Michael Greenberg: Dealing with Fear, Anxiety and Helping Others
“Every one of us is a leader may not be at a national level, but you can be a hero with your kids or with your friends or with my patients. Just by being there for them. ”
MICHAEL GREENBERG
Dr. Michael Greenberg is a Dermatologist dedicated to providing patients with state-of-the-art care at the Elk Grove office of Illinois Dermatology Institute. He specializes in medical dermatology, as well as treating patients with an emotional or spiritual component to their skin condition. He is a co-founder of Illinois Dermatology Institute.Dr. Greenberg embraces the benefits of a group practice, stating that "practicing in a group that is more family than corporate has added to my joy of being a physician." Dr. Greenberg graduated with his undergraduate degree in Biology from Case Western Reserve University and then received his medical degree from the University of Illinois in Chicago. His postgraduate training included a residency at the University of Illinois Hospital, where he served as Chief Resident during his final year.
Outside of his practice duties, Dr. Greenberg also hosts a bi-weekly radio show for medical professionals on XM160, where he shares his advanced knowledge and experience with other doctors. Throughout his career, Dr. Greenberg has had articles published discussing his goal of increasing the care and compassion providing by medical professionals today. "As far back as I can remember, I knew I was a physician. My choice to become a Dermatologist was one made from my heart, not my head. As a junior medical student, I was assigned to shadow a Dermatologist and, arriving at his office, felt a strong connection, even before seeing patients."
In this conversation, Michael shares his insights on how to cope with heightened stress-related to COVID-19. Michael strives to be in service to his community for as long as he can and truly wants to make an impact on each person he connects with. Even though this conversation takes place during this time I believe the ideas are timeless; they are only more relevant given the current situation.
Show Notes:
[00:05:08] Outlining the Problem
[00:06:39] Combating the Fear
“Get out of your head. All right. How do you do that? Well, first of all, you do a reality check. You really need two pallets of toilet paper, and you need 500 gallons of bottled water at home, and the answer's no. So realize we're in this together. Share with people. The second thing that I've found is as a doctor, for instance, we had a practice meeting over the weeks, and some of my partners are closed for three or four weeks, and I basically, although it's controversial because my partners can say, well, you're, you might be exposing people.
I might not be, and I'm in the office. I'm going to take care of people until they make me force money to close my office, or I get sick because that's what doctors do. I'm not doing as much dermatology as I'm doing, just hanging out with people and taking care of their fears and talking to them about that.”
[00:09:13] Getting people to pause
“The people who are going to get hurt by this, the most are the over consumers who are in debt, living paycheck to paycheck, not the people who are being paid poorly, living to paycheck by paycheck. I understand that they're in a different situation, but there's a number of people who do really well.
But they never have money because they're buying more stuff than they need. So you can't live like that. You've got to have resources. You've got to have got to save some money because things do happen.”
[00:11:49] Learning to respond not react
[00:14:46] Leveraging what you have control over
“I have control over if I'm going to walk out of the house today. And you know, the reason why they closed all the bars and restaurants in Illinois was because people wouldn't control themselves and spread this infection. So I have control over that. I have no control over the government, the stock market, and the virus.
So I'm not going to worry about those things. I have no control over it. What I can control is myself and plan for the future and learn lessons from this and realize, you know what, I got a plan for our plan for the next virus. I have to be somehow prepared emotionally and mentally and, and spiritually. It comes down to one thing to realize that I am powerless in the face of the universe. Things will happen and try to learn this lesson over and over again.
And 10 years ago, I had prostate cancer, and I'm fine, and it was caught very early for those people who are listening, I'm not going to be dying next week.
And, and I got depressed for about two days until I turned to my wife as if, you know, the universe is trying to teach me something. You know, this, the fear is I'm out. I'm not in control. And if this can happen one day, something worse, something's going to happen. I'm going to die. I'm going to have a stroke or a heart attack.
I have no control over those things. So I can either accept at this moment that I don't have control over these things. And stop worrying about them and be happy like the guy jumping off the skyscraper, or I can fret about the rest of my life. I have chosen to practice my life in the here and now.”
[00:17:58] Making an impact in your community
[00:25:24] Awareness, Selfishness, Self-Centeredness
Awareness by Tony de Mello for more on this book read Worth Reading: My Most Impactful Books of 2019
“There's a big distinction between selfishness and self-centeredness. It is okay to be selfish. I have to take care of myself. So, for instance, I have to say, gee, I have to work out today. I'm sorry, I can't be on the phone helping everybody with their problems.
I have to eat after a workout. I have to sleep, take care of my family. I have to be somewhat selfish so that I can be there for other people. But self-centeredness is when I think the world revolves around me, and I expect everyone to behave a certain way, and I want to manipulate them to behave a certain way that gives me what I want.
Self-centeredness is wrong. Some selfishness is healthy. You have to take care of yourself as you know, there are doctors, for instance, that are working in terrible conditions that could be in a hospital 24/7 no, they have to go home and go to sleep. No, they have to eat. You know, I talk to patients all the time who have family members who are very ill and terminally ill and dying, and I tell them, as a caretaker, if you don't take care of yourself, you won't be there for the person you're taking care of.
So selfish is okay at times. Self-centeredness is not.”
[00:27:49] Giving away unused items
[00:29:26] Living with less
[00:31:40] Picking up the phone
[00:38:25] Learning to pause
[00:42:18] This may not be working but how do you fix it?
“Instead of saying, this is broken, instead of just claiming that it's broken, ask the question, how can we fix it?
You know, how can we solve this problem in any situation? Whether it's a family, whether it's a family situation, emotional situation, a business situation. Instead of complaining, instead of saying to say, okay, here's the problem. How do we fix it? How do we work together to fix it? And, and magic happens that we need him in, in improv, we call it, yes anding, you just agree.
You don't say no to anything.”
[00:43:35] The power of comedy
[00:44:24] We are all flawed
[00:46:50] Failure and Labels
[00:48:34] Overgeneralizing experiences
“When you go, and you call your friend up today, and you talk about how you feel, and they say, Oh my God, I feel the same way. All of a sudden, there is a shared experience and a bonding and what that shared experience does, it basically ends the existential loneliness all of us feel.
I don't care how close you are to your friends, your spouse, your parents. We still feel alone and isolated. Nobody gets us 100%, but you can get closer to that. When you do share your feelings, and you sit in a group therapy meeting when people sit in 12 step meetings when you just call your friends, and they share their life and other people relate to it.
That's healing. That's where healing comes in. So that, to me, is about experiences. Share them as best you can.”
[00:52:45] Deeper Experiences
[00:56:10] Deeper questions and being humble
[00:58:48] Take your pulse
[00:59:38] Recommendation for others to get through these uncertain times
Osho also known as Rajneesh Books
A Man of Sorrows by Michael Greenberg
