Tomi Mitchell, MD
Tomi Mitchell is a board-certified family physician and certified health and wellness coach with extensive experience in clinical practice and holistic well-being. She is also an acclaimed international keynote speaker and a passionate advocate for mental health and physician well-being. She leverages over a decade of private practice experience to drive meaningful change.
Dr. Mitchell is the founder of Holistic Wellness Strategies, where she empowers individuals through comprehensive, evidence-based approaches to well-being. Her career is dedicated to transforming lives by addressing personal challenges and enhancing relationships with practical, holistic strategies.
Her commitment to mental health and burnout prevention is evident through her role as the host of The Mental Health & Wellness Show podcast. Through her podcast, Dr. Mitchell explores topics related to mental fitness and stress reduction, helping audiences achieve sustainable productivity while avoiding burnout.
Dr. Mitchell is also an author. Her book, The Soul-Sucking, Energy-Draining Life of a Physician: How to Live a Life of Service Without Losing Yourself, addresses the unique challenges faced by health care professionals and provides actionable solutions for maintaining personal well-being in demanding careers.
Dr. Mitchell's expertise and advocacy have been recognized in her role as an executive contributor to USA Today, Thrive Global magazine, KevinMD, OK! Magazine, and Brainz Magazine, as well as across various television and radio platforms, where she continues to champion holistic wellness and mental health on a global scale.
Connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and book a discovery call to explore how she can support your wellness journey. For those interested in purchasing her book, please click here for the payment link. Check out her YouTube channel for more insights and valuable content on mental health and well-being.
Physician
A few days ago, I saw a fake book cover online that was so ridiculous I laughed out loud. It was beautifully designed: deep red. Ornate gold lettering. The kind of cover that looks as though it belongs in a…
A few days ago, I saw a fake book cover online that was so ridiculous I laughed out loud. It was beautifully designed: deep red. Ornate gold lettering. The kind of cover that looks as though it belongs in a medieval monastery, chained to a wooden desk while a monk copies its contents by candlelight.
The title? How to Avoid Vaccines & Die Like a Medieval Peasant. The author? Robert F. …
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Distrust of science is inviting the Middle Ages back
Conditions and Diseases
History deserves honesty. Years have passed since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and with distance comes a natural desire to reflect on what happened. We should absolutely evaluate the decisions that were made. We should question policies, examine the…
History deserves honesty.
Years have passed since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and with distance comes a natural desire to reflect on what happened. We should absolutely evaluate the decisions that were made. We should question policies, examine the evidence, and learn from our mistakes. That is how science grows, and health care improves.
But there is a difference between learning from history and rewriting it. Lately, I have watched with …
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Why moral injury in health care outlasts the pandemic
Physician
I have come to a realization, one that has been building quietly over years of practice, long before I had the language to articulate it fully. We are very good at doing what we were trained to do. And yet,…
I have come to a realization, one that has been building quietly over years of practice, long before I had the language to articulate it fully. We are very good at doing what we were trained to do. And yet, something about what we are doing is not enough.
As physicians, we are exceptionally skilled at identifying symptoms, categorizing them, and intervening with precision. We move quickly. We think algorithmically. We …
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Why physicians treat symptoms not causes of disease
Physician
Let’s talk about physician wellness. Not the version that looks good in press releases or PowerPoint slides. I am talking about the lived, messy, heart-and-body version of wellness, the one that actually matters. Because somewhere between the lavender oil diffusers…
Let’s talk about physician wellness.
Not the version that looks good in press releases or PowerPoint slides. I am talking about the lived, messy, heart-and-body version of wellness, the one that actually matters.
Because somewhere between the lavender oil diffusers and the “wellness committees,” the real meaning of physician well-being got lost. It has become a buzzword, something hospitals display proudly on banners and conference agendas, as if saying the word “wellness” …
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Physician wellness is not yoga: Why resilience training fails
Physician
Let me start with a truth many of us sense long before we ever speak it aloud. We whisper it to ourselves on post-call mornings. We feel it in the drive home after another shift that took more than it…
Let me start with a truth many of us sense long before we ever speak it aloud. We whisper it to ourselves on post-call mornings. We feel it in the drive home after another shift that took more than it gave. We carry it into our kitchens, into our bedrooms, and into the quiet moments where no pager or EMR alert can compete with what’s happening inside us.
