Primitive Quakerism Revived: Living as Friends in the Twenty-First Century Paul Buckley, Charles Martin (Editor)

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Primitive Quakerism Revived: Living as Friends in the Twenty-First Century

Paul Buckley, Charles Martin (Editor)

4.17
18 ratings1 review

The Religious Society of Friends arose as a passionate missionary movement in the 1650s and suffered through decades of persecution before gaining legal toleration in 1689. The new religious sect questioned the fundamental values and underlying principles of English society, pointedly challenging the social, political, and religious status quo. From its inception, members of the Society felt divinely called to model a God-centered alternative to the surrounding culture. Outwardly, this was manifested by such things as distinctive ways of dressing and unique forms of speech. Inwardly, Friends were characterized by their faithful dependence on the immediate direction of the Inward Light of Christ in all aspects of their lives. As the years passed, the outward forms dropped away and the peculiarities of the Quaker way of life gradually disappeared. While in some ways Friends today continue to resist "the world's ways," they have largely accommodated themselves to the forms, customs, and standards of the peoples they live among.

Primitive Quakerism Revived challenges contemporary Friends in each of the Society's branches to reexamine their fundamental beliefs and practices, to identify the changes and additions that have been made in the past three and a half centuries, and to acknowledge which of those are unacceptable compromises that need to be abandoned. This book is a plea to reclaim the essential Quaker principles and mission by modeling a joyfully faithful community of God.

GenresNonfictionChristianityReligion



166 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2018


Paul Buckley24 books4 followers

Community Reviews

4.17
18 ratings1 review


Micah
32 reviews3 followers

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December 3, 2021
I read Buckley as a neo-Hicksite, which is interesting - old-school Hicksism is much more conservative theologically and socially than modern-day Liberal Quakerism.

While the book did not speak to me quite as much, given my theological difference with Hicksism, I thought it was a competent introduction to that strain of Quaker thought. I'd recommend this book to Liberal Quakers that sense that what they have found in their meetings is weak sauce and want more.

1 like

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dradrianmkthomas

3.0 out of 5 stars We need "Primitive Christianity Revived."

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 12, 2022

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I enjoyed reading Primitive Quakerism REVIVED, however I think that I came to different conclusions from Paul Buckley. I found his discussion on how the Inward Light morphed into the Inner Light interesting – and he discusses how this change was so very significant. The Inward Light is the Light of the Inner Christ that guides and illumines the soul. The Inner Light is intrinsic to the soul and does not need the presence of God or Christ. Buckley says that “if we truly believe what we say about being Quakers, joy will be the natural result”, and perhaps he really means a natural result and not a spiritual result in the way that the early Quakers believed. Buckley concludes that “It doesn’t matter whether you identify the Light as emanating from Christ or whether you believe in God”. This is not something that the early Quakers would have understood, and could they have conceived of a Light that was separate from Christ and God? It's therefore not obvious what the modern “Light Within’ actually is. I am reminded of the influential Quaker Stephen Crisp and his ‘A Plain Path-way Opened to the Simple-hearted, for the Answering all Doubts and Objections Which do Arise in Them Against the Light and Truth in the Inward Parts’ of 1688. Crisp talks about a natural light which was not a saving gift. Crisp sees that it is Jesus Christ who “should Enlighten every one that cometh into the world, John i, 9, of which number thou art one.” Paul Buckley is to be applauded in his desire to revive Primitive Quakerism, however without Jesus Christ it is not early Quakerism that is being revived. As Stephen Crisp notes: we should “Consider this, That every good and perfect gift cometh from above, from the Father of Lights and Spirits, who would not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn and live.” This is the Inward Light of the first Quakers. This is the “Primitive Christianity Revived: In the Faith and Practice of the People Called Quakers” of William Penn.

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Cosmic Absurdity: Why Are We Even Here? - YouTube

Cosmic Absurdity: Why Are We Even Here? - YouTube

Cosmic Absurdity: Why Are We Even Here?

The Functional Melancholic

88,659 views  Mar 21, 2025  #philosophy #existentialism #humancondition

Thoughts on why do we exist. Discussing philosophy, existentialism, meaninglessness, depression, relationships, the absurd, technofeudalism, wealth inequality, search for purpose in a meaningless existence. #philosophy #existentialism #humancondition

How this was made

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<Cosmic Absurdity: Are Even Here? We Why> 영상의 내용을 바탕으로 정리한 요약과 평론

<우주적 부조리: 우리는 도대체 왜 여기에 있는가> 요약

1. 탄생의 비자발성과 삶의 매뉴얼 부재 인간은 누구도 태어나기를 선택하지 않았음에도 불구하고, 영문도 모른 채 세상에 던져져 청구서를 납부하고 노동을 하며 고통을 겪는다. 삶에 대한 명확한 지침서는 존재하지 않으며, 사회는 '성공'과 '행복'이라는 모호한 목표만을 제시한 채 인간을 거친 바다로 내몬다.

2. 문명의 기본 설정과 현대적 테크 봉건주의 거대한 우주 속을 회전하는 지구 위에서 인간은 유한한 시간을 부의 축적과 소외된 노동에 소모한다. 이는 과거 누군가가 만든 '기본 설정'을 맹목적으로 따르는 것에 불과하다. 중세의 봉건제가 영주와 농노의 관계였다면, 현대는 소수의 기술 억만장자가 플랫폼과 자산을 장악하고 대중은 구독 경제와 알고리즘에 종속된 '디지털 농노(techno-feudalism)'로 전락했다. 자유로워 보이지만 실제로는 데이터 착취와 소비를 강요당하는 구조에 갇혀 있다.

3. 인간관계의 해체와 현실적 고립 결혼율과 출산율의 하락, 높은 이혼율과 만연한 외로움은 개인의 문제가 아닌 사회 구조적 피로에서 기인한다. 치솟는 주거비와 인플레이션, 과중한 노동은 정서적 여유를 앗아갔다. 데이팅 앱은 인간관계를 단순 소모재나 카탈로그처럼 다루게 만들어 진정한 유대감을 파괴한다.

4. 무의미함의 덫과 능동적 반항 삶이 무의미하다는 허무주의에 빠져 체념하는 것은 오히려 권력층과 시스템이 대중을 통제하기에 가장 유리한 조건이다. 따라서 해답은 그들의 규칙에 순응하는 것이 아니라 게임 자체를 거부하는 데 있다. 알고리즘에서 벗어나기, 대면 접촉을 통한 실제 관계 회복, 자본주의 외부에서 가치 찾기, 그리고 부조리한 현실을 비웃으며 스스로 삶의 의미를 능동적으로 규정하는 태도가 필요하다.

