Burnout-Free Me

Amy Grimm, DVM, CLC
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Burnout-Free Me is the success and well-being podcast for high-achievers and ambitious career professionals who are done running on empty and ready to thrive on their own terms. Hosted by Dr. Amy Grimm—a veterinarian, success coach, and wellbeing expert—this podcast gives you the tools, mindset shifts, and honest conversations you need to break free from the hustle. Each week, you’ll get real talk about stress, mental health, work-life balance, productivity, and all the ways burnout sneaks into our lives. You’ll learn practical strategies to manage overwhelm and anxiety, reclaim your energy, and create space for balance and joy, without sacrificing your career or ambition. Dr. Amy has lived the grind herself, and now she’s here to help you rewrite the rules of success so you can finally feel like yourself again. Wherever you are on your burnout recovery journey, Burnout-Free Me is here to help you take back your energy, your confidence, and your life. (Previously The Daring DVM Podcast) You can find out more about Amy and her work at https://www.daringdvm.com. Music by Alex Grohl by Pixabay.

  1. 4h ago

    159 - The Everyday Habits Burning You Out And Why You’re Probably Proud Of Them

    Want more of this? On Substack, I share longer reflections, practical tools, and honest conversations that don't always make it onto the pod. Join the Burnout-Free Me community: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com   The habits wearing you down the most are probably the ones people praise you for. You're the dependable one. You push through when you're tired, hold yourself to a high standard, and say yes whenever someone needs you. From the outside it looks like you've got it all handled. Inside, you can't relax, you replay every mistake, and the to-do list never actually ends. In this episode, Amy unpacks the everyday habits that look like strengths and quietly keep your brain and body stuck in survival mode. She shares how these patterns showed up in her own veterinary career, why they feel so automatic, and why the relief you get from giving in to them never seems to last. You'll leave with a simple way to start retraining your brain, one small rep at a time.   What You'll Learn Why you can't take in an email you've read six times, and why pushing harder doesn't help The lie your brain tells you about finishing the to-do list Where the guilt comes from the moment you finally sit down Why one mistake can feel like proof you're not good enough What scanning your partner's mood and saying yes too fast have in common The difference between feeling relieved and actually feeling better One small practice to start changing these patterns this week Links & Resources Substack: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com Coaching with Amy: https://burnoutfreeme.com About Amy Dr. Amy Grimm is a veterinarian, success coach, and wellbeing expert and the host of Burnout-Free Me -- the podcast for high-achieving women who are done running on empty. Real talk, practical tools, and honest mindset shifts every week. Connect & Support the Show Join the Burnout-Free Me community on Substack for longer reflections and practical tools: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com If this episode hit home, please rate, review, and subscribe so more women who are holding it all together can find the show. Ready for support breaking these patterns for good? Learn more about coaching with Amy at https://burnoutfreeme.com

  2. Oct 15

    158 - The Business Case for Trauma-Informed Leadership with Dr. Olivia Fisher

    Most of what we cover on Burnout Free Me lives at the individual level: nervous systems, mindset, and the tools we use to survive high-pressure work. This episode goes somewhere different. My guest, Dr. Olivia Fisher, spent more than 25 years in the health sector before turning her research into a framework for trauma-informed leadership at the organizational level, and she's here to make the case that if the workplace itself is causing harm, the fix has to happen at the organizational level, and that the right support can help you advocate for yourself while that change catches up. We talk about what trauma-informed leadership actually means, why comfort and psychological safety aren't the same, why a quiet, agreeable team might be a warning sign rather than a good one, and the real business case for why organizations should care, including the legal risk they're now carrying. What We Cover Olivia's path from occupational therapist to public health researcher to trauma-informed leadership consultant Why she believes most organizations are dealing with a traumatized workforce, whether they realize it or not The difference between comfort and psychological safety, and why a quiet, congenial team can be a red flag What proactive, prevention-first trauma-informed leadership actually looks like versus reacting after an incident The business case: turnover, absenteeism, presenteeism, and lost productivity Where the legal landscape is headed, including Australia's psychosocial hazard legislation A real starting point for anyone who suspects their own workplace has room to grow Links & Resources Olivia's Substack: The Trauma-informed Leader Olivia on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/olivia-fisher-b1575897 Olivia on Instagram: @thetraumainformedleader Australia's Work Health and Safety (Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work) Code of Practice 2024: legislation.gov.au About Dr. Olivia Fisher Dr. Olivia Fisher is a trauma-informed leadership consultant, researcher, lecturer, mentor, and implementation scientist. She holds a PhD in Public Health and has spent more than 25 years in the health sector, giving her a unique lens on what actually makes a workplace mentally healthy. She focuses on building evidence-based, proactive approaches to managing psychosocial hazards in the workplace. She's also an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at Charles Darwin University and a Sessional Lecturer at Queensland University of Technology. Her office manager is a dog named Dog, because he wouldn't answer to anything else. Connect with Amy Enjoyed this conversation? Come find me on Substack — I write there every week, going deeper into the ideas we only get to touch on here. And if this episode resonated with you, a quick rating or review helps more people find the show.

