Highly Functional

Sarah from lutruwita/Tasmania
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Alternative Health

This is safe space for those who are the quietly prescribed, professionally exhausted, and chronically curious. For professionals managing burnout, anxiety, or neurodivergence who use medicinal cannabis but feel they can't talk about it, Highly Functional is the podcast that treats their experience with intelligence, evidence, and zero judgement. Hosted by Sarah, a TGA-approved patient, backed by peer-reviewed research and lived experience. Not medical advice — talk to your GP.

  1. 3d ago

    26. The Cost of Being Capable — Performance Punishment, Quiet Promotion & Quiet Quitting

    What happens when the reward for good work is more work? Sarah looks at performance punishment, why reliable people end up carrying more than their share, and whether quiet quitting is really the answer. What we cover 🌿 What “performance punishment” and “quiet promotion” actually mean, and why it’s a popular term, not an academic one 🌿 Four studies on gender, helping behaviour, citizenship pressure and overload 🌿 Quiet quitting through Gallup’s lens, and why it isn’t an equal-opportunity escape route 🌿 The disability and chronic illness angle: when competence is used against you 🌿 Burnout Book Club: The No Club by Babcock, Peyser, Vesterlund and Weingart Peer-reviewed research Babcock, L., Recalde, M.P., Vesterlund, L., & Weingart, L. (2017). “Gender differences in accepting and receiving requests for tasks with low promotability.” American Economic Review, 107(3), 714–747. doi:10.1257/aer.20141734 Bolino, M.C., Turnley, W.H., Gilstrap, J.B., & Suazo, M.M. (2010). “Citizenship under pressure: What’s a ‘good soldier’ to do?” Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31(6), 835–855. Bolino, M.C., & Turnley, W.H. (2005). “The personal costs of citizenship behavior: The relationship between individual initiative and role overload, job stress, and work-family conflict.” Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(4), 740–748. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.90.4.740 Heilman, M.E., & Chen, J.J. (2005). “Same behavior, different consequences: Reactions to men’s and women’s altruistic citizenship behavior.” Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(3), 431–441. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.90.3.431 Industry and popular sources Gallup. “Is Quiet Quitting Real?” gallup.com/workplace/398306/quiet-quitting-real-problem.aspx Psychology Today. “Are You Guilty of Performance Punishment?” psychologytoday.com — on the cost of rescuing low performers with high performers. The Daily Dot. Report on the TikTok by @lynda.leads describing performance punishment. dailydot.com Wikipedia. “Performance punishment.” WorkLife (30 January 2023). “How performance punishment builds resentment among high-achieving employees.” worklife.news — includes NeuroLeadership Institute researcher Emma Sarro. Book Babcock, L., Peyser, B., Vesterlund, L., & Weingart, L. (2022). The No Club: Putting a Stop to Women’s Dead-End Work. Simon & Schuster. Disclaimer: This episode is educational commentary and personal experience and does not constitute legal, workplace or medical advice. Employment arrangements vary by state, industry and agreement. For specific workplace issues, please consult a qualified employment lawyer or your union representative. Medicinal cannabis is a prescription medication in Australia; please speak with your GP or an authorised prescriber about your own health. Connect with the Show: Have thoughts on this episode or want to share your story? Email: highlyfunctionalpodcast@protonmail.comInstagram: DM me @highlyfunctionalpodcast https://highlyfunctional.studio/

    26. The Cost of Being Capable — Performance Punishment, Quiet Promotion & Quiet Quitting

  2. Oct 19

    25. How are you, actually? A cozy catch-up

    For a show that runs on evidence, this week is about the person behind the microphone. Sarah chills out on the couch, puts the kettle on and answers the question nobody asks high-functioning people: how are you, actually? What we cover: 🌿 What’s been going on: the website, the merch, and the first interview episodes 🌿 The quieter stuff: energy, rest and what’s really going on under “I’m fine” 🌿 What I’ve been reading, listening to and watching 🌿 A personal t-break diary, told as one person’s story, not advice 🌿 Burnout Book Club: I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman (trans. Ros Schwartz, Transit Books, 2022) Disclaimer: This is my personal experience, not medical advice. Medicinal cannabis is a prescription medication in Australia. If you’re exploring it for anxiety, burnout or anything else, talk to your GP or an authorised prescriber first.Connect with the Show: Have thoughts on this episode or want to share your story? Email: highlyfunctionalpodcast@protonmail.com Instagram: DM me @highlyfunctionalpodcast https://highlyfunctional.studio/

    25. How are you, actually? A cozy catch-up

  3. Oct 12

    24. Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History: Medicine, Mutual Aid & the Case Against Compliance

