NOTE: This episode contains conversations regarding mental health crises and suicide. Please listen with care.

In this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt and Dr. Janet West discuss:

• How evaluation and performance can be linked to our mental health

• How training in healthcare can push us to be perfectionistic

• How importance connection with others is critical to our wellbeing

• How to reach out to others who are struggling

• The neurobiology of stress and burnout and how to recognize it

Janet West is a family physician, assistant professor, residency teaching faculty, hospital leader, and mother of three. She is also a military medical officer and flight surgeon and has been assigned to multiple operational units, including deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Horn of Africa. After completing certifications in physician wellbeing and leadership, her passion for physician wellness became more personal and emboldened after experiencing and recovering from her own mental health crisis. She now dedicates her time and energy to teaching medical students, residents, and fellow faculty about what wellness and resilience truly are, how our brains and the norms of our culture and profession can increase our risk of mental health challenges, and helping them build the self-awareness and connection we need to thrive as humans who happen to practice medicine.

Quote:

"I truly found myself by losing myself." - Dr. Janet West

"We push ourselves so hard to manage any problem that presents itself and we expect to have all the answers and show no weakness. This is unobtainable and yet the expectation." - Dr. Janet West

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