Episode 165 Mindset Mastery | Breaking Free From The Fear Of Failure In Your Private Practice: Interview With Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo

Chris McDonald: Is fear holding you back in your private practice? Maybe you're just starting out, or you have some ideas for expanding into a group practice, group counseling, or have some other entrepreneurial ideas. In today's episode, we'll explore powerful strategies and real life stories that guide you through that maze of doubt and uncertainty.

Discover how to cultivate a mindset that not only survives. But thrives in the face of challenges. It's time to rewrite that narrative of fear and failure. Our expert guests shares their insights on building resilience, overcoming setbacks, and finding your unique path to success, get ready to embrace a new perspective, shift your mindset and break free from the shackles of fear.

Let's pave the way to a more confident. Resilient You on today's episode of the Holistic Counseling Podcast. This is Holistic Counseling, the podcast for mental health therapists who want to deepen their knowledge of holistic modalities and build their practice with confidence. I'm your host, Chris McDonald, licensed therapist.

I am so glad you're here for the journey.

Welcome to today's episode of the Holistic Counseling Podcast. I am fresh back from Thanksgiving break and had a much needed disconnection from life, from everything. And sometimes I feel I enjoy my time off too much. I don't know about you, but I was feeling really burned out this fall and it really caught up with me.

So I'm just thankful to have that time off to decompress and then to be able to have the energy to get back into things. But I got a question for you. Have you ever found yourself held back by the looming fear of failure in your practice? Whether you're just starting your journey or maybe you're a seasoned practitioner, this episode can help you to find the tools.

to deal with that fear of failure. So we're going to dive into the transformative power of mindset, exploring strategies to cultivate resilience, overcome those setbacks, and ultimately pave your way to success. Our guest today is Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo. Her practice, Lux Psychiatry, focuses on helping busy and stressed people Live happier lives with tailored treatment and direct care.

She also has special interest in women's mental health and physician wellness. Today, she brings forth her wisdom and real world experiences, offering you a roadmap to navigate the emotional landscape of running a private practice. Welcome to the Holistic Counseling Podcast, Priscilla. Thank you

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: for having me.

Chris McDonald: Can you share your journey about how you became a practice owner?

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: Of course. Um, as you know, I'm a physician. I did medical school in Dominican Republic. I did psychiatry residency at the University of Virginia, and I'm also sub specialized in geriatric psychiatry. Even though nowadays my practice focuses more on general adult psychiatry and women's mental health.

I, after Training, as you can imagine, I had all sorts

Chris McDonald: of jobs. Did you take a shift there and who you

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: work with? Well, you know, I, I had all sorts of types of patients, but right now I work more with women's mental health and general adult patients. I, I. I've done all sorts of things in patient work, mostly outpatient the last few years.

And like many of us, I've done my community mental health clinic kind of jobs. And what ended up happening is that with all of these jobs, it was very clear to me that if I wanted to do things my way, I was going to have to have my own practice. And what that means for a lot of us psychiatrists is that in many practice, they want us to see patients every 15 or 20 minutes, which is not my.

And I figured if I really wanted that, I needed to have my proper practice. So my appointments are longer. My follow up appointments are 30 minutes long. I also wanted to make sure that I was accessible to patients. So my schedule is a little bit odd. Uh, I do have some hours or during regular business hours, like nine to five, but I have a lot of appointments that are on the weekends or like after 5 PM, because I want to make sure that.

There were, you know, other professionals like me could actually have access to see the doctor. So that's how I got started.

Chris McDonald: That's true. Cause you think about physicians, that's probably much more difficult for them to get away for appointments.

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: Well, I think for, for many professionals and even I've had, and since I do a lot of women's mental health, I have a lot of moms.

So let's say between work and getting home, they're like, I just need like, just like those. 30 minutes for us to talk. And I'm usually able to do that after I'm done with work. So it actually works out pretty well. I like it. That's

Chris McDonald: great. But it sounds like you want to pace yourself too, with your appointments, which is amazing because I know a lot of times I have clients that go to psychiatrists and they just feel like snap your fingers.

You're in and out. You're in and out. Come on. Yes.

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: And that is certainly not my style. Preferred to develop my relationship with patients. And, and I think that there's so much that is happening in someone's life that, you know, 15 minutes of like covering medications and what's happening in your life is not enough.

Ooh,

Chris McDonald: that's tough. Yeah. But you can make more money. I know somebody saying that

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: right now. Oh, trust me. I've heard it.

