The Introverted Doctor

For most of us, especially in the medical field, we will spend a significant time in our work environment. Some of us may end up spending more time there than in our own home. Over the years I’ve learned some key points that leverages a person’s success so that they are more efficient and not struggling as much as they need to.

It seems every year just when I thought I knew all there was to know about creating the best work space, I learn something new. In this podcast I take you behind the scenes to see my clinical office and share with you short cuts and setups I’ve done to make the office safe, friendly for me and the patient. Both are important.   Some tips you may know, others might surprise you.

You can see the video if you go to TheIntrovertedDoctor.com to see the layout and my comments.

Welcome to The Introverted Doctor, the podcast that uncovers myths, mistakes, and misconceptions that hold healthcare professionals back from living their best life at work, home, and play. Each week, Dr. Lalit Chawla will present tips and strategies that you can begin applying right away! He's a full-time Family Physician, Adjunct Professor of Medicine, International Lecture and Writer.   In his former life, he was a professional Illusionist and still uses his skills in his workshops, lectures and in the clinical setting.

He incorporates magic and illusions in his lectures and teaches healthcare professionals how to use magic in a clinical setting and in the rehabilitation setting.

www.TheIntrovertedDoctor.com

Art is human emotion expressed in a physical form.

Sometimes in the medical field, an individual can feel that the work they are doing is meaningless. At times, it gets so predictable, monotonous, repetitive and frankly sometimes boring no matter how much of a difference it is making in people’s lives. 

Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever asked the question, "Is this what I'm going to keep doing day in and day out?" Sometimes we can feel the humdrum or kind of 'blah,’ and not feel excited or charged up. A good friend of mine has been feeling this way and called me up and asked for my perspective. I discussed with him my belief, that if we don't have a creative outlet in our lives, we do not have vitality and energy. Sure, it won’t solve a toxic work place environment, but it can help us survive it and help us to improve it instead of feeling hopeless. 

I believe that we are all creative human beings and we need an outlet to express that creativity. Whether it's doing something such as woodworking, drawing, building something from crafts, knitting, sculpting, or writing. And it doesn't have to be, award-winning stuff or published. You don't have to sell it. Creativity for the sake of creativity that satisfies you alone is enough. You are the only audience that you need. 

Most of us in the world of medicine do so many things that frankly does not require a lot of creativity. It's very logical, left-brain type of thinking. 

In medicine, we don't really have a creative outlet. Note, we may use creative solutions to solve problems in the clinical setting, but you can hardly say that that is highly creative. When we are creating something, we are filling our fundamental need to grow; one of our core basic human needs to thrive. 

So, this podcast episode is all about reconnecting with your creative self. 

I'll ask you one simple question- "are you feeling charged and energized with your day-to-day activities? Do you feel that the sense of vitality and wonder daily and consistently? If you're not, I'm willing to bet that you aren't actively engaged in something creative enough or using your right side of your brain.

If you’re saying Lalit, I'm not creative, or I don't know what to do." Well, then take a quick listen to this very, very short podcast for some key suggestions. You deserve better and can become better, sometimes we simply need a friendly reminder on how to create that vitality and spark.  

Welcome to The Introverted Doctor, the podcast that uncovers myths, mistakes, and misconceptions that hold healthcare professionals back from living their best life at work, home, and play. Each week, Dr. Lalit Chawla will present tips and strategies that you can begin applying right away! He's a full-time Family Physician, Adjunct Professor of Medicine, International Lecture and Writer.   In his former life, he was a professional Illusionist and still uses his skills in his workshops, lectures and in the clinical setting.

He incorporates magic and illusions in his lectures and teaches healthcare professionals how to use magic in a clinical setting and in the rehabilitation setting.

www.TheIntrovertedDoctor.com

“When is helping hurtful?”

