Hero’s journey: Letting go of self-hate & choosing love instead
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned on my Hero’s Journey is the importance of learning to accept ourselves (our full selves).
Jillian Rigert DMD, MD
2024-11-25
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned on my Hero’s Journey is the importance of learning to accept ourselves (our full selves).
There has never been a more urgent need to combat, or ideally prevent, physician burnout, mental illness, and suicide. In this article, we explore a number of peer support programs and summarize the key elements required to develop safe and supportive spaces for the unique needs of physicians at risk of burning out.
When you allow yourself to truly see and sit with the fact that we are only here for a short period of time, it can feel scary… and also freeing.
Motherhood is by far the hardest thing that I have ever done and continue doing every day. It is 1 million times harder than being a doctor and requires such a delicate dance of unconditional love, consistency, and compromise. At the same time, there is no doubt that being a physician is one of the hardest professions out there.
I do my best thinking in the quiet, calmness of nature – with space to breathe and observe the beauty of the world around us. I perform best when I have time to think, process, and move at ease with intention. For years, I pushed myself to move faster – with an urgency that was getting me places faster- only to realize I was missing the opportunity to enjoy the journey and the destinations were not where I wanted to be.
Medical residents’ mental health deteriorates during their training, but there are solutions to this resident burnout epidemic.
Before you started studying / working in medicine, how many hours of sleep did you get a night (on average)? What happened to your sleep during med school, residency, and beyond? Sleep, and the lack thereof, is so tied up in our working hours and such a tradition in medicine, that we almost take the lack of it for granted.
Protecting the Next Generation of Doctors. The practice of self-compassion has emerged as a valuable tool for medical students, offering support in navigating the pressures, setbacks, and self-criticism that can arise throughout their training. This article explores the importance of self-compassion specifically for medical students, provides an overview of relevant research and studies, and offers a practical guide to cultivating self-compassion in daily life.
AI art generation in the style of famous artists: can you guess who they are?
To prove that Physicians Anonymous is surfing the wave of high technology, we’ve been playing around with various AI models. Starting with image generators, we’ve been both impressed and horrified by the outputs.
Self-compassion, a practice rooted in mindfulness and self-kindness, has emerged as a powerful tool to support the well-being and resilience of physicians. This hands-on guide will explore the evidence base for self-compassion in physicians and provide practical steps to cultivate self-compassion in physicians’ daily lives.
I believe we can come out of this crisis with a new culture of a caring community. But this is only possible if we invest in self-compassion.
Self-compassion does not make you soft. Boundaries do not make you closed off nor selfish. I had to repeat this many times before I started to understand how true and how essential self-compassion and boundaries are in our lives.
I’ve spent years deeply uncomfortable in my skin. Wanting to disappear.
Last night- a wave of anxiety hit me as it often does when the world gets quiet.
In tune with my body for a brief moment, my heart ached.
Why?
Doctors and those in training are taught to put the needs of others ahead of their own – often to the detriment of their own well-being. Self-compassion can play a vital role in supporting physician wellness and overall work satisfaction.
In a career when we always strive for more, when is enough enough? Dr Jillian Reigert DMD MD one of our Physicians Anonymous Approved Coaches guest blogs on “enoughness”.
The arrival fallacy — the idea that I will be happy when I reach X — can also contribute to mental health issues among physicians, who may struggle to find a sense of purpose and meaning in their work.
The arrival fallacy refers to the idea that reaching a specific goal or milestone will result in lasting happiness and fulfilment.
If adequate rest – both time off, time to sleep, and vacations – are essential to recharge our medical batteries, what would the effects of a longer period of time off be on physician burnout?
In this article, Dr Reigert discusses her surgical residency journey, the effect of chronic sleep deprivation, the arrival fallacy, and giving yourself permission to pivot your career if Plan A isn’t working out. She also reminds us of the importance of getting professional help and that no career is worth your life.
“I think I need to take a medical leave.”
He replied with compassion and understanding, “When?”
I said, “Days or months ago, but I’ll settle for.. now.”
The next day, I was on medical leave. I risked my career to save my life.