Question 1

When did you last have a medical appointment for yourself, as a patient, where you allowed another clinician to be the expert and you sat in the chair? *(This is listening for the degree of self-neglect that the healer role produces.)*

Question 2

What is the story you tell yourself that explains why your own health maintenance is less urgent than your professional commitments? *(This is listening for the specific belief that sustains the healer's self-neglect.)*

Question 3

Is there someone in your life who sees the version of you that is struggling? Not a colleague. Not a patient. Someone who is allowed to see you without the competence. *(This is listening for whether there is a person outside the professional frame who knows the real state of things.)*

Question 4

What would you tell a patient who described your current self-care practices as their own? *(This is the mirror question. Most physicians will hear the absurdity clearly when it is reflected back.)*