Doctors. We make the worst patients, lol. I’m going to try this regardless – non-pharm prescriptions to increase health in this time of significantly increased stress. Feel free to share with non-physicians as well – this applies to everyone.

Glossary:
qHS = nightly
qweekly = weekly
prn = pro re nata (a.k.a. as needed)
NTE = not to exceed

Rx for Resilience

1. Sleep x 8hrs qHS +/- 1 hr prn
2. Full Meals x2 per day + full or ½ meal prn + snacks prn
3. Water QID + prn
4. Synchronous time with friends (via phone or video) qweekly + prn
5. Synchronous time with loved ones not living in the same household qweekly + prn
6. Coronavirus news information consumption NTE 2 hours per 24 hours (unless you are in leadership positions – in which case, NTE limits may vary, but I strongly ask you consider setting some sort of limit for your health and wellbeing)

Sleep

• 8 hours of sleep a night: while some people operate well with a little less than 8 hours of sleep and others operate well with a little more, if it’s been a while since you’ve been in anything but a sleep-deprived state, take this opportunity to try and aim for 8 hours.

Eat and Drink

• Fueling our bodies is important – and the better the fuel, the better we feel. Sometimes it is already a hard ask for someone in medicine to have at least two full meals a day (26 hour shifts with no mandated breaks, after all), it can be very difficult to fit in time for refueling. With a little creativity, however, hopefully we can hopefully fit in two full meals at least somewhere in the day, ideally more than that.
• People can survive for quite some time without food but significantly less without water (the specifics of which are dependent on your ambient surroundings and level of activity). Bottom line: hydrate.

Schedule

• Develop a schedule if your usual one is upended. This can include:
  • At-home exercising
  • Exploring newer digital means of real-time socializing with friends you would ordinarily see in person
  • Regular mealtimes
  • Regular sleep times
• Stay in your home (unless you’re getting necessities for yourself or someone else)

Share

• Post something light, wonderous, or informative on your social media. Try to keep fear to a minimum.
• Reach out to friends near and far through digital means to offer or seek support. Synchronous (real-time) communication will help you feel closer.
  • I attended a virtual coffeehouse hosted by a very creative friend this past weekend over Zoom, and it worked wonderfully! There were musicians sharing covers of songs and original work, people doing skits (from different self-isolation locations), someone getting a haircut, an impromptu dance class, poetry reading, DJ-ing, storytelling – it was a fantastic time 🙂 
• As always, keep in touch with your loved ones.

Care

• Take care of yourself, whatever that means to you. For me, this means incorporating a brief gratitude practice as well – 3 items a day.
• Try to limit coronavirus news consumption – through any news medium – to 2 hours per day maximum. That sounds excessive in and of itself, but I can appreciate how easy it is to get sucked into more. Prime Minister addresses also take up quite a bit of time, if you watch those. But honestly, limiting my news intake has provided my brain space room to breathe. I want that for you too.

I’ve been trying to follow this routine myself and when I keep to it, I feel noticeably better! That is enough motivation to get back on track when one wanders off. Hope this Rx does some good for you too 🙂

-Dr. FIREfly