That time my nephew called me out for always making things "good enough"

My nephew Dylan, he's 16, watched me skip flossing during a visit last month and just goes "Aunt Jamie, you're a dental hygienist, isn't that literally your whole thing?" I laughed it off but it stuck with me all day. I mean, I tell patients every single shift that flossing is the only way to get between teeth where biofilm hides, but I'd convinced myself that a quick brush was fine if I was tired. It hit different because a kid saw right through the excuse I'd been feeding myself for like 5 years. Has anyone else had a family member casually call out a habit you thought you had handled?

3 comments

3 Comments

shane_clark10d ago

Read an article last month about how people in healthcare are the worst at following their own advice... something about compassion fatigue and making exceptions for yourself that you'd never let a patient get away with. Made me think of my sister who's a nutritionist but survives on fast food during busy weeks. Kids just have this way of cutting through all the mental gymnastics we do.

gavin3659d agoTop Commenter

Heard a similar thing on a podcast about burnout. The host was a therapist who said she literally had to make a rule for herself - she couldn't give advice to clients that she wouldn't take herself. Said it forced her to actually eat lunch, take breaks, all that basic stuff. Made me wonder how many people in helping professions are just running on fumes and bad habits while telling everyone else to do better. Your sister eating fast food makes total sense though, when you're exhausted you just grab whatever's fastest. The real question is how do you even start breaking that cycle when you're already underwater with work?

leehall8d ago

Isn't it possible that forcing yourself to live by the same rules you preach is actually a recipe for worse burnout? If a therapist or doctor spends all day giving advice, coming home and having to follow that same script might just drain them more since they never get a real break from being "on." Sometimes the best way to help others is to cut yourself some slack even if it looks hypocritical from the outside.