Legacy, Not Lists: What Really Matters Now (Conversations about impact, meaning, and letting go of “doing it all.”)
The Brave Enough Show for Women Physicians
Release Date: 11/14/2025
Rebuilding Your Circle After Burnout
The Brave Enough Show for Women Physicians
In this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt and Dr. Nikia Smith discuss: The different symptoms of burnout How important it is to understand the types of rest Healing in community The cure for burnout isn’t what you think “Self-care is not the cure for burnout. It is engagement with both yourself and others.” -Dr. Nikia Smith Dr. Nikia Smith is a board-certified anesthesiologist, wellness coach, and retreat facilitator. She’s also the founder of She Is Fire Forged, a transformative wellness brand...
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The Walls We Build: Self-Protection That Turns into Self-Isolation
The Brave Enough Show for Women Physicians
In this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt and Dr. Sunny Smith discuss: Being lonely in a room full of people How to tear down the walls we build Not believing everything we think “We are meant to live in community with others. When we are vulnerable, authentic, and truthful, we open ourselves up for real connection.” -Dr. Sunny Smith Dr. Sunny Smith is the Founder and CEO of Empowering Women Physicians, the most effective physician coaching program documented to date. Dr Smith brings her background as an awarded...
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Making New Friends in Midlife
The Brave Enough Show for Women Physicians
In this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt discusses: Friendship used to happen by proximity — now it requires intention The hidden fears that stop women from reaching out Where new friendships actually form in midlife “Friendship is built through repeated small moments, not one big one.” - Dr. Sasha Shillcutt , my new, short, on-demand course, is designed to be your toolkit for making small changes that add up to a big reset. In just three easy modules, you’ll walk away with your personal plan...
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What Adult Friendship Really Looks Like (and Why It’s So Hard)
The Brave Enough Show for Women Physicians
In this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt, Krystal Eicher, & Wendy Guth discuss: How “having it all together” can keep us from meaningful friendship Why friendship is so important for women leaders and entrepreneurs Why “messy” friendships matter “Women have shared wisdom and the ability to listen to problems without the need to "fix” things. We have empathy, compassion, and can say, “me too,” that can help us more than answers to our problems.” - Serendipitous Rebel Guest Bio: We’re...
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Friendship in the Digital Age: Fake Connection vs. Real Community
The Brave Enough Show for Women Physicians
In this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt discusses: Digital familiarity is not emotional intimacy Why high-functioning women are especially vulnerable to fake connection Your nervous system can’t regulate through a screen Real community requires intentionality in a digital world “Fake connection fills your time. Real community fills your soul.” - Dr. Sasha Shillcutt , my new, short, on-demand course, is designed to be your toolkit for making small changes that add...
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Reinventing Your Career After 40: Your Experience Is Your Power
The Brave Enough Show for Women Physicians
In this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt and Lindsay Pinchuk discuss: How to reinvent your career after 40 How to protect your boundaries when you are in a career transition How to find the community YOU need to thrive “When you don’t want to put yourself out there, when you want to cancel the girl’s night out and stay in, the answer is always NO. GO. Get in front of your girlfriends. Go on the girls trip. ALWAYS say yes. You need other women to thrive.” -Lindsay Pinchuk Lindsay Pinchuk is an award-winning...
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When Women Hurt Us: Healing Female Wounds Without Hardening
The Brave Enough Show for Women Physicians
In this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt and Dr. Zarya Rubin discuss: The importance of Vitamin “J” How to downregulate our nervous system Our stress response and why it is important to understand in building female relationships “Social media is the Saber-tooth tiger of our generation.” -Dr. Rubin Guest Bio: Dr. Zarya Rubin is a Harvard-educated functional medicine physician, TEDx speaker, and burnout expert, specializing in helping smart women heal from chronic stress and burnout that...
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Loneliness and Your Nervous System
The Brave Enough Show for Women Physicians
In this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt and Guest, Dr. Ashley Smith discuss: Loneliness is a call to action How to break out of thought spirals How to create authentic connections in the busy years How to turn anxiety into a positive response "We are intended to live in community, but we are living in a hyper independent society, and our nervous system is craving real connection." - Dr. Ashley Smith Guest Bio: As an award-winning psychologist, international speaker, author, and co-founder of Peak Mind: The Center for Psychological...
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The Power of Women Gathering: Connection as Healing
The Brave Enough Show for Women Physicians
In this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt and Dr. Erica Howe discuss: How successful women get so isolated How to come back after a failed friendship How communities of strangers can be the place to find your true connection “When I am struggling, my default is to withdraw. But it is only when I reach out and am vulnerable with my friends that true healing can begin.” - Dr. Erica Howe Dr. Howe is a board-certified Hospitalist and a nationally known educator, wife, and mother to three crazy kids. As a prolific speaker and...
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Loneliness in Plain Sight: Why So Many Accomplished Women Feel Alone
The Brave Enough Show for Women Physicians
In this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt discusses: Loneliness Doesn’t Mean You’re Broken, It Means You’re Human Busyness Is the Most Socially Acceptable Form of Isolation The Armor That Protects You Is Also What Keeps You Alone Connection Is Built Intentionally, Not Accidentally “The ache you feel isn’t weakness, it’s your nervous system asking for belonging.” - Dr. Sasha Shillcutt , my new, short, on-demand course, is designed to be your toolkit for making small changes that add up to a big reset. In just three easy modules,...
info_outlineIn this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt and Dr Karyn Shanks discuss:
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Holding space for yourself through hard times
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Being brave enough to pause and be
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Overcoming the need to constantly do more
“Our addiction to distraction have led us to not be able to just ‘be’.” - Dr. Karyn Shanks
Guest Bio:
Karyn Shanks, MD is a board-certified physician, author, and pioneer in the field of root-cause healing, with over forty years of experience helping clients recover their lives from chronic, complex illness. A graduate of the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, she is board-certified in both Internal Medicine and Functional Medicine, and a founding diplomat of the American Board of Integrative and Holistic Medicine. She is also trained in trauma-informed psychotherapy through Dr. Gabor Maté’s Compassionate Inquiry Professional Training Program.
Dr. Shanks brings together the sciences of directable human potential—epigenetics, neuroplasticity, systems biology—with the deep wisdom of lived experience, spiritual inquiry, and narrative transformation. Her work centers on the belief that people are not broken, but wise and whole, and that sustainable healing begins with reclaiming that truth. Her private practice, teaching, and writing are deeply influenced by her own journey through illness and recovery.
Karyn is the founder of the Unbroken Academy, an online educational platform for healing through story, self-trust, and embodied resilience. She is the author of two previous books—Heal: A Nine-Stage Roadmap to Recover Energy, Reverse Chronic Illness, and Claim the Potential of a Vibrant New You and The Wisdom of COVID-19—as well as dozens of essays published in Thrive Global, Holstee, Huffington Post, and MindBodyGreen. Her voice is known for its clarity, warmth, and fierce compassion.
Through her work, writing, and lived wisdom, Karyn is trusted by both patients and professionals alike—as a guide, mentor, and visionary voice in a new healing paradigm.
Website: www.KarynShanksMD.com
Instagram: @karynshanksmd
Facebook: Karyn Shanks MD
Sasha’s greatest passion is empowering and encouraging others to achieve wellbeing in their professional and personal lives. She speaks frequently to executives and leaders on the topics of professional burnout, resilience, and gender equity.
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