Balanced Leadership

According to research by the Mayo Clinic in 2016, there were 9 strategies presented to help prevent physician burnout. One of the strategies is to provide resources to help individuals promote self-care.

As much as we don’t want to admit it, there is some responsibility that we have for fighting back against burnout. As physicians, we are taught not to ask for help and to put the needs of others before our own. Women are guiltier of this as they are also caregivers for their family members and carry the bulk of the responsibilities at home.  Unless we break the cycle of putting our needs last, we are going to continue to see high rates of burnout and increased exodus from the field of medicine.

What is Self-Care?

We are conditioned to think that self-care is all about massages, yoga, meditation. It’s much more than that. It’s a commitment you make to yourself to take care of your mind, body, and spirit. Self-care is as necessary as the air you breathe, so...

Does this sound familiar? You wake up each morning with a list of things that must get done. You rush out the door to work, forget to pack your lunch, spend your day answering emails and going to meetings. Only to have to come home, cook, attend family events, prepare for the next day and then start all over again. We are so used to running from one activity to the next, that we often forget to just slow down and breathe.

If we continue to go about our busy lives without allowing ourselves time to recharge, we run the risk of being chronically stressed. Signs of chronic stress are muscle tension like neck or back pain, headaches, forgetfulness, insomnia, gas and bloating and weight gain. These long-term effects can lead to heart disease, depression, hypertension, memory loss, obesity, stroke and advanced aging. The good news is that there is a way we can reduce our stress levels. We can improve our health by practicing meditation.

Meditation has many physical and mental health...