trainings and speaking engagements here.
JOIN the Burnout-Free Community for weekly inspiration, coaching tools, special offers, and more!
📩Let's connect on Instagram or LinkedIn
 
Meet Amy:
Dr. Amy Grimm is a success and well-being coach, speaker, and veterinarian who helps high-performing professionals lead with clarity, energy, and purpose without sacrificing their well-being.
A former medical director who experienced burnout firsthand, Amy now coaches leaders across industries to recognize the hidden costs of hustle culture and create sustainable success through strategic prioritization and people-first leadership.
She also hosts the Burnout-Free Me Podcast (previously Daring DVM Podcast), a free resource for high-achievers and career professionals who want to live with less stress and create a life of balance, fulfillment, and joy.
Outside of work, Amy and her partner enjoy travel and all things outdoors. You’ll most likely find them on top of a mountain, in the middle of a desert, somewhere underwater, or 100 miles into a ride on their tandem mountain bicycle.

Have you ever made a small mistake—sent the wrong email, misspoke in a meeting, said something mildly awkward—and then found yourself replaying it over and over in your head long after it was already resolved?
If so, you’re not overreacting. You’re experiencing a very normal nervous system response.
In this episode of Burnout-Free Me, Dr. Amy Grimm explains why your brain fixates on mistakes, why “just letting it go” doesn’t work, and what’s actually happening in your body when anxiety takes over. You’ll learn how your threat response gets activated by perceived risks to your competence, reputation, or belonging—and why trying to out-think anxiety often makes spiraling worse.
Amy walks you through a simple, science-based 3-step strategy to interrupt the spiral, calm your nervous system, and help your brain stand down once the danger has passed. Along the way, she shares real-life examples (including a painfully relatable social slip-up), common client scenarios, and the exact language she uses in coaching to help high-achievers recover faster after mistakes.
This episode is for you if you:
Can’t stop replaying small mistakes
Feel anxious or embarrassed long after an interaction ends
Struggle with overthinking, self-criticism, or rumination
Want practical tools to calm your nervous system quickly
Are ready to stop spiraling and trust yourself again
You’ll walk away understanding that nothing has gone wrong—you’re not broken—and that learning to recover from mistakes is a skill you can practice and strengthen over time.
✨ If you’re ready to stop running on anxiety and start feeling more calm, confident, and grounded in your day-to-day life, learn more about coaching with Dr. Amy Grimm here.
 
Burnout & Wellbeing Coaching With Amy:
✨ Ready to break free from exhaustion and stop running on empty, so you can create real balance, reclaim your energy, and finally feel like yourself again? Book your free Burnout-Free Me consultation today!
🌐Visit www.daringdvm.com to learn more about coaching and ways we can work together. You can also find out about team trainings and speaking engagements here.
JOIN the Burnout-Free Community for weekly inspiration, coaching tools, special offers, and more!
📩Let's connect on Instagram or LinkedIn
 
Meet Amy:
Dr. Amy Grimm is a success and well-being coach, speaker, and veterinarian who helps high-performing professionals lead with clarity, energy, and purpose without sacrificing their well-being.
A former medical director who experienced burnout firsthand, Amy now coaches leaders across industries to recognize the hidden costs of hustle culture and create sustainable success through strategic prioritization and people-first leadership.
She also hosts the Burnout-Free Me Podcast (previously Daring DVM Podcast), a free resource for high-achievers and career professionals who want to live with less stress and create a life of balance, fulfillment, and joy.
Outside of work, Amy and her partner enjoy travel and all things outdoors. You’ll most likely find them on top of a mountain, in the middle of a desert, somewhere underwater, or 100 miles into a ride on their tandem mountain bicycle.
 

If you’re heading into the holidays feeling tired, overstimulated, or quietly overwhelmed, even while everyone around you seems to be sprinting toward joy, this episode is for you.
This isn’t a productivity episode. It’s a pause.
In this short, heartfelt holiday check-in, Amy shares a more personal, behind-the-scenes moment from her own life and offers permission to let this season be softer. For many high-achievers, the holidays come with unspoken pressure to keep going, keep performing, and keep optimizing—when what’s actually needed is rest, presence, and space to breathe.
Amy reflects on why the holidays don’t have to be cheerful, polished, or high-energy to be meaningful, and why slowing down isn’t something you need to earn.
She also invites listeners to step into community—by sharing topic requests, podcast recommendations, and helping spread this work to more high-achievers who need it.
If you’ve been craving a gentler close to the year—without fixing, hustling, or figuring everything out—consider this your permission slip.
 
