Dr. Depen Patel talks about the 10 key things that can improve both your professional and personal life.
Be honest. You have moments of depression. More than you would like.
You accept them as part of the profession, it comes with the territory, everyone goes through them, right? “Dentists have the highest suicide rate of any profession!” will be thrown in your face more times than you can remember, while estranged relatives will try to decipher why you decided to spend your life looking into people’s mouths.
In the modern age of litigation, high patient expectations, and increased demand on an overwhelmed dentist, it's easy to let things get to you. It's even easier to ignore problems and sweep things under the rug. Stress, burnout, anxiety, depression are things you read about, but naturally you don't want to associate them with yourself and, worse,These are sensitive areas that are not easy to open up and discuss.
Ignore them though and eventually the negative thought cycle snowballs and inevitably..., it's time for the "I want to quit dentistry" conversation with those closest to me. A less than ideal position for someone practicing a profession that many consider a dream. Even worse is ignoring these thoughts which is proven to have a long-term impact on your mental health and quality of life.
“Our goals can only be achieved through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe and upon which we must act with vigor. There is no other path to success.”
But before you decide to retire from drilling and make a living baking cookies… Wait, it doesn't have to be like this!
One or all of these suggestions could be the spark that reignites your passion for dentistry. After all, you've studied for years and invested thousands of hours and pounds into deepening your knowledge, so it's not beyond the realm of possibility that dentistry could make you truly happy.
1. Sleep your way to success
Now that I've got your attention, let me explain this in more detail! Daily burnout is an occupational hazard and I'm sure everyone reading this has had that "brain-frying" feeling after a particularly hard day. Your receptionist is trying to squeeze an emergency into your already overcrowded schedule, a patient is late, you're already 20 minutes late, and to top it all off, Mrs. Jones's crown hasn't shown up and you're afraid you're going to have to tell her because she's such a miserable so-and-so. You get to lunch and you're exhausted. You still have an afternoon to spend and your mind starts to wonder "why am I putting myself through this?".
This is where you can use the secret survival method of many world and business leaders. Science has shown that a short nap of no more than 20 minutes, enough to take you into the REM phase of sleep, can leave you feeling refreshed and energized, because for your body it is the equivalent of 3-4 hours of sleep. The surroundings, however, are essential. Close the cabinet door to isolate yourself from the rest of the cabinet, recline your chair, and lie down (it's perfect for taking a nap).
Use an eye mask (I use this) or close the blinds, but most importantly, bring some headphones because it may not be easy to simply fall asleep, but some soothing sounds will help you focus on falling asleep.
My favorite is a 15 minute video with gong sounds. And the best thing is, if you use the same sounds every day, Eventually your brain will know, as soon as it hears them, that you are getting ready to sleep and will become more efficient at falling asleep.
And speaking of sleep, we can't ignore the main session you have at night. It's well documented that, The quality of sleep is actually more important than the quantity. and that'sThe human body is essential for your body to recover from the stress and tensions of the day.
CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) flow increases dramatically during sleep to wash away harmful residual proteins that accumulate between brain cells during waking hours., so you can imagine how much that adds up during a stressful day in surgery! If you struggle to fall asleep easily or get quality sleep, there are tricks that can help that are backed by a number of scientific studies.
- Have the same bedtime every day.
- Do not consume caffeine after 2:00 PM-5:00 PM, basically afternoon coffee should be the last (or switch to decaffeinated coffee).
- You have an alarm 30 minutes before bedtime, at which point you have no more devices (The light from phone screens has been shown to keep your brain waves active, so it's not the best place to start if you're trying to calm down.) iPhones have a night mode you can enable, where the screen automatically dims at a certain time. You can also dim the lights in your house or light candles for an extra calming effect.
- Charge your phone away from your bed, so you won't be tempted to use it before bed.
- Lavender or scented oils on the pillow, along with soothing music.
- By having the same bedtime every day, you will eventually program your brain and body to prepare for sleep., so your sleep quality and ability to fall asleep will increase. It's hard at first, but, just like we tell our patients when it comes to flossing, it's something you have to do to stay healthy!
TOP SLEEP HACKS: An amazing app called Sleep Cycle monitors your sleep pattern and is designed to wake you up only in the lightest phase of sleep. Being awakened during the lightest sleep cycle is key to waking up feeling refreshed. If you wake up during a deep sleep cycle, then you will have that dizzy, almost drunken feeling when you wake up., and this is definitely not the best way to start the day!
2. Wake up early
Following After getting quality sleep, being an early riser is another life hack for happiness. It's no coincidence that the 1%s of the world's top population, successful businessmen and women, and entrepreneurs wake up at 5 a.m. or earlier. A life-changing book on the science behind this is The 5am Club.
