Stress-Less Physician

In this episode of the Stress-Less Physician podcast, Dr. Sara Dill shares her insights on the concept of "hitting the pause button" in life. She reflects on the importance of taking breaks, reevaluating commitments, and allowing oneself the space to reconsider and reinvigorate existing circumstances. Dr. Dill encourages her listeners, especially busy physicians, to prioritize getting good quality...

In this episode of the Stress-less Physician podcast, Dr. Sara Dill dives deep into the concept of negative visualization as a tool for cultivating gratitude and appreciation in our lives. She draws on the principles of stoicism to explore the idea that everything we have is essentially borrowed, emphasizing the temporary nature of our possessions, relationships, and even our own lives. Dr. Dill e...

In this episode, Dr. Sara Dill delves into the topic of how to handle being triggered by situations or people. She starts off by sharing her own experience of feeling triggered. Dr. Dill explains that being triggered involves having a negative emotional reaction to a situation, but she emphasizes that it's essential to differentiate between everyday triggers and deeper trauma triggers. She encoura...

In this episode of the Stress-Less Physician podcast with Dr. Sara Dill, the focus is on practical ways to reduce stress through mindful breathing techniques. Dr. Dill discusses how using conscious and intentional breath can reprogram one's response to stressful emotions. The host shares her top three breathing techniques for stress relief and she emphasizes the immediate and tangible benefits of...

In this episode of the Stress-Less Physician podcast, Dr. Sara Dill talks about the importance of controlling what you can and letting go of the rest. She shares her recent experience at a conference in Maui, where she learned valuable lessons about not clinging to being right all the time and being open to new information. Dr. Dill delves into the concept of control, emphasizing that while we oft...

Just like you don’t have to attend every party you’re invited to, you don’t have to attend every argument you’re invited to. Wow. What a useful alternative perspective to conflict engagement.  Ever since I first heard this concept, I’ve been trying to apply it to my life. In doing so, I’ve found that this truth is both liberating and life-shaking, but it’s not always easy. That’s why in this...

When packing for a trip, it’s helpful to lay out everything you need and anything else you might want–and then edit from there. I’ve found that, in many useful ways, self-coaching is very similar. The biggest benefit of removing things you don’t actually need when packing is that you travel light. And, in life, whether physically or mentally and emotionally, traveling light can be a lot easier. Le...

Compare and despair is the tendency to constantly compare ourselves to others, but not in a positive way. We feel that we’re not measuring up in some way to others and we despair over our perceived failures. In our current society, the status or accomplishments of others is readily accessible. And I would say that this almost non-stop barrage of information can be unhealthy because it can lead to...

Making resolutions for the new year is extremely popular but I’m no longer a fan. Why? Because often they have to do with telling yourself that something is wrong with you and you need to change. This can be both intimidating and discouraging. Setting goals, on the other hand, are a different way of framing changes. They have a more attainable and encouraging feel. This is why I prefer goals over...

When we take being wrong to an unjust personal level, we label ourselves as having something wrong with us. This is as opposed to simply making a mistake and admitting to it. It goes deeper.  But what exactly does it mean to stop making yourself wrong? I certainly do not mean to imply that we should present ourselves as perfect and incapable of making mistakes. And I certainly do not I advoca...

Seeing the good, even in the bad, allows us to enjoy our life more. It gives us more control and helps us not overlook hidden opportunities. It allows us to move through unpleasant things more quickly and easily. As someone who strongly believes in this, I wanted to encourage you once more this Christmas. Things have definitely been hard and things happen, but we can intentionally reframe situatio...

As a person in any helping profession, or even in our personal lives with loved ones, we want to be of service. It’s in our nature. But because it’s in our nature, it can also be difficult to draw boundaries. It can become too much. We are accustomed to the cultural concept of noble self-sacrifice, especially in medicine. Yet I have questioned if this is truly necessary. Just because something has...