평론

이 저작은 알베르 카뮈식 실존주의 철학을 현대의 디지털 자본주의 및 '테크 봉건주의' 맥락에 탁월하게 접목한 비판적 성찰이다. 광대한 우주 속 인간의 하찮음이라는 고전적 실존적 고민에 머물지 않고, 알고리즘과 플랫폼 기업이 인간의 주의력과 관계를 잠식하는 현대 사회의 구조적 모순을 정면으로 겨냥한다.

특히 '삶의 무의미함'을 개인적인 우울이나 낭만적 비관으로 소비하지 않고, 무기력이 어떻게 체제 순응적 도구로 변질되는지를 짚어낸 점이 돋보인다. 허무주의는 지배 구조가 가장 반기는 대중의 태도라는 통찰은, 실존의 문제를 개인의 심리에서 정치경제학적 저항의 영역으로 확장시킨다.

비록 제시하는 대안(토지 소유, 알고리즘 분리, 대면 소통 등)이 구조적 거대 권력에 비추어 볼 때 다소 소박하거나 개인의 실천적 차원에 편중된 한계는 존재한다. 그러나 자본주의가 주입한 성공 방정식을 벗어나 인간 스스로가 삶의 주체로서 의미를 부여하고 연대해야 한다는 결론은, 끝없는 도파민 착취와 소외에 지친 현대인에게 매우 날카롭고 유효한 각성제 역할을 한다.

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Cosmic Absurdity: Why Are We Even Here? (2025)

제작: The Functional Melancholic | 2025년 3월 20일 | 약 15분 | 철학·실존주의·현대 자본주의 비판

YouTube 원본 영상

7쪽 분량의 영상 대본을 바탕으로 작성한 요약·평론.

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1) 우리는 태어나기를 선택하지 않았다

영상은 단순하면서도 근본적인 질문으로 시작한다.

“우리는 왜 여기에 있는가? 이 모든 것의 목적은 무엇인가?”

누구도 태어나기를 요청하지 않았다. 그런데 태어나자마자 우리는 일하고, 청구서를 지불하고, 경쟁하고, 성공을 추구해야 한다는 요구를 받는다.

삶에는 사용설명서가 없다. 그 대신 사회는 성공하라, 행복해져라, 부자가 되라는 추상적인 목표를 제시한다.

제작자는 이러한 상황을 바다 한가운데 던져 놓고 무조건 헤엄치라고 명령하는 것에 비유한다. 바다에는 상어가 있고, 빚이 있으며, 인간의 매력과 사회적 가치를 평가하는 알고리즘까지 존재한다.

인간은 자신이 왜 살아야 하는지도 모르는 상태에서 살아가는 방법부터 배우도록 강요받는다.

여기에 현대인의 실존적 부조리가 있다.

2) 우주의 관점에서 보면 인간의 삶은 우스꽝스럽다

지구는 광대한 우주 속을 엄청난 속도로 움직이는 작은 행성에 불과하다.

우주는 인간의 존재에 특별한 관심을 보이지 않는다. 인간의 성공이나 실패, 사랑과 이별, 부와 가난은 우주적 차원에서 아무런 중요성을 갖지 않는 것처럼 보인다.

그런데 인간은 직장에서 누가 더 많은 급여를 받았는지, SNS에서 얼마나 주목받는지, 남보다 얼마나 성공했는지에 집착한다.

제작자는 바로 이 불균형에서 우스꽝스러움을 발견한다.

우리는 무한한 우주 속에서 극히 짧은 시간을 살아가면서도, 마치 직업적 성공과 재산 축적이 존재의 궁극적 목적이라도 되는 것처럼 행동한다.

그는 현대사회의 성공관을 인간이 발견한 진리가 아니라 역사적으로 만들어진 기본 설정(default setting)이라고 규정한다.

우리보다 먼저 살았던 사람들이 만들어 놓은 규칙을, 우리는 그들이 삶의 정답을 알고 있었던 것처럼 따르고 있다는 것이다.

3) 현대 자본주의는 새로운 봉건제도인가?

영상의 가장 중요한 특징은 실존철학에서 출발하여 현대 자본주의의 구조적 비판으로 나아간다는 점이다.

제작자는 중세 유럽의 봉건제도와 오늘날의 디지털 자본주의를 비교한다.

중세 농노가 영주에게 종속되어 토지를 경작했다면, 현대인은 거대 기술기업이 소유한 디지털 환경 속에서 일하고 소비한다.

음악, 영화, 소프트웨어는 점차 소유물이 아니라 구독 서비스가 된다. 개인의 데이터와 관심은 기업의 수익원이 되고, 노동은 알고리즘의 통제를 받는다.

그는 이러한 상황을 기술봉건주의(technofeudalism)라고 부른다.

현대인은 자유롭다고 믿지만 실제 선택은 거대 기업이 미리 설정한 범위 안에서 이루어진다.

어떤 애플리케이션을 사용할지 선택할 자유는 있지만, 개인정보가 상품화되는 경제구조 자체를 거부하기는 어렵다.

정치에서도 비슷한 일이 벌어진다. 유권자는 선거에서 선택하지만, 제작자가 보기에 주요 정치세력은 결국 거대 자본의 영향 아래 놓여 있다.

따라서 현대인의 문제는 단지 개인적으로 삶의 의미를 찾지 못한다는 데 있지 않다.

삶의 의미를 스스로 결정할 수 있는 사회적 조건 자체가 약화되고 있다는 것이다.

4) 인간관계마저 시장의 논리에 지배된다

제작자는 결혼율과 출산율의 하락, 이혼과 외로움의 증가를 현대사회의 위기를 보여주는 사례로 제시한다.

특히 온라인 데이트 문화를 비판한다.

사람들은 상대방을 하나의 인격체로 만나기보다 상품 목록에서 물건을 고르듯 평가한다.

인간관계가 소비의 대상으로 변하면서 친밀함과 진정한 의사소통은 약화된다.

한편 정부는 젊은 사람들이 결혼하지 않고 자녀를 낳지 않는 이유를 이해하지 못하는 것처럼 행동한다.

그러나 주거비 상승, 불안정한 고용, 과도한 노동, 경제적 압박을 고려하면 젊은 세대가 가족 형성을 주저하는 것은 충분히 이해할 수 있다.

