How can you be kinder to yourself?

[samsunimomo]

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I'm three clerkships into third year and I'm realizing that whenever I make a mistake or fall short of my goals, I end up being overly self-critical and mull over the mistake in my mind over and over again to the point where it's affecting my sleep. A friend told me that I need to be kinder to myself. Although I have insight regarding my tendency to self-flagellate, turning the self criticism off has been challenging, particularly since this tendency is what allowed me to succeed in high school and college. However, now that I'm in medical school, self-criticism is doing me more harm than good.

Any tips on being kinder to myself? I exercise whenever I can, eat healthy foods, and recently subscribed to Headspace at the advice of an upperclassman. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[CharlieBillings]

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[imtheman25]

M1 noob here

I fish (and fail) while basically sitting in a serene natural environment for hours. Helps let everything go. Something close to meditation I guess.

I also play video games and beat people at them, and then I feel like a winner (even though its worthless). Totally distracts your mind and you feel satisfied.

Kudos for recognizing you are noob.

But OP meditation and yoga are key!!

 

[Tenk]

I go the gym after work to let out pure unfiltered rage. Works great.

Self reflection is good. It’s why after bad cases hospitals will usually have a conference to go over everything with everyone involved. It’s not to point blame but to try to learn and improve as a group. It just comes down to why you are self reflecting. Are you self reflecting to improve yourself or degrade yourself?