Personal boundaries ... but how?
Led by Dr. Ieleen Taylor and sponsored by PFSP
March 13, 2024
“Neuroscience research shows that the only way we can change the way we feel is to become aware of our inner experience and learning to befriend what is going on inside of ourselves.”
On March 13, Ieleen Taylor, MD CCFP (sponsored by PFSP) led a virtual webinar on personal boundaries. Event details are below.
- Do you have a hard time saying “no”?
- Do feelings of guilt cause you to take on too much?
- Perhaps you feel ashamed for reaching your limit?
- Do you love your family/friends/vocation, but if you’re honest you feel resentful, perhaps angry and even isolated?
You’re not alone. Many physicians struggle with feeling ashamed they have reached their limit, it’s what the medical culture prescribes. Cultivating personal boundaries is a way to honor yourself and create some equilibrium for yourself- it’s not easy but it’s worth it.
It is possible to value your time, your feelings, and your goals. You can set limits and still feel like a loving /good human (doctor/parent). People with good boundaries have internalized the fact that they have limits and there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, they have reported feeling more generous, full, and willing to give more to others without feeling resentment. Setting boundaries to take care of yourself is not a one-time thing, it must be repeated regularly until it becomes second nature.
In this interactive session you’ll explore the “anatomy” of personal boundaries and how they are one of the strategies you need to take care of yourself.
What’s involved:
- A 90-minute session on Zoom where you are ‘on-camera’ with everyone else in the session to provide a sense of connection and community.
- Commitment to confidentiality.
- Self-reflection, sharing narratives (voluntarily) and your experiences, with the opportunity for collegial discussion.
- Guidance looking at the benefits of, barriers to and strategies for improving your personal boundaries.
- A mnemonic to help establish your practice of setting personal boundaries.
This may be for you if you:
- You’ve attended a session on developing self-compassion and are wanting to go further.
- Are receptive to learning from shared wisdom and shared humanity.
- Are willing to acknowledge to yourself that not keeping enough boundaries may be adversely impacting you and you’re ready to explore the practice and take some time to do so.
- Are curious about what it looks like to lean in to having stronger personal boundaries.
- Feel tentative about practicing personal boundaries.
It might not be a fit for you if you:
- Are not ready/comfortable to talk about your feelings and being vulnerable right now.
- Prefer to go around rather than through the discomfort this may bring up.
What you’ll need:
- Zoom using both audio (headphones improve audio quality) and video.
- A dedicated quiet place where you will be relatively undisturbed.
- An item of comfort (a blanket, your pet, a special photograph, your favorite stuffy) to ground you as you explore any difficult emotions.
- Something for note taking.
Dr. Ieleen Taylor is a clinical lecturer for the University of Alberta and a family physician who has been serving the community of Sylvan Lake for over 20 years. She was the first female physician in Sylvan Lake where she spearheaded bringing learners to that community with that clinic becoming a rural site for a 1-month family medicine block.
Dr. Taylor has been pursuing her passion for wellness and personal development most notably through:
- Palouse Mindfulness;
- The Way of the Council from Circles of Resilience;
- the Remen Institute for the Study of Health & Illness (RISHI);
- Kristin Neff’s Self-Compassion work;
- Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction;
- and dedication to practicing and sharing what she learns.
Notably, the Rural Alberta South Residency program (RAS) has adopted a Reflections in Medicine program that Dr. Taylor led them in developing and launching. For the Rural Alberta North (RAN) family medicine residents, she initiated, developed, and implemented a customized structure for wellbeing groups.
Although born in the tropics, she has learned to embrace the Canadian winters with skiing, movies, and beach holidays. She lives in the summer village of Jarvis Bay with her four almost grown-up girls and their furry friends.
