Unplugged: The 6th Vital Sign

2023-05-26

“Flow state is quite honestly the opposite brainwave pattern as grief and burnout. It's the only time your brain produces all five neurochemicals of happiness,” explains host Dr. Lara Salyer. Modern day life for a physician is full of flow disruptors and does not provide many opportunities for creativity and play. Without the chance to play and be creative, it is very difficult if not impossible to enter a flow state. Today, Dr. Lara explains the sixth vital sign, creativity, and how important it is as a burnout prevention too...

Burnout is becoming more and more common in the healthcare industry. Even medical students have been reporting rising rates of burnout among their peers. There are many contributing factors that can lead to burnout, but the root cause boils down to a lack of opportunities for creativity, imagination, and play. Physicians spend less and less time with their patients and more time on administrative tasks like updating electronic medical records and attending mandatory meetings. They have little to no time for relaxation or recovery, little opportunity for gratitude, and much less autonomy over their workday than physicians had in the past. This type of work environment can lead to the three leading characterizations of burnout: depersonalization, low perceived achievement, and emotional exhaustion.

Most modern healthcare professionals have a major lack of work/life balance. One easy fix is to incorporate relaxation, creativity, and playfulness into your work day. If you are ready to make a shift and activate your creativity, take a moment to complete the assessment on Dr. Lara’s website which will provide you with an actionable restoration plan based on your rock, paper, scissors persona.

Quotes

• “If we put our brains under a functional MRI during the grief process, the brainwave pattern is exactly the same as burnout.” (3:05-3:14 | Dr. Lara)

• “Flow state is quite honestly the opposite brainwave pattern as grief and burnout. It's the only time your brain produces all five neurochemicals of happiness.” (7:28-7:40 | Dr. Lara)

• “When you are primed for flow, you produce 100% more meaning, 200% more learning and memory capability, and 430% more innovation. Not to mention you're 500% more productive.” (9:51-10:10 | Dr. Lara)

• “Burnout is characterized by three things, depersonalization and cynicism, low perceived achievement, and emotional exhaustion.” (18:28-18:38 | Dr. Lara)

• “The modern physician’s day is only flow disruptors.” (20:27-20:32 | Dr. Lara)

Links

Rock-Paper-Scissors quiz: https://3nb09zv7070.typeform.com/to/r0OoKwkS

Connect with Lara:

https://drlarasalyer.com/catalyst

Amazon Store front: https://www.amazon.com/shop/drlarasalyer

Free Restoration Plan: https://drlarasalyer.com/catalyst

Website: https://drlarasalyer.com

Instagram: @drlarasalyer

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drlarasalyer

Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlarasalyer/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DrLaraSalyer