Are you a practice owner, associate or locum?
Working in:
- general dental practice
- emergency dental
- community
- hospital
- prison services?
Whichever sector you are in you have an important factor in common.
You care for your staff, your team; as well as your patients.
For years as a dedicated professional, you dutifully put the interests of your patients first.
As dentists we tend to be logical and goal driven, yet empathetic to the needs of others; balancing all to provide a successful business. You are juggling continuously, balancing work requirements so expertly that trained acrobats who spin multiple plates, would admire the precision and timing as you meet business and personal demands in today’s hectic pace, you don’t switch off.
And the pace increases with the advancement of technology. More to learn and keep up with, at an exponential rate.
There’s always so much to do. You are worrying about everything that needs to be done. There just don’t seem to be enough hours in the day.
As a result you don’t spend as much quality time with your loved ones, families and friends as much as you would like to.
You may be single, married, with children, caring for relatives etc. each set of circumstances having it’s own set of challenges.
We have many expectations placed upon us and how we handle them is not always obvious or easy.
The treadmill can wear us down as we continuously expend our resources, working and keeping up on all our professional and personal commitments. You may well have tried other means of coping better, but still feel weary.
Perhaps your sleep is affected, so its little wonder that you are feeling tired.
You may be neglecting yourself as you sacrifice your sleep, to get some semblance of leisure time with family and friends.
The patterns continue. No wonder you are feeling exhausted.
You may feel stuck with a lack of focus. You become cynical watching targeted current events unfold in the media etc, feeling helpless in the sea of despair. This can be heightened by stress, sleep deprivation and the presence of overwhelming negative thoughts.
Worrying because you have been caring so much. And you can’t switch off because you are ingrained to care.
Compassion fatigue becomes the latest phrase in the vocabulary.
You routinely check for cervical burnout on radiographs, but are you starting to feel burnt out?
Have you become drained, dreading going to work and yet stuck in autopilot mode? You may not even realise until it’s too late, as your health suffers and potentially deteriorates.
The caring profession that you studied so hard to get into and qualify for; may now seem to have created disillusionment as your heart grows weary, seeing your colleagues and team mates struggle too. There’s the temptation of escapism as pressure builds, which in turn can lead to unhealthy consequences.
And to cap it all, (a little dental pun), we are navigating a global pandemic in the best way we can, contending with fear, trauma and grief.
High levels of stress affect everyone at some stage in their life. Known as the silent killer, prolonged or heavy stress levels can affect sleep and cause a host of effects in the body due to the sympathetic response in the body. Increased levels of cortisol and adrenaline resulting in weight gain, as well as lowered immunity and a range of stress related conditions.
Insomnia affects 50% of the world’s population across ages and genders. A lack of sleep can instantly cause tiredness and lack of concentration affecting productivity, and you may be prone to making mistakes as a result. Lowered immunity can result, with a higher incidence of multiple health conditions including heart disease and diabetes.
It has also been proven that there is an increased chance of being in a fatal car accident.
Burnout saps energy, reducing productivity, making people feel cynical, resentful, helpless and hopeless. It can affect work life and also spill into personal life and affect immunity, having long term effects.
According to Dentistry Today, 84% of dentists were suffering from burnout in 2019. These figures were set to increase during the Covid-19 global pandemic as dentists navigated uncharted territory in the profession even risking their lives to treat patients, especially prior to the invention and distribution of effective vaccines.
Do you feel enough is enough?
You are not alone.
Help is at hand.
Like you I am a dentist, serving on the ‘frontline’ for many years, in all the sectors above. I understand the struggles well.
I too came fresh faced and proudly into the profession, full of enthusiasm and passion to implement all that I had been taught, as well as keep up to date to benefit my patients, and continually strive to be the best that I could be. It’s key to our nature as dedicated professionals who chose dentistry as our vocation.
Gradually as time wore on and life challenges accumulated, it became more and more clear that the only thing certain was change and so I continued to adapt accordingly.
The Pandemic was the turning point for so many. It became a siren that had suddenly become deafeningly loud, prompting immediate action for everyone. It became time to immediately review and accept what was no longer working. I had to reflect and find options to do what was right for me. Then I had to take the necessary actions.
And this is how I came to refresh my skills in hypnotherapy.
Thanks to all my tutors and coaches, I qualified as a solution focused clinical hypnotherapist, psychotherapist with coaching skills.
Being inspired by the benefits of medical hypnosis for patients and colleagues, I became a part time tutor helping to teach foundational medical hypnosis to medical professionals.
Learning and understanding much more along the way, I became more passionate about wanting to help others, using my training and decades of life experience. I knew that hypnotherapy services would be much needed especially by those who had faced the effects of the pandemic.
I set up my business wanting to help other dentists as a priority.
Knowing what worked for me, I offer help to get your healthy sleep patterns back, to reduce your anxiety and stress levels, to develop healthier coping strategies through effective techniques that may not only make your life easier; but also with improving your productivity, increasing your self-confidence and addressing the negative habits that might be holding you back.
I am keen in helping you towards better health and wellbeing, and towards feeling more productive and fulfilled in life, feeling more like the authentic you.
Hypnotherapy has been used in Western cultures since trance was introduced in the 1700’s. It is now scientifically proven with a global base of supportive evidence based research, to develop creativity, confidence, concentration and much more.
Combined with other powerful techniques it can help you to:
- rapidly gain clarity
- focus on what is truly important
- develop better coping strategies
- make lasting positive changes to reach your own goals
- feel more fulfilled in your life
Recently I returned into primary care dentistry, feeling fully rested and solution orientated with a wide range of newly learnt skills. I write feeling re-energised and full of renewed hope.
With the support of a great dental team, I was able to make confident decisions and implement the necessary changes that worked better on a mutual basis, including taking the necessary PPE precautions that are right for me.
Now I’m able to focus on the satisfaction of working in my chosen profession, making a positive difference to my patients, and clients,
and that is infectious.
Now is the time to put the oxygen mask on for yourself.
Not only do you deserve to put yourself first at times, it is vital so that you can continue to care effectively for others, and last the distance. Learning techniques to allow yourself to ‘switch off’, rest and recharge effectively will be one of the best things you can ever do for yourself.
Your mind, body and spirit will thank you for taking an holistic approach.
Others are likely to become aware, and feel the benefits of your revitalised capacity to help others.
Without doubt the profession certainly needs you and your valuable years of experience, now.
Don’t suffer any longer. You deserve to make yourself a priority too.
What to do next
Take the first step to finding a better way to cope; and a way forward best suited to you.
Contact us today to quickly bridge the gap from insomnia, stress and burnout;
and fast track you to feeling relaxed, refreshed and revitalised.
I offer 1:1 coaching sessions and group workshops, please enquire for further details
Prime Your Mind For Success.com
Making Self Care a Priority in Healthcare.
Caring for the Caregivers.