Your brain is most efficient and at its highest level of performance first thing in the morning, compared to at night., when it quiets down for the day. Have some quiet time, with no one to disturb you, to do your best work. Reading or watching the news quietly, making your lunch, getting to work on time, etc., all contribute to a happier and calmer start to the day and Avoid the feeling of frenzy and panic when you miss your alarm or are late and arrive at the office already stressed. It's definitely not a good start when you work in a field where you have to be on top of things from the first patient. Unfortunately, for us, there's no hiding behind our desks with a full mug of coffee to ease our day!
3. Be grateful
Go back to your teenage years, when you were looking at college courses and deciding what you wanted to do with your life. What made you choose dentistry? It was most likely the fact that you knew you would have a lifelong career, job security, and the opportunity to help people and get paid well for it.
It's easy to forget all of this when you're dealing with the stress of practice, when you're drowning in treatment plans. or when Karen starts complaining about how long she has to wait for an appointment! An easy way to make the good things far outweigh the bad is a daily gratitude journal.
Backed by science and used by the Dalai Lama, daily gratitude has been shown to improve positivity and make you happier. You can also use it to reflect on difficult times you've been through, which can be a great boost when you're feeling down. It only takes a few minutes, either right before bed or first thing in the morning, start with a few and change them daily.
The difference you will feel once you recognize how lucky we truly are to have health, family, and career cannot be described.
4. Give more than you receive
“I will be happy when I am just…”, just what? To have that new car, that new Chanel bag, that big house with a pool? Does this sound familiar? What the brain experiences when you achieve these material goals is a hit of Dopamine, which is the feel-good hormone. Just remember the phenomenal feeling we all experienced when we unbox a new smartphone or when we receive a new TV, This is Dopamine.. However, after a few months, it's a different story, as the shiny, awe-inspiring purchase has become integrated into your daily life and no longer gives you that warm, happy feeling. So what do you do?
Unfortunately, because dopamine is so addictive, the usual response to this the question is to focus on the next material object to get that shot again. It doesn't take a genius to see that it's no way to live, but we all do it. Material objects cannot compensate for a lack of contentment in life. Tyler Durden from the iconic movie Fight Club said it best: “"You work your whole life to own things, and eventually they end up owning you.".
Having a deferred life plan (or Rat Race, as it is more commonly known) where your happiness is aligned with your material life goals of having a Ferrari or a big house can't work because that could take years or, worse, never happen. And then you're left feeling unhappy until that moment and even more devastated if it doesn't happen, and that's no way to live. You can choose to change this. Above all, remember that you can choose to be happy now.
Happiness is in your head, it comes from within. There is no better feeling than being in the present moment, not thinking about the past or the future, being happy inside and appreciating where you are in life. When you help others, this act of kindness and the feel-good factor that comes with it is a bigger and more sustained Dopamine hit. More importantly, it comes from the heart, from a place of love, and is the behavior that most aligns with the idea of living in the moment and being happy right now, and it is the first step you take to get out of The Rat Race mentality. If you do something for someone else and they show gratitude, that experience and that feeling of gratitude lasts a lifetime.
There are so many dental charity organizations that have been established that provide voluntary dental help in underprivileged countries., and the feeling you get from participating in them is far better than anything Apple's next shiny release can offer. Here are a few options.
5. Have goals
It's the old adage “"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.". I will take it a step further and I will say that if you don't have goals that you are trying to achieve, then you are not growing, stagnate and you have a round trip ticket to live a Groundhog Day everyday (for you younger readers, it's a great movie with the legend that is Bill Murray, look it up!).Our profession emphasizes continuous development, and the reason is that personal development will push you towards greater professional success, but the underlying motivation must be happiness.
“"You could have the best ship in the ocean, but if the captain doesn't have a destination, you'll be floating aimlessly." - Arnold Schwarzenegger."”
Don’t just learn for the sake of learning, figure out what you’re passionate about and focus on that area. Want to work three days a week? Start looking at your schedule to see if that’s possible. Want to become an endodontist? Start looking at MScs. Want to become a dental social media influencer? Start creating content! But you need to plan to work towards achieving these goals.
Write down where you want to go in your career and life, what you want to accomplish, and reverse engineer the steps needed to get there. Have daily, weekly and yearly goals and add them to your life planner, but importantly, don't be hard on yourself if you don't consistently meet them, as long as you move the needle forward every day, that's the most important thing.
In the words of Pablo Picasso, “"Our goals can only be achieved through the vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe and upon which we must act with vigor. There is no other path to success.".
Also, keep in mind that your goals must be realistic.There is a huge trend these days of having envy on social media and being upset or depressed when you don't have as many followers as your fellow dentists or don't do the same type of cosmetic cases as them.
Social media anxiety has contributed to the highest rate of depression among young people in history – and the reason behind it is simple. Seeing other people's lives through a filtered lens increases feelings of inadequacy in our own lives. It doesn't tell the story of the hard work and failures it took to get there.
Success takes time., it's never instant and if you can drown out the noise and focus on yourself, what you love and the value you can provide to your patients and start improving day by day, you will be happier as you start to create a life you are in love with.
Source: enlightensmiles.com
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