Bending Over Backwards
What does it take to bend over backwards and change the game—whether in medicine, business, or life? Dr. James Adkins has spent over 27 years doing just that, breaking barriers in spine care and beyond. Now, he’s pulling back the curtain to bring you bold, no-holds-barred conversations with visionaries, risk-takers, and trailblazers from all walks of life. From life-changing breakthroughs to unfiltered stories of success and struggle, this podcast will leave you stretched, inspired, and standing taller than ever. Get ready to discover how bending over backwards can change everything.
Bending Over Backwards
Ep. 34 - What You Never Hear About Life as a Doctor | Dr. John Mason
Dr. John Mason has spent decades saving lives in the ER — until the job nearly broke him.
In this unfiltered conversation, we talk about what it really costs to care for others when you never slow down long enough to care for yourself. From burnout and emotional trauma to dirt bike crashes in Africa and near-miss moments in Ukraine, this is what life looks like when your job becomes your identity.
We talk about:
→ Why empathy makes you a better doctor but a worse friend
→ How he finally learned to say “I’m off duty” — even to family
→ The emotional weight ER doctors carry but never talk about
→ How exercise and adventure became survival tools
→ Stories from war zones, orphanages, and losing patients
→ What it really means to be healthy when you work in trauma
This episode is for the ones who keep showing up. The ones who carry too much. The ones who don’t get to fall apart — even when everything around them is.
If you’ve ever thought, “Why can’t I turn off?” this one’s for you.