Silence, Stress and Self-sabotage
Dr Waldo Engelbrecht
(Wait for 30 seconds)
It’s awkward, isn’t it? Silence at an improper time. And so here we are mostly silent about what adversity has befallen us in our daily practice. To talk about your struggles with fellow colleagues is unheard of, we take pictures of our cases when things go well. We post them on every platform imaginable to show how great we are. We get lofty cheers from the growing follower base for our efforts and elevate ourselves to god-status.
What happens once we get home on the days that everything wasn’t so peachy. When a case goes to the bottom of the drawer you had so much hope for.
The umpteenth time you had a difficult customer that was unsatisfied with service or costs.
Or the dreaded case that is pending with DPL, not getting anywhere.
Instead of sharing the problems we face we go silent. Do we dare speak, do we dare lean into the discomfort of sharing our failures and provoking criticism – this would only be a precious few that have the courage to have these vulnerable conversations.
What do we do when our Cortisol levels go through the roof?
We drink, we smoke and we provoke a sense that everything will be better numbed it.
It works that way in Dentistry, doesn’t it?
What can we do to get out of this vortex of self-sabotage?
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