  3. Oct 1

    157 - Why Venting Doesn’t Work And What Actually Helps You Move On

    Want more of this? On Substack I share longer reflections, practical tools, and honest conversations that don't make it onto the pod. Join the Burnout-Free Me community: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com In this episode, Dr. Amy Grimm breaks down the difference between venting, overthinking, and actually processing something hard, and makes the case that most of us default to one of the first two while thinking it's the third. She shares a personal realization about what it's like to be on the receiving end of someone else's venting, and why that dynamic matters more than most people realize. Then she walks through the shorthand version of a six-question tool borrowed straight from clinical veterinary debriefs, built for anyone stuck replaying a hard day, whether you process out loud or in your own head. What You'll Learn: Why research shows venting can leave you more activated, not less What venting actually does to the person on the receiving end of it Why overthinking is doing more of the same work as venting than you'd think The six-question framework, and how to use it whether you talk it out or write it down Why one specific question in the framework is the one people most want to skip Links & Resources: Substack: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com Website: https://burnoutfreeme.com About Amy: Dr. Amy Grimm is a veterinarian, success coach, and wellbeing expert and the host of Burnout-Free Me — the podcast for high-achieving women who are done running on empty. Real talk, practical tools, and honest mindset shifts every week. Enjoyed this episode? A quick rating or review helps this show reach more women who need it. And for the full six-question breakdown with examples, join the Substack community above.

  4. Sep 17

    156 - Burnout Isn't Just a Job Problem And Leaving Won't Fix It: Why exhaustion follows you and what actually has to change so it stops

    Want more of this? On Substack, I share longer reflections, practical tools, and honest conversations that don't make it onto the pod. Join the Burnout-Free Me community: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com Burnout Isn't Just a Job Problem And Leaving Won't Fix It: You left the job. You left the relationship. You moved across the country. So why are you exhausted again? In this episode, Dr. Amy Grimm gets honest about a pattern she sees constantly in her coaching practice, and lived through herself: the exhaustion that shows up again in a brand new life, months or years after you were sure you'd left it behind. This one is especially for anyone who's changed careers, changed clinics, or changed cities expecting relief, and found something eerily familiar waiting on the other side. What You'll Learn: Why changing your environment can help, and why it was never the whole cause of your burnout The difference between nervous system regulation and unlearning high-achiever beliefs, and why you can be great at one and still stuck in the other A client story that shows how the same old belief can follow you right out of a job you thought was the problem One concrete question to ask yourself the next time guilt or urgency shows up out of nowhere How the CARE framework offers a path through belief-level burnout, not just in-the-moment regulation Links & Resources: Substack: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com Website: https://burnoutfreeme.com About Amy: Dr. Amy Grimm is a veterinarian, success and wellbeing coach, and host of Burnout-Free Me—the podcast for high-achieving women who are done running on empty. Real talk, practical tools, and honest mindset shifts every week. Loved this episode? Join the community on Substack, and if you have a minute, a rating and review helps more people find the show. Ready to go deeper? Learn more about coaching at burnoutfreeme.com.

  5. Sep 3

    155 - Caregiver Burnout, Advocacy, and the Courage to Take Up Space, with Michelle Anderson

