Anxiety
A moderate amount of anxiety and stress is good.
Remember the stress-performance bell-shaped curve:
It is natural to feel anxious when first starting a job, especially when it is your first ever job as a doctor.
It takes about 6 months to settle in a new job, so having 10 or 13 week rotations means we never really settle.
As stress/anxiety increases, your performance increases – up to a certain point. After that it becomes counterproductive.
What can you do about anxiety?
- Work on practical solutions – ie Look after your SELF
- Breathing Exercise
- Muscle Tension Exercise
- Relaxation
- Yoga
- Meditation
- Professional help