14. Surviving Winter in Healthcare While Staying Sober: Practical Tools for High-Stress Seasons

Winter in healthcare is brutal—this episode shares practical, sober tools to get through it without burning out or picking up a drink.

Winter in healthcare brings longer shifts, heavier patient loads, staffing shortages, and emotional exhaustion—all while personal stress runs higher than usual. In this solo episode, Dr. Kali Theis speaks directly to healthcare professionals navigating sobriety during the most demanding season of the year. She breaks down why winter intensifies cravings, how alcohol falsely promises “relief,” and what actually helps when exhaustion and overwhelm peak. Drawing from her own experience as a pediatrician in recovery, Kali shares seven concrete, realistic strategies to protect sobriety during flu season and the holidays—from building transition rituals after shifts to lowering expectations at home and prioritizing sleep. This episode is for clinicians who feel stretched thin, isolated, and tempted to numb out, but still want to show up clear-headed for their patients and themselves. The takeaway is simple and powerful: relief doesn’t come from alcohol—it comes from care, boundaries, connection, and rest.

Timestamps

•00:00 Intro: Winter in healthcare and sobriety

•01:00 Why winter stress fuels cravings

•01:30 Kali’s personal story of choosing relief over alcohol

•03:20 Tip #1: Name your stress instead of numbing it

•04:20 Tip #2: Create a post-shift transition ritual

•05:45 Tip #3: Protect sleep like a prescription

•07:20 Tip #4: Build a micro community of support

•08:15 Tip #5: Lower the bar on non-essentials

•09:50 Tip #6: Choose nourishment over numbing

•10:35 Tip #7: Celebrate the small wins

•11:15 Final encouragement + share with a coworker

Takeaways

•Cravings in winter are often a signal for relief, rest, or support—not alcohol.

•Simple post-shift rituals can interrupt the automatic “I deserve a drink” response.

•Protecting sleep is critical for sobriety, especially during high-stress seasons.

•Lowering expectations outside of work preserves energy for what truly matters.

•Connection—even one safe person—can dramatically reduce relapse risk.

You can find more exclusive and behind the scenes content by following my Instagram accounts:

https://www.instagram.com/thesoberdocs/