You Deserve Self-Compassion with Dr. Jillian Rigert

The world can be so chaotic sometimes. Different things will motivate you to decide on relationships, education, and career. However, we can never eliminate the hardships and pressures it produces within our minds. Thus, for mentally tough people, life can be more traumatic and challenging to handle or even to survive. Many incredible individuals, such as athletes, military, and veterans, are likely to experience depression that could sometimes lead to significant problems in mental, emotional, and physical health. 

Moreover, it has been stated that the core of mental toughness is self-compassion and that mentally tough individuals need to possess it. We often overlook our personal needs in our quest for success and belongingness. And it makes us more vulnerable and weaker, not having enough strength to fight more battles. Hence, we must free ourselves from societal expectations and start reclaiming ourselves from the destructive influence of imposter syndrome and the negative voices which destroy our confidence. We must also be willing to face the grief, guilt, and shame from our pasts and learn to process everything with the help of others who are willing to stretch out their hands for our good. As our guest speaker encourages us, "Choose life, you have one. Choose self-compassion; you deserve it."

 Dr. Jillian Rigert is an Oral Medicine Specialist, Head and Neck Cancer Researcher, YouTuber, Mental Health and Quality of Life Advocate, Air Force Veteran, and Certified Professional Leadership Coach. Jillian had experienced depression during a time when a career was a marker of success by societal standards. After years of navigating a life-threatening level of burnout, career transitions, identity loss, and deep diving into personal healing- life and leadership coaching completely transformed Jillian's life's trajectory. Now, she "lives to give it" and pays forward the fantastic benefits of coaching. Today, she specializes in partnering with clients as they work to reconnect with their essential selves, often during times of burnout and transitions in career and life. She supports individuals in exploring their authentic goals, establishing boundaries, and navigating the best next steps in their journeys.

In this special episode with Dr. Jillian Rigert, we'll learn about the journey of a woman who battled with the negative thoughts within her mind and felt the loneliness of unbelonging. She seeks to raise mental health awareness, particularly on burnout, mind-body healing, and an eating disorder. Tune in as she shares her bravery, struggles, grief, and self-compassion story.

"It was the environment that I was at that helped me to lean into everything and start to see that I needed to make some changes." – Dr. Jillian Rigert

Topics Covered:

(00:00:00) Introduction + Episode Snippet

(00:00:17) Introducing our special guest, Dr. Jillian Rigert

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(00:02:12) Medicine and Dentistry: What encouraged Jillian to take the path she's currently taking? 

(00:04:02) The existential crisis: How do Jillian's busy moments affect her?

(00:07:14) Imposter syndrome: What made Jillian think she was heading in the wrong path?

(00:09:05) The peril of being in a High-risk environment while having low self-esteem

(00:10:00) How was Jillian as a college athlete?

(00:11:24) How athleticism helped Jillian become more confident

(00:11:49) An obsessive exercise: Why running became unhealthy for Jillian?

(00:12:32) Coping with career transition, identity loss, and grief

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(00:14:44) The self-evaluation: What path should I take now?

(00:16:13) How Jillian managed dealing with both the pandemic and her inner crisis?

(00:19:00) Holding space for cancer patients

(00:20:19) No steps are wasted.

(00:21:00) What led Jillian into coaching?

(00:22:54) How can we truly help people with eating disorders?

(00:25:11) The power of knowing you're not alone: Share your story!

(00:26:19) Final TimeOut with Dr. Jillian Rigert: How would you counsel someone under pressure to change yet going through a difficult time in her life? 

(00:26:50) The core of mental toughness is self-compassion

(00:27:12) Never make everything big at one time.

(00:28:22) Connect with Dr. Jillian Rigert.

Key Takeaways: 

"We know people a lot from their face, and it impacts people to have more oral health and their self-esteem and their desire to go to levels and interview." – Dr. Jillian Rigert

"I joined the Air Force and started my oral surgery residency. I picked my head up and thought I was not sure this was the right fit for me. The things I was experiencing at the time were during periods of long hours without sleep, and so I was becoming suicidal." – Dr. Jillian Rigert

"So, I was just thinking, everyone looked fine around me, but why am I the only one that cannot hold up to what we need to do to be successful in surgery?" – Dr. Jillian Rigert

"I got clouded by my lack of confidence, and I thought I didn't deserve to be in oral surgery." – Dr. Jillian Rigert

"The core of mental toughness is self-compassion. People that are very mentally tough need to have self-compassion." – Dr. Jillian Rigert

"Being remote helped me to realize that a chaotic setting isn't the best fit for me. With being so sensitive, maybe I need something slower." – Dr. Jillian Rigert

"Without hope for my fight, it's easy to give up. So, to have a boundary, I didn't want to work with patients with eating disorders, but I resonated with this similar experience with people with cancer enough that I could learn how to hold space for them." – Dr. Jillian Rigert

"No steps are wasted, whether they're failure, success, ups, downs, happiness, sadness, it all comes together to make us a unique individual." – Dr. Derrick Burgess

"We go through things each day, and we feel so isolated because when the pressure is on you, it seems like you're alone many times." – Dr. Derrick Burgess

"Self-compassion is not fluffy. It's not something that should be overlooked and seen as a soft skill. It's necessary." – Dr. Jillian Rigert

"We should never make everything big at one time. It's always turtle steps so you can have a vision of what you want and make sure that your vision is in alignment with your core values." – Dr. Jillian Rigert

"Make small turtle steps way forward so that you can always allow yourself permission to pivot as needed." – Dr. Jillian Rigert

Connect with Dr. Jillian Rigert:

Website: https://www.jillianrigertcoaching.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/permissiontopivotcommunity

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jillian_rigert

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillian-rigert/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillian_dmd_md_and_reese_dog/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JillianRigertDMDMD

Connect with Dr. Derrick Burgess: 

Website: https://www.drderrickthesportsdr.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drderrickthesportsdr/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TimeOut.SportsDr

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derrick-burgess-72047b246/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHGDu1zT4K_X6PnYELu8weg

Email: thesportsdoctr@gmail.com

This episode of TimeOut with the SportsDr. is produced by Podcast VAs Philippines - the team that helps podcasters effectively launch and manage their podcasts, so we don't have to. Record, share, and repeat! Podcast VAs PH gives me back my time so that I can focus on the core functions of my business. Need expert help with your podcast? Go to www.podcastvasph.com.