{Yountville, California}
I woke up yesterday morning with a sense of dread and struggled to get out of bed, yet ended the day feeling energetic and liberated. Lately, I’ve been making conscious efforts to prioritize myself for the sake of maintaining my sanity. As a result, my mood and anxiety levels have improved almost instantaneously after making a crucial decision regarding my work schedule and the next step to take in my career. If you have any important decisions to make, I strongly recommend holding off on any impulsive, irrational decisions unless you’ve had time to relax and get in the right state of mind. So often our minds get bombarded by all the stressors in our lives that we lack any reserve to think clearly. So take a break, talk it out with others, weigh your options, and trust that your instincts will take you down the right path.
6 comments
Wonderful advice!
I love all your posts (sorry I wasn’t able to comment much lately; being offline for almost two weeks had a lot to do with that! However, I read them all and it’s not like you’re short of receiving replies from fellow devoted fans! 😉
ANYWAY, despite the progress I’ve made, I often wake up with a sense of what I call “The Dreads” and then by the end of the day I feel so much better.
I’ve written 3 blog posts about the dreads, and I’m including a link to one of them below in case anyone is interested.
Taking a break makes such a huge difference as do the other key actions you noted, i.e. trusting your instincts. Thanks so much for a great and relevant topic!!!
https://proudlybipolar.wordpress.com/2014/06/25/goin-back-up-after-the-dreads-arrive/
Hi Dyane!! No worries as you’ve always been so supportive of me on my blog and twitter! I’m so behind on catching up and commenting on yours too, but it’s seriously always in the back of my mind each time i’m on wordpress writing my posts! 🙂 I have some time tonight and hope to finally catch up…thanks for the link! Have a great weekend!
Your honest words about how you feel is something physicians (especially medical students) need to get in touch with more. I think a lot of us are familiar with those mornings when it’s just too hard to get up, due to unpredictable life situations, stress, anxiety, depression, etc. Like you said, we can be more aware of our feelings and attitudes, and make conscious efforts to help ourselves get better. I hope we get to hear your new plans soon. Whatever they may be or whatever you decide, know that you are right where you need to be. Sometimes we have to make tough choices, but they only challenge us to grow stronger.
Hi Joanne, thanks so much for your thoughtful comment! i was completely oblivious as a med student and had no self-awareness, so i’m glad i put in the work to get to this point. i do hope the culture changes for our future generation of docs, tho i have several med student followers who are so self-aware, it makes me happy to see! will likely do a future post on my plans 🙂
This is great advice! I have to always make myself take some me-time before making any important decisions. The bath is my favorite place for this!
Yay for you for prioritizing “me” time esp when it comes to decision-making time! I can’t even remember the last time i took time out for a nice, long bath….should give it a try!