The Mid-Year Reset: 4 Signals You're Heading Toward Burnout (And What to Do About Each One)

We're halfway through 2026. And if your year has been relentless with very little genuine recovery built in — this episode is your reset. The most downloaded episode of this podcast ever is "How to Recover from Burnout" — over 2,100 listens. That question never stops being relevant. So today we go…

Your Squad Strategy: Building the Support Network High Performers Actually Need

High performers are exceptional at supporting others. They are often much less exceptional at being supported themselves. In this episode, Dr Jo Braid unpacks why professional isolation is so common in healthcare — and what to actually do about it. You'll hear: Why medical culture trains us to se…

The 80% Rule: Why Peak Performers Need to Leave Something in the Tank

You've been told that high performance means giving everything you've got. But what if that's exactly what's burning you out? In this episode — part two of the four-part series The High Performer's Paradox — Dr Jo Braid unpacks the 80% rule: the counterintuitive idea that deliberately leaving some…

The High Performer's Paradox: Why Your Greatest Strength Becomes Your Biggest Risk

In this episode, Dr. Jo Braid kicks off a special four-part series exploring the patterns that drive high performers toward burnout - starting with one of the most confronting realisations in high performance: the qualities that make you exceptional can also be the ones that exhaust you. Drawing o…

The Growth Mindset Paradox: When You Forget You're Human

When Dr. Jo received news that her podcast reached the top 3% globally, her first instinct was to credit grit and optimization—but the real truth was much more profound. In this heartfelt finale to our 10-episode block, we explore how healthcare workers become so focused on improving themselves th…

The Organizational Burnout Audit: What Your Workplace Gets Wrong (And How to Fix It)

In this episode, Dr. Jo explores the organizational factors that drive burnout in healthcare and helping professions. While we've been told to focus on individual resilience and self-care, research shows that workplace systems and structures are the primary contributors to burnout. Dr. Jo shares r…

Time Poverty: Why Healthcare Workers Never Have Enough Hours

Healthcare workers are caught in a cycle of time poverty - never having enough hours to meet both work demands and personal needs. In this episode, Dr. Jo shares her real-time experience working a busy rehabilitation locum and how protecting lunch breaks actually improved cognitive clarity and eff…

The Expectation Trap: When 'Should' Becomes Your Worst Enemy

In this episode, Dr. Jo explores the toxic "should" statements that plague healthcare professionals and fuel burnout. She shares personal stories about breaking free from perfectionist expectations and introduces the powerful concept of "Gap vs. Gain" thinking from Dr Ben Hardy and Dan Sullivan's t…

Specialty-Specific Burnout: Why Your Recovery Strategy Should Match Your Role

Not all burnout is created equal - and neither should your recovery strategy be. In this episode, Dr. Jo explores how different medical specialties experience distinct burnout patterns, from the hypervigilance of emergency medicine to the emotional exhaustion of primary care. Research shows that ta…

The Money-Stress Connection: When Financial Pressure Fuels Professional Burnout

In this episode, Dr. Jo explores the often-overlooked connection between financial stress and professional burnout in healthcare. She shares how financial pressure creates a vicious cycle that amplifies workplace exhaustion and discusses the unique financial challenges healthcare professionals face…