Dr. Ali had just finished a long call. Ward rounds, a referral that went wrong, a pending synopsis, and a phone full of unread messages. On his way home, he sent a short text to a senior friend he trusted: he felt flat, tired and stuck, and could not explain why.
A few minutes later, his friend replied with a video. It showed his one-year-old child playing on the floor, curious about everything, turning a simple object over and over as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.
“This is good for babies,” the friend wrote.
Dr. Ali was confused. “Understood. But how is this related to my problem?”
Three things in one small moment
His friend explained. They had talked earlier about three simple remedies for a mind that feels heavy:
- Mindfulness: staying in the present moment instead of living inside the next shift, the next exam or the last mistake.
- Learning something new: giving the brain fresh input that has nothing to do with duty rosters or case files.
- Spending time near innocent children: being around people who expect nothing from you except attention.
“That video has all three,” he said. A child fully present, learning something new every second, and an adult sitting beside that innocence.
Dr. Ali paused. “Oh. Now I understand.”
“What are you doing these days?”
Curious, Dr. Ali asked his friend how he spent his own time. The answer was long, and that was the point.
A job. Learning new things. Observing people and trying to understand the reasons behind their behaviour. Raising his children and looking after his family. Exercising. Exploring nature. Trying new colours, tastes, places and restaurants. Enjoying small material pleasures without guilt, like new clothes or a good hotel stay. Carrying responsibilities for brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces.
“A lot of activities, observations and experiences,” he summed up.
Dr. Ali read it twice. Then he typed the honest reply that many doctors would recognise:
“I have limited myself to work and home only.”
Why this matters for doctors
Medicine slowly narrows life. House job, residency, exams, research, private practice: each stage asks for a little more time, and something else quietly disappears. Hobbies go first, then friends, then curiosity. In the end, many doctors live on a two-point map: hospital and home.
Nothing is clinically “wrong”, yet everything feels grey. That flatness is often the early face of burnout. It does not always need a big holiday or a career change. Sometimes it needs a wider life, built in small pieces.
A simple practice for busy doctors
- Be present for ten minutes a day. No phone, no case discussion. A cup of tea, a walk, or simply watching your surroundings.
- Learn one thing outside medicine. A language, a recipe, a skill, a new route home. Curiosity is protective.
- Spend real time with children. Your own, a nephew, a niece. Sit on the floor and play. Let them lead.
- Add one new experience a week. A new restaurant, a park, a place you have never visited in your own city.
- Observe people with curiosity, not judgement. Doctors already do this with patients. Try it with the rest of life too.
The conversation ended simply. “Thank you, sir. I understand. I will practise it.”
If your own life has shrunk to work and home, start where Dr. Ali did: with one small moment, fully lived.
If tiredness or low mood persists, or begins to affect your work, sleep or relationships, please speak to a colleague you trust or a mental health professional. Looking after yourself is part of looking after patients.