Being on high alert, looking for what’s wrong, constantly staying attuned to anything that could go wrong – those are typical tendencies of any physician. And that only gets reinforced as we go through our schooling and training. This programming results in what I term Doctor Brain, a condition that intensifies stress and anxiety when we need to remain calm and focused. Unfortunately, this nearly unbearable high level of stress results in physicians who quit or even commit suicide. Perhaps the most sobering part is that managing stress is achievable. And it all starts with retraining our minds to reframe stress.
“Learning to combat anxious, stressed-out thinking is what I believe actually makes us better physicians.” – Dr. Sara Dill
This topic is so important that, as promised in Episode 1 of my new podcast, Stress-Less Physician, I’m dedicating an entire podcast to defining and explaining Doctor Brain. I coined this term because, as a board-certified dermatologist, pediatric dermatologist and Life Coach for physicians, I live the stress-inducing physician life. But I learned how to think differently, and thus control my response to stress. I even wrote a book that talks in-depth about Doctor Brain.
If you want to learn more about my background as a physician and the journey I took to find the answer to dealing with stress, I invite you to listen to the trailer for my podcast. I’ve also added a little about myself at the bottom of these notes. Finally, if you missed any of my previous episodes, I encourage you to visit my website to listen to them. In episodes 1-3, I discuss how to feel better, I identify some myths about stress, and I give you insight on how to believe new things.
