Why the Opposite of Play Is Depression and How Play Deficiency Robs You of Your Purpose

When was the last time you did something absolutely pointless, not because it was "healthy" or productive, but just because it felt like fun? If you can't remember, your spark isn't just dim; it is suffocating under decades of duty.

As high-achieving women, we have been brainwashed to believe that play is lazy. But neuroscience proves the opposite: play is the only thing that unlocks the rigid "survival mode" of your brain. If you feel numb, cynical, or like you are living in a black-and-white movie, you are suffering from Play Deficiency. This isn't just making you boring; it is a trauma response that poisons your soul and blocks you from connecting with your true purpose.

In this episode, we prescribe the medicine you think you don't have time for. You will discover why your chronic "seriousness" is actually a defense mechanism and how to activate the Sacral Chakra to turn your midlife transition into a creative renaissance. We also introduce the "Beige Detox" challenge to immediately bring color back into your grey world.

You were born to create, not just to fix everyone else. Press play to break the trance of professionalism and make a beautiful mess.

This podcast supports women healers over 50 navigating burnout, compassion fatigue, and midlife transitions with strategies for nervous system regulation, trauma-informed boundaries, and chakra alignment to heal resentment and self-neglect while cultivating soul joy, radiance, and a purposeful next chapter of freedom and inner peace.

Burnout isn’t your failure—it’s the cost of caring too long without support.
In Pursuit of Soul Joy: A 12-Week Guide for Overcoming Burnout and Compassion Fatigue is written for women healers ready to stop surviving and start living again.

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Episodes drop every Tuesday at 5am and every Friday at noon.

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Transcript

0:01

Welcome to the 12 days of Radiance Reset. We are ditching the holiday overwhelmed to take you from exhausted and trapped to radiant and free. This is your year end reconnection. When was the last time you did something just for the fun of it? Not because it was on a checklist, not because it was healthy or productive or good for your resume, but just because it brought you joy. Girl, if you can't remember, I need you to know something. Your spark isn't gone. It hasn't been extinguished. It is just buried under decades. Of duty today. We're digging it out. Empowering brilliant women in healthcare over 50 to transform burnout and compassion fatigue into renewed passion. Reigniting your spark to create a life that energizes you every single day. I'm your host, Dr. Jules. Let's get to it. so today we're prescribing the medicine You think you don't have time for We are prescribing PLAY Play. I think I can hear you rolling your eyes from where you are. You're thinking, Dr. Jules, I have patients dying. I have people I'm screening into a psych unit. I have a mortgage to pay. I have aging parents. Girl, I do not have time to play. And sweet soul, I need you to know that is exactly why you are burning out. You need to listen to the end of this episode because I'm going to share the research on play deficiency. Yep. It's real. Did you know that the opposite of play isn't work? It's depression. I'm going to show you why a lack of play is making you rigid and anxious. And we are returning to the sacral chakra, but this time, instead of boundaries, we're activating it for its true purpose, creativity, sexuality, and passion. And finally, I'm giving you the beige detox. This is a simple, tangible challenge to bring color, beautiful color back into your gray world immediately. All right, so let's look at the brain science first. Dr. Stewart Brown, the founder of the National Institute for Play, did you even know that existed? Has studied thousands of play histories. Here is what he found. Play is as essential to your health as sleep and nutrition, but as high achieving women, we have been condition, but as high achieving women. We have been conditioned to believe that play is trivial, especially those of us over 50. When we first started breaking that glass ceiling, we had to behave and dress a certain way just to be taken serious. And all this has led to us thinking play is trivial and thinking that it's lazy to play. We think if an activity doesn't have a measurable outcome, if it doesn't make money, lose weight, or help someone else, yeah, it's a waste of time and this belief system is poisoning you when you are in survival mode, which, let's be honest, most healers are 24 7. Your brain is locked in the amygdala. It is scanning for threats. It's rigid, it's serious. Play is the only thing that unlocks the prefrontal cortex in a way that allows for flexibility. It releases dopamine. You know, that pleasure, chemical and endorphins, those painkillers. It lowers cortisol instantly for you as a healer. Creativity is the antidote to clinical detachment. When you stop creating, you start numbly processing humans like they are widgets on a conveyor belt. When you create. You reconnect with your, when you create, you reconnect with your humanity. And I wanna be clear. You don't need to paint a masterpiece. You don't need to write a novel. You don't need to be good at play. You just need to break the routine. You need to do something inefficient on purpose. So let's look at this through the lens of your energy body. This work happens in the sacral chakra, which if you remember, it sits in the pelvis, the hips, the womb. It is the water element. It governs flow, pleasure, sexuality, creativity. And here is the secret about menopause. And midlife that no one tells us. In your reproductive years, a huge amount of your life force energy went into biological fertility, creating children, raising families, building careers, but in menopause, that energy is released. You are no longer creating babies. You are now. Free to create lives. You are free to create art. You are free to create legacy. But if this chakra is stagnant, if you have shut down your desire because you are too busy or too old, that energy gets stuck. Girl, it's gonna manifest as lower back pain, hip stiffness, a deep gray emotional numbness. If your life feels like a chore, like a series of have tos, instead of get tos, your sacral chakra is blocked and we need to stir those waters So. How do we stir it up? Well, we are going to do something I call the beige detox. I want you to look at your life right now. Honestly, look at your environment. Is your office beige? Are your scrubs gray or blue or your daily uniform? Just something you throw on because you don't have the energy to get creative. Is your car? Silver Is your food brown? Is your mood flat? We have sanitized our lives to be professional, but we have accidentally sanitized our joy changes. Today, I want you to introduce a shock of color. I mean this literally color is a vibration. So I want you to go buy the bright orange flowers for your desk, not the sensible white ones. And I want you to wear the red lipstick to the grocery store, even if you're just buying milk and toilet paper. Who the hell cares? I want you to paint a rock purple and leave it on your porch. Put on a scarf that is obnoxiously bright. Do something inefficient, do something colorful, do something silly. When you do this, you are signaling to your soul and the universe that you are alive. You are breaking the trance of professionalism and inviting the messiness back in life you were born to create, not just fix, you were born to experience joy, not just to manage pain. Go make a glorious mess today. Go find the color. And sweet soul. If this feels impossible for you, if the idea of play makes you feel guilty or anxious, I need you to ask yourself, why is your archetype afraid that if she, lets go for one second. Everything is going to fall apart hard. You need to know. So right now. I need you to go click the archetype quiz. Two minutes. It's done. Do it right now. Get colorful today because Sweet Soul, we rise together. If this episode hit home, don't just nod and move on. Give yourself what you actually need. Tap the show notes right now to grab your free Compassion Fatigue Cure Starter Guide, or. The burnout to Radiance Reset. And girl, if you know another woman healer who's running on empty, please share this episode.