Chris McDonald: I'm sure you've heard that. Have you gotten pushback from other physicians in

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: your approach? I wouldn't say pushback. I would say a lot of them have been, they have expressed to me that, wow, that is actually really cool that you, that you do that because I think a lot of you're a trailblazer.

A little bit. I'd like to think so. And there were a lot of people that I've met that have left their other jobs and now they are doing practice and they tell me, Oh my God, I had no idea how burned out I was. was until I started doing my own thing, or I had no idea how much I love medicine because now I have a renewed sense of purpose and I'm enjoying my patients more because now I don't feel so pressed for time, or I don't feel like somebody's breathing down my neck with like productivity and all sorts of things.

Chris McDonald: And numbers. Exactly. That was rough in, uh, community mental health, man. I remember the owner would be like, here's your numbers, your numbers are down. I'm like, because they all cancel.

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: It's not my fault. Well, yeah, there's so many nuances when it comes to having a practice. I actually was talking today with a friend of mine who he's a psychiatrist, but he also did an MBA.

And he's actually working more from the administrative side of the practice that he works at. And I was telling him that is so great to have someone that actually has been in the trenches and actually knows what it's like to see patients and what we need to do and help that inform his decisions as an administrative person.

Because a lot of times you have all these people that have really no experience. experience in mental health, and they don't really understand what happens in a session and after a session and in between, essentially.

Chris McDonald: True. Yeah, no, that I think that's great for the empathy piece. So understanding that where you're coming from.

So tell me about your personal experience with fear of failure. So has that come up for you to break away from community mental health and the other

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: places you've worked? Well, it's, I would say it's a work in progress. At least once. They're still there.

Chris McDonald: Get a little panic

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: going. Clearly, clearly. I think the fear of failure has always been there.

And I think it has to do with how many, you know, many times I think it kind of helps us. Be better, you know, it helps to say, okay, we're, I, I don't feel like I have enough knowledge. So I'm going to study more. So in an old, those things are the, the nice things about it, let's say, but the fear of failure is a really, it's a real thing, especially when you're opening your private practice.

And, and honestly, I really thought that it was just going to be like that initial part of opening my practice, but it has been throughout, and I think it has to do with. Kind of comparing ourselves and also constantly thinking about, well, what if this doesn't work out? What if I fail at this? Does that mean that I'm not good enough?

And all the thoughts and emotions that we have behind that, for me, it shows up not a whole lot in the ways of like, I don't have enough knowledge because I think I am qualified. But that also has been a work in progress because yeah, that developing that confidence in how good of a psychiatrist I am has taken some time, but I think it has to do when we start seeing like other people's practices.

And, and I'll give you an example. I was looking for an office space and a friend of mine had just opened her space. She's not even a psychiatrist and she was showing on social media, her new office space. And my first thought was, Oh my gosh, this is so cool for her. Cause I know how hard she worked on that.

But then the second thought was, see, she has an office space and I don't like, how am I ever going to grow a practice? You know, I don't know anything about business. And so on, and it had to be, you know, and, and this is something I still practice every day, which is like taking a moment and try to reframe the way that I think about what are perceived failures.

And I put that in quotes because it's not, you said perceive. Exactly what is perceived failure, because it's not a failure just because she's opening her practice, you know, has an office space, not a failure on my part, eventually I find I find an office, you know, and I have an office where I see patients.

So, you know what I mean? So I think it has to do with sometimes how we compare ourselves and also what we think of the expectation should be. And that's why I say perceived because it's not necessarily true.

Chris McDonald: Yeah, for sure. And I know a lot of listeners or mental health clinicians who are either starting or have started that.

And it's, it can be a rocky road. Now for me, what's happened is it was a slow progress for me to build my caseload. And I did not write on Facebook, like some people, Oh, after three months, I'm full and not permanently full. No. So there's the ebbs and flows. So I I think the fear of failure has come up sometimes too, like, Oh my God, like I'm really light on cases this week that I'm like, Ooh, what do I need to do?

What am I doing wrong? Does that happen to

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: you at all? Yes. And I would even take it a step further. Not even when we're talking about like, you know, not having enough. patients and all that stuff, but also the business side of it, because I don't know about you, but like I didn't receive business classes when I went to medical school or residency.

So there, there has to be a moment in, I would imagine everybody goes through this where you're like, Oh my gosh, I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to business. And then you have to start learning more and more about it. And then you start thinking about, wait, do I have enough money for this?

