What we’re unlearning

Decompress #40, A moment for hope Anthony Back It’s a day of remembrance, and also looking forward. I’m finishing up the podcast—at least for now—and thinking about what is needed now. If you’ve been listening, you have built a new habit about detaching from the day, and worked with intentionally shifting your attention, regulating your emotions, and working with your body. And now, i’m feeling, there is more to do that is a bit different. In the meantime, if you have 3 min to fill out a survey, it would help me discern where this work could be of service next.

Decompress #39, What we're unlearning Anthony Back Inspired by Peter Senge today—in this moment, what’s our intention? We all have a usual answer, but today could listen beneath our usual chatter? And: i’d love to hear what you have taken away from this podcast here—10 randomly selected respondents will be offered a private chat with me about their own sustainability!

Decompress #38, Making space for a reboot Anthony Back As clinicians, we’ve generally thrown ourselves into the next phase of life without much forethought—for physicians like me, for example, the transition from student to resident wasn’t something that occasioned a lot of reflection. But this pandemic is different, and we need to make space for it.

Decompress #37, Surfing the changes Anthony Back We’ve entered a new phase of the pandemic. And you’re still surfing the changes. What makes that possible? Plus: fill out a feedback survey and get a chance for a phone call focused on your resilience!

Decompress #36, Witnessing all the names Anthony Back Many of us have been inundated with patients, and I’ve heard more than one clinician confess to feeling guilty because they can’t remember them all distinctly. Perhaps there is another way for us to process all this. Today, a poem by Billy Collins—enjoy.

Decompress #35, Something you can depend on Anthony Back Whether we’re in a place where the ICUs are full, or a place where the pandemic hasn’t really hit, the uncertainty can be exhausting. So what do we turn to when our usual sources—the news, our friends, our livelihoods—only seem to raise questions?

Decompress #34, Feeling into your roots Anthony Back If you’ve ever felt that you ‘can’t unsee’ something, this one is for you. How do we recover when we feel pushed off-center? The research tells us that the answer is not in suppressing our thoughts—it’s something quite different.

Decompress #33, Putting your burdens down Anthony Back We end up carrying so many things during the day. So when it’s time to power down, is there a way to put everything away for the evening? It’s a mental habit you can build.

Decompress #32, Strengthening your coherence Anthony Back With the news of furloughs for some staff, it seems that we’re entering a new phase. The stresses are changing. Which makes it even more critical for us to be working from a robust psychological stability. Today, then, is about coherence, and how to find it.

Decompress #31, Recovering a sense of fluidity Anthony Back Some days, especially when the work is intense, it is hard to separate from the day. You walk out of the hospital with unfinished business still swirling around in your head. Could we find the mental fluidity to shift into a different mode for evening? Could we feel that fluidity in the body?