In this episode, we are talking with Dr. Michael Hernandez. Michael is the medical director and psychiatrist at our South Padre Island location in Texas. He works in several different psychiatric specialties at this location.  

Michael shares about his day to day work experience and why he enjoys his work so much. He also shares about his journey as a dad, physician, and psychiatrist. We wrap up our discussion talking about the importance of finding little ways to feed your spirit.  

• [00:43] We are excited to welcome Dr. Michael Hernandez. 
• [01:55] During the daytime he is a psychiatrist and he works in every aspect of the field from acute care to dealing with the chronically mentally ill. Now he has had further exposure to substance abuse disorders.   
• [03:35] He enjoys working in all these different aspects of psychiatry because his workday looks different each day.  
• [05:26] In school he had plans to go to college and become a doctor. In high school, he went to a magnet school and studied health careers. Then he changed courses to engineering but ended up going back and attending medical school. 
• [06:58] Psychiatry felt the most like home for Dr. Hernandez.  
• [09:04] You don’t really know if a career path is a perfect fit for you until you are in it. You really don’t know until you try.  
• [09:34] You might find that you want something, but when you are in it actually isn’t the right fit for you. That is part of the journey.  
• [10:54] Health would be thriving in the different aspects of mind, body, and spirit.  
• [13:01] A healthy body is important, but it is also important to incorporate the mental aspect of it.  
• [13:41] If we want to continue to grow, we have to do the hard stuff.  
• [14:10] We have to take the time to figure out what we need individually to thrive.  It is usually different for each of us. 
• [15:13] Often exploration is turning the eye inward and figuring out yourself and what works for you. 
• [18:11] Many people are struggling because of the current health crisis and there are also a lot of people under a sense of political stress. It is time to get them from the fear they are feeling and get them grounded in the realities in their environment. 
• [19:38] Sometimes we need to go through our level of needs checklist and assess if our needs are being met and ask what areas could change be made to make you feel more comfortable.  
• [20:39] What are my basic needs and are they being met? If basic needs aren’t being met, how can I make that happen? What are the things I want that bring me comfort and how can I make them a little bit better?
• [21:19] Cara shares about the self-care plan she made for herself.  
• [22:55] Your body does need food, shelter, and clothing but your mind and spirit also need curiosity, learning, and peace. It is hard to feel good if you are not at least on that journey in that direction. 
• [23:42] What is one thing that you will do today that will help you stay grounded and make things a little better? Exercise, meditation, and music are all great examples of small things that can keep us grounded.   
• [25:26] Find these little things that can feed your spirit.   

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