제작자는 세금 감면 같은 제한적인 출산 장려 정책만으로 이러한 문제를 해결할 수 없다고 본다.

문제는 개인의 가치관이 아니라 사람들이 함께 살아갈 수 있는 경제적·사회적 환경에 있다.

5) 절망은 지배체제에 유리하다

영상은 여기에서 중요한 전환점을 맞는다.

지금까지의 논의만 보면 현대사회는 부조리하고 불공정하며, 개인은 무력한 존재처럼 보인다.

그러나 제작자는 바로 이러한 절망이 권력자들에게 유리하다고 주장한다.

사람들이 삶에 아무런 의미가 없다고 믿는다면 사회를 변화시키려 하지 않을 것이다.

불평등을 받아들이고, 정치에 무관심해지고, 자신의 무력함을 당연하게 여기게 된다.

따라서 허무주의는 단순한 철학적 입장이 아니라 기존 사회질서를 유지하는 데 기여할 수도 있다.

제작자는 여기에서 새로운 질문을 던진다.

우리가 해야 할 일이 자본주의라는 게임에서 승리하는 것이 아니라, 그 게임의 규칙을 거부하는 것이라면 어떨까?

6) 삶의 의미는 스스로 결정한다

제작자가 제안하는 대안은 비교적 소박하다.

가능하다면 자신이 통제할 수 있는 자산과 활동을 확보하고, 알고리즘에 대한 의존을 줄이며, 온라인보다 실제 인간관계를 중시하라는 것이다.

직업과 소득이 자기 존재의 유일한 근거가 되어서는 안 된다.

무엇보다 자본주의적 성공과 무관한 삶의 의미를 찾아야 한다.

제작자는 인간이 우주에 존재하는 궁극적인 이유를 알지 못한다고 인정한다.

그러나 그것이 삶을 포기할 이유는 아니다.

오히려 우리는 스스로 무엇이 중요한지 결정할 수 있다.

우리는 자본주의 경쟁에서 승리하기 위해 태어난 것이 아닐 수 있다. 서로 연결되고, 창조하고, 저항하고, 자신보다 오래 지속될 무엇인가를 남기기 위해 살아갈 수도 있다.

영상은 절망에서 출발하지만 인간의 자율성과 연대의 가능성을 강조하면서 끝난다.

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1) 카뮈의 부조리 철학과의 관계

이 영상의 철학적 출발점은 알베르 카뮈(Albert Camus, 1913–1960)의 부조리 철학과 가깝다.

카뮈는 『시지프 신화』(Le Mythe de Sisyphe, 1942)에서 의미를 갈망하는 인간과 아무런 확정적 대답을 제공하지 않는 세계 사이의 충돌을 부조리라고 이해했다.

중요한 것은 카뮈가 단순히 인생은 무의미하다고 주장한 것이 아니라는 점이다.

그는 부조리를 인식하면서도 삶을 포기하지 않고 살아가는 태도를 강조했다.

시지프는 끊임없이 바위를 산꼭대기로 밀어 올리지만, 바위는 다시 굴러떨어진다.

이처럼 반복되는 노동에서 객관적인 목적을 찾기 어려울지라도, 인간은 자신의 운명을 의식적으로 받아들이고 저항할 수 있다.

영상의 제작자가 말하는 ‘부조리를 웃어넘기라’는 제안에는 이러한 카뮈적 태도가 반영되어 있다.

다만 중요한 차이가 있다.

카뮈의 부조리는 인간과 세계 사이의 근본적인 철학적 관계를 가리킨다. 반면 이 영상은 현대 자본주의가 만들어 내는 경제적 불평등과 사회적 소외를 부조리의 중심에 놓는다.

두 부조리는 구별해야 한다.

자본주의가 개혁되거나 사라지더라도 죽음, 우연, 고통, 존재의 궁극적 의미에 관한 질문은 남는다.

따라서 사회적 부조리를 제거하는 것이 곧 실존적 부조리의 해결은 아니다.

2) 마르크스의 소외론과의 관계

영상의 사회비판은 카뮈보다 오히려 카를 마르크스의 소외론에 더욱 가까운 측면이 있다.

마르크스는 자본주의 노동자가 자신이 생산한 상품뿐 아니라 노동 과정, 다른 인간, 궁극적으로 자신의 인간적 가능성으로부터 소외된다고 보았다.

영상에서도 이와 비슷한 구조가 발견된다.

현대인은 경제적 성공을 추구하지만, 그 과정에서 자신이 진정으로 원하는 삶이 무엇인지 잊어버린다.

노동은 자기실현의 수단이 아니라 생존을 위한 강제적인 활동이 된다.

인간관계마저 상품화되고, 개인의 관심과 감정까지 기업의 수익원으로 전환된다.

이런 점에서 영상은 실존주의적 언어로 표현된 현대적 소외론이라고 평가할 수 있다.

다만 제작자의 기술봉건주의 개념에는 주의가 필요하다.

디지털 플랫폼이 막대한 권력을 갖는 것은 사실이지만, 이를 중세 봉건제도와 동일시하면 현대 자본주의의 특수성을 충분히 설명하지 못할 수 있다.

플랫폼 기업의 권력도 여전히 자본 소유, 시장 지배력, 노동관계, 국가의 법적 보호를 통해 작동하기 때문이다.

따라서 기술봉건주의는 유용한 비판적 비유이지만, 확정된 경제학적 설명으로 받아들여서는 안 된다.

3) 개인적 저항만으로 사회를 바꿀 수 있는가?

영상의 가장 큰 약점은 사회문제의 진단과 해결책 사이에 존재하는 간격이다.

제작자는 거대 기술기업, 경제적 불평등, 정치권력의 집중을 비판한다.

그런데 대안으로 제시하는 것은 주로 개인적인 행동이다.

• SNS 사용을 줄인다.

• 자신이 소유하거나 통제할 수 있는 것을 확보한다.

• 인간관계를 회복한다.

• 직업과 소득 이외의 삶의 목적을 찾는다.

이러한 조언은 개인의 정신적 자유를 회복하는 데 도움을 줄 수 있다.

그러나 주택가격 상승, 노동시장의 불안정, 부의 집중과 같은 구조적 문제를 해결하기에는 부족하다.

더구나 토지를 구입하거나 사업을 시작하라는 제안은 경제적으로 여유가 있는 사람에게는 가능하지만, 가난한 사람에게는 현실적인 대안이 되기 어렵다.

