You followed the rules. You did everything right. You got the degree, pushed through even when it hurt. But now, you're asking questions you can't ignore:

"Why does this feel so off? I thought I wanted this. Why do I feel so disconnected and unsure of what comes next?"

If that’s you, I get it. You’re not broken. You’re just in a moment of reckoning—a moment that deserves to be met with honesty, not shame.

My Approach

I’m Dr. Chenyao Zhang—a sociologist, writer, and coach who works with PhD students and high-achievers at the edge of what used to make sense. I help people move through the fog of burnout and misalignment, and toward something truer—with clarity, purpose, and a plan that actually fits the life they want to live.

I’ve lived this too.

During my PhD, I found myself unraveling. I had all the credentials, but inside, I was questioning everything. I finished the degree, but what followed was a honest decision to leave academia. Not because I failed, but because I finally told the truth about what I needed.

Later, in the corporate world, I saw the same thing: brilliant people stuck in lives that looked great on paper, but felt like slow suffocation. I realized the obstacle isn't talent or effort. What keeps us stuck is the inner weight we carry: self-doubt, fear, perfectionism, inherited definitions of success.

Insight to Action

With a PhD in Sociology and years of research, I’ve spent my career studying the gap between what we think we're supposed to want and what actually feels right. But theory only takes us so far. Real change requires movement. That’s why I became a coach.

Today, I help people untangle what’s no longer working, reconnect with what truly matters, and move forward with a direction that’s actually their own.

I also write at Between the Lines—a space for the in-between moments that shape who we become. The shifts we can’t always name. The choices that change everything.