Post-Shift Rituals

[scummie]

Having a hard time “turning off” after a shift. I’ll be at home with my family which is all I want to do during my shift, but when I finally get home, can’t stop thinking about work. I don’t do any charting at home, ever. It’s just this persistent tenseness from work and it’s hard to engage with home life because I’m mentally still at work.

What do you guys do to flip the switch to actually relax? Do I need to start hitting the gym after an 11 hour shift?

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[Fox800]

Having a hard time “turning off” after a shift. I’ll be at home with my family which is all I want to do during my shift, but when I finally get home, can’t stop thinking about work. I don’t do any charting at home, ever. It’s just this persistent tenseness from work and it’s hard to engage with home life because I’m mentally still at work.

What do you guys do to flip the switch to actually relax? Do I need to start hitting the gym after an 11 hour shift?

Cook a meal and listen to music. It helps to have something procedurally different. Helps me get my mind off of things.

 

[Groove]

Don't work out or run, that just revs you up and makes it more difficult to sleep. I take a few Valerian root, melatonin and take a hot bath. I then get in bed and stream some shows. I usually can drift off within an hour or so. If you're really having trouble on certain nights, an Rx for ambien can be a life saver. If I've got the next day off, I may have some scotch and sit up while reading/watching t.v. but in general I don't like to eat/drink anything right before bed.

 

[Listen2Savage]

I may have some scotch

If i get started on the sauce im up

 

[gamerEMdoc]

Having a hard time “turning off” after a shift. I’ll be at home with my family which is all I want to do during my shift, but when I finally get home, can’t stop thinking about work. I don’t do any charting at home, ever. It’s just this persistent tenseness from work and it’s hard to engage with home life because I’m mentally still at work.

What do you guys do to flip the switch to actually relax? Do I need to start hitting the gym after an 11 hour shift?

This is actually one of my FAVORITE things about working all nights. I fall asleep shortly after I get home, and by the time I wake up, I never think about the night before.

 

[Tenk]

Hit the gym. Fixes everything.

 

[NYEMMED]

Having a hard time “turning off” after a shift. I’ll be at home with my family which is all I want to do during my shift, but when I finally get home, can’t stop thinking about work. I don’t do any charting at home, ever. It’s just this persistent tenseness from work and it’s hard to engage with home life because I’m mentally still at work.

What do you guys do to flip the switch to actually relax? Do I need to start hitting the gym after an 11 hour shift?

I have the same exact issue. It usually takes me hours of mindless TV or books to calm down enough to want to sleep.

 

[Angry Birds]

I have the same exact issue. It usually takes me hours of mindless TV or books to calm down enough to want to sleep.

Same. I have to watch sitcom reruns like the Office or Seinfeld. Something easy on the brain, not hilarious either (since I've seen them so many times).

I use Melatonin but I'm trying to titrate down on this and maybe stop. I'm worried about dementia and other unforeseen effects down the line. Dont want to risk my life on waiting for a good study.

I also have Trazadone which I use PRN.

 

[thegenius]

Having a hard time “turning off” after a shift. I’ll be at home with my family which is all I want to do during my shift, but when I finally get home, can’t stop thinking about work. I don’t do any charting at home, ever. It’s just this persistent tenseness from work and it’s hard to engage with home life because I’m mentally still at work.

What do you guys do to flip the switch to actually relax? Do I need to start hitting the gym after an 11 hour shift?

How long have you been practicing for?

 

[gro2001]

Having a hard time “turning off” after a shift. I’ll be at home with my family which is all I want to do during my shift, but when I finally get home, can’t stop thinking about work. I don’t do any charting at home, ever. It’s just this persistent tenseness from work and it’s hard to engage with home life because I’m mentally still at work.

What do you guys do to flip the switch to actually relax? Do I need to start hitting the gym after an 11 hour shift?

I find it often takes about an hour or two to wash out the shift from the system and for the alarms to stop ringing. The more solitude you can get, the quicker that happens. Contrary to popular opinion, I think that listening to music or a sitcom actually slows down the process, as your brain is still processing inputs from other people. If you can resist the temptation to listen to something or to read something on your commute home it will go a long way to resetting your mental state back to normal.

 

[deleted109597]

Read. Not facebook, not SDN. Something substantive.
I promise it works. It's why I read to my kids every night.

 

[deleted836128]

This is a good post. Lots of helpful suggestions.

I have a super hard time “coming down” from a shift. I feel like I was on crack for twelve hours and then suddenly everything stops. I have a hard time winding down when I get home... I replay cases in my mind and often check out this forum.

Some things that I know do help me that I do every time I felt off a shift, no matter the time... 1) hot bath with my favorite body wash (Lush Sleepy shower gel... TRY IT!), 2) a huge meal (seriously, no matter what time), and 3) Zzzquil gummies (they just work!).

 

[Doctor-S]

Having a hard time “turning off” after a shift. I’ll be at home with my family which is all I want to do during my shift, but when I finally get home, can’t stop thinking about work. I don’t do any charting at home, ever. It’s just this persistent tenseness from work and it’s hard to engage with home life because I’m mentally still at work.

What do you guys do to flip the switch to actually relax? Do I need to start hitting the gym after an 11 hour shift?