    Medicinal cannabis is now a huge commercial market in Australia, but the people who risked everything to supply it first were often women giving it away for free. So who is this system built for, and who paid for it to exist? 🌿 What we cover Jenny Hallam, Brownie Mary and Valerie Corral: the legacy healers who came before the legal marketThe Women’s Co-operative Guild, and what “basket power” has to do with medicineWhy patients pay $200–$600 a month, and what Epidiolex shows is possibleTasmanian Botanics, Astrid and Little Green Pharma/Cannatrek: a market consolidating fastFair Go Grocers and the question of a public supplier for medicineThe Commons Model: five guardrails for a fairer systemGood Girl Syndrome, plus this month’s Burnout Book Club pick: Kropotkin’s Anarchist Communism: Its Basis and Principles Because joy is a form of resistance, and a little bit pissed off is a good place to start. SHOW NOTES AusCannaPodcast (Christina McMullan): “I Wasn’t a Hero, I Was Pissed Off,” with Jenny HallamABC News (Nov 2019): Jenny Hallam spared a conviction, good behaviour bondJournal of Cannabis Research (2026): review of Australia’s medicinal cannabis market, out-of-pocket costs and PBS listing of EpidiolexHealth Expectations (2025): patient and carer submissions to the Senate inquiry on access barriersABC News (Sept 2026) and Cannabiz: Yongji Health and Tasmanian BotanicsCo-operative Heritage Trust: history of the Women’s Co-operative GuildGreen Institute: Fair Go GrocersPeter Kropotkin (1887): Anarchist Communism: Its Basis and Principles Disclaimer: This episode is educational commentary and my personal opinion, not medical or legal advice. Medicinal cannabis is a prescription medication in Australia, and supplying cannabis outside the TGA scheme is illegal. Please speak with your GP or an authorised prescriber about your own health. Connect with the Show: Have thoughts on this episode or want to share your story?Email: highlyfunctionalpodcast@protonmail.comInstagram: DM me @highlyfunctionalpodcast

    24. Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History: Medicine, Mutual Aid & the Case Against Compliance

  4. Oct 5

    23. The Advocate's Tax — When the Fight Is the Job

    What happens when advocacy stops being a choice and becomes the price of admission for care? This week: advocacy burnout, the hidden administrative load on people with disability and patients, what Tasmania's medicinal cannabis driving defence shows about unpaid advocacy, why mutual aid isn't charity, and a Burnout Book Club pick. 🌿 A name for the unpaid labour of self-advocacy 🌿 Activist burnout and the "culture of martyrdom" 🌿 NDIS administrative burden and who carries it 🌿 Tasmania's driving defence, interstate prescribing changes, and the latest NSW reform 🌿 Mutual aid vs charity 🌿 Burnout Book Club: Mutual Aid by Dean Spade Research and books Gorski, P.C. & Chen, C. (2015). "'Frayed All Over': The Causes and Consequences of Activist Burnout Among Social Justice Education Activists." Educational Studies, 51(5), 385–405. doi:10.1080/00131946.2015.1075989.Carey, G., Malbon, E. & Blackwell, J. (2021). "Administering inequality? The National Disability Insurance Scheme and administrative burdens on individuals." Australian Journal of Public Administration, 80(4). Yates, S., Carey, G., Malbon, E. & Hargrave, J. (2022). "'Faceless monster, secret society': Women's experiences navigating the administrative burden of Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme." Health & Social Care in the Community. doi:10.1111/hsc.13669. Herd, P. & Moynihan, D. (2019). Administrative Burden: Policymaking by Other Means. Russell Sage Foundation. McCartney, D., Arkell, T.R., Irwin, C. & McGregor, I.S. (2021). "Determining the magnitude and duration of acute Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC)-induced driving and cognitive impairment: A systematic and meta-analytic review." Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 126, 175–193. Spade, D. (2020). Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next). Verso. See also Spade, D. (2020), "Solidarity Not Charity: Mutual Aid for Mobilization and Survival," Social Text, 38(1), 131–151.Law and government sources Road Safety (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1970 (Tas), s 6A(2).Tasmanian Department of Health: Medicinal cannabis information for patients and the general public; Interstate prescribing in Tasmania (commenced 16 February 2026). health.tas.gov.auNSW Government: "Minns Labor Government's medicinal cannabis driving reforms pass NSW Parliament" (Road Transport Legislation Amendment (Medical Cannabis and Driving Offences) Bill 2026, passed 17 September 2026; AAP/The Examiner (18 September 2026): "State sets agenda on medicinal cannabis drivers." Tasmanian Greens MPs, media release, 31 January 2025.Advocacy history ABC News (25 February 2016), "Campaigners welcome progress as medicinal cannabis legislation passes in federal Parliament."Cannabiz (November 2023), "'It's time to hand the baton over': Lucy Haslam steps down as AMCA chair."Learn more / community Drive Change: drivechangemc.org.au Disclaimer: This episode is educational commentary only and does not constitute medical or legal advice. Medicinal cannabis is a prescription medication in Australia. Please speak with your GP or a qualified healthcare professional regarding your own health, medication, or driving concerns, and seek legal advice for your state or territory. Connect with the Show: Have thoughts on this episode or want to share your story? Email: highlyfunctionalpodcast@protonmail.com Instagram: DM me @highlyfunctionalpodcast A sneak peek at what I'm building: Highly Functional Medicine Journal — because guessing gets expensive. Buy it here: Highly Functional Medicine Journal, Etsy Australia

