Jason Brooks, PhD is a performance coach who works with physicians, athletes, and the military, helping them develop the cognitive skills not only to operate at the highest level, but to thrive no matter what the task. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jason has been working with frontline clinicians, helping and guiding them through the cognitive and emotional aspects of what’s happening. This episode will give us strategies to mentally prepare for each day. It will show us how to find an anchor to ground us so that rather than feeling like we’re constantly running defense, we’re actually on offense. 

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We discuss:

• How pandemic medicine may be more dangerous to the healthcare provider than battlefield medicine, from the Happy MD blog [02:24];
• Two big emotions experienced by people on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic:  the fear of uncertainty and the lack of control [05:42];
• How we should keep our focus small and put our attention on the things that we feel some degree of certainty about [07:25];
• Ways people have created leadership and command centers to handle information overload [09:40];
• Strategies for managing the stress, anxiety, and fear that comes with working in the COVID-19 environment [11:55];
• The 2 things fear needs to know:  that you hear it and that you have a plan to keep yourself safe [14:35];
• The tipping point between being scared and feeling panic [15:35];
• The importance of flipping your perspective from being on the defense to being on the offense [17:45];
• The value of adding purpose where there is uncertainty and fear [19:00];
• Tools for handling moments of stress, panic or fear [22:30];
• Anti-fragility and how it compares with resilience [23:52];
• How some people perform better as the favorite, but others prefer being the underdog [29:00];
• Ways to “pregame” before entering the COVID-19 environment, and how your pre-performance plan can be thought of as a prayer [31:30];
• Why showing compassion to your fear and embracing it as a part of you is far better than resisting it [42:00];
• How the aftermath of COVID-19 will need space for healing, processing, and recovery [44:10].