Does this mean that I can afford buying this thing? That would be helpful for my practice. Do I even need it? Am I going to have enough patience to be able to actually make my pain roll? So, I mean, there's so many things that we don't really, that we don't think about a whole lot when we are in training.

And then after training, when we open our private practice and all these things kind of start flooding in that. You know, it's part of owning a business. And, and I think also us mental health practitioners have also been trained to sort of not be very comfortable with talking to patients about payment.

And I remember I had a professor of residency who said, you have to be comfortable talking about money with patients. And, and I, I had a conversation with her. I was like, I don't know, like, I just want to help. Like,

it

Chris McDonald: feels for listeners. She just made a face.

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: Oh my God. It's, it just, it's, it, I just, I'm remembering where I was in my office in residence, because it was so uncomfortable.

And then I, you know, she said the most amazing thing. She's like, you actually owe it to your patients to do that. Because if you want to help people, your office has to be open. And for that, you need to be able to make money. Yeah. And it's like, if you want to do pro bono work or you want to have a sliding scale or something, if you want to do that, your business also has to make money in order to be able to do that.

So in a way you have to be. Comfortable with doing these things so that way your business can thrive and you can do the other things that you want to do.

Chris McDonald: That's a good theme for people to remember for sure that we have to do this, but I think isn't it too that listeners also have to work through their own money

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: issues.

Exactly. Exactly. There is the fear that, okay, I'm not going to have enough. What if, or like for example, when they're normal, and I think you probably have experienced this, but there are times of the year that you're getting patients all the time, and then it gets really slow. And what are the, some of the first things that we think about?

Oh, my gosh, I'm not going to have enough patience. I'm going to have to close down. This is, I mean, and then we start catastrophizing. Like how much do I need to pay my bills as well? Exactly. And then we're sort of thinking none of this stuff is actually going to work out. And it has to do, you know, I agree with you with the way that we think about money, also like our own limiting beliefs when it comes to money.

But also, you know, our understanding of the business and kind of how it works out. And I mean, this is a whole conversation when it comes to like, how do you plan for slower months and, and all those things. But I think it's very hard to go through all these different stages in your business in just one year, or even, you know, a few months and then not think about, am I really doing the right thing?

This is just not going to work out. Yeah. And then eventually I'm going

Chris McDonald: to fail. There's that thought, right? Yeah. Yeah. No, I hear you. And there's still things that I'm still learning. And I, I opened my private practice with an office space in 2015, but I just got a letter from the state taxes in North Carolina.

I was like panicked about something that I got and I just sent it to my account. And so it's like, there's still stuff that. You're still learning. And I think just giving yourself grace, giving that card of grace to say, Hey, you know, it's okay. Let's find out the information. Let's be rational about this.

Let's figure out what we need to do.

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: Certainly. And I don't know about you, but do you like doing like the business side of things, like keeping the accounting? Cause exactly. Cause to me, that is the most boring thing. And I procrastinate on that. I mean, not as much as I used. do, but like before I was like, yeah, sure.

I'll do it next week. I'll do it next week. And then, you know, eventually anxiety drives an avoidance. So by the time I got to it, then I'm all anxious about, okay, like, do I have enough money to do this? Is there anything else I need to do differently? And I mean, it's, it's, it's a very complex issue. And also if you really think about it, the way that we think about failure, I think is at the root of everything.

You know, we, we don't, we think. A failure is something actually bad. And, and I would say my hardest work has been on reframing the way that I think about failure. I try not to think about failure, but rather think about it as feedback that, you know, I try something, I experiment with something, if it works out, you know, great, if it doesn't work out, then I can learn from it.

But that is not to say that that doesn't come with thoughts and feelings behind it.

Chris McDonald: It is true. It does take some intentionality and, and work through and reframing because it's easy for to get overwhelm yourself with that and, but to take it personally, because sometimes we might start something and it's not working, but it may not just.

be personal. It may be so many factors going on. Like let's say you started something new and the pandemic hit. Well, guess what? Then you have a whole other factor. So I think just keeping an open mind to that too.

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: Exactly. Like when I opened my private practice, I opened it as a telemedicine practice, uh, even before the pandemic, because I wanted to make sure it was successful.

