Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Why doctors can’t rest

Marion McCrary, MD
Physician
May 20, 2021
716 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

“How beautiful it is to do nothing and then rest afterward.”
– Spanish Proverb.

I saw this on a bookmark in a beautiful inn on the coast of South Carolina called the Sanctuary.  This is a place I go to vacation, but I find I rarely escape.  You see, there are rare times I truly do nothing or simply rest.  Sleep at night does not count.

For many of my adult years, I have been going to Charleston and Kiawah Island to see family. Then during the tumultuous financial fall of 2008, they were begging for people to come stay at the Sanctuary, and we found ourselves celebrating a milestone anniversary there. We were hooked. For most of the subsequent years, I have returned at least once.  I always find some excuse:  a medical conference held there or a destination race.   It is a place of beauty and leisure time that you can fill up with many things.   Because there is always another excuse for me to go, it is hard to do nothing and rest after, as the bookmark said.

Or perhaps, it is hard for me to set myself up for a situation where I just do nothing and rest after.

When I go to the beach by myself or with family, I take all this stuff that I might have time to work on while I am there.

Do not laugh, but one year I went alone in July (my husband was on a guy’s golf trip to Scotland), and I took the envelopes for my Christmas cards to address them while I had downtime.  There is a whole separate story as to why I had already bought Christmas cards by July, but that is for another time.   I also had three movies downloaded to watch in the evenings if I ran out of things to do.

Time for me always, it seems, needs to be filled, useful, or purposeful.  It is hard just to be.

Maybe it is because I feel like I have so much to do, and I feel overwhelmed often. To try to mitigate this, I try to be productive all the time. If I am not productive, I feel guilty. I feel regret if I do not use my time wisely.

This Christmas card addressing in July took place when I felt burned out and often overwhelmed.  I also felt that since I was on my own and not with family, I was under higher pressure to get stuff done.  Why not?

There was another time when I went to a conference there which met in the mornings only. So, in the afternoon, I went to the beach to spend my time doing MKSAP board study tests under the umbrella while taking small breaks to walk down to the ocean.   There was such a time crunch, not enough time to study, so why not do it while I was away from the office.

Then, it will not be a surprise to you that I had a year off from practice between switching health systems in 2020 that I did not lounge on the porch every day.  Someone close to me had said that if I took a sabbatical year, I could not sleep in every day and watch TV all day.   Well, did I show them!  I could not let this year go to waste, so I filled it up with all the ways I could imagine to be productive despite a pandemic.  And despite the fact of no clinical job, I did not get all the things done that I wanted to get done.

I think doctors are just wired that way.  We are productive. We get things done. It is expected.  We are supposed to do more, do it all, and be all the things to all the people.   We come to a point where we try to satisfy this, and then we cannot do enough for ourselves.  We cannot rest.  We must keep trying to check things off the list to get things done.   And it is overwhelming. It does lead to burnout.

I am still a work in progress. I am writing this on a work night because it is burning in my brain, wanting to come out.  Perhaps I should be doing nothing, resting for a full day.  But if I do that, I will feel guilty that I have wasted this time when I could have been putting my thoughts down on paper.  The mind is always going.

This is me, but I think it applies to many other physicians.  Look at your habits and see if you have some of my same tendencies.  If you do, let’s start talking about how to reverse this tide of overwhelm to create some time for yourself when you are doing nothing and not regretting it.

Marion McCrary is an internal medicine physician and can be reached at Marion McCrary Wellness.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

10 replaceable thoughts (and 15 books) to help you survive burnout

May 20, 2021 Kevin 0
…
Next

4 steps to convincing health care colleagues to get vaccinated

May 20, 2021 Kevin 1
…

Tagged as: Primary Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
10 replaceable thoughts (and 15 books) to help you survive burnout
Next Post >
4 steps to convincing health care colleagues to get vaccinated

More by Marion McCrary, MD

  • National Physician Suicide Awareness Day: Break the silence

    Marion McCrary, MD
  • A word of advice from one chief resident to another

    Marion McCrary, MD

Related Posts

  • Why do doctors who hate being doctors still practice?

    Kristin Puhl, MD
  • Doctors: It’s time to unionize

    Thomas D. Guastavino, MD
  • Doctors die. But the good ones leave a legacy.

    Jaime B. Gerber, MD
  • Lawmakers don’t care for our patients. Doctors do.

    Joanna Bisgrove, MD
  • When doctors are right

    Sophia Zilber
  • We’re doctors. We signed the book.