영상이 자본주의의 구조적 문제를 날카롭게 지적하면서도 결국 개인적 생활방식의 변화에 주로 의존한다는 점은 역설적이다.

여기에는 노동조합, 협동조합, 공공주택, 사회보장제도, 민주적 정치 참여와 같은 집단적 해결책이 보완되어야 한다.

4) 사회적 진단과 경험적 증거의 구별

영상의 주장은 공감을 불러일으키지만 경험적 근거는 충분하지 않다.

예를 들어 결혼의 절반이 이혼으로 끝난다는 주장이나 대부분의 기혼자가 불행할 것이라는 추측은 국가와 시기, 조사방법을 구분하지 않는다.

사람들이 과거보다 외로워졌다는 주장 역시 사회마다 다른 양상을 보인다.

또한 모든 주요 정치세력이 동일한 자본의 이익을 위해 움직인다는 설명은 민주주의 내부의 실질적인 정책 차이와 정치적 갈등을 지나치게 단순화할 위험이 있다.

영상은 사회과학적 연구라기보다 실존적 불안과 사회적 불만을 표현한 철학적 에세이에 가깝다.

따라서 제작자의 문제 제기와 구체적인 사실 주장을 구별하여 평가할 필요가 있다.

##

세진님이 관심을 가지시는 퀘이커의 관점에서 보면 이 영상에는 상당히 흥미로운 부분이 있다.

특히 세 가지 공통점이 발견된다.

첫째, 물질적 성공에 대한 비판이다.

퀘이커의 단순성(Simplicity)은 인간의 가치를 재산, 소비, 사회적 지위로 판단하는 태도를 경계한다.

이것은 자본주의적 성공과 별개로 삶의 의미를 찾아야 한다는 제작자의 주장과 통한다.

둘째, 실제 인간관계의 중요성이다.

영상은 디지털 관계보다 직접적인 만남과 진정한 대화를 강조한다.

퀘이커의 공동체 생활과 경청의 전통 역시 인간관계를 단순한 정보교환이나 소비활동으로 이해하지 않는다.

셋째, 기존 질서에 대한 저항이다.

퀘이커의 역사에는 전쟁, 노예제, 사회적 불평등에 반대해 온 실천의 전통이 있다.

제작자가 말하는 저항 역시 기존 사회질서가 제시하는 성공의 기준을 무조건 받아들이지 않겠다는 태도에서 출발한다.

그러나 차이도 중요하다.

영상의 제작자는 우주에 객관적인 의미가 존재하는지 알 수 없다고 생각한다. 따라서 의미는 인간이 스스로 결정해야 한다고 주장한다.

반면 전통적인 퀘이커 신앙은 인간 내부에서 발견되는 신성한 빛(Inward Light)을 중시한다.

삶의 의미는 단순히 개인이 임의로 만들어 내는 것이 아니라, 침묵과 성찰, 공동체적 분별을 통해 발견되고 실천되는 것으로 이해할 수 있다.

이 차이는 다음과 같이 정리된다.

주제	영상의 관점	퀘이커의 관점
삶의 의미	스스로 선택하고 창조한다	내면의 빛을 통해 분별한다
물질적 성공	삶의 궁극적 목적이 아니다	단순성과 절제를 중시한다
인간관계	실제 만남과 연결을 회복한다	공동체와 상호 경청을 중시한다
사회적 저항	기존 게임의 규칙을 거부한다	양심에 따른 증언과 실천을 강조한다
궁극적 근거	확정적인 답을 알 수 없다	신성한 현존에 열려 있다

현대의 자유주의적·비유신론적 퀘이커 가운데에는 영상의 실존주의적 관점에 더욱 가까운 사람들도 있다.

따라서 퀘이커 사상과 실존주의를 반드시 대립시키는 것은 적절하지 않다.

##

철학적 문제 제기가 돋보이는 사회비판 에세이

이 영상의 가장 큰 장점은 개인의 실존적 불안과 현대사회의 구조적 모순을 연결했다는 데 있다.

우리는 왜 존재하는가라는 질문을 단순히 종교나 형이상학의 문제로 다루지 않는다.

오히려 왜 현대인은 자신의 삶을 살아간다고 생각하면서 실제로는 타인이 정한 목표를 위해 살아가는가라고 질문한다.

이것이 영상의 핵심적인 통찰이다.

그러나 두 가지 한계도 분명하다.

첫째, 삶의 근본적 무의미성과 자본주의가 만들어 내는 소외를 때때로 혼동한다.

둘째, 사회적 문제를 구조적으로 분석하면서 해결책에서는 개인주의적 접근으로 돌아간다.

그럼에도 영상의 결론은 설득력이 있다.

인간의 가치를 경제적 성공으로만 판단하는 사회에서는 누구나 자신의 존재 이유를 잃어버릴 위험이 있다.

이러한 상황에서 삶의 의미를 다시 묻는 것은 단순한 철학적 사치가 아니라 사회적 저항의 출발점이 될 수 있다.

여기에 한 가지를 덧붙이고 싶다.

제작자는 삶의 의미를 각자가 결정한다고 주장하지만, 인간은 완전히 고립된 개인으로 살아가지 않는다.

우리는 부모와 자녀, 배우자, 친구, 이웃과의 관계 속에서 살아간다. 또한 앞선 세대로부터 무엇인가를 물려받고 다음 세대에 무엇인가를 남긴다.

삶의 의미는 반드시 개인이 혼자 창조해야 하는 것도, 외부에서 주어지는 절대적인 목적이어야 하는 것도 아니다.

그것은 다른 사람과 함께 살아가는 과정에서 발견되고 형성될 수 있다.

특히 노년의 삶에서는 이 점이 더욱 중요하다. 직업적 성취와 재산 축적의 중요성이 상대적으로 줄어들면서, 돌봄과 기억, 우정과 공동체, 다음 세대에 대한 책임이 새로운 의미를 갖게 된다.

이러한 관점에서 보면 영상의 가장 중요한 질문은 처음의 질문과 조금 달라진다.

“우리는 왜 여기에 존재하는가?”라는 물음에서 출발하여 결국 다음의 질문에 도달한다.

“우리가 여기에 존재하는 동안 어떻게 살아야 하는가?”

나는 이 두 번째 질문이 철학적으로도, 실제 삶에서도 더 생산적이라고 생각한다.

우주의 궁극적인 목적을 알지 못하더라도, 타인의 고통을 덜어주고 인간다운 관계를 형성하는 일이 가치 있다는 사실까지 부정할 필요는 없기 때문이다.

