181 The Recovery Crisis Nobody Talks About: Doctors, Executives, & the Burnout Myth | Andrew May on Healthed
Performance IntelligenceShow Notes
You know what you should be doing. More sleep. Better recovery. Less time running on empty. You have known it for years. So has every burned-out doctor, executive, and elite athlete Andrew May has ever worked with. The problem is not knowledge. It is the gap between knowing and doing. And most people are misdiagnosing the reason for that gap entirely. Andrew May is a Mental Skills and Leadership Coach who has worked with ASX executives, elite sporting teams (Wallabies), and the Australian Defence Force. Andrew gets honest about his own near-burnout at 40, what it took to turn it around, and why even the most informed, high-functioning people are still getting recovery wrong. From there, it gets practical. What strategic recovery actually looks like inside a high-demand schedule. Why most people calling it burnout are actually chronically under-recovered. The exercise prescription that builds real performance capacity without flogging yourself. And how to finally close the gap between what you know and what you do. This one is for doctors. It is also for anyone who has been running hard for too long and suspects the wheels are starting to wobble.
00:00 Burnout rates in medicine are above 80%, yet doctors know more about the body than almost anyone. Why the gap? 05:14 Andrew's own near-burnout at 40: marriage breakdown, external validation, and the mate from Dubbo who cracked it open. 10:44 Most people calling it burnout are actually chronically under-recovered. Andrew explains the difference. 13:04 What strategic recovery looks like in practice, including how Andrew applies it with the Australian Defence Force. 20:25 Why physical activity is not recovery, and the exercise prescription that actually builds performance capacity. 26:02 Sleep deprivation degrades judgment, memory and decision-making. Andrew challenges the eight-hour myth. 28:47 A simple plate-based nutrition framework, intermittent fasting for men over 40, and why women need a different approach. 34:14 How to close the gap between knowing and doing: self-reflection, barrier mapping, and building real accountability. 40:10 Key messages, close, and why how you show up changes how everyone around you performs.
This episode was originally published on the Healthed podcast with Dr David Lim. You can find the original interview here. Visit the Healthed website: https://www.healthed.com.au/
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