Saving Lives Without Destroying Yours

Book excerpt: Physicians help people heal, but how well do they take care of their own physical and mental well-being? How does a physician’s personal history, medical training, and medical culture predispose and perpetuate potential health issues, relationship challenges, financial strain, abuse, or burnout in physicians? Does the prevalent mindset of pushing beyond our needs and losing ourselves in the physician identity perpetuate burnout or sustainability? How do emotions such as fear, obligation, guilt, and shame affect medical training, medical practice, physician lives, and their relationships? Saving Lives without Destroying Yours is a self-help book for physicians to set boundaries to improve their mental health and wellbeing, break intergenerational medical training traps, protect themselves, engage more in their life roles, and design a life and medical practice where physicians can thrive, not just survive. This book empowers physicians to know themselves – their needs, wants, abilities, and limitations - while being understanding and non-judgmental towards others’ needs when setting boundaries. Takeaway pearls include building self-awareness, setting boundaries, communicating assertively, identifying patterns of abuse, building healthy relationships, and managing interpersonal conflict using dialectical behavioural therapy principles and emotional intelligence. Dr. Mammoliti and Mr. Ly combine their experience in psychiatry, psychotherapy, coaching, and occupational therapy to encourage a comprehensive self-reflection journey and guide physicians in boundary setting. Discover how to say No appropriately and say Yes to a more meaningful and healthy life.