The Pressure Cooker That Nearly Broke Me in Vet School

I remember so many late nights as a vet student—exhausted, stressed out of my mind, desperately trying to cram just a little more information into my already tired brain.

I knew I had another eight hours of complex content to memorize the next day. I knew I had a week of exams looming over me.

And I knew—deep down—that I needed sleep.

And yet… the thought of allowing myself to give in to that desire to crawl into bed and close my eyes made me even more anxious.

I knew how important sleep was for my brain to actually absorb information.
I knew that the insane amount of stress I was under was negatively impacting my well-being.
I knew what I needed.

But I didn’t see how it was possible.

In my mind, getting more sleep meant sacrificing precious hours I needed to study.
To slow down meant a higher likelihood of failing.

And I had already failed my first anatomy exam.

I had studied harder than I ever had in my life… and I still failed.

So for every future exam, I thought:
💭 You need to try harder. Do more. You can’t slow down.

Resting felt like giving up on my dream.

My nervous system was in full-blown survival mode—as if I was running from a lion.

The thought of resting was like choosing to stop running from a hungry lion that was chasing me.

🚨 When Your Nervous System Thinks Slowing Down = Danger

When you logically know that the way you’re living life is negatively impacting your well-being, but your nervous system tells you that listening to your body is unsafe, you eventually shift out of flight/flight and into a new nervous system state:

❄️ Freeze or shut down.

In freeze:

You feel a lot of nervous energy (anxiety, overwhelm) but you can’t move forward.
You know what you should be doing… but you just can’t do it.

For example, knowing you have an insane amount of things to study, but feeling so overwhelmed you don’t even know where to start.

So the pressure just builds… and builds… and builds.

In shutdown: 

You feel a drop from a high-energy state to zero energy.

Everything feels hopeless.
Your motivation is gone, you may have brain fog or trouble focusing, and even things you used to enjoy start feeling impossible.

Here’s the thing:
This entire response is your body trying to protect you.

It’s like your nervous system saying:
💭 “We’re just so tired of running from this lion, so as a last resort, we’re going to shut down and dissociate to minimize the pain.”

But instead of seeing it that way, we tell ourselves:
💭 I just need to try harder or learn more.
💭 I just need to push through and survive.
💭 I just need to self-sacrifice until things get better.

But that’s not the answer.

🔑 The Truth No One Taught Us in Vet School

💡 When you’re stuck in survival mode, more will never feel like enough.

I wish someone had given me words to understand how and why I was feeling the way I did.

And I wish someone had shared tools to shift me out of that pressure cooker state—so that I could actually absorb information, think clearly, and protect my energy while still learning what I needed to.

But no one taught me that.

And so that survival mode didn’t end when I graduated vet school.

I stayed in "I must try harder / do more" mode for years as a veterinarian.

Until one day, my body had to scream at me to listen.

💡 It wasn’t until I realized I was burned out (despite thinking I had been so proactive to prevent it) that things finally changed for me.

❌Please Don’t Wait Until ‘It’s Not That Bad’ Becomes ‘I Can’t Do This Anymore’

Even once I realized I was burned out, it took me SO long to understand the root of why my childhood dream had started to feel more like a nightmare.

There’s so much talk about burnout, and yet most conversations aren’t addressing the real root issues.

For example, can you see how advice like “just take time off” or “do yoga” doesn’t work for someone stuck in survival mode?

💡 You already know that would help—you don’t need to be told that.
What you need is to understand why you can’t do the things you know would help you feel better so you don't end up stuck in freeze or shut down (aka burnout).

That’s why I created my 6-month Life Boost Mentorship program —so you don’t have to go through years of trial and error like I did.

So you don’t have to stay stuck in survival mode, pushing harder and harder, wondering why nothing is working.

So you can take small, doable steps toward shifting into a way of navigating life and vet med that actually feels good again.

Ready to take the first step?

It's time to shift out of survival mode and into a new gear that feels like a breath of fresh air. A couple of options:

🔹 Beat the Burnout (RACE-approved CE course) → A free resource designed to help you break out of survival mode and start thriving in vet med—without sacrificing your energy, sanity, or passion for the field. The first video will teach you tools to start speaking your nervous system’s language.

🔹The 6-month Life Boost Mentorship (RACE-approved) → Perfect if you're ready to love your career again, feel good in your body, and end the day with energy left for life outside of work. If you're tired of pushing harder and want group and individual support along with a step-by-step plan for real change, this is for you.

✨ Which one feels like the best fit for you?

✨Click here to start watching the "Beat the Burnout" videos.
🌟 Click here to apply for the Life Boost Mentorship.
💗 Click here to schedule a free 30 minute call to discuss which next step is right for you.

You don’t have to do this alone—I’m here when you’re ready.

In your corner,