Loneliness is my kryptonite. I ache when I see a lonely person (or someone I’m projecting is lonely).
And even when we talk with people all day, being a dietitian can feel lonely. Especially at night.
I remember nights in my career when I couldn’t sleep, worrying about a patient, or something I’d messed up. Wondering who I could ask in the morning, who wouldn’t be disappointed in me.
At Eating Disorders Boot Camp, I learned it wasn’t just me. It takes a perfectionist to become a dietitian, and we perfectionists don’t like to ask for help. Camaraderie and support is as important as education. Knowing we’re not alone gives us energy and also lets us rest.
A lot of people feel alone again these days. Not just alone in the eating disorder space, not just alone because we work for ourselves, but all of us talented, smart dietitians, who – more likely than not – learned from outdated models then entered the working world almost totally unprepared.
I can’t solve all the world’s problems. But I can try to solve some for the sleepless dietitians. Which is how The Sleepless Dietitian came into being. Specifically The Sleepless Dietitian‘s Guide Volume 1: Advice for the Angst that Keeps You Up at Night. It’s 145 pages of immediate relief from the annoyances of life as a caring dietitian – not wanting to mess things up but needing to not burn out, wanting to stay in business but needing to not go broke…
It’s instant gratification – you just download and read, or print if you prefer. It’s a compilation of my very best ideas about the hardest things we dietitians face. Things like Professional Boundaries – Dual Relationships – Doing Too Much – Uncomfortable Patient Gifts – Seeing Clients in Public – Running a Group – Grief and Loss – Lack of Progress – Threats – Resistant Parents – When a Patient Ghosts You – Charging for No-shows – Splitting – Patients Who Only Come Once – Handling Calls Between Sessions – When Patients Cry – When Patients Don’t Talk – When Patients Talk in Circles – Lack of Progress – Catching a Patient in a Lie – Demeaning Comments – Dysfunctional Teams – What to Do When Providers Don’t Call You Back – Sabotage – How to Raise Your Fee – When to Cut Your Rate and more.
It’s 5.25 approved CEUs, peppered with my signature sass and pictures meant to make you laugh (my favorite is the Grouchy Patient on page 49 – IYKYK). Because the only way we’re going to make it in this nutty world is if we stick together and find reasons to laugh.
Check it out at SleeplessDietitian.com. And of you already have the Sleepless Dietitian’s Guide, please forward this email to someone who might not know about it yet. Because no dietitian should have to feel alone.
