Leave It Behind

When a patient dwells on a thought to the point of feeling extremely anxious and overwhelmed, I sometimes teach them to approach those thoughts with the following metaphor:  Grab onto [the thought] briefly in your hand, then let it go like a feather.   Perhaps I need to practice more of what I preach.  I have several complex patients who require contant monitoring and found it difficult NOT to think about a few of them during recent trips out of town.  Did I prescribe too high of a dose?   Will my patient be suicidal and land in the ER?  Will my supervisor think I was an idiot for giving that medication?  No doctor is perfect, but I do need to learn how to leave work behind (for the sake of maintaining my own sanity).