241: The Stress Scale That Saved Ali Novitsky's Family
Two physicians, married. Two kids with ADHD. A year of unbilled income. Then she looked at her husband and said, "I'm depressed." He said, "So am I." That's where Dr. Ali Novitsky's stress framework started. Not in a clinic. At her kitchen table, in the middle of a crisis she hadn't seen coming. She's a neonatologist turned obesity medicine specialist turned life coach, and what she's built since that moment — a one-to-ten stress scale, six individual stress types, four family stress patterns — is the language she now teaches her clients to use on the thing most of us feel but can't name. I asked her to walk me through the whole framework on the podcast, including the part where she diagnosed me live on air. What we get into: The 1–10 stress scale and how to find your own symptoms in each zone (takes about a week of paying attention) The six individual stress types — assertive, control, catastrophizing, impulsivity, validation, isolation — what each one looks like regulated, and what each one looks like under pressure Why control-type isn't a flaw, why catastrophizers are the people you actually want on your team, and why isolation types are the leaders nobody sees The four family stress patterns and how one person walking into the room can flip the whole dynamic in seconds The ARC framework — Awareness, Regulation, Communication, Connection — and why you don't need your whole family on board to start How to teach kids this language without putting them through a quiz they can't take yet Mentioned on the show: Family Stress Type Quiz (free, 3 min) — thefitkidmethod.com Individual stress type quiz Ali's pilot Family Reset program, starts June 22! Ali on Instagram @alinovitskymd Ali's website alinovitskymd.com Please note that some of these links my be affiliate links, which means I may get a commission at no extra cost to you. Follow along on Instagram → @wealthymommd If this episode hit, leave a review on Apple Podcasts — it's how new women find the show.