    23. The Advocate's Tax — When the Fight Is the Job

  5. Sep 28

    22. Missed, Masked & Medicated: ADHD, Autism & Medicinal Cannabis

    Part One is why so many women and gender-diverse people carry a late ADHD or autism diagnosis, the "Masking Tax" that comes with decades of performing fine, and how eerily similar trauma symptoms can look to neurodivergence on paper — hypervigilance, scanning a room, the lot. Part Two picks up where that leaves a lot of us: reaching for medicinal cannabis to cope, often years before any diagnosis, and asking honestly whether the evidence backs that up or whether it's vibes wearing a lab coat. Australia's exploding millennial ADHD prescribing numbers, the newest CBD trial out of Deakin University, ABC News (2026, April). "Australian women have overtaken men in prescribing rates for ADHD medication," analysis of UNSW dispensing data, FY2017–FY2024. Aran, A., Harel, M., Cassuto, H., Polyansky, L., Schnapp, A., Wattad, N., et al. (2021). "Cannabinoid treatment for autism: A proof-of-concept randomized trial." Molecular Autism, 12(1), 6. "Autism, ADHD, and Complex PTSD — A Clinical Perspective on Overlap, Assessment, and Recovery." (2026). Brainz Magazine. Brabete, A.C., Greaves, L., Hemsing, N., & Stinson, J. (2020). "Sex- and Gender-Based Analysis in Cannabis Treatment Outcomes: A Systematic Review." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(3), 872. Cairns, E.A., Benson, M.J., Bedoya-Pérez, M.A., Macphail, S.L., Mohan, A., Cohen, R., Sachdev, P.S., & McGregor, I.S. (2023). "Medicinal cannabis for psychiatry-related conditions: an overview of current Australian prescribing." Frontiers in Pharmacology, 14, 1142680. Cooper, R.E., Williams, E., Seegobin, S., Tye, C., Kuntsi, J., & Asherson, P. (2017). "Cannabinoids in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A randomised-controlled trial." European Neuropsychopharmacology, 27(8), 795–808. Craddock, E. (2024). "Being a Woman Is 100% Significant to My Experiences of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism..." Qualitative Health Research, 34(14), 1442–1455. Deakin University (2026, March). "Cannabidiol (CBD) shows benefits for autistic children." Media release. Efron, D., Freeman, J.L., Cranswick, N., Payne, J.M., Mulraney, M., Prakash, C., Lee, K.J., Taylor, K., & Williams, K. (2021). "A pilot randomised placebo-controlled trial of cannabidiol to reduce severe behavioural problems in children and adolescents with intellectual disability." British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 87(2), 436–446. "Gender differences in autism prevalence: origins of bias and its current scientific relevance." (2026). Frontiers in Psychiatry. Karhson, D.S., LaFrance, E.M., & Cuttler, C. (2025). "Acute effects of cannabis on core and co-occurring features associated with autism spectrum disorder in adults." Scientific Reports, 15(1), 39849. Mitchell, J.T., Sweitzer, M.M., Tunno, A.M., Kollins, S.H., & McClernon, F.J. (2016). "'I Use Weed for My ADHD': A Qualitative Analysis of Online Forum Discussions on Cannabis Use and ADHD." PLOS ONE, 11(5), e0156614. Parrella, N.-F., Hill, A.T., Enticott, P.G., Botha, T., Catchlove, S., Downey, L., & Ford, T.C. (2026). "Effects of Cannabidiol on Social Relating, Anxiety, and Parental Stress in Autistic Children: A Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial." Autism Research, 19(2), e70159. Parrella, N.-F., quoted in PsyPost (2026, March). "New trial suggests CBD oil could lower anxiety in autistic children and reduce parenting stress."PTSD UK. "Can PTSD be mistaken for ADHD?"