HOW TO SUBMIT Topic Requests or Podcast Recommendations:
Step 1: Visit my podcast page by clicking this link. 🔗
Step 2: Scroll to the bottom of the page. ⬇️
Step 3: Fill out the request form. 📋
Step 4: Hit Submit! That's it! ✅
 
Burnout & Wellbeing Coaching With Amy:
✨ Ready to break free from exhaustion and stop running on empty, so you can create real balance, reclaim your energy, and finally feel like yourself again? Book your free Burnout-Free Me consultation today!
🌐Visit www.daringdvm.com to learn more about coaching and ways we can work together. You can also find out about team trainings and speaking engagements here.
JOIN the Burnout-Free Community for weekly inspiration, coaching tools, special offers, and more!
📩Let's connect on Instagram or LinkedIn
 
Meet Amy:
Dr. Amy Grimm is a success and well-being coach, speaker, and veterinarian who helps high-performing professionals lead with clarity, energy, and purpose without sacrificing their well-being.
A former medical director who experienced burnout firsthand, Amy now coaches leaders across industries to recognize the hidden costs of hustle culture and create sustainable success through strategic prioritization and people-first leadership.
She also hosts the Burnout-Free Me Podcast (previously Daring DVM Podcast), a free resource for high-achievers and career professionals who want to live with less stress and create a life of balance, fulfillment, and joy.
Outside of work, Amy and her partner enjoy travel and all things outdoors. You’ll most likely find them on top of a mountain, in the middle of a desert, somewhere underwater, or 100 miles into a ride on their tandem mountain bicycle.

In this episode of Burnout-Free Me, Dr. Amy Grimm breaks down one of the biggest misconceptions among high achievers about stress: the belief that stress is inherently bad. 
Stress is actually a normal (and necessary!) part of being human, which means it's in our best interest to learn how to work with it instead of fighting against it.
In this episode, you'll learn:
How your nervous system and mindset shape your stress response
Why stress boosts performance
How too little stress is just as harmful as too much
And why avoiding stress keeps you stuck in overwhelm and burnout. 
Amy also shares two powerful stories that show stress as a wake-up call and a catalyst for meaningful change. 
If you’ve been trying to “get rid of stress,” this episode will help you rethink your entire relationship with it, and finally feel more in control.
 
Burnout & Wellbeing Coaching With Amy:
✨ Ready to break free from exhaustion and stop running on empty, so you can create real balance, reclaim your energy, and finally feel like yourself again? Book your free Burnout-Free Me consultation today!
🌐Visit www.daringdvm.com to learn more about coaching and ways we can work together. You can also find out about team trainings and speaking engagements here.
JOIN the Burnout-Free Community for weekly inspiration, coaching tools, special offers, and more!
📩Let's connect on Instagram or LinkedIn
 
Meet Amy:
Dr. Amy Grimm is a success and well-being coach, speaker, and veterinarian who helps high-performing professionals lead with clarity, energy, and purpose without sacrificing their well-being.
A former medical director who experienced burnout firsthand, Amy now coaches leaders across industries to recognize the hidden costs of hustle culture and create sustainable success through strategic prioritization and people-first leadership.
She also hosts the Burnout-Free Me Podcast (previously Daring DVM Podcast), a free resource for high-achievers and career professionals who want to live with less stress and create a life of balance, fulfillment, and joy.
Outside of work, Amy and her partner enjoy travel and all things outdoors. You’ll most likely find them on top of a mountain, in the middle of a desert, somewhere underwater, or 100 miles into a ride on their tandem mountain bicycle.

If you’ve been feeling foggy, overwhelmed, indecisive, or like your brain just… stops, you’re not alone. In this episode of Burnout-Free Me, Dr. Amy Grimm breaks down the cause behind decision fatigue: cognitive fatigue, a burnout symptom most high-achievers mistake for personal failure.
You’ll learn how chronic mental load drains your brain’s ability to make decisions, why “just prioritize” doesn’t work when you’re overloaded, and how your nervous system plays a direct role in your clarity, focus, and ability to choose.
Amy shares the neuroscience behind cognitive fatigue, relatable examples from high-responsibility women, and simple tools you can use immediately to reduce overwhelm, strengthen your decision-making, and reclaim your mental energy.
If you’re tired of feeling mentally scattered, stuck, or exhausted, this episode will help you finally understand what’s happening and what to do next.
 
Work With Amy:
✨ Ready to break free from exhaustion and stop running on empty, so you can create real balance, reclaim your energy, and finally feel like yourself again? Book your free Burnout-Free Me consultation today!
🌐Visit www.daringdvm.com to learn more about coaching and ways we can work together. You can also find out about team trainings and speaking engagements here.
JOIN the Burnout-Free Community for weekly inspiration, coaching tools, special offers, and more!
📩Let's connect on Instagram or LinkedIn
 
Meet Amy:
Dr. Amy Grimm is a success and well-being coach, speaker, and veterinarian who helps high-performing professionals lead with clarity, energy, and purpose without sacrificing their well-being.
A former medical director who experienced burnout firsthand, Amy now coaches leaders across industries to recognize the hidden costs of hustle culture and create sustainable success through strategic prioritization and people-first leadership.
She also hosts the Burnout-Free Me Podcast (previously Daring DVM Podcast), a free resource for high-achievers and career professionals who want to live with less stress and create a life of balance, fulfillment, and joy.
Outside of work, Amy and her partner enjoy travel and all things outdoors. You’ll most likely find them on top of a mountain, in the middle of a desert, somewhere underwater, or 100 miles into a ride on their tandem mountain bicycle.