영상은 우주적 허무에서 출발하지만 결국 인간적 연대의 가능성에 도달한다.

바로 그 점에서 이 작품은 단순한 허무주의가 아니라, 현대 자본주의가 만들어 낸 소외를 극복하려는 실존주의적 휴머니즘의 표현이라고 평가할 수 있다.

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Transcript

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Search in video

so today I want to talk

about the big

question why are we here what is the

point of all

this all right let me get something

straight I didn't ask to be here and

neither did

you none of us put in a request to be

born and yet here we are paying bills

going to work if you have a job

refreshing news feeds that only make us

more

miserable and the best part is there's

no Newser manual for

this if life had instructions wouldn't

you want to see

them maybe even just like a little

pamphlet

Welcome To Earth here's how to avoid

existential despair toxic relationships

and paying $17 for a

sandwich that somehow still leaves you

hungry but

nope we got

nothing

instead we were handed a list of vague

goals like be

successful and find happiness

which is sort of like being thrown into

the ocean and being told to just

swim except there are

sharks and

debt and an algorithm deciding whether

or not you're attractive enough to be

shown to other drowning

people so

today let's try to answer the question

nobody really has an answer

to what is the point of all

this sometimes I think life is a cosmic

joke and we're the

punchline so let me zoom out for a

second

here's what we know for sure we live in

a floating Rock it's spinning through an

indifferent Universe at 67,000 miles per

hour and instead of freaking out about

that we worry about things like

engagement

metrics and whether Steve from

accounting got a bigger raise than

me and yeah I get it structure is

important

civilization needs rules laws a sense of

order but somehow we've convinced

ourselves that the best way to spend our

fleeting time on this planet is

to accumulate

wealth we can't take with us work jobs

we secretly hate so we can maybe

retire and finally travel somewhere far

away before our give

out is that the grand purpose of

life I don't think

so I think it's just the default

setting a setting that was designed by

people long

ago yet we're still following their

rules like they knew what they were

doing

but they

didn't they were winging it just like

us now if you're feeling like life is

less

adventure and more soulless

grind that's

accurate in the Middle Ages in Europe

there was a

[Music]

system called

feudalism and most of the people were

surfs who worked the land

for the elites Kings and

Lords and now we have what's basically

called techn

feudalism thanks to modern technology

and

billionaires So today we're digital

surfs working for Tech

billionaires who own everything

now and we don't actually own anything

anymore we don't own our music our

movies or books everything is

subscription based and we're moving in

that direction

your

software your home probably owned by a

faceless investment

firm your

job controlled by an

algorithm your thoughts monetized and

repackaged as targeted ads for

mattresses you googol months in

2018 and and

yet we tell ourselves we're

free

because we can choose which app steals

our

data because we can vote for one of two

corporate backed

candidates who at the end of the day

serve the same

people because we can argue online about

which dystopia we'd prefer instead of

just

asking why do we have to live in a

dystopia at

all and speaking of

dystopia and things

collapsing let's talk about

relationships because if life is about

connection intimacy

meaning we're kind of failing at that as

well

marriage rates are

down 50% of marriages end in

divorce I'd be willing to bet that

people who do stay married the majority

of them are in unhappy

marriages birth rates are

down people are lonier than ever even

though we're more connected

than

ever and

dating it's just a psychological

experiment designed by nerds who never

had a date in high

school swiping on faces like we're

picking out pair of shoes in a

catalog ghosting each other because

actually communicating feelings is so

last century

and yet governments are

baffled why aren't young people settling

down and having

kids I don't know maybe because

everything is expensive and inflation is

insane and everybody is emotionally

unavailable maybe because housing costs

a

fortune owning a home is just a

fantasy for most people now especially

under the age of

40 and people are so overworked and

burned out from The

Grind from the constant

hustle that they barely have energy to

text back let alone raise a

kid but yeah you know let's throw tax

breaks at people and hope they magically

start families

so question

is is life just a rigged

game I don't

know I mean I think it's probably a game

for the billionaire class because for

them

money is of no

concern all that's left for them to do

is play

games and we become part of the

game so at this point you might be

thinking wow everything

sucks why even bother why even

try what's the point

and I know a lot of people feel this

way there's a lot of quiet desperation

out there I

think so I

think giving up is exactly what the

system wants us to do

the whole life is meaningless

[Music]

thing it's just another

trick if enough of us believe there's no

point then we won't try to change

anything we won't fight back we won't

demand anything

better and that works out great for the

people in

charge so

maybe the point isn't to win their game

maybe the point is to stop playing it

all

together and we need to figure out how

to do

that as difficult as that may

be because I know we are completely

entrenched in the system and we've been

hypnotized by technology

and

brainwashed and they have us

divided so so what do we

[Music]

do I think instead of playing by the

rules of a broken

system let's start bending

them oh own what you

can if you can buy

land start a side

business build something that's

yours try to unplug from the

algorithm mean social media really just

exists to keep you addicted not to make

you

happy the less time you spend Doom scoll

the more more time you actually

have to do something that

matters prioritize real people over

digital

noise as difficult as it is and I know

it's difficult especially if you're an

introvert like

me I think we need to connect more in

person and have real conversations face

to

face I think we need to stop treating

Human Relationships like content to

consume we need to find meaning outside

of

capitalism because if your only sense of

purpose is tied to a

paycheck you're just a cog in that

machine it's it's

meaningless laugh at the

absurdity because if we're stuck in this

weird floating sitcom of a

planet I think we might as well enjoy

the

show

look I don't

have any definitive answers as to why

we're here what the point of this

is I don't think anybody does I mean I

I'm sure there's plenty of people who

think they

do but maybe life is really just a

chaotic

mess and we're all just trying to make

the sense best sense of it we

can here's one thing

I believe in in regards to all

this I think that we get to to decide

what

matters not corporations not

politicians not the billionaires

hoarding wealth like dragons sitting on

a pile of

gold us we get to decide

and so maybe we're not here to

win at

capitalism maybe we're here to build to

connect to

Rebel to create something that outlasts

us

because if nothing else we might as well

make the ride

interesting before we're gone

anyway that's my existential crisis for

today like comment subscribe if you

want

um hope to see you next

time unless the algorithm decides

otherwise thanks

I Was An MIT Educated Neurosurgeon Now I'm Unemployed And Alone In The Mountains How Did I Get Here? - YouTube

I Was An MIT Educated Neurosurgeon Now I'm Unemployed And Alone In The Mountains How Did I Get Here? - YouTube

I Was An MIT Educated Neurosurgeon Now I'm Unemployed And Alone In The Mountains How Did I Get Here?