The elephant in …
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The elephant in the room: Why physician burnout is a relationship problem
Physician
Medicine teaches us to recognize disease, to listen for the subtle signs of pathology, to read lab values and imaging scans as if they are languages unto themselves. Yet what many of us were never taught is how to interpret…
Medicine teaches us to recognize disease, to listen for the subtle signs of pathology, to read lab values and imaging scans as if they are languages unto themselves. Yet what many of us were never taught is how to interpret the quiet, internal signals of our own humanity. We can identify cardiac murmurs with precision, but we often miss the whispers of our own exhaustion.
As physicians, we spend years mastering …
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The 3 E’s: a physician-created framework for healing burnout
Physician
There was a time when I thought burnout was easy to recognize, that it came with flashing red lights and emotional breakdowns. I imagined it as the dramatic kind of collapse you see in movies: a physician walking out mid-shift,…
There was a time when I thought burnout was easy to recognize, that it came with flashing red lights and emotional breakdowns. I imagined it as the dramatic kind of collapse you see in movies: a physician walking out mid-shift, tears in their eyes, leaving their stethoscope behind.
In those days, I didn’t really think about burnout. I believed burnout happened to other people, the ones who hadn’t mastered time …
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Physician emotional fatigue: When burnout becomes a blind spot
Physician
We entered medicine with a shared calling (to heal, to serve, and to make a difference). Yet somewhere along the journey, between the never-ending charting, late-night calls, and invisible emotional burdens, many of us forgot how to heal ourselves. Every…
We entered medicine with a shared calling (to heal, to serve, and to make a difference). Yet somewhere along the journey, between the never-ending charting, late-night calls, and invisible emotional burdens, many of us forgot how to heal ourselves.
Every few months, another survey or report confirms what so many of us already sense in our bones: physicians are burning out at staggering rates. But what remains under-discussed, and perhaps even …
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How relationships predict physician burnout risk
Physician
There's a quiet heaviness that has settled over medicine, not always visible, but deeply felt. It lingers in hospital corridors and hovers over clinic desks cluttered with charts and cold coffee cups. You can see it in the nurse scrolling…
There’s a quiet heaviness that has settled over medicine, not always visible, but deeply felt. It lingers in hospital corridors and hovers over clinic desks cluttered with charts and cold coffee cups. You can see it in the nurse scrolling through yet another new policy update, her shoulders sagging under invisible weight. You can hear it in the tired sigh of a physician glancing at the clock at 9 p.m., …
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Why do doctors lose their why?
Physician
When people discuss physician burnout, they often reduce it to a workplace issue: long hours, endless charting, electronic health records that seem never to end, and patient loads that test the limits of human capacity. The solutions we're offered sound…
When people discuss physician burnout, they often reduce it to a workplace issue: long hours, endless charting, electronic health records that seem never to end, and patient loads that test the limits of human capacity. The solutions we’re offered sound deceptively simple: take a vacation, practice gratitude, do yoga, and meditate more. It’s as if wellness could be squeezed into the fifteen minutes we have left after charting at midnight. …
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Physician burnout as a relationship crisis
Physician
Whenever I bring up longevity medicine among some fellow physicians, I can almost hear the unspoken objections before anyone says a word. There is a pause, a sideways look, maybe even a faint smirk. If I could translate those silent…
Whenever I bring up longevity medicine among some fellow physicians, I can almost hear the unspoken objections before anyone says a word. There is a pause, a sideways look, maybe even a faint smirk. If I could translate those silent expressions into captions, they would say:
“If people stop getting sick, will not we all be out of business?”
Let us stop right there. That is like saying restaurants would all go …
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Will longevity medicine put doctors out of work?
Medical Education
It's July—the official new year for medicine. You're either a brand-new intern, wide-eyed and exhausted, equal parts proud and terrified, or maybe you're stepping into fellowship, wondering how you're suddenly supposed to be the expert. You're navigating hallways you haven't…
It’s July—the official new year for medicine.
You’re either a brand-new intern, wide-eyed and exhausted, equal parts proud and terrified, or maybe you’re stepping into fellowship, wondering how you’re suddenly supposed to be the expert. You’re navigating hallways you haven’t mapped yet, still figuring out whether your badge works on the north wing or the south elevator, trying to remember where you parked, and already questioning if you made a huge …
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Dear July intern: It’s normal to feel clueless—here’s what matters
Physician
What's the least glamorous thing you've ever done as a physician on a holiday? Let me start. One year, I spent Christmas Day in the library. Not sipping cocoa. Not gathered with family in matching pyjamas. Not basking in the…
What’s the least glamorous thing you’ve ever done as a physician on a holiday?
Let me start.
One year, I spent Christmas Day in the library.
