Putting Your Own Oxygen Mask on First w/ Dr. Miriam Zylberglait
06/08/2022
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There is certainly isn’t a shortage of passion and caring in the hearts and minds of fitness professionals. Simply put, people get into this profession out of an intense desire to help others improve their fitness, health, and wellbeing. While our motives may come from a very pure and altruistic place there can be a downside to this caregiving mentality. This downside can manifest itself in a proportionate reduction in our own self-care, relative to the amount of care we provide to others. This phenomenon is called by many names; caregiver fatigue, compassion fatigue, caretakeritis; but whatever name you call it by the outcome is every bit as deleterious for the caregiver.
This will be the topic of conversation in episode 56 of the Wellness Paradox podcast with Dr. Miriam Zylberglait (or Dr. Z). As we’ll discuss, she, like so many during COVID, started to rethink some of her fundamental paradigms about how she approached life both personally and professionally. In doing so, she realized her self-care, and ultimately her happiness and wellbeing, was suffering tremendously. As a result, she made a commitment to not only focus on her own self-care, but that of others in the caregiver professions.
This conversation is an interesting examination of something we don’t often think of as fitness professionals; our own wellbeing. Yes, many of us are very fit and strong externally, but more broadly speaking do we have a truly high level of wellbeing that matches our physical fitness? I would suspect the answer is likely no if this concept of caregiver fatigue is something you haven’t considered.
This is a very eye-opening conversation, particularly when you start to realize your own wellbeing is the true rate-limiter to how many other people you can truly help. Consider this to be a conversation that indirectly helps all the people you serve, by directly helping yourself focus on, and improve, your own wellbeing. Putting on your oxygen mask is, indeed, the only way to effectively help others!
Our Guest: Dr. Miriam Zylberglait, MD, FACP
Dr. Miriam Zylberglait Lisigurski (Dr. Z) is triple Board-Certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatrics, and Obesity Medicine. In addition, she has completed a Physician Leadership Academy (FMA), a Fellowship on Leadership Development and Education (AAMC) and has been certified as a Mental Health Ally. As a fellow of the American College of Physicians (ACP) she was selected to be part of the National Wellness and Professional Fulfillment Committee.
Dr. Z is currently completing a Fellowship with the Creators Institute at Georgetown University while writing her first Book about well-being and growth. In addition, she is the former Associate Program Director at the Aventura Hospital Internal Medicine Residency Training Program and the Former Founding Internal Medicine Clerkship Director at Nova Southeastern University's (NSU) Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine.
Dr. Zylberglait has a supportive husband, parents, sister, friends, and two wonderful little boys that help her to integrate her personal and professional life.