Dr Amit Sharma joins to discuss the effects of taking on too many of other people’s burdens and how you can prevent them from weighing you down.

Episode Highlights

[05:28] What Is A Naughty Monkey?

• Naughty monkeys are burdens that clients carry.
• These burdens sometimes stay and weigh down on professionals like doctors and lawyers.

[08:58] What Happens If You Don’t Give The Naughty Monkeys Back?

• We become drained and burdened.
• We end up developing a cycle wherein patients unburden their issues, and they weigh us down.

[10:59] What Really Burdens Us

• We are burdened by ownership and responsibilities.
• Our client’s naughty monkeys are not for us to own or take away.
• Stay professional and set a boundary.

[18:16] What Do We Do When We Fear Complaints?

• Complaints may lead to us overly taking responsibility because we want to please and be liked.

[22:23] How to Take Off the Role of the Rescuer

• If we can’t give the victim a solution for their problem, we are put into the persecutor role and receive complaints.
• Understanding the consultation and dynamics at play help us unpack and change the way we consult. 

[24:36] How to Spot If You Are in a Rescuer Role

• Signs of being a rescuer include struggling with managing your workload and personal dissatisfaction with work.

[29:59] The Cost of Saying Yes to Everything

• Patients are not empowered to manage their health.
• It can cost you your colleagues, other clinicians and your patients.

[34:16] The Superhero Complex

• The hero complex is using prescriptions to solve people’s problems.
• Medication creates dependency. 

[40:59] How To Hand Back Naughty Monkeys

• Understand the actual issues during the consultation.
• Make it clear that you and the patient are in a partnership.
• Seek the perspective of someone outside work or with a different personality.
• Seek other avenues of support

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Podcast Links

• Permission to Thrive CPD club for doctors
• Medics Money Podcast
• Connect with Amit: LinkedIn
• E27: On pandemic stress and anxiety
• E36: On COVID fatigue
• E63: How to Survive Even When Times are Tough

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