🎙 Episode 8: Spiritual Self-Care — Tuning Into Awe, Stillness & Meaning

Welcome back to Supporting Physician Spouses! In this final installment of our three-part self-care series, we turn our attention inward—to the soul. In this episode, Kendra and Katie explore what it really means to care for your spiritual self, especially when life feels hectic, loud, or overwhelming.

Spiritual self-care isn’t just about religion. It’s about awe. Wonder. Stillness. Meaning. Nature. Creativity. Silence. It’s about reconnecting with the core of who you are—even if just for a moment.

From slug-spotting with children to rediscovering the color green after a long winter, Katie and Kendra share personal stories and reflections that invite you to notice the sacred in your everyday life.

📚 Featured Resource:

• The Power of Stillness: Mindful Living for Latter-day Saints — a favorite book for both hosts, helping reframe spiritual care in the chaos of parenting and life.

• Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life by Dacher Keltner

• Have a moment of awe with music. Bastille x Freya Ridings - Pompeii MMXXIII | Live at The Earthshot Prize Awards

• Have a moment of awe with stunning visuals Cosmic Eye Video

🧠 Key Themes & Takeaways:

• Nature as a portal to presence and awe

• Parenting as an opportunity for spiritual practice

• Why spiritual needs are not indulgent—but sacred

• How mirror neurons help children reflect our energy

• Redefining meditation as presence, not perfection

• Moments of beauty can ground us if we let them

• Asking for what you need starts with knowing what you need

🌱 Try This Practice:
This week, ask yourself: “What might I be missing?” Is it stillness? Awe? Connection? A deep breath? Choose one small act of spiritual care—and let it be enough.

Podcast: Supporting Physician Spouses
Hosts: Kendra Harvey & Katie Harris

In this heartwarming and eye-opening episode, Kendra and Katie dive into the concept of social self-care—not the kind that fills your calendar, but the kind that fills your soul. Whether you feel isolated or simply want to deepen your friendships, this episode offers practical insights and honest conversation around building the meaningful connections every physician family needs.

• What social self-care really looks like for physician spouses

• Why proximity, timing, and energy all matter—and what to do when you’re short on all three

• The surprising number of hours it takes to move from acquaintance to close friend

• The four essential types of social support every physician family needs:

• • Emotional: empathy, care, and safe companionship

  • Instrumental: practical help and tangible support

  • Informational: advice and wisdom from those with experience

  • Appraisal: encouragement, validation, and perspective

• Why your spouse can’t be everything—and why that’s okay

• How asking for help is a brave act of connection, not weakness

• The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins

• The Rabbit Effect: Live Longer, Happier, and Healthier with the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness by Kelli Harding

Who in your life fills each of the four types of social support?
Is there one area you’d like to strengthen—and how can you take one small step toward doing that this week?

“You are part of a quiet, powerful community—and we're so glad you're here.”

Stay tuned for the final installment in this three-part self-care series: Spiritual Self-Care. We’ll explore stillness, presence, and practices that ground you in meaning.

In this first episode of our 3-part series on soul care, we dive into emotional self-care — not the bubble bath kind, but the messy, sacred work of reconnecting with our own emotions.

As physician spouses, it’s easy to become emotionally invisible to ourselves while managing everyone else’s needs. Kendra and Katie share real stories, honest reflections, and practical ways to begin honoring your own emotional needs. Whether you feel emotionally numb, overwhelmed, or simply unsure of how to name what you're feeling — you're not alone.

This episode is an invitation to pause, check in, and start small steps toward emotional awareness.

• Why emotional self-care is not a luxury but a lifeline

• The unique emotional load carried by physician spouses

• The pattern of becoming emotionally invisible while staying high-functioning

• The tension between supporting your spouse and finding your own identity

• Real stories: from Mother’s Day letdowns to sacred moments of connection

• Why naming your emotions matters (and how most of us skip this step)

• The power of allowing yourself to feel instead of suppressing emotions

• Navigating vulnerability and emotional honesty with others

• How to create safe spaces for emotional conversations with trusted friends
  
  

💡 Throughout your day, pause and ask yourself:
"How am I really?"
And if the answer is, “I’m not sure” — that’s okay. That’s where awareness begins.

• Dr. Sarah Grimmer — Research on physician family wellness and secondary trauma

• Free Download: Self-Care Reflection Worksheet → [Insert Link]

• Podcast Series: Stay tuned for upcoming episodes on Social Self-Care and Spiritual Self-Care

📩 Email: hello@supportingphysicianspouses.com
📱 Instagram & Facebook: @supportingphysicianspouses

We continue our soul care series with Social Self-Care — exploring how meaningful connection with others helps sustain us, and how to intentionally build support systems that nourish instead of drain.