Episode 67: Dr Zarya Rubin, MD. Harvard-educated functional medicine physician specialising in burnout!

The first episode for 2024 is Dr Zarya Rubin, MD, of Portland Oregon. I believe our worlds collided for a good reason when I found Dr Zarya and asked if she'd like to join me as a guest on the show. Zarya is a Harvard-educated functional medicine physician, keynote speaker, and burnout expert. She helps passionate, high-achieving women get to the root cause of chronic symptoms and stress so that they can heal from the inside out and truly thrive.  Also founder and CEO of Dr. Zarya, a boutique functional medicine practice in Portland, Oregon.   Dr. Rubin studied neurology at McGill University and the renowned Neurological Institute at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. She received her integrative nutrition training at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, studying with Dr. Andrew Weil,  Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Deepak Chopra and other leading influencers in the world of holistic health, and went on to complete advanced Functional Medicine training at the School of Applied Functional Medicine. She lives in Portland, OR with her husband, 10-yr-old daughter, and Bichon miniature poodle puppy. When she is not speaking or seeing patients, she is singing with the Portland Symphonic Choir, on her yoga mat, or cooking up creative delights in her kitchen. I wondered why did she choose to do the work she delivers now? Because she’s been there... When chronic stress, anxiety and burnout caused her to leave medicine, she knew she needed to make some serious changes if she wanted to lead a fulfilling, authentic life.  She wasn't satisfied that illness and the hamster wheel of stress was her "new normal" and that she would just have to accept it and live with it. She knew she wanted better. She managed to get back on her feet, but then threw herself into another intense, highly stressful career with long hours. The truth is, she was chasing success in order to avoid dealing with the much scarier pit of anxiety that she tried to push away by avoiding dealing with it. And from the outside? She was more successful than ever. But after she had her daughter, she entered a new phase of exhaustion, one that was even worse than being on-call overnight at the hospital. She was irritable, couldn’t get out of bed, and constantly ill. She was eating a healthy diet (She is actually one of those crazy people who adores kale and quinoa)? So why was she so sick? None of it made sense to Zarya until she finally realized that the mind-body connection was stronger than ever, and years of untreated stress, anxiety, and PTSD had taken a toll, not just on her mental health, but her physical health as well - autoimmune disease, emergency surgery, adrenal fatigue. She finally got help from physicians, healers, and a coach of her own, who all helped put her back together. And so her journey of self-discovery has led her to holistic approaches to health and wellness, healing from the inside out, balancing mind and body.  Zarya is so happy with where she is today and would love to share what she’s learned with our audience. Here's the link to Zarya's website -⁠ https://drzarya.com⁠ Zarya's episode has been broadcast across 7 or 8 streaming sites including the one you’ve just listened to! Also new for 2024, this and all other episodes are loading onto my YouTube channel so you can follow the transcript there. You can also watch for opportunities to pose your questions to future guests via my Facebook and Instagram profiles: @susandunlopleadbelievecreate. ⁠Facebook⁠ ⁠Instagram