Time To Recharge

We constantly use different types of energy. When we drive cars, fuel or electricity is consumed. Who can live without a cell phone these days? The cell phone battery is being drained as we go on social media or text. We use up energy somehow, including our own energy.

In order to continue to function, we have to recharge whatever we are using, be it the cars, the cell phones and of course, our human bodies. How do we know when to recharge? Most things have easy to detect indicators or signs to notify us of the energy shortage, or it is time to recharge.

Not so straight forward with our own bodies. We keep draining our own fuel without refilling it. This is partly because there is no clear sign for the need to refuel even when our mind and body desperately need it.

We keep thinking we can go further without pausing, without recharging. After all, the gruel training in our medical career demands that we are super beings. We are trained to keep going. The 30-hour shift every 3^rd night is, for many physicians, a rite of passage. The mandatory night shifts upset our circadian rhythm. As attending physicians, many of us work 50-60 hours (or even more) in a week, even though we are paid for 40 hours.

This physical drainage makes us feel worn out. It is like a bonfire that has almost no wood left to sustain its flame. We get sleepy, low energy, and not as ready to accept any physical challenges. That may make us more prone to infections or other ailments.

Besides the physical drainage, there is also the emotional exhaustion. Most of us have very high emotional demand at work, taking care of sick patients and interacting with their families, not to mention other administrative responsibilities. We are also expected to be emotionally available at home. It may come to a point where you ask yourself, “What is the point of all this? I didn’t sign up for this when I decided to go into medicine.”

A study in 2021 showed that about 70% physicians are moderately to severely burned out. Look for signs of your body telling yourself that it is time to pause and recharge. Burnout may be detrimental to our patient care and our home well-being. This may happen gradually over a period of time. It usually is not a flip switch which you can just turn on and off in your body.

I remember when I was burnout, I felt exhausted all the time, physically and emotionally. I was just going through the motions. I felt like I was not taking the best care of patients because I was not able to fully engage emotionally. I kept asking myself what the point was. I felt less efficient at work, and it was difficult for me to offer my emotional support at home when I barely had any to give.

Yes, we cannot give what we do not have.

Awareness of our own exhaustion or to the point of burnout is the initial step. We cannot fix what we do not know. Allow ourselves to be in this space by acknowledging our feelings, mentally and physically. Denying or resisting will lead us deeper into the road of complete burnout. There are two reasons for this: one, we are not interrupting the burnout with intervention, so burnout continues. Second, there is an internal argument between what we are feeling emotionally and physically, while we are telling ourselves there is not a problem. This internal struggle will lead to even more exhaustion.

Pause.

Sometimes this may mean to take a leave of absence from work. Sometimes it may be a few minutes of the day to meditate. The important thing is to shift from doing to being, being in the present.

Planning ahead helps. Plan the week in advance, or at least plan the day in advance. We gain more clarity as we write things down rather than have them spin in our heads. I recommend writing things down on a calendar or in a journal.

Meditate. Be still and dial up the awareness of our surroundings, what we are feeling or experiencing at the moment. How does the body feel? What part of the body seems to be experiencing different sensations?

Exercise. Create a routine for daily exercise, even just for 10 minutes. Exercise builds our physical well being, and also brings our mind to a more positive space.

Listen to a podcast or a motivational speech a day. Part of recharging our mind is to fuel it with positive and motivational ideas and thoughts.

Plan to include sleep as part of our routine. Goal is to sleep 7 hours. As my sleep medicine friend would tell me, a restful night’s sleep will recharge us and help us perform better.

Be intentional of what we do and not do. Be mindful and listen to what our body is telling us so we know when to recharge. By being intentional to refuel our body tanks, we decrease the risk of operating with an empty vessel of mind and body. Always incorporate positive fuel sources, as they are more powerful and more sustainable.