And the year that I actually wanted to get an office space that I actually needed to start looking for an office space, then the pandemic happened. So, so then now I'm like, okay, nothing has really changed, but then marketing has to change now because we're in the middle of a pandemic. So things are completely different and we have to take.

on all these different things. And I guess there's so many things I've done that haven't really worked out. And it always comes with the thought and you know, the, this is not good. I'm never going to make it. I'm going to fail the sadness, the frustration, the anger, the feeling lost. But then once I'm done with that part of the grief, I'm able to kind of see things for the bigger picture.

And then I'm able to get back on the horse, as they say. Building and managing the

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So, but how do we stay in that mindset, that more resilient mindset? What do we do?

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: I don't think you can easily stay there. Why not? Well, once I figured that out, I'll let you know. I mean, the reason why I say that I don't think we can actually stay that way is because the business can be fluid and you have to change, you know, you have to change so many times the way that you do things and the way that you think about things that I actually think it's an advantage to be flexible and not only think about, you know, one way, one of the things that I.

That has helped me, like I said, is trying to reframe the way that I think about failure and also recalling my past successes. So if I, if I feel, you know, kind of a little bit kind of wobbly and I'm like, this is really not going to work out or something, then I actually try to think about the things that I've done.

And I think about my why and my why is always. I want to help people and I want to be able to help people have access to quality care and have a personal direct psychiatric care for my patients. And once I go back to that, then I feel, okay, this is good because I'm accomplishing that. And I have accomplished that with many patients.

So I'm like, okay, this is. good and thinking about that and also pairing that with being able to gather my tribe, which is composed of like my family, my friends, my colleagues, people that remind me that, Hey, this is good. You know, you cannot compare yourself to this person because. X, Y, and Z and, and kind of gives you that reality check.

Let me give you an example. One of the things that I want to do in my private practice that I want to expand is as a speaker. Several months ago, I, I was invited to speak on a podcast about anxiety. I literally got the text, I chuckled and I showed it to my husband. I was like, this is a joke, right? I don't know anything about it.

And he's like, what do you mean you don't know anything about anxiety? This is your bread and butter. Like, this is what you do every single day. You've been trained, like you've been in training over half of your life with this. And, and I remember thinking, I was like, you know what? It's absolutely right.

And then, um, he said something very interesting. He's like, there are people with less qualification than you are actually providing advice online. So keep that in mind. I was like, kudos

Chris McDonald: to him, man.

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: That was a good pep talk. Yeah, that was very helpful. And as a result of it, then I have to remind myself, okay, so I know these things.

That doesn't mean that I don't prepare. It doesn't mean that I don't keep on reading and I stay up to date with stuff. But I am much more confident since then. I've been against multiple podcasts and social lives and all that. And still I get scared, still my mind that this is not going to work out. It's going to be my

Chris McDonald: deep breathing

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: and then, and then I just go through it, you know, and then I, I usually just afterwards, then I try to think about, okay, how did it go?

And, and that's what I mean. Like, I think being able to recognize or acknowledge your thoughts and emotions. And not really judge if, let's say you get a positive or negative feedback, but rather just take it as feedback. I think what is, what really helps in the success of a private practice. I don't think that, you know, you think about it.

Oh, I just want to avoid failure. One is not realistic because it's part of life, but then also two, it's just not really failure. You know, I think not trying would be failure. That, that, that would, that would be, I would be more concerned with not trying.

Chris McDonald: Yeah, my husband says when I recently had a contractor I hired that was a therapist that quit on me, um, unexpectedly on Friday.

So yeah, I was cursing up a storm. My husband's like, he's all calm. What is the lesson there? He's like my little Buddha, but it's true, isn't it? What is the lesson? Right? Whenever something doesn't go well.

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: Well, yeah, and I think, but I think it's easy to think about that once you're like calm, calmer, I think in the moment, in the moment, it may not be, but it's just not possible.

Is it? And I think that like what you were saying earlier, it is really important, like allowing yourself grace. To go through the moment, you know, experience the emotion because you're a human and experience the emotion, go through it and then go back and review the situation

Chris McDonald: and reflect, right? What do I want and where am I going now?

And how can I reroute just like our GPS? Exactly. And just recalculate because we got to do that a lot in business. Don't we? True. Cause some things we try, you're just not going to work period.

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: And, and also what works for one practice doesn't really work for another. Um, like I said, in physicians, I, I am part of a lot of different Facebook groups and like what you were saying earlier, somebody was saying, Oh, I got 200 patients signed up and whatever.

