Saturday Night Syndrome

One of my least favorite things about residency is the one-day weekends. If it wasn’t bad enough already, the one day off is marred by the certainty of work the next day. Most people are familiar with this feeling on Sunday evenings – knowing that a long and hard work week is about to begin and being unable to fully enjoy the evening because of it. To have Sunday Night Syndrome on a Saturday, though, is particularly painful. Everyone else is out living up the prime night of the week, staying out after hours with the comfortable knowledge of a late sleep-in and casual brunch coming the following day. You on the other hand are at home, stressed out about the next day and going to bed depressingly early. It’s hard to get used to.

The holiday season, they say, is the most active for suicide because seeing others happy and together intensifies loneliness. I know, I am supposed to be grateful to belong to this profession and to have an opportunity to serve. It’s just that sometimes that gift of service feels like a double-edged sword when it demands that you serve even when you’re not yet rested and ready.

posted by Wyatt @ 4:17 AM Comments: 4