For years, we’ve been sold a very comfortable lie about wellness. That if you just try harder, drink more water, add a supplement, or schedule the occasional massage, everything will eventually sort itself out. It won’t. I say this not as a motivational speaker or someone selling shortcuts, but as a family physician, a coach, and a human who has lived on both sides of burnout. I have watched patients slowly unravel while doing “all the right things.” I have watched high-funct

Emotional wellness is one of the most frequently referenced concepts in modern leadership conversations and one of the least consistently practiced. Most executives and senior leaders will say they value emotional intelligence. Many can recite its importance in performance reviews, leadership frameworks, and corporate values statements. Far fewer can describe how emotional wellness shows up in their daily decisions, conversations, and reactions under pressure. And even fewer

When people talk about wellness, the environment is rarely the starting point. The conversation almost always begins with diet. Exercise. Sleep. Stress management. Those factors matter. I work with them every day. But after years in medicine, leadership spaces, and executive wellness work, I’ve learned something most high-performing people overlook: Your environment is shaping your nervous system, whether you are paying attention to it or not. And for leaders and executives,

If you are an executive, founder, or senior leader, there is a strong chance you have been praised your entire career for one thing above all else: your ability to push through. Push through fatigue. Push through pressure. Push through uncertainty. Push through long hours, high stakes, and constant decision-making. That capacity is often framed as a strength. It is rewarded early. It is celebrated publicly. It becomes part of how leaders define themselves. And somewhere along

Let’s clear something up immediately. Physical wellness is not absolute. It’s not a body type. It’s not how disciplined you look on Instagram. And it is certainly not proof of moral superiority. As a physician, coach, and transformational speaker, I’ve watched physical wellness slowly drift from health to performance. Somewhere along the way, it became something people display rather than something they actually live in. Here is the part that tends to make people uncomfortabl

By Dr. Tomi Mitchell There’s something we need to settle before we go any further: you won't find wellness in a bottle. Not now, not next month, not when life finally “slows down,” and not after you’ve tried every supplement the internet tells you to try. Not in the alcohol bottle. Not in the supplement bottle. Not in the prescription bottle. And as a physician who prescribes medication, takes supplements, and fully understands the value of targeted support. I also say it as

By Dr. Tomi Mitchell There is a particular kind of freedom that arrives after years of practicing medicine, coaching professionals, and walking with people through the most vulnerable chapters of their lives. It’s the moment when your instinct overtakes your insecurity, when your experience becomes more trustworthy than the noise around you. When your voice stops trembling and begins speaking from a place of grounded clarity. Not the kind taught in textbooks. Not the type dis

Let me start with something I understand on both a personal and professional level: People are scared, and the world we’re living in isn’t making it any easier. Many things feel uncertain. Markets shift without warning. Companies reorganize on what feels like a weekly schedule. Inflation quietly erodes the purchasing power of households until they feel brittle. Interest rates, global tensions, layoffs, and budget cuts form a backdrop that keeps far too many people awake at ni

The holiday season arrives with an unspoken script that most of us learn early.] Family togetherness. Joy. Gratitude. Tradition. Celebration. It is presented as universal, unquestionable, and emotionally mandatory. For some people, that script fits. The holidays bring warmth, laughter, and a sense of belonging that feels genuine and nourishing. But for many others, the holidays are complicated. Heavy. Emotionally loaded. They stir grief, tension, shame, resentment, and exhaus

There is an exhaustion point where fatigue stops being  “I need a break” and becomes something far more insidious — a quiet, almost imperceptible erosion of your inner life. It is a slow leak of energy, of clarity, of hope, until the person you were seems like a stranger. The tank appears complete to the outside world. You smile. You perform. You lead. You care. And yet, internally, every day feels like an uphill climb through quicksand, where even small decisions are paralyz

By Dr. Tomi Mitchell You can feel emotional bankruptcy long before it shows up on a balance sheet. I’ve walked into hospital boardrooms, medical clinics, and corporate offices where the air felt heavy—thick with unspoken frustration and fatigue. The fluorescent lights hummed quietly, the coffee sat untouched, and the smiles seemed rehearsed. People were showing up, but they weren’t present. For years, I believed this was simply the price of ambition—the expected soundtrack of

By Dr. Tomi Mitchell Burnout. It’s a word that rolls off our tongues so easily — tossed around in casual conversation, joked about over coffee, hashtagged as if it’s a lifestyle choice. But living through it? That’s another story entirely. It’s not a “rough patch.” It’s standing in the middle of a storm with no umbrella, clutching a soggy to-do list, and pretending you’re fine because people are watching. It’s smiling when your soul is bone-tired, and showing up when your hea

Burnout. People use the word so casually now. It’s become part of everyday language, as if it simply means being “tired,” needing a weekend off, or craving a getaway. But no. Burnout is not tired. Burnout is not “a little overwhelmed.” Burnout cannot be solved with a scented candle, a vacation, or a mindfulness app. Burnout feels like free-fall — drifting through space with no gravity, no bearings, and no way to anchor yourself. It’s the sensation of floating in quiet darknes

By Dr. Tomi Mitchell I don’t believe in luck. I know—that’s not exactly the feel-good mantra of the moment. In a world that clings to the myth of the “overnight success” and doles out praise like, “Wow, you’re so lucky!” , it might seem almost cynical to challenge that narrative. But let’s set the record straight. What appears to be luck is often just invisible labour. The kind that doesn’t photograph well. The kind you can’t hashtag or turn into a trending soundbite. It’s th

If you’ve ever walked away from a conversation feeling smaller, drained, or somehow less yourself, you’ve likely encountered a toxic person. Many people think wellness begins and ends with diet, exercise, or sleep—and yes, those things absolutely matter. But true wellness runs deeper. It’s not only about what you put into your body but also what—and who—you allow into your emotional space. As a physician and wellness coach, I’ve witnessed how toxic people can quietly dismantl

As a physician and coach, I’ve spent thousands of hours listening to patients and clients tell their stories. Some come with test results in hand, others arrive with a diagnosis already, and many sit down with nothing more than fatigue, pain, or the haunting words: “I don’t feel like myself anymore.” Our healthcare system conditions us to treat symptoms rather than address the root cause. Do you have high blood pressure? Here’s a pill. Trouble sleeping? Try this. Feeling down

By Dr. Tomi Mitchell Let me start with this: I’m not in the business of handing out Band-Aids. Yes, I’m a physician. I’m grounded in...

By Dr. Tomi Mitchell Let’s talk about the  pause. Not the polite pause you take before replying to a snarky comment. Not the deep breath...

By Dr. Tomi Mitchell I remember a time—not too long ago—when life was simpler, safer, and dare I say, saner. Children rode their bikes...

By Dr. Tomi Mitchell Growing up, I was the chubbiest of my siblings. The only girl in a house full of boys, I stood out—and not in the...