Goobie and Doobie

20,624,923 views  Jul 10, 2024  #health #inspiration #motivation

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Here, I share my story about how I spent the last two decades of my life as a neurosurgeon who went through a mid-life crisis and got through to the other side.... maybe?

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 영상 스크립트(Goobie and Doobie 채널)를 바탕으로 한 내용 요약 및 평론

내용 요약

• 20년 경력의 포기와 퇴직

  • 화자는 MIT 졸업 후 4년간의 의대, 6년간의 신경외과 전공의 수련, 그리고 약 10년간 전문의로 일하며 총 20년을 신경외과 분야에 바쳤습니다.

  • 뇌-컴퓨터 인터페이스(BMI) 연구를 꿈꿨으나 전극 삽입 후 흉터 조직 형성으로 인한 한계를 깨닫고 척추 수술을 전공으로 선택했습니다.

  • 높은 수입과 명예를 얻었지만 깊은 불행과 회의감을 겪다가 결국 병원을 그만두었습니다.

• 현대 수술 치료의 구조적 한계: '비 새는 지붕(Leaky Roof)' 비유

  • 의대 첫 서약식에서 들은 "의사의 역할은 고통을 덜어주는 것(relieve suffering)"이라는 신념을 따르고자 했으나, 임상 현장은 달랐습니다.

  • 척추 수술은 튀어나온 디스크를 제거하거나 나사로 뼈를 고정하는 등 '손상된 부위를 깎아내거나 묶는' 방식일 뿐, 디스크가 닳고 관절이 약해진 근본 원인을 해결하지 못했습니다.

  • 동료 PA(진료보조인력)의 비유처럼, 비가 새서 곰팡이가 핀 벽의 단열재와 석고보드를 아무리 비싸게 새것으로 바꿔도 지붕의 누수를 고치지 않는 한 다시 썩는 구조였습니다.

• 진정한 치유의 조건과 의료 시스템의 모순

  • 9년간의 관찰 끝에 환자를 진정으로 낫게 하는 요인은 수술이 아니라 생활 습관(채식 위주의 저염 식단, 땀 흘리는 운동, 금연·절주, 충분한 수면, 가족·친구와의 유대, 스트레스 조절)임을 깨달았습니다.

  • 그러나 현행 의료 시스템은 근본적인 예방과 생활 습관 개선 대신 수술, 약물, 검사 등 병원이 청구하고 돈을 벌 수 있는 처치에만 경제적 인센티브가 집중되어 있습니다.

  • 환자가 생활 습관으로 병을 예방해 수술실을 찾지 않으면 의사와 병원은 수익을 낼 수 없는 구조적 모순 속에서 심각한 '도덕적 손상(Moral Injury)'을 겪었습니다.

• 자연 속에서의 회복과 새로운 치유의 길

  • 체중이 40파운드 늘고 심신이 황폐해지자 아내의 지지를 받아 무계획 상태로 퇴사했습니다.

  • 퇴사 후 매일 자연을 걷고 충분히 자며 건강을 회복했고, 반려견(두비)과의 추억을 남기기 위해 자연 풍경과 소리를 영상으로 담기 시작했습니다.

  • 비록 메스를 든 수술은 아니지만, 사람들에게 자연의 풍경과 소리를 공유하여 스트레스를 덜어주고 치유를 돕는 새로운 방식의 '고통 완화'를 실천하고 있습니다.

평론: 메스를 내려놓고 지붕을 바라보다

1. 영웅적 의학 뒤에 가려진 '도덕적 손상(Moral Injury)'의 고백 화자의 이야기는 현대 의학계가 마주한 가장 아픈 단면을 드러냅니다. 우리는 흔히 MIT 출신 신경외과의를 사회적 성공과 지성의 정점으로 바라보지만, 영상 속 그는 거대한 수익 창출 시스템의 부속품으로 전락해 고통받는 생활인이었습니다. 그가 겪은 고통은 단순한 업무 과중(번아웃)이 아니라, 의사로서의 본질적 사명(고통 완화)과 자본화된 의료 기관의 목표(수익 극대화)가 정면 충돌할 때 발생하는 '도덕적 손상'이었습니다.

2. 대증치료와 의료 자본주의에 던지는 직격탄 화자가 제시한 '비 새는 지붕'의 비유는 현대 만성질환 관리 모델의 한계를 명료하게 비판합니다. 디스크가 마모되고 염증이 생기는 원인은 생활 습관, 스트레스, 만성 염증에 있는데, 병원은 지붕을 고치는 생활습관 교육 대신 벽을 허물고 재건하는 고비용 수술(단열재 교체)만을 권장합니다. 건강을 되찾는 근본 처방(식단, 수면, 운동, 관계)은 수가를 매길 수 없고, 병원의 매출 장부에 기여하지 못한다는 사실은 현대 의료가 과연 '치유(Healing)'를 목표로 하는지, '치료 행위의 판매(Therapies)'를 목표로 하는지 근본적인 질문을 던집니다.

3. '놓아버림'이 가져다준 해방과 소명의 재해석 20년이라는 매몰비용, 막대한 연봉, 사회적 타이틀을 아무런 후속 대책 없이 포기하는 것은 일반적인 기준에서 무모한 일탈로 보입니다. 그러나 그는 자신을 갉아먹는 것을 끝내 쥐고 있기보다 과감히 손을 놓음으로써 진정한 자유를 얻었습니다. 아이러니하게도, 수술실 밖 산속으로 걸어 들어간 뒤에야 그는 자신이 의사가 되고자 했던 본래의 목적—타인의 스트레스와 고통을 덜어주는 일—을 비로소 실천하게 되었습니다. 화려한 직함 뒤에 공허를 느끼는 현대인들에게 "무엇을 쥐고 있고, 무엇을 놓아야 하는가"에 대해 깊은 울림을 주는 성찰입니다.

