For many people who have always dreamt of being doctors, the reality of practicing medicine has turned into a nightmare. That’s because of physician burnout, a crisis that continues to be a huge cause for concern.

From overworking and physical depletion to emotional exhaustion and detachment - these are just some of the struggles physicians are faced with on a daily basis. Unlike burnout in other professions, healthcare has in-built structures that make doctors more prone to it and less likely to say they have a problem.

Physician burnout has far reaching effects that make it a public health crisis. Cynical, angry and resentful doctors drive patients away. Doctors who don’t feel engaged are more likely to leave the field altogether. But the biggest problem is burnout is leading to self-harm, addiction and even suicide in physicians.

Why are physicians more prone to burnout? How can we combat it at a personal level and then at the systemic level?

In this episode, I’m joined by board-certified physician Dr Yashika Dooley, who understands firsthand the frustrations and challenges faced by physicians as she works as a Life Coach for physicians, many of who struggle with burnout.

If you’re used to working hard and grinding, you’ll keep leaning on that habit, even if it’s not the best one. You might even feel like you’ll be a failure if you don’t overwork and grind. -Dr. Yashika Dooley

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

-Why the dream of medicine is turning into a nightmare

Combating physician burnout isn’t just a matter of keeping more doctors in their jobs. It’s about saving lives and families. What are some of the huge ramifications of this health crisis?

-The struggles doctors face

From the pressures of different specialties to expectations that have nothing to do with quality of care, what systemic structures keep burn out in place?

-Normalized self-neglect

As physicians, we’re conditioned to avoid showing weakness, even to our own detriment. How do we remove that mask and change what it means to be a good doctor?

Guest Bio

Yashika Dooley is a board certified OBGYN, regional medical director for Gennev and Life Coach for doctors. She helps doctors who are frustrated with the day-to-day challenges of their job feel less stressed, have more control and be more confident in their work and life. To learn more, go to https://www.yashikadooley.com/ and follow @yashikadooley on Instagram.

About Your Host

Hosted by Dr. Deepa Grandon, MD MBA, triple board-certified physician with over 23 years of experience working as a Physician Consultant for influential organizations worldwide. Dr. Grandon is the founder of Transformational Life Consulting (TLC) and an outspoken faith-based leader in evidenced-based lifestyle medicine.

While most people exercise to improve their physical health, regular physical activity also benefits your brain's fitness. There are many invisible gains when you exercise. From managing stress better and higher neuroplasticity to relieving depression and anxiety, exercise benefits the whole person.

Exercise exerts stress on your body, but it’s a good kind of stress. While it improves body composition and heart health, it’s also making us more mentally resilient, capable of handling life’s challenges, and driven to achieve our goals.

What are some of the ways exercise changes our emotional health? How is the stress of exercise different from the stress of everyday life?

In this episode, I’m going to talk about how important exercise is, not only for the physical body, but also for your mental and emotional well-being.

We have been repeatedly told about the importance of exercise for physical wellbeing, but exercise provides a whole host of gains for the brain too, and that shouldn’t be taken lightly. -Dr. Deepa Grandon

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

-A new definition of exercise

We often think of the surface level benefits of exercise. Could the invisible benefits be just as powerful?

-A stressor that’s good for you

Exercise isn’t just a way to manage stress and blow off steam. How does the stress exercise put on our bodies make us stronger mentally and emotionally?

-Exercise therapy

Regular exercise is highly beneficial to people who have mental health challenges like depression and anxiety. Why is it such an effective way to treat different mental disorders?

When it comes to being healthy, taking care of our bodies is just the tip of the iceberg. After all, we are also spiritual, mental and emotional beings, and these things are pivotal to our physical health.

If there is a practice that can tend to all the facets of health, it would be fasting. It’s the secret to physical, mental and spiritual breakthroughs.

Not only does it draw us nearer to God, allowing us to hear Him more clearly. It can also be therapeutic in the realms of mental and physical disorders.

What makes fasting so powerful? How does fasting allow mental, physical and spiritual healing to spring forth speedily? In this episode, I talk about the multifaceted positives of fasting.

Much of what we see manifested in the human body usually stems from the part of us that can’t be seen, which is our spirit, mind and emotions. -Dr. Deepa Grandon

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

-The invisible aspects of health

Our physical health is tangible so it’s easier to understand. Why is our mental and spiritual health just as pivotal to our wellness?

-Fasting isn’t about not eating

Fasting isn’t just about abstaining from food and pleasurable activities. What characterizes a fast in God’s eyes?

