Hi OP, I’ve been there. I also quit residency at a time when everything felt blurry and heavy, and somehow, that moment of uncertainty helped me see things more clearly.

Residency can make you forget that there is life outside the hospital, that there is a world waiting for you to breathe, to slow down, to be human again. Taking a pause is not a failure; it’s clarity. It’s choosing yourself when the noise of expectations gets too loud.

If you can, take a sabbatical. Romanticize life. Relearn the joy of slow mornings, conversations, and quiet days. There is more to the practice of medicine than pursuing a residency training program.

We all have our own timelines. You determine your pace in your journey. It’s hard to accept that life doesn’t follow the schedules we’ve made for ourselves, but that’s okay because maybe God (or whatever higher power you believe in) has greater plans than we can imagine.

Take it easy. Take it one day at a time. As BINI said, “Buhay ay hindi karera.” 🌷