===

I Was an MIT Educated Neurosurgeon, Now I'm Unemployed and Alone in the Mountains — 요약 및 비판적 평론

A Neurosurgeon’s Explanation of Why He Quit His Job Goes Viral — Pain News Network

• 제작: Goobie and Doobie

• 발표: 2024년 7월 10일

• 길이: 약 48분

• 화자: 조너선 최(Jonathan Choi), 전직 신경외과 의사

• 주제: 의료윤리, 의료의 상업화, 삶의 의미, 직업과 양심

##

미국 MIT에서 공부하고 의과대학과 신경외과 수련을 거친 의사가 30대 후반에 돌연 직업을 그만두었다. 명성과 높은 소득, 안정적인 직장, 좋은 동료들을 모두 갖추고 있었지만 그는 자신의 삶이 무너지고 있다고 느꼈다.

그가 유튜브에 올린 영상의 제목은 이다.

영상의 주인공은 조너선 최라는 한국계 성을 가진 미국 의사로, 유튜브에서는 '구비(Goobie)'라는 이름을 사용한다. 그는 MIT 학부를 거쳐 의과대학에서 4년, 신경외과에서 6년간 수련받고 약 9년 동안 신경외과 의사로 일했다. 엄밀히 말하면 MIT에서 신경외과 전문의 교육을 받았다는 뜻은 아니다.

Medical Humanities+1

이 영상은 단순한 직업 포기 선언이 아니다. 현대 의료체제가 무엇을 위해 존재하는가, 의사가 환자를 치료한다는 것은 무엇을 의미하는가, 그리고 직업적 성공과 인간의 행복은 반드시 일치하는가라는 질문을 제기한다.

특히 흥미로운 것은 그가 의료기술 자체를 부정하는 사람이 아니라는 점이다. 오히려 첨단 의료기술을 익히고 실제 환자들을 치료했던 전문의가 현대 의료의 한계를 체험하면서 자신의 직업적 정체성을 의심하게 되었다.

이 영상은 세 가지 차원에서 읽을 수 있다.

첫째, 한 의사의 개인적 위기와 회복에 관한 자전적 고백이다.

둘째, 질병의 근본 원인보다 수술과 약물에 치중하는 미국 의료체제에 대한 비판이다.

셋째, 사회적으로 성공한 삶과 스스로 의미 있다고 느끼는 삶 사이의 갈등에 관한 철학적 성찰이다.

##

① 의사가 된 이유: 인간의 고통을 덜어주는 일

그는 의과대학에 입학할 당시 한 선배 의사가 들려준 말을 기억한다.

의사의 임무는 수술하는 것도, 약을 처방하는 것도 아니라 환자의 고통을 줄이는 일이라는 가르침이었다.

수술이나 약물은 그 목적을 달성하는 수단일 뿐이다. 어떤 경우에는 환자의 이야기를 듣고 그 고통을 인정해 주는 것이 더욱 중요한 치료가 될 수도 있다.

이 가르침은 그가 의사로 살아가는 동안 직업윤리의 기준이 되었다.

그가 처음 신경외과에 관심을 가진 이유는 뇌와 의식의 관계에 대한 지적 호기심이었다. 특히 인간의 뇌와 컴퓨터를 연결하여 생각만으로 인공 팔이나 다리를 움직이게 하는 기술에 매료되었다.

그러나 연구 과정에서 뇌에 삽입한 전극 주변에 흉터 조직이 형성되어 신호 전달을 방해한다는 기술적 한계를 접했다. 그는 당시 자신이 꿈꾸던 연구의 성공 가능성을 비관하게 되었다.

여기서 중요한 것은 이것이 그의 개인적 판단이었다는 점이다. 뇌-컴퓨터 인터페이스 기술의 가능성이 과학적으로 완전히 부정되었다는 뜻은 아니다.

결국 그는 연구 중심의 신경외과 의사가 되겠다는 꿈을 접고 척추 수술을 전문으로 하는 임상의사의 길을 택했다.

② 뛰어난 수술 기술로도 해결하지 못하는 고통

그는 최신 최소침습 척추수술 기술을 익혔다. 작은 절개를 통해 손상된 디스크를 제거하고, 눌린 신경을 감압하며, 필요하면 금속 나사와 고정 장치를 삽입했다.

그러한 수술을 통해 많은 환자가 호전되었다.

그러나 시간이 지나면서 이상한 사실을 발견했다.

똑같이 성공적으로 수술했는데도 어떤 환자는 회복되었고, 어떤 환자는 증상이 그대로였으며, 일부는 오히려 악화되었다.

심지어 수술을 예약한 환자가 수술 날짜가 오기 전에 자연스럽게 회복되는 경우도 있었다.

그는 기술적으로 완벽한 수술을 시행하는 것과 환자의 고통을 실제로 해결하는 것이 서로 다른 문제라는 사실을 깨달았다.

이 경험은 그에게 심각한 의문을 남겼다.

'내가 하고 있는 수술은 정말 환자를 낫게 하는 것인가?'

그는 자신이 하는 치료가 질병의 원인을 해결하기보다 이미 나타난 결과를 교정하는 데 머무른다고 생각하게 되었다.

③ 새는 지붕과 곰팡이 핀 벽

영상에서 가장 인상적인 것은 집수리에 관한 비유다.

어떤 집의 지붕에서 물이 새어 벽에 곰팡이가 생겼다고 하자.

수리공이 곰팡이가 생긴 벽을 뜯어내고, 손상된 단열재를 교체하고, 새 벽을 세운 다음 아름답게 페인트칠했다.

하지만 지붕에서 물이 새는 문제는 해결하지 않았다.

그렇다면 얼마 지나지 않아 벽에는 다시 곰팡이가 생길 것이다.

그는 자신이 하는 척추수술이 이런 벽수리와 비슷하다고 느꼈다.

수술은 손상된 구조를 교정하거나 신경 압박을 제거할 수 있다. 그러나 왜 척추가 손상되었는지, 환자의 몸이 왜 회복되지 못하는지에 관한 근본적인 문제까지 반드시 해결하지는 못한다.

그가 보기에 질병을 일으키는 생활환경과 습관이 그대로라면 환자는 다시 고통받을 수 있다.

이 비유는 이후 그의 의료체제 비판 전체를 관통하는 핵심 논리가 된다.

④ 환자의 생활습관에서 발견한 차이

그는 수년 동안 환자들의 생활방식을 세밀하게 관찰했다.

무엇을 먹는가? 얼마나 운동하는가? 잠은 잘 자는가? 가족과 친구가 있는가? 직장과 가정에서 스트레스를 얼마나 받는가?

그의 경험에 따르면 회복이 좋은 환자들에게는 몇 가지 공통점이 있었다.

• 채소, 과일, 통곡물, 콩류를 중심으로 식사한다.

• 지나치게 짠 음식을 피한다.

