It turns out that caring for others carries occupational risk.

Anyone who has ever cared for aging parents, agitated teens, or sick friends has experienced symptoms of emotional and physical depletion. Caregiver burnout is not only common, it affects our health. Just as caregiving bleeds into everyday life, there’s no partition between our body and mind.

Dr. Emily Silverman, physician and host of The Nocturnists podcast, shares her remarkable journey from burned-out physician to advocate for caregiver well-being.

Eager to go to med school from a young age, Dr. Silverman approached her medical training with enthusiasm and eagerness. Everything changed when her health started to suffer from burnout—a fact crystallized after working two back-to-back 28-hour shifts.

Coping with her own health issues as she cared for patients, Dr. Silverman realized that if she was to treat others, she first needed to show herself the same level of care and respect. She also began identifying more with her sick patients than her medical colleagues. The “work hard” culture of her residency program seemed to favor showing up at all costs and efficiency over the emotional and physical needs of residents. It was only when she acknowledged her suffering and asked for help that she knew she could authentically care for others.

Dr. Silverman went on to create a successful live show and podcast, The Nocturnists, for the medical community to speak openly about the struggles and triumphs of being a caregiver. There she has given space for others to tell their stories, learn from one another, and model compassion for others and for self.

It turns out that burnout applies not only to doctors but to anyone in a caregiving role.

At some point in our lives, that’s all of us.

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