We all have the opportunity to help others. In the world of medicine it can be especially challenging to not to overstep that boundary. Sometimes we can end up doing too much for a person that’s ineffective, and that not only applies to a patient, but also our children, friends and colleagues. If you help them too much, you could end up enabling them to be solely dependent on you. While being helpful may make you feel good, the important question is- are you serving them in the long run? But how do you know if you are helping vs. enabling a person, the line may be very thin? 

This quick episode is all about that thin line and I offer you a life lesson that my father taught me.  I’ve shared this with my friends who are in the medical profession and they’ve told me that I needed to turn this lesson into a podcast. I hope you find it meaningful and helpful. I did the best I could to reproduce my dad’s accent and style of talking.

Welcome to The Introverted Doctor, the podcast that uncovers myths, mistakes, and misconceptions that hold healthcare professionals back from living their best life at work, home, and play. Each week, Dr. Lalit Chawla will present tips and strategies that you can begin applying right away! He's a full-time Family Physician, Adjunct Professor of Medicine, International Lecture and Writer.   In his former life, he was a professional Illusionist and still uses his skills in his workshops, lectures and in the clinical setting.

He incorporates magic and illusions in his lectures and teaches healthcare professionals how to use magic in a clinical setting and in the rehabilitation setting.

www.TheIntrovertedDoctor.com

The best advice is no advice

-Lalit Chawla

How do you help well informed people when they don’t know what to do, especially if the situation has so many variables and moving parts? Making decisions that matter can be hard because of varied emotions, competing priorities and unknown elements that creates confusion for the decision maker. 

When the person seeking your opinion is looking for you for good advice, the last thing you want to do is lead them astray. The stakes are even higher when it applies to people you know intimately well.

How do you know what to do to truly help them?  Ironically, the answer is quite a simple one and is something you probably know but forget to do. After I share this with you, you’ll more than likely say “yes of course, I should remember to do this more often.” 

I’ll share with you about an interesting case when a surgeon colleague came to me for help and I didn’t know what to say but I was able to help with one simple sentence. You’ll want to remember this sentence and I won’t spoil it for you by revealing it here; besides it will only make sense when you here the story.

You’ll find this episode not only helpful in your work situation, but it also applies if you want to ask someone out on a date, buy a house or any decision that is difficult or frightening.

Welcome to The Introverted Doctor, the podcast that uncovers myths, mistakes, and misconceptions that hold healthcare professionals back from living their best life at work, home, and play. Each week, Dr. Lalit Chawla will present tips and strategies that you can begin applying right away! He's a full-time Family Physician, Adjunct Professor of Medicine, International Lecture and Writer.   In his former life, he was a professional Illusionist and still uses his skills in his workshops, lectures and in the clinical setting.

He incorporates magic and illusions in his lectures and teaches healthcare professionals how to use magic in a clinical setting and in the rehabilitation setting.

www.TheIntrovertedDoctor.com

"It's not the 7th bad shot you hit that wrecks your game, it's all the thoughts that lead you to that 7th shot".

This is a quick win podcast and it’s how a golf pro schooled me on how to become a better doctor (or anything else for that matter). This is a very quick podcast (approximately 12 min) and I won’t spoil things by saying too much about it here. If you like golf this will definitely resonate with you, if you’ve never played it, I’m confident that it will still give you some insight in terms of how a sport can affect the way you perform.

The funny thing was that I wasn’t even playing golf when I was schooled by the California golf pro. It’s an interesting reproduction of that conversation and a terrible accent on my part.

Welcome to The Introverted Doctor, the podcast that uncovers myths, mistakes, and misconceptions that hold healthcare professionals back from living their best life at work, home, and play. Each week, Dr. Lalit Chawla will present tips and strategies that you can begin applying right away! He's a full-time Family Physician, Adjunct Professor of Medicine, International Lecture and Writer.   In his former life, he was a professional Illusionist and still uses his skills in his workshops, lectures and in the clinical setting.

