Therapy for Physician Burnout: Know Your Emotions

It’s not your fault if your parents did not teach you about emotions. If they did teach you, it's common for parents to teach their children only about ‘good’ emotions. “Bad” emotions are unacceptable unless you are a male and the emotion is anger. Then it’s okay to be made and show that emotion. Otherwise, the only emotion shown is happiness.

You are Responsible for Your Emotions

You are a grown adult. As a grown adult, you are fully responsible for yourself and your actions. No one else is responsible for you. Not your parents, not your partner, not your friends, and definitely not your children. You are responsible for yourself. With that said, you are responsible for acknowledging and owning your own emotional growth and well-being. You are responsible for your understanding of your emotions. If you don’t understand your emotions, go learn about your emotions. Put the time and energy towards learning about your emotions. You are a grown adult. You need to understand emotions.

In my work with physicians and other high achievers, I’ve found that many have stunted their emotional growth. It’s common for people to stuff their emotions down into a box that is never explored. It’s always in the background. They try not to feel their emotions but feel them anyways. It’s only when the emotions start to spill over and their work or other areas of their life suffer, do they pay any attention to their emotions. I’ve always wondered why so I asked some of my clients.

Resident Physicians Don’t Think for Themselves

For physicians, many of my clients stated that throughout their residency and fellowship, they weren’t allowed to think or feel for themselves. They were always told what to do and how to do it. They were never allowed to question authority. They were told that they weren’t good enough so often that many started to believe that. This isn’t healthy for emotional development. You are allowed to feel and experience all of your emotions. How you express those emotions is a different story but you are allowed to acknowledge and experience the emotions. Acknowledge and experience your emotions. Emotions are normal and natural. If you don’t know what your emotions are, how are you supposed to be aware of them?

In my work, I always normalize emotions. Here is a brief post about emotions. One key takeaway from that post is that all emotions are normal and natural but the way that you express them, or your actions, are not. Also, there are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ emotions. Emotions are a way your body is telling you that something is going on. In addition, one recommendation I give to clients who aren't in touch with their emotions is to view the Pixar movie, “Inside Out.” The movie is a good baseline for emotions. This is an excellent way to learn about emotions.

Reach out for Therapy for Physician Burnout

Since I’ve brought emotions to your attention, please explore your emotions or feelings. You can’t claim that you didn’t know that you should do this. This is a choice that you can make at this very moment. Are you willing to put time into exploring your emotions and feelings? If you are and have 5 minutes to spare, one way you can start this exploration of emotions is through journaling and self-reflection. Many find this coping tool to be an excellent place to start. Here is an article I wrote about the coping skill of journaling. Care out 5 minutes in your day to start exploring your emotions.

Get Online Therapy For Physician Burnout

When you want to work on your physician burnout, get online therapy.  Reach out for a free 15-minute consultation.  I’m Chris Rabanera. I provide online therapy in California, online therapy in Michigan, and online therapy in Las Vegas. I work with issues such as physician burnout, anxiety, depression, therapy for men and grief counseling.