Not sipping cocoa. Not gathered with family in matching pyjamas. Not basking in the warmth of laughter or the gentle hush of snowfall outside a glowing window.
I was alone. In a silent room. Under sterile fluorescent lighting.
And I wasn’t escaping into fiction—I was studying for board exams, …
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The gift we keep giving: How medicine demands everything—even our holidays
Medications
Imagine waking up one morning to a bold headline screaming: "New Global Law: All Antidepressants Abolished!" Just like that, no more Prozac, no more Zoloft—no more of those little pills that have helped millions keep their balance while navigating life's…
Imagine waking up one morning to a bold headline screaming: “New Global Law: All Antidepressants Abolished!” Just like that, no more Prozac, no more Zoloft—no more of those little pills that have helped millions keep their balance while navigating life’s emotional tightrope. Pharmacy shelves are wiped clean overnight, and suddenly, one of the pillars of modern mental health care is gone.
Before you clutch your chest and start breathing into a …
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A world without antidepressants: What could possibly go wrong?
Physician
Ah, burnout! That word is used so often in medicine that it now has its own ICD-10 code. Medical professionals are no strangers to pushing beyond exhaustion, running on fumes, and convincing ourselves that a steady IV drip of caffeine…
Ah, burnout! That word is used so often in medicine that it now has its own ICD-10 code.
Medical professionals are no strangers to pushing beyond exhaustion, running on fumes, and convincing ourselves that a steady IV drip of caffeine and sheer willpower is an appropriate substitute for sleep.
I should know—I lived it. I was running a busy medical practice, managing over a dozen staff …
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Burnout isn’t ironclad—and neither are we
Physician
If I had a dollar for every time I've typed out a broken heart emoji in response to yet another tragedy, I'd probably be able to take a break from work for a while. But here I am—because I love…
If I had a dollar for every time I’ve typed out a broken heart emoji in response to yet another tragedy, I’d probably be able to take a break from work for a while. But here I am—because I love what I do despite it all.
There are many days my heart breaks.
Not in the cliché, romance-gone-wrong kind of way. It’s deeper than that. It’s …
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Calling for a heart surgeon: a plea for change
Physician
She arrives at the emergency room, her body limp, her breath shallow. The gurney rushes through the glass doors, past her family, who stand frozen in place, their eyes wide with fear. Her teenage daughter grips her little brother's hand,…
She arrives at the emergency room, her body limp, her breath shallow. The gurney rushes through the glass doors, past her family, who stand frozen in place, their eyes wide with fear. Her teenage daughter grips her little brother’s hand, whispering, “Mom’s going to be OK, right?”
Inside, the team springs into action.
“No pulse.”
“No spontaneous breathing.”
“Start compressions!”
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Flatline: Our nation is dying, and we’re ignoring the signs
Physician
Health care is meant to heal, but what if it's quietly doing the opposite? While we rely on medical professionals, hospitals, and treatments to keep us healthy, the system has hidden dangers that can put lives at risk. For every…
Health care is meant to heal, but what if it’s quietly doing the opposite? While we rely on medical professionals, hospitals, and treatments to keep us healthy, the system has hidden dangers that can put lives at risk. For every life saved, countless others are harmed due to systemic failures, personal oversight, or deep-rooted inequities.
This article will examine ten critical reasons why health care can become deadly …
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10 ways health care might be killing you (and what you can do about it)
Physician
Becoming a doctor is often seen as a noble quest—a path filled with sacrifice, resilience, and the ultimate reward of helping others. We all start the same way: pre-med studies, endless exams, and the grueling four years of medical school.…
Becoming a doctor is often seen as a noble quest—a path filled with sacrifice, resilience, and the ultimate reward of helping others. We all start the same way: pre-med studies, endless exams, and the grueling four years of medical school. It’s a journey filled with sleepless nights, skipped meals, and cramming obscure diseases into our already overloaded brains. But we keep going, fueled by the dream of finally being called …
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The truth about burnout in medicine: a journey of gladiators, night shifts, and humanity
Physician
Picture this: You're sitting in a courtroom, and the defendant in front of you is a major insurance company. The charge? Denying a life-saving claim that led to devastating consequences for someone's health. The prosecutor stands up, looks toward the…
Picture this: You’re sitting in a courtroom, and the defendant in front of you is a major insurance company. The charge? Denying a life-saving claim that led to devastating consequences for someone’s health. The prosecutor stands up, looks toward the jury—a group of everyday people like you and me—and declares, “They prioritized profits over the lives of people.” Doesn’t that statement hit differently this morning, especially as you sip your …
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What if insurance companies were held accountable for health outcomes?
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