Therapy for Physicians: More Than My Job

You are more than just a physician. You are more than your job and your occupation. It may not feel that way. In this blog, I’m going to discuss being more than just a physician.

Face it. You’ve spent years trying to become a physician. You worked hard in college, medical school, residency, and if you got further education, fellowship. You spent your teens, 20s, and part of your 30s to become a physician. You’ve spent a huge part of your life trying to become a physician. I’m sure you’ve sacrificed friendships and relationships to get here. You’ve cut out many aspects of your life and put energy towards your occupation. Now that you’re an attending physician, you’re here. But that doesn’t mean it's the only thing you are. Many physicians do feel like this is the only thing they are.

Therapy For Physicians

Now could be a good time to open up your life and recognize you are more than just a physician. You are more than just your occupation. I’m going to continue to repeat that throughout the blog. Getting here has consumed your life. It’s time you open it up and recognize life is more than just work. There are different aspects of life to pay attention to since you are an attending physician.

Though I do specialize in burnout, I also work with physicians and high achievers on their bigger life picture. I help people thrive in all aspects of their lives. At times, I focus on areas of life such as family, spiritual, financial, physical, and mental and emotional wellness. It’s not necessarily about setting goals and numbers but more along the lines of how each of these plays a role in how much thriving and life satisfaction a client has. As I said earlier, a lot of physicians threw everything aside to become a physician. They only focused on their occupation. I help bring some balance to their lives.

When I talk about balance, I do not believe in work-life balance daily. I talk about balance more in terms of seasons, months, and years. Different areas of life need different amounts of energy. In the case of many physicians, it’s been all occupation and nothing else. Now is a good time to swing your focus on different areas of your life

You Are More Than Your Occupation

A great example of this would be to take time for your physical health. During your training, what is sleep? You can never get enough of it. Since you’ve become an attending,have your habits shifted to more of a thrive vs survival mentality? Have you made getting 9 hours of sleep daily a priority? What about getting 30 minutes of movement per day? What are you doing to take care of your physical health?

When I talk about being more than just a physician, how have you been putting energy towards your hobbies? I’m 100% sure you had hobbies before you started school. Maybe you loved playing rugby with the boys but fell off. This could be a part where you put more energy and effort into this activity vs putting more and more energy into your occupation. Maybe you were super adventurous and loved the outdoors but it’s been years since you spent time outdoors. This could be a good time to fall back in love with that side of yourself. You can again be an outdoorsman. 

And what about your relationships with friends and family? You were once a good friend. If that aspect had fallen off, you can try to pick the relationship back up again. You could be a person who invests time into your relationships again. Maybe you can improve your relationship with your family and be present again. If this is something you’d like to do, then do it. Put energy towards being who you want to be. You are more than just a physician.

When people are experiencing burnout, other areas of life can be protective factors for you. When you only identify with your occupation, you are putting yourself at risk for burnout because work is the only thing you are focusing on. There is more to life than only work. You are more than just a physician. You get to pick who you are. Choose.

Reach out for Therapy for Physicians

When you want to make a change in life, reach out. Start your journey with Chris Rabanera, take the first steps with a free 15-minute consultation. I provide online therapy in California, online therapy in Michigan, online therapy in Nebraska, and online therapy in Las Vegas. As an experienced therapist, I specialize in physician burnout, grief counseling, anxiety, and depression. I also provide mental health treatment for men.