S5 - #9 Codependency Voices: Nicole on the Helping/Healing Professions

Learn more about Nicole's coaching practice, Meaning in Medicine, here: https://www.meaninginmed.com/about

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In this episode we explore the phenomenon of codependency within professional environments, particularly the healthcare field, with our special guest, Dr. Nicole Piemonte. A PhD holder in Medical Humanities, Dr. Piemonte has dedicated her career to the human facets of medical practice.

In this discussion, we delve into Dr. Piemonte's career origins and personal journey with codependency. She describes a prevalent pattern of trauma-induced codependency within the health sector, typically characterized by 'rescuing' and 'fixing' patients—a behavior that draws parallels with institutional people-pleasing and poses significant hindrance to effective care.

Further in the conversation, we examine how codependency—stemming from a deep-rooted need to be needed—leads caregivers to self-neglect due to their inherent desire to help others. Surprisingly, narcissism and codependency share this common root of trauma, offering a new perspective on the familiar trope of the narcissist physician.

Nicole sheds light on the falseness of the emotion-free detachment often seen in medicine. Arguing that compassion fatigue emerges from not feeling anything, rather than ‘feeling too much’, she emphasizes the role of emotional reconnection in aiding clinicians to regain self-contentment and fulfillment.

Nicole discusses how through supportive coaching and introspection, it's possible to replace these maladaptive coping mechanisms with healthier ones. 

 

00:00:07 Exploring Codependency in Professional Spaces

00:10:26 The tendency to fix and rescue in medicine

00:14:03 Recognizing codependency in personal and work relationships

00:20:51 Caretaking and Codependency

00:23:11 Coaching and Reconnecting to Meaning and Purpose in Medicine

00:31:12 Reconnecting with Emotions and the Healing Path

00:33:11 Compartmentalization as a Life Strategy and its Consequences

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website: https://www.codependentmind.com/