And I was like, okay, that's great. Ouch, you know, but then that's a different kind of specialty. And that's a different kind of practice than what I have. True. You know what I mean? Like my patients are people that want to work are people that are busy, that are stressed and, and I want to provide that kind of care for them.

And in my practice is not for everyone, you know, there are people that, you know, perhaps they don't want to work with someone that sees them for longer periods of time that they actually want to be seeing 10 minutes, not my style, because I don't think in 10 minutes I get to know you. So, you know, it, it really depends on what the practice is, what the focus of the practice is.

Um, and like I said, I'm really, I'm really interested in physician wellness and, uh, women's mental health. And particularly with women, we're many times in impossible situations. So, you know, that is not something that you can do in 15 minutes. And I don't want to be in a place where I am forced to see patients so quickly, because I will not get to do the care that I want.

Chris McDonald: Yeah, and it's finding, I think, like you said, the, the right clients for you and your practice. Because once I'm with my ideal clients, I mean, we're grooving, we're moving along and things are going great and I see the, the progress they make. But if I'm with someone that is just not working and I just take any client that comes my way, it's not helpful for either of us.

Exactly.

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: And like, for instance, like I have patients that I give hugs, which is something that I was trained that you never do, but there's a human in me that actually says, well, what this person actually needs right now is a hug. And appropriate, of course, I'll give you a hug. So, you know, I talk a lot.

Sometimes I curse, you know, I always apologize if I do, but you know, I sometimes it does slip and that is something that you're human. Exactly. Then I'm, I'm human. I want my patients to be able to see me as a human and also be able to, to see, Hey, you're just not, like, we're not disconnected. It is not, you know, you're not distant from me.

And, and that is not every patient is appropriate for my practice. Like I said, there are patients that also, you know, that they might say, well, you know what, it's too complicated or have, I need more intensive services. Then. That's the other thing, like my practice would not be for someone like that, but I will certainly help them get connected with someone because I want to make sure that they get the care that they need, even if it is without me.

Yeah,

Chris McDonald: for sure. I always say that too, as part of my practice. If I can't help you, I'll find some help you find someone who can. And I think that's just just showing good care for people in our community.

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: true. And, and I work also very closely with the therapist that I share patients with. So that is another thing that there are, pat, I had one patient, once said, oh, I don't want you talking to my therapist for my primary care.

And I'm like, well then it doesn't work out. 'cause I actually need to work with these people. Like the therapist sees them more frequently than I do and I need to be able to coordinate care with everyone. So that would not be an ideal patient. But I, I am very grateful that, you know, the patients that I have.

And the patients that continue to seek out my services are people that are there are in the same wavelength as I am, you know, they want to develop a relationship. They don't want something that is like, very cut and dry, you know, so they want to work on their mental health issues, but they want to do that with compassionate care and not just like a, hey, here's a prescription.

Good luck to you.

Chris McDonald: Exactly. Well, what would you say to therapists who want to maybe expand outside of just therapy? Like you said, doing speaking things or maybe doing workshops, but they've never done that before and there's a lot of fear there. What would you say to them? Well,

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: I would say. Think about the things that you want to do and the things that you enjoy doing.

If you are someone that enjoys talking and you like educating people, then maybe speaking is for you. If you want to be able to educate people, but let's say you don't want to speak in front of a group, maybe creating videos or doing workshops could be your thing. I know that sometimes people do affiliate programs where, you know, they get extra income that way, but I would say it really depends on what speaks to you.

I am much more introverted and I have a social anxiety. I hate speaking. And I hate public speaking. I don't like like big networking events. That being said, if I don't do any of those things that I'm not able to get what I want, like I am very passionate about educating people and mental health issues.

particularly women and perinatal psychiatry and all that. In order for me to be able to do that, I have to get over my fear that it's going to go bad. So I got to jump on it. You know, if you will, like the big networking events that I absolutely dislike, I have met the most amazing people there that are still in my life.

You never know who

Chris McDonald: you're going to meet.

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: Exactly. You never know. So even if you're afraid, even if you're not sure, just try to get your feet wet, something, whatever it is. Try it out, see how it goes, and then just take that feedback and figure out if that is the way you want to, you want to do things. Like I know that whatever I do, I don't ever want to give up my clinical.

And I know that I will never do an MBA. I know that I will never do like business stuff because I just don't like it, but I am definitely passionate about educating, doing the, the speaking on these topics and my clinical care. So I'm definitely working on those primarily, but yeah, no, but I would say, just kind of think about what you want to do.

