92. Taking Care of Our Mental Health with Dr. Sylvia Gonzalez
Your mental health matters. Even when you think it’s fine, even when you know you should probably seek out support, and even when you do have a support system. Supporting your mental health is one of the greatest things you can do for your overall health. I’m joined by Dr. Sylvia Gonzalez to talk about mental health support, knowing when to seek support, and what happens when you reach out. Mental Health Warning Signs to Watch Out For Insomnia and difficulty sleeping Struggling to connect with other people Changes in food consumption: too much or too little About Dr. Sylvia Gonzalez After graduating from New York University, Dr. Sylvia Gonzalez attended medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, in New York City. She completed a 3-year residency in Pediatric medicine at Children's Hospital of Oakland prior to completing a 4-year residency in Psychiatric medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Dr. Gonzalez is Board Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. She completed a fellowship in psychodynamic psychotherapy followed by a course in Adult Psychoanalytic Thinking at the Center for Psychoanalytic Studies, in Houston, TX. Dr. Gonzalez served on the faculty at the Baylor College of Medicine for over a decade and is currently an adjunct faculty member at the Center for Psychoanalytic Studies in Houston, TX. Her career has been marked by treating those severely impacted by mental illness. In 2019 Dr. Gonzalez was voted one of Houston's top docs by Houstonia Magazine. Her interests include psychodynamic psychotherapy, evidence-based medication management, group therapy, anxiety, depression, mood disorders, life transitions, the somatic (physical) expression of feelings, and trauma-related illnesses. She is specially trained in psychoanalytically informed psychodynamic therapy. Supporting Your Mental Health Dr. Sylvia Gonzalez talks about prioritizing your mental health and some of the ways you can do this. Your mental health will fluctuate throughout your life, especially during big life transitions like moving or having a baby. Sylvia explains why it’s so important to have a strong mental health foundation to rely on when life does get more difficult. Sylvia explains why you need to figure out how to best support yourself in all the different roles you have. What do you need? What boundaries do you need to put in place in order to get what you need? But most importantly, you need to slow down. By approaching life at a slower pace and really understanding what you need and what’s going on around you, you can be better equipped to support your mental health. Her biggest advice that applies to everything: slow down. Behind the Scenes of Mental Health Support As a mental health practitioner, Sylvia understands how damaging perfectionism can be, especially when you’re in the medical field. We both know how difficult it can be to let go of your perfectionist tendencies, but releasing that need will have a lot of benefits for your life. It can be difficult to make the decision to seek out mental health support. Sylvia explains what happens once you connect with a practitioner and how the process, in general, goes. I hope this information helps you understand and encourages you to seek support if you need it. Finally, we talk about the different types of mental health support out there. From life coaching to therapy to psychiatry, there are quite a few different options out there. Sylvia breaks down what support will help you best in each stage of your life. How do you prioritize your boundaries to support your mental health? Have you felt like you need to seek out support but are feeling anxious about it? Let me know in the comments on the episode page how best we can support you. In This Episode Why our mental health might shift during big life transitions [3:00] How to recognize what you need in all your roles [4:00] The importance of slowing down [5:30] Why perfectionism can drain your energy and stress your boundaries [14:00] How slowing down can help you access those good emotions [16:30] How your mental health can impact your physical health [23:00] What happens when you seek out mental health help [24:30] How to know what type of help you need (coach, psychologist, therapist, etc) [33:00] Quotes “My biggest thing is learning how to hang back, slow down, and take stock. Even if you’re sitting in front of your favorite window, if you don’t have a porch to sit on, and watching the sunrise with a cup of coffee or tea, that’s super important. It helps set the tone for what you need to do moving forward in your day. Pay attention to those little things.” [15:27] “I know plenty of female doctors who are not perfectionists. But I do think that there’s something about the sense of control and order that can draw someone who’s inclined to that to medicine. It helps to reinforce that.” [17:15] “We should be looking for that much more, not just the checklist medicine. So much will get missed and you won’t actually get all the help that you need. That connection, conversation, and looking at the bigger picture is really the key in being able to truly identify what you need to move forward.” [26:30] “It’s little steps that do add up in the end. You have to pay attention to what those are. When you fall off, just get right back on again.” [30:47] Resources Mentioned Join G.O.A.L.S. Society Free for 30 Days Find Dr. Sylvia Gonzalez Online Check out the full episode page here Find Life Coaching for Women Physicians Online Follow Dr. Ali Novitsky on Facebook | Instagram Subscribe to Life Coaching for Women Physicians on Apple Podcasts Podcast production by the team at Counterweight Creative Related Episodes Episode 62: Creating Boundaries to Grow with Dr. Sasha Shillcutt Episode 78: The Impact of Life Coaching- My Story Episode 74: The Art of Creating Space