 So this is going to be a serious video guys. Listen to this fact first. One of your greatest risks of being a doctor is not an infection or getting sick yourself or even being sued. In fact, it's getting depressed, being addicted and frankly even facing the chances of death and suicide. In this video guys, we are going to talk about the important message and topic of mental health. All right guys, what is going on? I'm Alex here from the MD journey, hoping you succeed on your journey with less stress. Today we're going to talk about a topic that's super important in the medical field and it hits very close to home for me, which is the importance of taking care of your mental health. And it's really, you know, let's start with obvious is that medicine, medical school can very easily compromise on your mental health. Very common reasons, the stress, the amount of time we spend, the amount of hours we spend studying and also this idea of feeling like we have to kind of suck it up. These cycles of hills and valleys that we do, things are going well and then they plummet because their grades don't go well. We are transitioning between new things all the time. Our mental health can take a hit and when it hits, our self care takes a hit. We don't sleep enough. We don't eat properly. We don't get enough exercise. We don't interact with the people who are important to us. We don't do the things that we love to do. Medicine can do that. You have to remember guys to say, no, I come first. You did not get into this field to just suck it up for the rest of it. Instead, you got into this field to help take care of other people and to do that, need to make sure you are taking care of yourself. First, it's like the common analogy that you hear often when you get the safety instructions in an airplane, they tell you if the oxygen mask comes down, first make sure you put yours on before you help others. This is your oxygen mask, your mental health. Make sure you put yours on before you help in the care of others. So as I mentioned guys, this topic is very close to home and myself, my peers and my loved ones. So I want to give you some tips and things to be able to identify of whether your mental health is that compromised and what you can do to start addressing it. So one of the first things is to identify your stressors. So that includes asking some of the questions we touched on. Are you sleeping? Are you getting enough food, enough exercise, enough interaction with people you love? Are you doing the things that you love doing? And if the answer is no, or if the answer is no, but then you need to stop at the button and say, okay, I'm compromising the things that I love and things that are important and having some kind of excuse for it. So make sure you're having these regular check-ins with yourself. That's really step one of identifying your stressors and doing it on a routine basis. And once you identify your stressors, guys, the next step is asking yourself, who have I told? And if the answer is I haven't told anybody, then the question, the next question is why not? Is it because the people you consider to be your support system, maybe they're not the best fit for addressing this problem or maybe you just feel shameful. We'll get to that in a second. Ask yourself why, being aware of that barrier of getting help is really important. And the next two things, guys, there are questions that you can ask that really help me kind of make sure I've fixed my mindset and way I'm seeking help when I need it. And the first question is, what would that person who started this journey say, what would they tell me to do? Think about the person who wrote that personal statement about into medical school. Would they be okay with this level of stress? What would they tell you to do right now? They tell you to ask for help. Who would they tell you to ask? Ask that question, get yourself in that mindset. And the other thing is, think about the people you'll be serving in the future. What would your patients want you to do? If your patients knew about what you were going through in the future, what would they tell you to do? The same way you give recommendations and information to your patients, what would your patients tell you if they know what you were going through? Sometimes either or both of those two questions can really help somebody who's struggling of getting help, make that first step in getting those adjustments. The last few things, guys, is to understand that there's no reason to feel shame. This happens, it happens very calm. Again, the reason I gave this fact at the start of this video is that medicine is known to bring some of the times the worst stressors and feelings and mindsets out of people because it really demands a lot. So it's common, you are not alone. There are people who have gone through likely what you're going through. So be okay, see for help. In fact, you can admit that simply the idea of admitting you need help is one of the toughest things you can do. And getting to that point is one of the biggest accomplishments you can make in improving your mental health. So remember, guys, you owe nothing to anybody else. First, take care of yourself, put that oxygen mask on, and then make sure you take care of other people. And so, guys, that's gonna conclude this video. I know it's a serious topic, but this channel wouldn't be doing justice to you guys without this because I'm all about the message helping you succeed in striving and not to surviving. And to get out of that survival mentality, I have to make sure that you guys understand it's not okay to compromise on your mental health. So if you said yes to any of those questions that I asked and you are still having took the step to asking for help, first of all, it's okay. Second of all, someone's likely been there as well. So make sure you take the steps because one, the person who started this journey likely wants you to do the same and your patient's definitely do too. So hopefully, guys, if you are watching this video and you're struggling, you know, I've been there, promise you it gets better. Starts with the identification that you do need the help. And step two is the process of getting it. So let me know and private messages or in the comment section down below. But if you do want to reach out to mdjury.com at gmail.com, if you need somebody to talk to there for you guys. But with that being said, if you did enjoy this video, like and subscribe. And I will see you guys in the next video. Thank you for being part of my journey. Hopefully I've been a little help on yours. And I'll see you guys soon. Take care.