    22. Missed, Masked & Medicated: ADHD, Autism & Medicinal Cannabis

  6. Sep 21

    21. The Empathy Overdraft - What Compassion Fatigue Actually Costs

    What we cover: 🧠 The (contested) neuroscience of empathic overactivation — what mirror neurons can and can't explain📖 Untangling three terms that get used interchangeably: secondary traumatic stress, vicarious traumatization, and compassion fatigue🏛️ Why burnout research actually started in caregiving professions — and why the modern conversation centres corporate burnout instead👩‍👧‍👦 The Australian "sandwich generation": why women's unpaid caregiving load rarely gets named as caregiving at all💬 Sarah's own compassion fatigue across two care careers, plus an honest, non-promotional reflection on teenage self-medication and adolescent brain risk🌙 What the more recent research actually shows about cannabis, sleep, and nightmares specifically — distinct from the broader, more mixed PTSD evidence🏦 A framework: The Empathy Overdraft📚 Burnout Book Club: Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily & Amelia NagoskiContent note: This episode discusses vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress, and Sarah's own trauma history including a PTSD diagnosis, nightmares, flashbacks, and teenage substance use, in an educational context — not in graphic detail. Skip or save it if that's not where your head's at right now. Citations: Figley, C.R. (1995). Compassion Fatigue: Coping with Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder in Those Who Treat the Traumatized. McCann, I.L., & Pearlman, L.A. (1990). "Vicarious traumatization: A framework for understanding the psychological effects of working with victims." Journal of Traumatic Stress, 3(1), 131–149. Kilner, J.M., & Lemon, R.N. (2013). "What we know currently about mirror neurons." Current Biology, 23(23), R1057–R1062. Maslach, C. (2016). "Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry." World Psychiatry, 15(2), 103–111. e61 Institute (2026). "Rethinking the Sandwich Generation: The Triple Care Burden." Analysis of 2021 Australian Census data. Evans, K.L., Millsteed, J., Richmond, J.E., Falkmer, M., Falkmer, T., & Girdler, S.J. (2016). "Working Sandwich Generation Women Utilize Strategies within and between Roles to Achieve Role Balance." PLOS ONE, 11(6), e0157469. Australian Seniors (2025). Sandwich Generation Report, cited via BaptistCare white paper. Blest-Hopley, G., Colizzi, M., Giampietro, V., & Bhattacharyya, S. (2020). "Is the Adolescent Brain at Greater Vulnerability to the Effects of Cannabis? A Narrative Review of the Evidence." Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 859. Sznitman, S.R., Meiri, D., Amit, B.H., Rosenberg, D., & Greene, T. (2022). "Posttraumatic stress disorder, sleep and medical cannabis treatment: A daily diary study." Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 92, 102632. Nacasch, N., Avni, C., & Toren, P. (2023). "Medical cannabis for treatment-resistant combat PTSD." Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 1014630. Vaddiparti, K., Liu, Y., Bottari, S., Boullosa, C.C., Zhou, Z., Wang, Y., Williamson, J., & Cook, R.L. (2023). "Improved Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Related Sleep Disturbances after Initiation of Medical Marijuana Use: Evidence from a Prospective Single Arm Pilot Study." Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids. Disclaimer: This episode blends personal experience with educational commentary and does not constitute medical advice. Medicinal cannabis is a prescription medication in Australia. Please speak with your GP or a qualified healthcare professional regarding your own trauma history, mental health, or treatment options. This episode also references cannabis use during adolescence in a personal, historical context — this is not an endorsement, and the evidence on adolescent brain development referenced above should be taken seriously by any listener with a young person in their life. Connect with the Show:Email: highlyfunctionalpodcast@protonmail.comInstagram: DM me @highlyfunctionalpodcast