He incorporates magic and illusions in his lectures and teaches healthcare professionals how to use magic in a clinical setting and in the rehabilitation setting.

www.TheIntrovertedDoctor.com

The 1 % Principle-Why We Struggle with Micro-changes

Failure and disappointment comes when our focus is on long term results without celebrating our short term goals and achievements.

This short podcast episode deals with a question I recently had from Michael:

 “How do you create the momentum and the excitement of daily changes and not lose that sense of newness when you first start making that change? Sometimes it seems hard to be enthusiastic about the day to day changes I’m making even though I know why I need to and how to do it.”

Sustaining momentum daily is a common struggle we all have, but consistent achievers use two key principles to keep them motivated; it’s not difficult but it’s always done.  Also, in our western culture we wrongly celebrate our accomplishments; see below. 

The first principle:

Focus only on changing 1% daily.  For the majority of us it is difficult for us to change our whole life and implement a new habit or behaviour by trying to be the “new you” immediately.  

So often we try to change a habit or implement a new change in a big way and for many of us we will stumble and fall short and feel frustrated and then quit. 

Setting up small tangible wins daily and focus on improving yourself 1% daily is the first step to success. I call it the 1% principle, because all we can control is our moment to moment thoughts and actions.  

Take time out of the equation.

The second principle:

Remember to Celebrate your Wins! Remember to celebrate the 1 % change you’ve made daily.

Daily celebration is the key to feeling that you are moving in the right direction. Failure and disappointment comes when our focus is on long term results without celebrating or focusing on short term goals or achievements. 

In the western culture we only celebrate certain big milestones.  We forget the little steps we took along the way. We live in a culture of limited and narrow idea of celebration.  

This narrow-minded thinking impedes our ability to grow. Celebrate all your wins, regardless of size, on a daily basis with vigor, that changes the way you feel. Are you celebrating to your full capacity? You should and you deserve to celebrate yourself. 

How do you celebrate?

Welcome to The Introverted Doctor, the podcast that uncovers myths, mistakes, and misconceptions that hold healthcare professionals back from living their best life at work, home, and play. Each week, Dr. Lalit Chawla will present tips and strategies that you can begin applying right away! He's a full-time Family Physician, Adjunct Professor of Medicine, International Lecture and Writer.   In his former life, he was a professional Illusionist and still uses his skills in his workshops, lectures and in the clinical setting.

He incorporates magic and illusions in his lectures and teaches healthcare professionals how to use magic in a clinical setting and in the rehabilitation setting.

www.TheIntrovertedDoctor.com

Special Interview with Dena Moitoso: 

“Like Love, Grief is a Lifetime Commitment”

Sept 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day

Suicide is the second leading cause of death in adolescents

Approximately 300 doctors die from suicide a year in America 

Nurses have higher rates of suicide than the general population

Approximately 800,000 people a year die from Suicide worldwide

Dena Moitoso is a registered psychotherapist and holds a master's degree in psychology with a specialization in traumatic bereavement. For over 20 years Dena has provided individual and family counselling to those grieving the loss of a loved one. She is a founding member of the Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council (WRSPC) and the local chapter for Bereaved Families of Ontario.  In addition to her own private practice, Dena is the professional consultant for WRSPC, and she presents on many workshops related to bereavement throughout the province.

It is Dena’s personal experience with loss which compliments her knowledge and understanding of the challenges of grief. 

Dena Moitoso M.Sc., Psych.  CRPO, OACCPP

Registered Psychotherapist

In Part 2, I talk with Dena about an uncomfortable but important subject- Suicide and Traumatic Bereavement and PTSD.

Dena breaks down some misconceptions and shares how to help people understand grief, post-traumatic stress, suicide and navigating the emotions around those issues. 

In this episode:

- Dena goes into further detail about brain physiology and how different areas of our brain        remembers or stores information. How we learn certain environmental cues such as being afraid of the dark, for example.

- She uncovers how our brain processes trauma, violence and death. 

 -The important dos and don’ts when counselling or consoling a person or family who has lost a loved one, including the language, we use around death and suicide.

