Dear Colleagues:
I see you—your exhaustion, numbness, and apathy interspersed with what feels like constant frustration. Wanting a better life or a different path, but feeling too stuck, too drained, too disillusioned. You’ve given the best parts of yourself to a profession that’s left you running on empty.
How can you possibly show up with compassion for your patients when most days, you’re just trying to survive?
The truth is—you can’t. And you shouldn’t. We all know that we can’t pour from an empty cup. Pushing through only leads to burnout, breakdown, and a slow erosion of our physical health, mental well-being, and sense of purpose.
That might sound dramatic to some, but if you’ve worked in healthcare long enough, you know exactly what I mean. And if you’ve made it here, I’m guessing you’re done with the bullsh*t.
You’re ready to do things differently.
Because you know deep down that this life is meant to be lived—not just tolerated or survived.
And that goes for everyone, including and especially, healthcare workers. I believe this with every fiber of my being. In fact, it might be my next tattoo, in bold, across my chest.
My Turning Point
As often happens, when we’re not on the right path, the universe sends us teachers—people or obstacles that aren’t always gentle.I was on track to become an ER doctor, specializing in disaster medicine. After years of intense training, the goal was finally in sight—when my own life turned into a disaster zone. A series of traumatic events pushed me to leave my prestigious academic ER internship after just one year. My identity was completely wrapped up in that dream, and suddenly, I had no idea who I was or what came next.
I applied for every job imaginable, moved to Madagascar to work for a non-profit (as one does), and coped with my life falling apart through some very unhealthy habits—like rage-sprinting up hills which led to torn cartilage in my hip. I turned 30 barely able to walk, six figures in debt, and having no clue what the hell I was doing with my life.
I remember talking to a career coach—I think she helped me with my CV, and that was about it. After a lot of frustrating nights spent googling alternative career paths in medicine I decided to give clinical medicine another try—this time in Primary Care with a focus on Integrative Medicine. It felt more “me.” I could build relationships with patients, and I was good at it. Confident. Efficient. Comfortable. I matched to my top-choice residency program, got a job, my steady paycheck, my own office…Phew, I made it.
But deep down, I knew I hadn’t. Whispers from my soul kept saying: this isn’t it.
I drowned them out the best way I knew how: staying chronically busy, over-exercising, and traveling nonstop. Like so many in survival mode, I became comfortably numb. Not unhappy. Not alive. Just... fine. Until life cracked me wide open.
A mountain biking accident in 2019 shattered my clavicle and my sense of control. Two surgeries, an unexpected breakup, a deep depression—my life had become a disaster zone, AGAIN. And then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Suddenly, all my usual distractions were gone. The whispers became a roar. I realized I was trying to force myself into a life that looked good on paper, but felt all wrong...Like a pair of designer pants on sale that are just a size too small—you look great on the outside so you convince yourself that you’ll make them work, but you’re suffocating the whole time.
The COVID-19 pandemic—on top of the pain and chaos of the year before—was the catalyst I needed to stop trying to squeeze myself into a life that no longer fit. I quit my practice, sold most of my stuff, bought a boat (yep), and sailed to Baja. I didn’t know what was next—only that I was done suffering for a profession that treated me like a machine and exploited my empathy.
For the first time in years, I had space to dream about my true calling and purpose that I had gotten so far away from. That’s when I discovered coaching. I worked with a few incredible coaches, and everything started to shift. I had been in and out of therapy since I was 14 years old, and while I found it helpful at times, I knew it wasn’t action-oriented enough for someone like me. I was tired of analyzing my life—I wanted to actually change it. And coaching helped unlock what I needed to actually get my a** in gear. For the first time in YEARS, I was starting to get excited about work (and life!) again.
It became clear: this is what I’m meant to do. Because nothing brings me more joy than helping people become the best versions of themselves. I signed up for a six-month coaching training program without hesitation and was blown away by how excited I was to dive into the material.
But as I began my coaching training, something felt missing.It dawned on me why I had been stuck for so many years: Trauma. I hadn’t been stuck because I didn’t know my path—I was stuck because trauma and fear had kept me frozen, numb, afraid of the unknown.
I realized, that in order to really help people like me, I needed a much deeper understanding of trauma and how it keeps us stuck than I got from any of the education I had up to date. It was like a bit of a false summit—I thought I had reached the peak of my career change mountain just to realize how much further I had to go.
Fast forward three years and I have developed the best coaching program for healers looking to escape the cycle of burnout, numbness, and exhaustion. The program I WISH had been available when I was going through my own rock bottoms…
Healthcare professionals know how precious and short this life is. We’ve seen it all.
Despite this, we also stay stuck in our trauma more than any other group I have worked with—
This is why I named my business Healing Chiron: Because Chiron, the wisest healer of all the Centaurs, was unable to heal his own wounds.
Because I’ve watched too many of my brilliant, compassionate colleagues and friends slowly lose their spark.
Because none of us are guaranteed to make it to retirement.
Because your life is happening right now.
And I want to help you reclaim it.
Are you ready to heal so you can finally live the life you were meant to?
Random Fun Facts