-Heal the whole human being

Fasting affects every facet of our health as human beings. What are the emotional, spiritual and mental benefits?

If you’re suffering from atopic dermatitis, the condition isn’t just skin deep. Every itch can cascade into a world of discomfort and pain. Every flare up is an interruption to your quality of life, and every scar can leave you feeling less confident. This is a reality millions live in, and often it leads to anxiety and depression, which can exacerbate the skin irritation further.

That’s why the condition has to be treated holistically. It’s not just about dealing with itchy and inflamed skin. It’s about addressing all the ways it affects someone’s entire life.

The good news is, we’re living in the golden age of atopic dermatitis therapies, and people can get what they need to manage the condition and put it into remission. What causes atopic dermatitis? How can we use lifestyle factors to manage it better?

Why is it critical for physicians to understand the different manifestations of skin conditions in different skin colors? In this episode, I’m joined by board-certified dermatologist and founder of Above & Beyond Dermatology, Dr. Stephen Lewellis. We talk about how to improve your quality of life if you’re dealing with atopic dermatitis, and all the interventions and solutions that are available.

If you have a higher risk of atopic dermatitis, stress, irritants and changes in weather are all factors that raise the score of it expressing on your skin. If we can lower the morbidity threshold, that can manage the condition. -Dr. Stephen Lewellis

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

-The root cause of atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis is the most common skin disease in the world. What makes someone more prone to it and what triggers flare ups?

-Remission not cure

In oncology, we talk about getting cancer into remission. Could changing our language on atopic dermatitis to management serve people better than talking about a cure?

-Don’t sound like a textbook

Physicians have to get better at talking about atopic dermatitis so that they educate patients and provide solutions.

Guest Bio

Dr. Stephen Lewellis is a board-certified dermatologist and founder of Above & Beyond Dermatology, an integrative dermatology practice that runs on trust, transparency, accountability, and good old fashioned hospitality. Dr. Stephen Lewellis also hosts The Direct Care Derm podcast and writes the Above & Beyond Dermatology newsletter. For more information, head to https://lewellismd.com/ or connect with Dr. Lewellis on LinkedIn.

Taking care of our bodies and minds is critical to our health, but it’s not enough. If we want total healing and wellness, we have to include our spiritual health and a meaningful relationship with God.

As a physician, I believe that there’s a level of healing you can’t achieve by exercising and eating right. Some healing can only come from the Lord, and the more we connect with Him, the easier it is to achieve wellness.

In medicine we have diagnostic tests to determine if a person’s physical body is well. Our spirits are the same. How do we gauge the health of our spiritual beings? How do we build our relationship with God? In this episode, I talk about why spirituality is a crucial pillar in our healing and how we can strengthen it.

While studying to become a doctor, I recognized that the healing I was providing my patients was superficial. Spirituality is an essential element for total and complete healing. -Dr. Deepa Grandon

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

-You can’t do it alone

The fruits of the spirit and spiritual wellness aren’t things we can accomplish in our own power. Why is surrender and recognizing our helplessness such an important aspect of spirituality?

-Remaining strong in faith in the face of adversity

Peace isn’t a lack of disturbances. Joy doesn’t mean we don’t have difficulties. How do we endure ongoing hardship while still manifesting the other fruits of the spirit in anticipation of future relief from God?

-Health beyond the physical realm

In the realm of physical health, we are able to diagnose ailments. How do we do the same for our spirit?

“You are what you eat”. It’s a statement we always hear, and though it’s true, it's not the full picture of our health. Everything we’re learning in gut health shows that we are also the microbes we feed.

Of course, we know that gut health plays a crucial role in our digestion and immune health, but the gut is also deeply connected to our minds and emotional well-being. The gut and brain interact so closely and so frequently they have been linked to mood disorders. No wonder your gut is called the second brain!

Every food choice we make impacts our gut health, which, in turn, impacts our brains.

How do we ensure we’re feeding the right bugs in our gut? What are the latest discoveries proving our gut health has power over our emotional well-being? In this episode, I discuss the gut-brain axis and why it’s important for our health.

We are not only what we eat, but also what microbes we feed. Being intentional with our food choices extends way beyond the size of our waistlines to the depth and extent of our mental and emotional wellbeing. -Dr. Deepa Grandon

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

-90% of your serotonin comes from your gut

Serotonin is a major neurotransmitter that controls mood and brain function. Does our gut have more to do with its production than we think?

-Don’t overlook the gut-brain interaction

Trillions of organisms call our gut home. How do these interact with each other and ultimately impact every aspect of our health?