    Jonathan Peters, MD

More in Physician

  • A mentor’s legacy in medicine, leadership, and embracing evidence-based care

    Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA
  • Breaking free from restrictive covenants to combat burnout

    Raya E. Kheirbek, MD
  • From medical student to intern: Discovering a deeper connection with patients

    Johnathan Yao, MD, MPH
  • A physician’s typical day, as envisioned by a non-clinician health care MBA: a satire

    Jennifer Lycette, MD
  • Decoding name displays in health care: Privacy, identification, and compliance unveiled

    Deepak Gupta, MD
  • Master time management with 7 productivity strategies for optimal results

    Farzana Hoque, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Boxing legends Tyson and Foreman: powerful lessons for a resilient and evolving health care future

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Physician
    • We need a new Hippocratic Oath that puts patient autonomy first

      Jeffrey A. Singer, MD | Physician
    • A physician’s typical day, as envisioned by a non-clinician health care MBA: a satire

      Jennifer Lycette, MD | Physician
    • Is chaos in health care leading us towards socialized medicine? How physician burnout is a catalyst.

      Howard Smith, MD | Physician
    • Decoding name displays in health care: Privacy, identification, and compliance unveiled

      Deepak Gupta, MD | Physician
    • Unlocking resilience: a powerful journey from trauma to transformation [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • It’s time to replace the 0 to 10 pain intensity scale with a better measure

      Mark Sullivan, MD and Jane Ballantyne, MD | Conditions
    • “Is your surgeon really skilled? The hidden threat to public safety in medicine.

      Gene Uzawa Dorio, MD | Physician
    • Unveiling the hidden damage: the secretive world of medical boards

      Alan Lindemann, MD | Physician
    • Breaking the cycle of racism in health care: a call for anti-racist action

      Tomi Mitchell, MD | Policy
    • Revolutionize your practice: the value-based care model that reduces physician burnout

      Chandravadan Patel, MD | Physician
    • An inspiring tribute to an exceptional radiologist who made a lasting impact

      Kim Downey, PT | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Unlocking resilience: a powerful journey from trauma to transformation [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Overcoming the lies of depression: Senator John Fetterman’s struggle with mental health

      Harvey Max Chochinov, MD, PhD | Conditions
    • Master the ABIM Certification exam with effective strategies: insider tips for success

      Farzana Hoque, MD | Education
    • A mentor’s legacy in medicine, leadership, and embracing evidence-based care

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Breaking free from restrictive covenants to combat burnout

      Raya E. Kheirbek, MD | Physician
    • Fixing the system and prioritizing patient care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 3 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • New Data in NSCLC Bolster Support for Perioperative Immunotherapy
  • Breathing Support Type Matters for Preventing Extubation Failure in the PICU
  • Second-Line Axi-Cel Bests Standard in Relapsed/Refractory Large B-Cell Lymphoma
  • New Agents for Relapsed/Refractory Myeloma Impress in Early-Stage Clinical Trials
  • Kratom Linked to Outsized Proarrhythmic Risks

Meeting Coverage

  • New Data in NSCLC Bolster Support for Perioperative Immunotherapy
  • Second-Line Axi-Cel Bests Standard in Relapsed/Refractory Large B-Cell Lymphoma
  • New Agents for Relapsed/Refractory Myeloma Impress in Early-Stage Clinical Trials
  • CAR-T Tops Standard Care in Heavily Pretreated Lenalidomide-Refractory Myeloma
  • T-DXd Proves Mettle in Multiple Solid Tumors
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Boxing legends Tyson and Foreman: powerful lessons for a resilient and evolving health care future

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Physician
    • We need a new Hippocratic Oath that puts patient autonomy first

      Jeffrey A. Singer, MD | Physician
    • A physician’s typical day, as envisioned by a non-clinician health care MBA: a satire

      Jennifer Lycette, MD | Physician
    • Is chaos in health care leading us towards socialized medicine? How physician burnout is a catalyst.

      Howard Smith, MD | Physician
    • Decoding name displays in health care: Privacy, identification, and compliance unveiled

      Deepak Gupta, MD | Physician
    • Unlocking resilience: a powerful journey from trauma to transformation [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • It’s time to replace the 0 to 10 pain intensity scale with a better measure

      Mark Sullivan, MD and Jane Ballantyne, MD | Conditions
    • “Is your surgeon really skilled? The hidden threat to public safety in medicine.

      Gene Uzawa Dorio, MD | Physician
    • Unveiling the hidden damage: the secretive world of medical boards

      Alan Lindemann, MD | Physician
    • Breaking the cycle of racism in health care: a call for anti-racist action

      Tomi Mitchell, MD | Policy
    • Revolutionize your practice: the value-based care model that reduces physician burnout

      Chandravadan Patel, MD | Physician
    • An inspiring tribute to an exceptional radiologist who made a lasting impact

      Kim Downey, PT | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Unlocking resilience: a powerful journey from trauma to transformation [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Overcoming the lies of depression: Senator John Fetterman’s struggle with mental health

      Harvey Max Chochinov, MD, PhD | Conditions
    • Master the ABIM Certification exam with effective strategies: insider tips for success

      Farzana Hoque, MD | Education
    • A mentor’s legacy in medicine, leadership, and embracing evidence-based care

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Breaking free from restrictive covenants to combat burnout

      Raya E. Kheirbek, MD | Physician
    • Fixing the system and prioritizing patient care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Why doctors can’t rest
3 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...