Activities
Connect
No one else has lived through your exact experiences, but an important part of honouring your own complex identity can involve connecting with others who have shared some of them. Seek out others who share parts of your identity and connect over the nuanced ways those parts of you impact (or are impacted by) your work as a healthcare provider.
Identify your hats
Take some time to think about the parts of your identity that are most important to you. Write them out in a list and indicate which, if any, you feel is in conflict with your role as a healthcare provider. For each of them, jot down a few examples of ways you are (or can continue) engaging with and expressing these parts of your identity.
Writing prompts
You can also try one or both of these prompts.
- What were you taught about mental health growing up? How, if at all, have your views changed over your lifetime?
- How has the COVID-19 pandemic and co-occurring racial pandemic uniquely impacted you? Which parts of your identity do you feel were most impacted by these events?