What happens when the person everyone relies on can no longer keep going?
In this episode, Kate and Shayla sit down with Dr Emily Amos, a former GP whose own experience of burnout stopped her in her tracks and ultimately reshaped her entire understanding of care, success, and sustainability.
Emily spent 15 years in medicine, building a thriving practice and supporting others through some of their most vulnerable moments. From the outside, she was capable, calm, and deeply competent. Inside, she was running on adrenaline, guilt, and a relentless sense of responsibility, until her body finally said no.
What followed was not a neat recovery story, but a profound reckoning with rest, identity, and the cost of always being the strong one.
This is a powerful conversation about burnout in caring professions, why capable people often miss the warning signs, and what real recovery actually looks like when you stop trying to outpace yourself.
In this episode
Emily’s path into medicine and why general practice is as much about life as it is about illness
The slow, invisible build-up to burnout and why she didn’t see it coming
The moment everything stopped, and why her body became the final boundary
The difference between altruism and self-sacrifice, and why self-awareness matters
How perfectionism and identity can trap high achievers in unsustainable patterns
Why rest is essential, not indulgent, especially in helping professions
What changed when Emily redefined success around inner capacity, not output
How Whole Hearted Medicine was born, and why practitioner wellbeing is not optional
This conversation explores burnout, rest and recovery in medicine, but the themes will resonate with anyone in law, healthcare, leadership, or any role where being capable has become part of your identity.
Connect with Emily:
Whole Hearted Medicine
W: www.dremilyamos.com
IG: @dremilyamos
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Hosted and produced by Shayla Strapps and Kate Offer