    21. The Empathy Overdraft - What Compassion Fatigue Actually Costs

  7. Sep 14

    20. Baduizm & the Botanical Ritual

    Episode 20: Baduizm & The Botanical Ritual Nearly thirty years after Baduizm, Erykah Badu is still writing the rulebook on her own terms — from the ritual she built her debut around, to That Badu (her own cannabis strain), to Before the World Blows, her brand-new album with the Alchemist. This is the full-portrait episode: the endocannabinoid science behind why ritual matters, the exact genetics behind That Badu, and the much longer, uglier history of who gets celebrated for cannabis and spiritual healing — and who gets criminalised for the exact same thing. What we cover: 🌿 The endocannabinoid system and why ritual regulates stress 🌿 Baduizm at almost 30 — the Soulquarians, J Dilla, the Grammys 🌿 That Badu strain genetics, and Before the World Blows with the Alchemist 🌿 The racialised history of U.S. cannabis criminalisation — and who still bears the cost today Also mentioned: the Spencer Green Goods Bag — a smell-resistant corduroy stash bag from a woman-owned Australian business. https://spencergreenau.square.site/product/spencer-green-goods-bag/4LFXW72AMHG76NREQ7JWS6JG Disclaimer: This episode is educational and cultural commentary only and does not constitute medical advice. Medicinal cannabis is a prescription medication in Australia. Please speak with your GP or a qualified healthcare professional regarding your own health or medication questions. Connect with the show: Have thoughts on this episode or want to share your story? Email: highlyfunctionalpodcast@protonmail.com Instagram: DM me @highlyfunctionalpodcast

    20. Baduizm & the Botanical Ritual

  8. Sep 7

    19. F*ck Optimisation, I Want to Live (The Case Against Being the Best Version of Yourself)

    Episode 19: F*ck Optimisation, I Want to Live(The Case Against Being the Best Version of Yourself) We've turned rest into a deliverable. This week: why busyness became a status symbol, what the research actually says about time, money, and happiness, and why lying on the couch doing absolutely nothing might be the most radical thing you do all week. What we cover: 🌿 "Productivity orientation" — why even our leisure time is getting optimised 🌿 The research on busyness as the new status symbol 🌿 What actually predicts life satisfaction (hint: it's not your habit tracker) 🌿 Performative exhaustion vs. actual exhaustion, and what breaking the cycle looked like for me 🌿 NEW: Burnout Book Club — bell hooks' The Will to Change, patriarchy, and Australia's current DV crisis 🌿 A shout-out to Kyla de Clifford's work building safer spaces for women in the cannabis industry 🌿 One small, deliberately unproductive homework assignment SHOW NOTES — Citations: Bellezza, S., Paharia, N., & Keinan, A. (2017). "Conspicuous Consumption of Time: When Busyness and Lack of Leisure Time Become a Status Symbol." Journal of Consumer Research, 44(1), 118–138. — Multi-study research finding that a busy, overworked lifestyle has replaced a leisurely one as the aspirational status symbol, because busyness signals competence, ambition, and being "in demand." Moderated by culture (North America vs. Europe) and perceived social mobility.Whillans, A. V., Dunn, E. W., Smeets, P., Bekkers, R., & Norton, M. I. (2017). "Buying Time Promotes Happiness." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(32), 8523–8527. — Large cross-country survey (US, Canada, Denmark, Netherlands; n=6,271) plus a field experiment showing that spending money on time-saving purchases increases life satisfaction more than spending on material goods; benefits were largest for the least financially well-off participants.Keinan, A., & Kivetz, R. — origin of the "productivity orientation" concept (leisure time itself becoming something to maximise/optimise), referenced via Keinan's later review "The Symbolic Value of Time," Current Opinion in Psychology (2019).hooks, b. (2004). The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love. Washington Square Press. hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. Routledge.hooks, b. (2003). Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope. Routledge.Australian Bureau of Statistics (2026), Australian Institute of Health and Welfare FDSV Summary (2026), and Counting Dead Women Australia — current data on family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia, referenced as of the episode's recording date. Figures update regularly; check these sources directly for the latest numbers.If this segment raised anything for you: 1800RESPECT, 1800 737 732, available 24/7.Disclaimer: This episode is educational commentary and personal reflection only and does not constitute medical advice. Medicinal cannabis is a prescription medication in Australia. Please speak with your GP or a qualified healthcare professional about your own circumstances. Connect with the Show:Email: highlyfunctionalpodcast@protonmail.comInstagram: DM me @highlyfunctionalpodcast 🛍️ Highly Functional Journal: https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/4542996459/highly-functional-medicine-journal ☕ Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/highlyfunctionalpodcast — if you'd like to support the show directly, no subscription needed

    19. F*ck Optimisation, I Want to Live (The Case Against Being the Best Version of Yourself)
See All (26)

About

This is safe space for those who are the quietly prescribed, professionally exhausted, and chronically curious. For professionals managing burnout, anxiety, or neurodivergence who use medicinal cannabis but feel they can't talk about it, Highly Functional is the podcast that treats their experience with intelligence, evidence, and zero judgement. Hosted by Sarah, a TGA-approved patient, backed by peer-reviewed research and lived experience. Not medical advice — talk to your GP.

Information

  • Creator
    Sarah from lutruwita/Tasmania
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    26
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Sarah from lutruwita/Tasmania
  • Show Website
    Highly Functional