Does your brain ever jump to worst-case scenarios, no matter the situation? Many of us in medicine can relate to this phenomenon. It’s called catastrophic thinking, and in this episode, Dr. Beth Lamos helps us understand what it is, why we do it, why it may be adaptive, all the ways it can be harmful, and concrete tools and strategies to de-catastrophize our way of thinking.
Resources:
What to Do When Your Mind Always Dwells on the Worst Case Scenario. Harvard Business Review. Published September 15, 2020. Accessed July 20, 2024. Link.
16 Decatastrophizing Tools, Worksheets, and Role-Plays. Positive Psychology. Published September 24, 2020. Accessed July 20, 2024. Link.
As we start a new academic year, Dr. Frayha has been reflecting on the habits that help us survive, and even thrive, in medical school and beyond. How many of these habits are adaptive at first, and then become maladaptive? Why don't we take stock of these habits more often, and assess whether a given behavior (perfectionism, people-pleasing, desire for control, hypervigilance, the list goes on) is still serving us or our patients? In this episode, she shares some guidance around creating opportunities to reevaluate our own ways of being and working, and deciding with intention which habits we should continue versus which ones we should leave behind.
Are you a perfectionist? Chances are, the answer is yes, at least some of the time. How can perfectionism help us, and also how can it hold us back? When do we know the difference? How can we train our brains for the better? Dr. Beth Lamos and Dr. Marissa Flaherty are back with our Personal Growth Program series, this time tackling all things perfectionism.
We all need help sometimes, and the Student Counseling Center at UMB is here for just that reason. We sit down with Dr. Cassie Moon from the counseling center to learn all about the resources available to students, how to access them, overcoming barriers to care, and the importance of recognizing that we are human beings before anything else.
The topic of wellness in medical education has been on quite the journey in recent years. And the OSA's own Dr. John Allen has been on his journey with wellness as a medical student, resident, and attending physician. In this conversation, Dr. Allen shares his own story as well as so many resources and tips for medical students seeking out their own wellness.
What does the former CFO of Pixar have to do with physician burnout and the culture of medicine? You're about to find out: our own Dr. Neda Frayha interviews Dr. Todd Cassese and Lawrence Levy, who helped build Pixar into the company it is today. Together they talk about changing professional cultures, the narrative of medicine being out of sync with the reality of medicine, perfectionism, emotional intelligence, and how Eastern philosophy's The Middle Way can apply to all of our lives. This is part 1 of a conversation that originally aired on Hippo Education's Primary Care Reviews and Perspectives podcast.
Our first episode is on a topic that applies to all of us: wellness. How to thrive. Not just in medicine, but as a human being. Dr. Delia Chiaramonte, a faculty member in the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, teaches us about the perils of black and white thinking, the benefits of gratitude rituals, and how taking a shower can be an act of meditation.