Be kind to yourself. And separate yourself from the business, you know, if something happens in the business and is not going well, is the business is not a reflection of you as a person. But yeah, but I would say whatever it is that you want to do. We also need to practice kind of having that little bit of separation.

So that way it doesn't feel like, okay, this is just a direct reflection of me.

Chris McDonald: I think it does take some bravery too to put yourself out there, but what I did too is also talk to people in the field who have been successful with whatever I want to do, like podcasting. I'm, you know, I joined, jumped into that, but I, I, I was like, if we back up the truck, I took a lot of courses.

I talked to a lot of podcasts, you know, I did my research. So it's, it's finding people to, to, uh, To set yourself up for the most success, too. And

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: I think that's where the community comes in, you know, the things that, that have helped me in my career have not only been, like I said, like my family, my friends, and Nicole, you have been like podcasts like yours.

Like I was telling you the other day, I really enjoy the podcast because I feel like I learn a lot. And thanks for listening. And, you know, there are so many things I've done, like business courses, all those different things that, you know, that perhaps take extra time, but it is also an investment. Um, so you also have to think about it that way that, you know, if I really want to thrive in my business, then I really need to do things a little bit differently.

And that may mean connecting with mentors, connecting with other people, asking how other people are doing things. And kind of. Pick and choose what would work for you. Cause like, like I was saying, what would work for one practice may not work for another one. You know, having a medical practice completely different than having a therapist practice.

That being said, I listen to a lot of podcasts that have to do with therapy, private practice, because I have found those to be very helpful. And I also do my medical practice podcast. And so, I mean, as long as we're have the thirst to learn and that we're ready to. Take chances, take risks, and just take the feedback, process the emotions and the thoughts, we should be

Chris McDonald: gold.

Yeah, totally. And I think one thing I recommend, too, is getting coaches. I've hired coaches before, too, because guess what? There's people who have walked that walk and been very successful. So sometimes we need a little bit of an extra help in that. Just don't be afraid to do that. That is money investing in yourself, too.

Agreed. Agreed. And delegating. I will say that, too. So I have a virtual assistant who is amazing. I have an editor for my podcast and I have a social media person and it is the most wonderful money spent

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: ever. I agree. I agree. There are so many things that I think that not only about the time that it takes you to do all these different things, but also the mental bandwidth.

Like once your mental effort goes into something, you may not have enough energy to do. Something else. And I'm not just talking about private practice stuff. It's just like even being present with your family, you know, if you're so tired mentally and physically tired from wanting to do it all by yourself, you're just not going to be there.

You're also not going to be there for your patients. So again, you owe it to your patients to take care of yourself and delegating and being okay. So that way you can provide the care that you want.

Chris McDonald: So what kind of self care do you like to do to help yourself to stay more grounded?

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: Well, I always meditate.

I don't do long meditations, 30 seconds to 60 seconds. And I visualize my day. Actually, I find it very helpful. And the way that I visualize it is like, if everything that I wanted, when the way that I want, not only that puts me in a, in a really good mood, but it kind of helps me get centered. I also journal my thoughts and, and I have different notebooks.

I have like notebook for like business ideas. I have a notebook of just like, Whatever comes to mind, and then I have another notebook where I just write down like my thoughts and my emotions, kind of what what is happening in the moment. Another thing that has been helpful is that like what you were saying earlier, like asking for help.

I always touch base with my people. And I'm like, Hey, I'm kind of feeling stuck with this, or I am not sure that this is kind of working out or I'm just like really tired. Like as entrepreneur burnout is a real thing too. I mean, there are times that I'm like, I just really don't want to think about any of this stuff.

And it just doesn't, you know, and that's when I kind of get this as okay. I need. Time away from this and I need to rest and then once I'm able to recalibrate, the other thing I do is that I plan ahead and then I start making my goals and figuring out, okay, what is it that I need to accomplish this goal?

And when am I going to do it? Like the smart goals, you know, you've probably read that, uh, somewhere, but yes, it's all about calibrating and kind of what would work for you.

Chris McDonald: Yeah. And I think that it's something that you do have to make as an intention every day and don't wait for vacations or holidays.

It is something that's gotta be done all the time.

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: Oh, yeah. Even, even if it is, like, if I am actually feeling, there are two things that I've trained myself to do is that if I'm feeling really overwhelmed by something or like the day, that is actually when I pause and I meditate for 30 seconds because I feel that that helps me again.

