May We All Be Well

Bringing wellness into the mainstream culture of medicine and empowering and healing healers so that they can heal others is my passion. It has been the focus of my leadership work my entire career.

It took a pandemic to bring national widespread focus to its importance. The cultural shift is finally happening.

I gave a wellness talk to team of UCSD physicians on the frontlines of COVID-19 on zoom last week. A silver lining of this situation is the ease of giving talks from far away.

I shared how important it is that physicians be allowed and encouraged to put on their own oxygen masks first.

This is true for every single human. Including you.

Below is a brief version of what I shared in my talk: “Self-Care is Not Selfish: Physician (AND EVERYONE) Wellness in the Time of Covid. “

I wish for all my colleagues and all of you much self care. It is not selfish. It is needed. And important.

Focus on the simple things- sleep, healthy food, exercise, fresh air, connections with others, and your breath. Deep breaths make a difference. When your cup is empty you have nothing good to share.

I wish for all of you to experience some mindfulness. Practice it wherever and whenever possible; no need to perfect it. Just pause and be present. Notice and allow. It doesn't need to be complicated. Use it to create space and compassion for yourself and others and as preventive care (PPE) for your emotional health.

I wish for all of you to practice intentionally choosing your thoughts. Don’t let them go unmanaged. Practice allowing the negative ones- of course, I am worried about a global pandemic, cancelled everything, money, jobs, and what will happen next....

See that these thoughts are causing you to feel anxious and overwhelmed. This is what coaching helps with. Then choose more helpful thoughts. This is where your power and control lies. Find thoughts in your brain that are 100% believable and that make you feel abundant, in control, calm, peaceful and hopeful. They exist, I promise, you just have to learn to find them.

What if we and society encouraged, allowed, and taught us ALL to take care of ourselves if even just these 3 ways?

What a world it would be.

May you all be well. May we all be well.