As a person in any helping profession, or even in our personal lives with loved ones, we want to be of service. It’s in our nature. But because it’s in our nature, it can also be difficult to draw boundaries. It can become too much. We are accustomed to the cultural concept of noble self-sacrifice, especially in medicine. Yet I have questioned if this is truly necessary. Just because something has...

Whether you love or dread the holidays, they affect us all. Some people take them in stride while others have their stress skyrocket. But what are some of the secrets of those who don’t get stressed during the holidays? Over the years, I’ve learned how to coach myself through many things, the holidays being one of them. So I thought it might be helpful to share some of my techniques, and together...

The concept of Earth School is that the entirety of our lives and what is happening around us might be a lesson. What if everything we experience is supposed to be so we can learn and grow? There are other versions of Earth School that also incorporate more spirituality, if you are interested in those as well.  For me, it’s less about spirituality as it is about a useful concept, one I can ap...

Giving thanks with intention first thing in the morning can help set your mood for the entire day. This doesn’t necessarily completely erase other emotions and sensations, especially as our day progresses, but it is certainly helpful. Simply focusing a few moments on what we appreciate can also help create space for all we’re thinking and feeling, positive or negative. There is great value in this...

Giving yourself permission is really open-ended. There are a lot of things you can give yourself permission to do or not do. And, perhaps most significantly, you don’t need to earn that right. Growing up, we are typically taught that we need to earn permissions. Even into adulthood, we’re conditioned in many areas to ask permission from someone else in authority. But what if there are areas in you...

In living this life, we encounter a lot of things which are, frankly, not great. All around us and throughout the world there is a lot going on that is pretty discouraging. So how do we navigate such a world? One helpful thing can be to intentionally pay attention to the good things. But with so many voices and so much noise, how do we focus on the good things? How do we let more of those influenc...

The question: “What would love do?” can be very powerful and revealing. And not necessarily for only what we automatically think about. When posed such a question, our minds tend to think about what love would do for others. But I want to look at it from a different vantage point. In this episode, I explore the question “What would love do?”... for you? When faced with this question and pondering...

Acceptance and processing of painful and unwelcome emotions is a skill we can learn. But it’s not an easy one. We naturally avoid pain, unpleasant emotions and uncomfortable interactions. For this episode, I wanted to share a tool for easier acceptance and processing of the things we normally avoid. After all, we can’t completely block negative or unwanted emotions and thoughts, so why not learn t...

Productivity and measurable accomplishments are all too often how we’re defined and valued in our society. But that isn’t an accurate picture of someone’s worth. What we do isn’t all of who we are. In this episode, I want to explore this topic because we so often conflate our value and worthiness with what we do. But the reality is, we are infinitely valuable and self-worth cannot be measured.&nbs...

Our brains are wired to think almost nonstop. It can be very difficult to slow that down but having some tools and techniques can be extremely helpful. It can keep us from being jerked around by our thoughts. To explore this topic further and to, hopefully, give you some ideas for creating space from your thoughts, I wanted to talk about this. In this episode, I offer several ideas for ways to kno...

Plants naturally thrive and grow when given the right conditions. Likewise, we need to identify our personal conditions to naturally grow and thrive, and then work toward giving ourselves those conditions. This can take many forms but the starting point is always identifying them. To help us, I wanted to talk about how to identify your own best conditions to thrive. This will look different for ea...

Pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone. Doing things scared. Not waiting until everything is perfect. Putting yourself out there. No matter how you describe it, challenging yourself to intentionally take some risks and not simply stay safe can be nerve wracking but also invigorating. To be clear, I’m not advocating for physically endangering yourself. Please take care of and protect your physic...

When we can maintain a more fluid and less rigid approach to life, it goes a long way to reducing stress and turmoil. We can pivot and not end up stuck in certain emotions or thought patterns. This allows us to better manage whatever unexpected thing life throws our way. Because it’s such an invaluable skill, I’ve both practiced and taught thought flexibility for a long time. And over the years, I...