    A conversation with Michelle Anderson on burnout beyond the workplace, boundaries that flex, and learning to advocate for yourself. Want more of this? On Substack, I share longer reflections, practical tools, and honest conversations that don't make it onto the pod. Join the Burnout-Free Me community: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com   Episode Info: What happens when you're the person everyone relies on, and there's no job title for what you actually do? In this episode, Dr. Amy Grimm sits down with Michelle Anderson, founder of J and B Inspired and host of the podcast Nervous System Reset for Caregivers. Michelle's caregiving journey started over fifteen years ago in a hospital she wasn't prepared for, and today she supports three children with complex medical needs along with an adult family member. Amy and Michelle dig into the parallels between caregiving in the traditional sense and the kind of caring that happens in high-responsibility careers, plus the very real ways those two experiences diverge. This conversation covers advocating for yourself in rooms where you're outnumbered and outranked, why boundaries need to move like the banks of a river instead of staying rigid, and the difference between something that looks like rest and something that actually is. What You'll Learn: The moment Michelle realized her own body was breaking down, and why it took months for anyone to take it seriously Why rigid boundaries can backfire, and what it actually looks like to let your boundaries flex without losing yourself The self-care myth almost every high-achieving woman believes, and what actually helps instead How to find your voice and advocate for yourself in a room where you're outnumbered, whether that's a hospital, a boardroom, or anywhere in between Michelle's one-sentence mantra for getting through the hardest moments Links & Resources: Michelle's website: https://jandbinspired.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JandBInspired  Her podcast, Nervous System Reset for Caregivers: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nervous-system-reset-for-caregivers-burnout-advocacy/id1740574668 Amy's Interview on the Nervous System Reset for Caregivers: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/caregiver-burnout-signs-why-rest-feels-unsafe-and-guilty/id1740574668?i=1000780150151 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7l1xGHynC8hGNr7HGLNRxQ?si=olGVa-UzROqkIMFnwcoFTw YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBZPCAGHIFI Substack: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com Coaching & more: https://burnoutfreeme.com About Michelle: Michelle Anderson is a caregiver, advocate, and the founder of J and B Inspired, known for her trauma-informed, practical approach to caregiver burnout and nervous system support. After navigating significant medical trauma and recovery and caregiving for her family through medical crises, Michelle built a body of work for caregivers who are holding it together in hard rooms and then paying for it afterwards. Her focus is regulated advocacy: helping caregivers steady their body so their brain comes back online and they can speak clearly without self-abandoning. She hosts Nervous System Reset for Caregivers and created the 90 Second Reset Program — a self-paced toolkit of micro-resets that helps caregivers leave the room with clearer words, a next step, and less aftershock. About Amy: Dr. Amy Grimm is a veterinarian, success coach, and wellbeing expert and the host of Burnout-Free Me, the podcast for high-achieving women who are done running on empty. Real talk, practical tools, and honest mindset shifts every week. Enjoyed This Episode? A quick rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify helps another high-achieving woman find this show. And if you're ready for support, learn more about coaching with Amy at https://burnoutfreeme.com.

  6. Aug 20

    154 - Working Harder Today Won't Make Tomorrow Easier: What The Research Actually Shows

    A 2025 workplace study tested the trade every high-achieving woman makes with herself... Want more of this? On Substack, I share longer reflections, practical tools, and honest conversations that don't make it onto the pod. Join the Burnout-Free Me community: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com You already know that staying late doesn't make tomorrow feel lighter. So what gives? This week, Dr. Amy Grimm breaks down a 2025 workplace study that finally proves it, and explains the one factor researchers found that changes everything about how overwork actually affects you. Almost every high-achieving woman operates on the same math: work harder today, and tomorrow's pile gets smaller. A team of researchers tracked real workers across real workweeks to test whether that math actually holds up. What they found reframes why the backlog never seems to clear, no matter how much you get done, and points to one specific shift that changes the entire equation. What You'll Learn: The workplace study that tested whether overworking today actually pays off tomorrow Why pushing harder can make tomorrow's pressure worse, not better The one factor that determined whether overworking spiraled or didn't Why recovery functions as a performance strategy, not a reward you have to earn How to tell the difference between one demanding day and a pattern that's quietly wearing you down Links & Resources: Substack: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com Coaching & Website: https://burnoutfreeme.com Baethge, A., Kern, M., & Vahle-Hinz, T. (2025). Working longer and more intensively to get the work done: the unintended effect of self-endangerment on quantitative stressors. Work & Stress, 40(1).   About Amy: Dr. Amy Grimm is a veterinarian, success coach, and wellbeing expert and the host of Burnout-Free Me, the podcast for high-achieving women who are done running on empty. Real talk, practical tools, and honest mindset shifts every week. If this episode resonated, head to Substack to read the companion essay and get more of this every week: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com Loved this episode? Please rate, review, and subscribe wherever you're listening. It helps other ambitious women find the show. Ready to go deeper? Learn more about coaching with Amy at https://burnoutfreeme.com

  7. Aug 6

    153 - Burnout Is Trendy. Change Isn't.