As soon as I get home, I'm greeted by a purring little cat who wants nothing but love and affection.

Poof!
The tension switch flips right off - works every time.

 

[AlmostAnMD]

I have little to add other than a third consecutive cat avatar

but if I posted content, it would be similar to above

 

[PianoMedic]

I'm still figuring this out myself. What might help is thinking about what about the shift is keeping your mind there. Was it a cool case or something interesting? Was it a mistake or very difficult case? Just adrenaline from the day still coursing through you? For me, it's usually a mix of the above. What I find helps is talking through the cases. Either with a peer or with my wife. I hate dumping bad cases or bringing her too much into the dark that we see daily, but sometimes just having her there to listen is enough to let me get the shift off my mind and focus on her and the kiddo. I'll mention when I have bad cases to her but I don't like to talk about them with her in any detail. That I leave for when talking with another physician, usually my father.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[scummie]

Lots of good suggestions here, thanks. Trying to avoid alcohol and do this in a way that’s sustainable. Have been out now for about 1.5 years. Clinically, doing great, no issues with evals, have had some great saves.

As soon as I get in the door, there’s so many things that need my attention and feel like it would be hard to just say hi to my spouse while I read a book for 30 minutes after being gone all day. Unfortunately, cuddles from my two amazing dogs doesn’t flip the switch either. There’s something to be said about trying an activity that engages you mentally. Maybe that’s why the netfix and chill approach isn’t working. I like the cooking idea for sure. Maybe a post shift boxing workout isn’t a bad idea either. As an introvert, find the constant social interaction during a shift draining, so some recharging is probably in order.

Keep em coming.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Meditate in your car before you drive home? (If you're into that sort of thing.)

 

[deleted109597]

Honestly, and this sounds new age hipster BS, but listening to podcasts on Buddhism and Stoicism have been really, really helpful at realigning my priorities.
I still listen to other podcasts (Timesuck, DFTB, medic mindset, WEMcast, etc), but those are less frequent. My daily listening has been philosophy. I also don't actually listen to the radio anymore.

 

[Dr Mantis Toboggan]

Any ones in particular I should check out? There’s no doubt if my ancestors were alive and saw my life today they’d slap me across the face for complaining about anything. I need to realign my thinking.

Honestly, and this sounds new age hipster BS, but listening to podcasts on Buddhism and Stoicism have been really, really helpful at realigning my priorities.
I still listen to other podcasts (Timesuck, DFTB, medic mindset, WEMcast, etc), but those are less frequent. My daily listening has been philosophy. I also don't actually listen to the radio anymore.

 

[deleted109597]

Practical Stoic (Simon Drew)
Secular Buddhism (Noah Rasheta)
Partially Examined Life (Linsenmayer)
Philosophy Bites (Edmonds and Warburton)

 

[dchristismi]

I am not much for podcasts except for long drives (which are few and far between these days), but keep The Daily Stoic on my nightstand to end the day. Stoicism (and Buddhism to a lesser extent) have also helped me realign and take some leaps of faith. Definitely worth looking into, although I will say that finding the best translations can be hit or miss. I love Marcus Aurelius's Meditations now, but struggled with it until I came across the translation by Hays.

The Daily Stoic amazon link.

There's a website as well, but there's something about a hardcover book...

 

[deleted109597]

Agreed that long drives are better for longer podcasts.
Thankfully Practical Stoic and Secular Buddhist are typically 8-20 minutes long, so applicable for short drives. The Daily Stoic also has podcasts, and Ryan Holiday is pretty awesome.
Unlike timesuck, which went from 30min to 60min to 150 min. But it's still pretty awesome.

 

[deleted547339]

What’s your sleep setup? Also, how late are you drinking caffeine. I’m a big proponent of fan, eye cover (I don’t care how feminine it is) and ear plugs. Post nights: Melatonin and small quantities of benadryl plus a good exercise.

What time does your shift end? Ending at 11, I’m usually not asleep before 1.

 

[TheTruckGuy]

So a couple things to try.

A diary - if you're caught up about something that happened at work, or wondering how a patient did, if you made the right decision, how incompetent and dysfunction your ED is, this is a good way to just get your thoughts out of your head and onto paper.
Exercise - if you're trying to wind down, the exercise will give a catecholamine surge, and when you come down from that surge you'll feel a bit more relaxed
Eat healthy - diet has an extraordinary effect on how we feel
Caffeine - I'm very sensitive to it, and it seems to take a very long time to get out of my system. So I rarely drink it and it seems to keep me from having too much energy and a difficult time sleeping when I get home
Alcohol/ambien/benadryl/etc - I don't drink at all, but if you do, make sure you're not using it as a crutch to wind down, as it doen't fix anything
Meditation - I'm not really a meditator, though I really wish I was. But there are apps that you can try. It doesn't have to be super hippy type stuff, but it can be helpful for a lot of issues

I'm not going to endorse this in anyway, but I've heard some very good things about CBD that make me want to try it. I still think it falls into the alchol/ambien/etc crutch category, but everyone I've talked to that uses it that have used those others as sleep aids say that none of them are anywhere near as good as CBD.

Just some thoughts.