-Parasites are good for you

We’ve been taught to associate parasites with something negative, but do we need parasites in our guts to be healthy?

Cancer is the second cause of death worldwide, and cases are set to increase to 35 million over the next two decades. Even though we’ve made great strides in research and therapeutic advances, the risk of cancer is still high.

That doesn’t mean we have to just accept that cancer will happen to more of us. There are steps we can take to prevent it and increase our survivorship if we do get it.

It has been proven that lifestyle choices can reduce your risk of cancer. What we eat and how active we are can have a huge impact on the likelihood of getting cancer. By far, things like our weight and our habits are the most modifiable risk factors, and the good news is, they are entirely in our control.

Why has there been a rise in the global cancer burden? How can we reduce our risk? In this episode, I’m joined by the Director of Breast Oncology and Cancer Survivorship at the Mass General Cancer Center in Waltham, Dr. Amy Comander. She shares how we can address the rising global cancer burden by changing our lifestyles.

30-40% of cancers can be prevented by avoiding risk factors and applying good and healthy lifestyle choices to our own lives. -Dr. Amy Comander

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

-Why your lifestyle choices matter

If certain lifestyle choices increase the risk of cancer, that means our choices can also reduce it. How can we combat the disease by implementing good lifestyle choices?

-The bad news about the genetics (and the good news)

Genetics and hereditary alterations are known factors that increase the risks of cancer. Can lifestyle choices protect those who are predisposed to cancer, and even stop it from transmitting to the next generation?

-This lifestyle change will reduce your risk of cancer

Excess fat cells have been found to be a risk factor for cancer. How do fat cells propagate the development of cancer cells?

Guest Bio

Dr. Amy Comander specializes in the care of women with breast cancer. Dr. Comander is Medical Director of the Mass General Cancer Center in Waltham, where she also serves as Director of Breast Oncology and Cancer Survivorship at the Mass General Cancer Center in Waltham and at Newton Wellesley Hospital. She is director of Lifestyle Medicine at the Mass General Cancer Center, and an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She received her undergraduate degree and a master's degree in Neuroscience at Harvard University. She received her medical degree at Yale University School of Medicine. She completed her Internal Medicine residency training and Hematology-Oncology fellowship training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. She is board-certified in Hematology and Medical Oncology, and she is a Diplomat of the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine. Dr. Comander is well-known for her compassionate care and passionate devotion to her patients. She has served as a medical advisor to Oneinforty, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating people of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage about the one-in-forty chance of having inherited a BRCA mutation. She is proud to serve on the board of the Ellie Fund, a non-profit that provides services and support to women diagnosed with breast cancer in Massachusetts. Dr. Comander has a strong interest in improving the quality of life and outcome of cancer survivors through important lifestyle interventions, including physical activity, diet, and mind/body interventions. She promotes healthy lifestyles for both her active treatment patients as well as those in the survivorship phase of care. She has launched PAVING the Path to Wellness, a 12-week lifestyle medicine-based survivorship program for women with breast cancer. Connect with Dr. Comander on LinkedIn.

Go to https://www.aicr.org/cancer-prevention/how-to-prevent-cancer/ to read about the 10 cancer prevention recommendations.

When it comes to metabolic health, high blood sugar isn’t the only cause for concern. If your blood sugar is in between normal and diabetic, you’re prediabetic and at risk for heart attacks and other challenges.

Prediabetes doesn’t have overt symptoms, so it’s really easy for it to be missed. That’s what makes it so dangerous. Unless you’re intentional and vigilant about checking for it, the condition can fly under the radar of your health.

Like diabetes, prediabetes is a reflection of the metabolic condition of your body. Genetics and even ethnicity are risk factors for prediabetes, but the good news is it can be prevented and even reversed once you have it.

What causes prediabetes? Can we stop prediabetes from becoming diabetes? In this episode, I talk about how to combat a condition a lot of people don’t know they have.

One of the problems with prediabetes is that it has no symptoms. Unless you or your healthcare provider go the extra mile to identify it, it can be easily missed. -Dr. Deepa Grandon

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode

-The dangerous thing about prediabetes

Prediabetes doesn’t have symptoms making it really easy to get missed. Who is at the highest risk of having it? How do you know you need to get screened for it?

-The most powerful ways to correct prediabetes

How do we dial in our diet and exercise in order to combat insulin resistance, inflammation and other metabolic abnormalities?

-How to use fasting to mitigate prediabetes

Intermittent fasting has a plethora of benefits that aid in the prevention or even reversal of prediabetes. What makes it so effective at tackling prediabetes risk factors?