Physician Mental Health: Self Grace

In my work providing therapy for physicians, I am constantly having conversations with them about self-grace. I define self grace as giving yourself permission to forgive mistakes, poor judgement and poor behaviors. We are human and we are not going to be at our best, 100% of the time. We do the best we can in the situation we are in. It is all we can ask for. You cannot do more than your best.

Learn Self Grace with Therapy for Physicians

We make mistakes. Even at our best, we are not perfect. It's what makes us human. The problem isn’t about the mistake itself. I find people have issues with owning up to their mistakes and not moving forward. Being a physician is hard. It’s not easy making decisions where life and death can be at your fingertips. It’s not easy when we make a mistake. The most important lesson to take away from a mistake is to learn from it. You know the George Santayana saying, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” In healthcare and medicine, you don’t want to repeat past mistakes. The stakes are too high.

How do You Give Yourself Grace?

Challenge the Idea of Perfection

This is a tough idea to challenge for people I work with. As you know, I work with high-achievers. In most cases, they demand perfection of themselves, in all aspects of their lives. They continually push and push to improve themselves and those around them to achieve perfection. A question to ask to challenge the idea of perfection is, “What is perfection? Is there such a thing as perfection? Or is there something better? Is this the best you can do based on your abilities?

Be Present in the Moment

You can be present in the moment by doing mindfulness and grounding exercises. Examples of mindfulness and grounding exercises are deep breathing, body sensation scans, gratitude meditations, and going for a walk.

Find Ways to Relieve Stress

I am always about self care and finding ways to relieve stress. In addition to the mindfulness and grounding exercises above, I recommend people find ways to relieve stress. These means doing activities that bring you joy. Cooking, baking, working out, talking with friends, reading books, doing puzzles. The choices of stress relief are endless. Give yourself grace by relieving your stress.

Getting Enough Sleep

Getting the necessary amount of sleep each night is a form of giving yourself grace. You are giving yourself permission to stop doing all these other tasks and take care of yourself. Getting enough sleep each night can fix mental and physical issues. Allow yourself the time to take care of yourself. If you do not, who’s going to take care of you?

Physician Wellness is important

If you are a physician and you are struggling with giving yourself grace, use these tips and tools to help. Add these tools to your toolbox. Your life will improve when you are able to give yourself grace

If you are a physician and want 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, individuals dealing with relationships, and grief counseling.