- She’s very helpful in clarifying survivors' thoughts and feelings after a loved one dies from suicide. 

- The questions they have “what could I have done?” and how to reword it.

- The important question family members can ask after a person has died from suicide.

- How to do Grief work and the role of support groups-when and if a person should join one and the hazards of doing it too quickly to overcome traumatic events.

- She clarifies some details regarding the choices individuals make when a person dies from suicide.

- The language to use when there is a traumatic death.

- Why we need to talk and decompress in our lives and how that behaviour helps in times of bereavement.

- She explains why hope is important in our lives

If you have ever suffered from a personal loss or know someone who has,you will find both these episodes incredibly helpful.

Welcome to The Introverted Doctor, the podcast that uncovers myths, mistakes, and misconceptions that hold healthcare professionals back from living their best life at work, home, and play. Each week, Dr. Lalit Chawla will present tips and strategies that you can begin applying right away! He's a full-time Family Physician, Adjunct Professor of Medicine, International Lecture and Writer.   In his former life, he was a professional Illusionist and still uses his skills in his workshops, lectures and in the clinical setting.

He incorporates magic and illusions in his lectures and teaches healthcare professionals how to use magic in a clinical setting and in the rehabilitation setting.

www.TheIntrovertedDoctor.com

“Grief is another form of Love”

We all will eventually deal with the loss of a loved one and deal with grief.

Dena Moitoso is a registered psychotherapist and holds a master's degree in psychology with a specialization in traumatic bereavement. For over 20 years Dena has provided individual and family counselling to those grieving the loss of a loved one. She is a founding member of the Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council (WRSPC) and the local chapter for Bereaved Families of Ontario.  In addition to her own private practice, Dena is the professional consultant for WRSPC, and she presents on many workshops related to bereavement throughout the province.

It is Dena’s personal experience with loss which compliments her knowledge and understanding of the challenges of grief.

Dena Moitoso M.Sc., Psych.  CRPO, OACCPP

Registered Psychotherapist

In this section, Dena talks about a car accident that led to a tragic personal loss and how that led her to become a grief counsellor. I also get a little personal about the loss of my mother, who died from metastatic breast cancer at 52 and the confusion I had around that.

Deena has so many tools and strategies to help people understand all about grief, post-traumatic stress, suicide and to how to navigate the emotions and behaviours around those issues.

In this first episode, she shares the whys and hows to help people who have lost someone. We talk about:

- How men and women grieve differently and how that affects their relationships

- We talk about the whole task of grieving

- A brief history of how people grieved

- Tools to help overcome the loss of a loved one

- How to behave around someone who lost a child

- The dance between joy and suffering

- Tools and strategies on how to manage grief and get back to living

- How different age groups deal with death, from children, adolescents, adults and the elderly

- How our hormonal levels change in grief and stress

- How our sleep is affected and the exercise to remedy the overactive mind

- How grief affects our breathing and how to easily overcome it

If you have ever suffered from a personal loss, or you know someone who has, you will find these episodes incredibly helpful. The interview was rich and had so much content and information that I made it a two-part series.

I first met Dena when she gave a workshop about grief, trauma and death and I was so impressed by the knowledge, stories and strategies she shared in that workshop. She is such an eloquent speaker, teacher and counsellor.

Welcome to The Introverted Doctor, the podcast that uncovers myths, mistakes, and misconceptions that hold healthcare professionals back from living their best life at work, home, and play. Each week, Dr. Lalit Chawla will present tips and strategies that you can begin applying right away! He's a full-time Family Physician, Adjunct Professor of Medicine, International Lecture and Writer.   In his former life, he was a professional Illusionist and still uses his skills in his workshops, lectures and in the clinical setting.

He incorporates magic and illusions in his lectures and teaches healthcare professionals how to use magic in a clinical setting and in the rehabilitation setting.

www.TheIntrovertedDoctor.com

We are a reflection of who we associate with.

