How do you know if you’re the drama in PT?

How many times have you wondered, “Is it me or is it my environment?” In this video, Jenna and Phil talk about their thoughts and ideas on this topic.

Jenna:  All right, Phil, this is going to sound weird, but how do you know if you are the drama in PT. So now when I ask this, if you've heard it, have you heard like, you know, the meme and stuff like that?  Am I the drama?  Is it me?  So basically, like, how do you know if where you're at is the problem or it's you in where you're at?

Phil:  Oh wow. That's a mind blowing question, actually.  I think it has to do with your contentment in situations that are outside of the drama.  So let me give you an example.  If you're in patient care and there's lots of drama going on around you, but you really like your patient interaction, you're doing well in your patient interaction, I would say that you're not the drama because you're able to kind of focus and really do well in that area.  Now, if everything is bad, I wouldn't say you're necessarily the drama.  I would be really cautious to say that.  But I would say if everything's bad, then there's probably a lens you need to improve such that you can start to isolate yourself from the bad circumstance.  What's the bad circumstance versus what needs to . . . We all have something to improve.  I know my response to bad situations is not always good.  So if you work on that first, that kind of helps you ensure that you're not the drama.  What do you say to that?

Jenna: I don't know.  I just actually just wanted to ask it. I didn't actually want to answer it.

Phil:  Well, you’ve got to answer it!

Jenna:  I would agree. I would agree with what you said in terms of like, you know, if you are the problem or your environment is the problem.  A lot of times if you are yourself and you are having good interactions with your coworkers and with your patients, chances are it's probably not you.  If you're able to maintain that . . . now there are instances where you're in a toxic environment, and it's making you different.  But if you look around and you're like, “Well, I'm doing my thing, but I still don't like where I am” or something like that, then I think . . .

Phil:  That's what I . . . That was the one thing as I was giving you the answer that I was thinking though is sometimes a situation is so toxic that it truly it changes the lens of everything and you can't have a good patient interaction because you just had a horrible interaction with your supervisor.  And, you know, now you're just like emotionally destroyed and then go try to work with your patient.  It just doesn't go well.

Jenna:  And honestly, I think either way, like a change of some sort would benefit you, whether it is you or whether it is the place.  Again, you put yourself in a new environment, you might be a different person, too.

Phil:  True.