No One Should Care Alone, Ever ….

“Sometimes life is too hard to be alone, and sometimes life is too good to be alone.”  ― Elizabeth Gilbert, author

Early in the pandemic, I wrote of the unfortunate public health terminology of “social distancing” to describe the advice for physical distancing.  Indeed, if the data is any indication, the last thing our culture needed over the past few years (and before) was to become more socially isolated from each other. 

In fact, our cultural isolation has become so severe that in May of 2023 the US Surgeon General’s office under the leadership of Vivek Murthy, MD, published an advisory titled “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation.”  The advisory summarized the unprecedented levels of loneliness, disconnection, and isolation being experienced within our communities, and laid out a roadmap forward.

We healthcare professionals are not immune from this isolation and loneliness, though we often act (and are socialized to act) as if we are.  That is why the tag line for the PeerRxMed process is “No one should care alone.” 

Sure, there are times when we might desire some “alone time” (solitude), but just as often we may find ourselves “feeling so alone” (isolation) amid the challenges of our work.  Being able to differentiate between these two places on the “alone continuum” is essential for our professional well-being.

The picture titled "The Approaching Thunderstorm" provides the opportunity for you to reflect on recent times when you “needed to be alone” contrasted with those times when you felt alone.  I encourage you to take some time this week to reflect on this, then reach out to your PeerRx partner to schedule some quarterly PRX90 time for some “live” connection (“up to 90 minutes every 90 days).  If you’re not participating in PeerRxMed or some similar process for intentional professional connection, now’s a wonderful time to start.  When I say “No one should care alone,” I really mean no one!