“Self-care is never a selfish act – it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others. Anytime we can listen to true self and give the care it requires, we do it not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose lives we touch.”
– Parker Palmer
Where does self-care factor in among NBME shelf exam studying, clerkship assignments, 12-hour days on shift at the hospital during which time I feel like I’m a prisoner to others’ expectations of me, snatching up sleep whenever possible, spending time with my significant other, sharing moments with my family, decompressing with colleagues, reading my emails, scheduling meetings, grocery shopping, and all the other requisite stuff?
A YouTube blogger I really enjoy recently posted a piece about illness stemming from a disconnect between one’s self and one’s inherent sense of agency (or “power”). I deeply feel that moving through each of the clinical rotations this year has left me feeling more out of touch with my agency, more distant from my sense of personal strength or power. I joke to my significant other that medical school is killing me or at very best shaving off a couple years of future life as an elder, but sometimes I feel like that’s not a joke at all. How ill is medical school making my body and mind, especially as I feel I’m drifting away from my core sense of autonomy, agency, self?
karuṇā 