Posted February 4, Reviewed by Michelle Quirk. First, let me say that this will not be my normal post. But there is a reason for that. I spend a considerable portion of my professional life speaking and writing about stress and burnout from an evolutionary psychological perspective. As I do consider myself to be quite knowledgable about the psychoneurological underpinning of stress reactivity, I recently was humbled to realize that I need to take my own advice. Two weeks ago, I had a severe deep vein thrombosis DVT that required surgical intervention.
As a result of the DVT, I suffered a life-threatening bilateral pulmonary embolism. My physicians told me that this was exacerbated by stress and that I am lucky to be alive today. How could I miss this? Why did I not recognize the signs leading up to the emergency? Why did I ignore my own advice that I preach so passionately? As healthcare providers, we must make a commitment to prioritize ourselves.
It is well-researched that front-line health care workers report burnout rates of 50 percent, and healthcare leaders report burnout rates of up to 85 percent. As I have written extensively, burnout is a longitudinal, unmitigated, chronic stress-induced condition that exacts a tremendous toll on us psychophysiologically.
Taking care of yourself is not selfish. It is important for your own health, but it is also necessary for you in taking care of your patients, organization, employees, family Most importantly, do not wait, ignoring the signs of stress and burnoutβmake a plan and take actions right now.
The actions just need to be meaningful to youβ they do not have to require excessive commitments of time or energy. Early in my career as a hospital CEO, my mom gave me the best advice I've ever heard for managing stress. She simply said to make time to enjoy the sunset every day. I cannot think of anything more effective than this simple advice for reducing stress.
