Answering a listener’s question today…How do you stop using shopping to cope with burnout? On your path towards recovering from burnout, we can apply simple steps to shift our mindset and stop the habit we had to cope with stress or burnout.
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Mentioned on Ep 019: How to stop using shopping to cope with pharmacist burnout or healthcare burnout.
Welcome back to The Burnout Doctor Podcast with your host, Dr. Jessica Louie. On episode 19, we are talking about coping with pharmacist burnout and how I used shopping to cope. If you want to shift this mindset and create a strategy that helps you cope, listen today.
I’ve gotten LOTS of questions about the planner I mentioned in on the last episode Coffee and Questions edition and episode 18 – the spiral bound Clarify Simplify Align planner is available here.
How to not use shopping to cope with burnout
First of all, if you haven’t listened to a previous episode, my burnout story is a great place to start. Listen on episode 2. In there I share how I coped with my own pharmacist burnout by shopping and accumulating things – particularly clothing
First step – clarifying WHY you’re doing it. Clarify why you’re doing ___ activity to cope with burnout. This is how my Clarify Simplify Align method works. We dive deeper it WHY we are doing a behavior.
How are you feeling in the moment? Write it down.
Just as with emotional or stress eating, you need to break down the trigger step and the action step you take. Feeling burned out, overwhelmed, stressed and want to know you are in control of SOMETHING in your life? and then you go eat or go shopping?
The trigger is the feeling you’re experiencing.
The action step is coping with shopping or eating.
Don’t know WHY or HOW you feel? Honestly, wait until this situation happens again and intentional write out the trigger the prompts you to want to shop, and the steps you’re taking, how you’re feeling. Yes, sometimes you have to buy something to then learn how you feel in the moment, an hour later and a day later to really learn how to reset these feelings and address them directly.
Once you have clarified the WHY and HOW steps, it’s time to reset these coping habits. No, a mindset shift and a new strategy won’t just magically change over night. It will take effort and work. But work and effort aren’t bad. Remember back to childhood, we spent a lot of work and effort to learn to walk without falling down. We spent a lot of work and effort to learn how to tie our shoes. Right? Now we don’t even give a thought to these two activities.
Start off making a list of things you can do instead. Write down all the options you can think of. Maybe it includes calling a mentor, friend or coach, taking a walk, going to a fitness class, journaling, meditating,
When you feel this trigger, you will _______
Now, my story included spending thousands of dollars shopping to cope. I would NOT recommend this. So I put together a resource on freedom from financial worry based on the philosophy I follow, Japanese Kakeibo. It includes bonus items such as How to Shop Intentionally workbook and video training! Download it here.
Today we went through 2 action steps to take when you feel the urge to shop to cope with your burnout.
If you’re struggling right now, my coaching program offers 30-minute weekly sessions to check-in for accountability, reflect on progress, answer and guide you through difficulties. Schedule a complimentary call to see if coaching is the best fit for you: DrJessicaLouie.com/coaching.
Until next time, spark joy my friends!
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Note, my views are my own and are not associated or representative of my employer(s).
This podcast is for educational purposes only and not medical advice.
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