    Want more of this? On Substack, I share longer reflections, practical tools, and honest conversations that don't make it onto the pod. Join the Burnout-Free Me community: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com Why the wellbeing conversation got louder while the actual systems stayed exactly the same, and what to do about it in the meantime. We talk about burnout more openly than ever. Psychological safety, boundaries, work-life balance- it's all part of the cultural conversation now in a way it wasn't ten years ago. So why hasn't any of it actually changed the way work works? In this episode, Dr. Amy Grimm gets honest about the gap she sees every week in her coaching practice: the growing distance between how much we talk about wellbeing and how little the actual structure of work has moved to match it. Pulled from a recent interview on Work Sucks But I Like It, this episode takes a clear stand on what to do with that gap instead of just being frustrated by it, and how to stop waiting for permission that was never going to come from the top down.   What You'll Learn: Why the wellbeing conversation getting louder can actually make burnout feel worse, not better The difference between advocating for systemic change and using it as a stall tactic What it actually looks like to "quietly dismantle from the inside" at work, without blowing up your career Why waiting for your workplace to hand you permission to set a boundary is a strategy that never pays off How this episode connects to Amy's latest Substack essay on self-trust and decision-making   Links & Resources: Read the companion essay, "The Skill That Matters More Than Confidence," on Substack: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com Listen to Amy's full interview with Tony Tenaglier on Work Sucks, But I Like It: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2509955/episodes/19511498 Learn more about coaching with Amy: https://burnoutfreeme.com   About Amy: Dr. Amy Grimm is a veterinarian, success coach, and wellbeing expert and the host of Burnout-Free Me, the podcast for high-achieving women who are done running on empty. Real talk, practical tools, and honest mindset shifts every week. If this episode resonated, head to Substack to read the companion essay and get more of this every week: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com Loved this episode? Please rate, review, and subscribe wherever you're listening. It helps other burned-out women find the show. Ready to go deeper? Learn more about coaching with Amy at https://burnoutfreeme.com

  8. Jul 23

    152 - Why "Caring Less" Won't Fix Your Burnout (And What Your Nervous System Actually Needs): The invisible load, the always-on nervous system, and reclaiming your worth beyond your output.

    Want more of this? On Substack, I share longer reflections, practical tools, and honest conversations that don't make it onto the pod. Join the Burnout-Free Me community: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com Caring less has never once fixed burnout. So what actually does? In this episode, Dr. Amy Grimm gets personal about the years she spent running on empty as a young veterinarian, from the friend group she quietly disappeared from to the surgery she still can't stop thinking about. Inspired by a raw conversation she had as a guest on another podcast about nervous system support for caregivers, Amy breaks down why burnout is so much more than an occupational hazard, and why it shows up in your body long before you'd ever call yourself "burned out." This one is for anyone who's the person everyone counts on, whether that's at work, at home, or both. What You'll Learn Why the WHO definition of burnout only tells half the story How your nervous system decides what counts as a "threat," and why unanswered emails make the list The invisible mental and emotional load most high-achieving women never get credit for, including from themselves A one-sentence boundary Amy uses to protect her capacity without over-explaining Two thirty-second nervous system resets you can do anywhere, including mid-meeting Links & Resources Substack: https://amygrimmburnoutfreeme.substack.com Coaching & more: https://www.burnoutfreeme.com About Amy Dr. Amy Grimm is a veterinarian, success coach, and well-being expert, and the host of Burnout-Free Me—the podcast for high-achieving women who are done running on empty. Real talk, practical tools, and honest mindset shifts every week. Enjoyed This Episode? The best way to support the show is to leave a quick rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It goes a long way toward helping another exhausted high-achiever find this show. Subscribe to Substack for more in-depth discussion, strategies, and tools for building a burnout-free life you love. And if you're ready for hands-on support, learn more about coaching with Amy at https://www.burnoutfreeme.com.

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About

Burnout-Free Me is the success and well-being podcast for high-achievers and ambitious career professionals who are done running on empty and ready to thrive on their own terms. Hosted by Dr. Amy Grimm—a veterinarian, success coach, and wellbeing expert—this podcast gives you the tools, mindset shifts, and honest conversations you need to break free from the hustle. Each week, you’ll get real talk about stress, mental health, work-life balance, productivity, and all the ways burnout sneaks into our lives. You’ll learn practical strategies to manage overwhelm and anxiety, reclaim your energy, and create space for balance and joy, without sacrificing your career or ambition. Dr. Amy has lived the grind herself, and now she’s here to help you rewrite the rules of success so you can finally feel like yourself again. Wherever you are on your burnout recovery journey, Burnout-Free Me is here to help you take back your energy, your confidence, and your life. (Previously The Daring DVM Podcast) You can find out more about Amy and her work at https://www.daringdvm.com. Music by Alex Grohl by Pixabay.

Information

  • Creator
    Amy Grimm, DVM, CLC
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2023 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Burnout-Free Me