Chris McDonald: That's so doable too. I've never heard someone say 30 seconds to a minute, you know, I think that's amazing.

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: Yeah. All I need to do is a brief, um, really, and, and just kind of tell myself, you know what, you're going to be fine. You're doing the best that you can right now. That

Chris McDonald: sounds like some self talk

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: in there too.

Oh, yeah, of course. And I, I, cause that, that also helps me prioritize things. Cause I also think that when we feel so overwhelmed, we think that everything is important. And, and I think that that makes it hard for us to then make decisions. What is it that needs to be done first? But then once I calm my mind that I'm like, okay, the first thing that really needs to happen.

Is this, then this, so I think of it more as a grounding technique. Um, the other thing is that if that doesn't seem to be working as well, then I try to distract myself by watching something stupid on YouTube that makes me laugh. Me too. That's it. Funny cats. Exactly. Exactly. Like sometimes I watch, like, have you seen those little dogs that are like, like really fluffy?

And they kind of trip everywhere. Oh, I want to see that now. Oh my gosh. I'm going to send you the link. So they're, they're sort of like huskies, but they're like really tiny and really fluffy. Put it in the show notes. They seem to trip everywhere. Oh

Chris McDonald: my God. I love funny animals. There's something about it.

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: So funny. And again, it's nothing, uh, it's nothing like really sophisticated or anything like it, but it does give me that little bit of a break. Now, if I am feeling like I am not competent as a psychiatrist in the moment, one, I remember the feelings are not necessarily facts, so that helps too. And then I actually read an article or something where I feel I learned something.

And if I learn something like, okay, this is good. I learned this is good. I feel better.

Chris McDonald: Okay. Yeah, that's really helpful advice too. And, but I think what you just said too is like, I got this, right? That I can do this, that the way that we encourage our clients, we got to encourage ourselves because we're all going to have those low moments.

And, and of course getting your own therapy too, I think is so important, especially if you're starting something new. Oh, yeah.

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: And not only, you know, even if you're starting private practice, just that the kind of work that we do with patients, a lot of times brings stuff up for us. And I think having a therapist, I think that should be as important as you having like your primary care, as important as having your meal, that should be part of your self care toolkit if you will.

Chris McDonald: Absolutely. So is there any takeaway that you could share today for people who might just be starting on their holistic journey? Yeah. Yeah.

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: Reframe the way that you think about failure, failure is not really failure is just feedback and try to acknowledge the thoughts, the emotions that come when things don't really work out your way.

And then think about how can you take a lesson from what happened, what worked, what didn't, um, for that matter, look for, let's say, Something in social media, you know, you've got to have comments and stuff, even if it is positive or negative, just kind of watch how you feel and what you think about it. And regardless of what it is, just think about it as feedback.

Don't judge yourself for it, but rather just reframe that you think about the whole. The whole

Chris McDonald: word mantra and yoga. We say mantra. Yeah.

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: I like it. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Create your own mantra around the reframing of the word failure.

Chris McDonald: So what's the best way for listeners to find more about

Dr. Priscilla Hidalgo: you? Well, they can go to my website is www.

lookpsychiatry. com. And there they have my email. There's a phone number. If patients want to work with me, they just have to click on your patient. The system walks them through the whole thing. They'll have access to my calendar, but yeah, but I'd be interested in learning more about what other people are doing.

So if they want to send me a message with what has helped them, I would be very grateful because I also want to learn what other people are doing.

Chris McDonald: Yeah. And we'll have that in the show notes for listeners, but I want to thank you, Priscilla, for coming on the holistic counseling podcast today. Thank you for having me.

This was fun. This was fun, definitely. And that brings us to the end of another episode. Be sure to tune in next week for another episode on Wednesday. And listeners, I want to thank you today for your continued support. Are you someone who's getting a private practice started? I know starting a private practice is hard.

I've been there. My colleague and former coach Joe Sanna can help. So he's offering an affordable course to help you learn everything you need to know about effectively marketing your private practice, including types of marketing, how to optimize your website, paid advertising, and how to create quarterly marketing plan.

All this for 97. Go to hcpodcast. org forward slash market your practice. That's hcpodcast. org forward slash market your practice. And once again, this is Chris McDonald sending each one of you much light and love till next time. Take care. Thanks for listening. The information in this podcast is for general educational purposes only, and it is given with the understanding that neither the host, the publisher, or the guests are giving legal financial counseling or any of.

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