We, especially introverts, interact with all kinds of people from patients, to colleagues, to people and we can still feel quite lonely and isolated. Additionally, there is a misconception that introverts can only recharge ourselves by being alone - that’s not true.  We can, and do, recharge ourselves by being around the right kind of people - ’Growth Friends’.

The most successful people in the world, whether they are an athlete, counselor, physician, nurse, teacher, great parent, need encouragement and a different perspective when they are down or have self-doubt. No one is immune to feeling let down, tired, incompetent etc.  Struggle is a universal human experience but when we align ourselves with people who we trust, and who elevate our thinking, we can then create better outcomes in all areas of our lives.

In this episode I share with you:

- What is a Growth Friend?

- Why having a Growth Friend helps you become more successful, solve loneliness and elevates your life

- How to find the right kind of Growth Friend

- How to ask someone to become a Growth Friend and create a meaningful friendship

- How to set up parameters and a system so you both benefit

- What to talk about in your conversations and how to elevate the conversations

Something a Growth Friend can do:

- Remind you of your abilities and talents you have

- They see positive things about you that you may have overlooked and forgotten

- They see different perspectives and solutions that can help you

- They create an opportunity where you can contribute to making their life better

- Help you refocus on what matters to you and your life goals

- We all deserve to have great Growth Friends that we connect with, who is your Growth Friend and are you leveraging and improving that friendship?

Welcome to The Introverted Doctor, the podcast that uncovers myths, mistakes, and misconceptions that hold healthcare professionals back from living their best life at work, home, and play. Each week, Dr. Lalit Chawla will present tips and strategies that you can begin applying right away! He's a full-time Family Physician, Adjunct Professor of Medicine, International Lecture and Writer.   In his former life, he was a professional Illusionist and still uses his skills in his workshops, lectures and in the clinical setting.

He incorporates magic and illusions in his lectures and teaches healthcare professionals how to use magic in a clinical setting and in the rehabilitation setting.

www.TheIntrovertedDoctor.com

We are a reflection of who we associate with.

We, especially introverts, interact with all kinds of people from patients, to colleagues, to people and we can still feel quite lonely and isolated. Additionally, there is a misconception that introverts can only recharge ourselves by being alone - that’s not true.  We can, and do, recharge ourselves by being around the right kind of people - ’Growth Friends’.

The most successful people in the world, whether they are an athlete, counselor, physician, nurse, teacher, great parent, need encouragement and a different perspective when they are down or have self-doubt. No one is immune to feeling let down, tired, incompetent etc.  Struggle is a universal human experience but when we align ourselves with people who we trust, and who elevate our thinking, we can then create better outcomes in all areas of our lives.

In this episode I share with you:

- What is a Growth Friend?

- Why having a Growth Friend helps you become more successful, solve loneliness and elevates your life

- How to find the right kind of Growth Friend

- How to ask someone to become a Growth Friend and create a meaningful friendship 

- How to set up parameters and a system so you both benefit

- What to talk about in your conversations and how to elevate the conversations

Something a Growth Friend can do:

- Remind you of your abilities and talents you have

- They see positive things about you that you may have overlooked and forgotten

- They see different perspectives and solutions that can help you

- They create an opportunity where you can contribute to making their life better

- Help you refocus on what matters to you and your life goals

- We all deserve to have great Growth Friends that we connect with, who is your Growth Friend and are you leveraging and improving that friendship? 

Welcome to The Introverted Doctor, the podcast that uncovers myths, mistakes, and misconceptions that hold healthcare professionals back from living their best life at work, home, and play. Each week, Dr. Lalit Chawla will present tips and strategies that you can begin applying right away! He's a full-time Family Physician, Adjunct Professor of Medicine, International Lecture and Writer.   In his former life, he was a professional Illusionist and still uses his skills in his workshops, lectures and in the clinical setting.

He incorporates magic and illusions in his lectures and teaches healthcare professionals how to use magic in a clinical setting and in the rehabilitation setting.

www.TheIntrovertedDoctor.com