• 규칙적으로 운동하고 신체활동을 유지한다.

• 담배를 피우지 않고 술을 적게 마신다.

• 충분히 잠을 잔다.

• 가족이나 친구들과 좋은 관계를 유지한다.

• 명상이나 마음챙김으로 스트레스를 관리한다.

반대로 운동하지 않고, 가공식품을 많이 먹으며, 사회적으로 고립되고, 만성적인 스트레스와 수면 부족에 시달리는 환자들은 수술 후에도 회복이 더디거나 문제가 재발하는 경우가 많았다고 주장한다.

그는 이러한 경험을 통해 건강을 회복하는 능력이 수술 자체보다 환자의 전반적인 생활방식과 깊은 관계가 있다고 확신하게 되었다.

다만 이는 개인적 임상 관찰이다. 어떤 생활습관이 척추질환의 회복에 얼마나 기여했는지 과학적으로 입증한 비교연구는 아니다.

⑤ 의료체제의 모순: 환자가 건강해지면 누가 돈을 버는가?

그는 여기서 개인적 경험을 미국 의료체제에 대한 구조적 비판으로 발전시킨다.

병원은 운영비를 충당하고 성장하기 위해 수익을 올려야 한다. 의사는 진료와 수술을 통해 보수를 받는다. 의료기기, 검사, 약물 역시 의료산업의 수입원이 된다.

그런데 환자가 생활습관을 개선하고 건강을 회복하여 수술이나 약물이 필요 없어지면 어떻게 되는가?

환자에게는 좋은 일이지만 병원과 의료산업에는 수익 감소가 발생할 수 있다.

그는 가상의 지역사회에서 매년 100건의 척추수술을 시행하던 병원이 있다고 가정한다. 주민들의 건강이 크게 개선되어 수술이 거의 필요 없어지면 병원과 의사는 경제적으로 어려워질 수 있다.

이것이 그가 발견한 의료체제의 근본적 모순이다.

의료의 본래 목적은 환자의 건강을 회복시키는 것이지만, 의료기관의 경제적 운영은 환자의 질병을 치료하는 행위에서 수익이 발생하도록 설계되어 있다는 것이다.

그는 자신이 일했던 병원이나 동료들을 비난하지 않는다. 오히려 훌륭하고 양심적인 사람들이 많았다고 강조한다.

문제는 개인의 도덕성이 아니라 의료체제의 경제적 유인 구조라고 주장한다.

⑥ 양심의 상처: 더 이상 믿지 않는 일을 계속할 수 있는가?

그는 자신이 시행하는 수술이 일부 환자에게는 도움이 된다는 것을 알고 있었다.

그러나 수술을 중심으로 돌아가는 의료체제가 환자의 고통을 가장 효과적으로 줄이고 있는지 점점 의심하게 되었다.

그럼에도 자신과 가족의 생계를 위해 계속 수술해야 했다.

그 결과 극심한 심리적 갈등을 경험했다. 약 40파운드(18kg)의 체중이 늘었고, 분노와 무력감, 우울한 감정이 심해졌다.

그가 사용한 표현은 '도덕적 상처(moral injury)'다.

이는 단순히 일이 많아서 지치는 번아웃과는 다르다. 자신의 양심이나 직업적 가치관에 어긋나는 일을 계속해야 한다고 느낄 때 발생하는 정신적 고통을 가리킨다.

그에게 가장 심각한 문제는 외과의사라는 직업이 힘들다는 사실이 아니었다.

자신이 옳다고 믿지 않는 의료행위를 생계를 위해 계속해야 한다고 느끼는 것이었다.

⑦ 아내의 지지와 직업 포기

그는 처음에는 완전한 퇴직이 아니라 시간제 근무를 생각했다.

그러나 아내는 남편이 얼마나 고통받고 있는지 알고 있었고, 차라리 직장을 그만두라고 권유했다.

당시 아내는 새로운 직업을 준비하기 위해 공부하고 있었고, 가족의 생활비는 대부분 남편의 소득에 의존하고 있었다.

다행히 몇 년 동안 생활할 수 있는 저축이 있었다.

그는 병원에 퇴직 의사를 알리고 후임자를 구할 수 있도록 약 9개월을 더 근무한 뒤 2023년 9월에 직장을 떠났다.

특별한 재취업 계획은 없었다.

처음에는 그러한 사실을 타인에게 말하는 것이 부끄러웠다. 그러나 시간이 지나면서 계획이 없다는 사실 자체가 오히려 자유로움으로 느껴졌다.

그는 직업을 떠난 뒤 오랫동안 경험하지 못했던 행복을 느꼈다고 말한다.

⑧ 자연 속에서 발견한 새로운 삶

퇴직 후 그는 오랫동안 제대로 하지 못했던 일들을 시작했다.

충분히 자고, 건강하게 먹고, 걸으며, 자연에서 시간을 보냈다.

특히 반려견 두비(Doobie)와 함께 산과 숲을 걷는 일이 일상의 중심이 되었다.

그는 언젠가 반려견이 먼저 세상을 떠날 것이라는 사실을 생각하며 함께하는 시간을 영상으로 기록하기 시작했다.

그것이 유튜브 채널

##

① 이 영상의 가장 중요한 개념은 '도덕적 상처'다

이 영상의 핵심은 성공한 의사가 직업을 버렸다는 사건 자체보다, 그가 직업적 양심과 의료체제 사이의 충돌을 경험했다는 데 있다.

도덕적 상처(moral injury)는 번아웃(burnout)과 구별할 필요가 있다.

번아웃이 과중한 업무와 지속적인 스트레스로 인해 발생하는 심리적·신체적 소진이라면, 도덕적 상처는 자신이 옳다고 믿는 원칙을 조직의 요구 때문에 지키기 어렵다고 느끼는 상황에서 발생한다.

예를 들어 의사가 환자에게 더 많은 시간을 들여 설명하고 싶어도 병원의 운영 방식 때문에 충분한 진료시간을 확보하지 못하는 경우가 있다.

의사가 환자에게 가장 적절한 치료보다 보험이나 병원 수익구조가 허용하는 치료를 선택해야 한다고 느끼는 경우도 있다.

이 문제는 개인적인 직업 불만을 넘어 전문직의 윤리와 조직의 경제적 이해관계 사이의 충돌이다.

의학 인문학 전문지 BMJ Medical Humanities도 2024년 이 영상을 계기로 의료인들의 도덕적 상처 문제를 다루었다. 이 글은 의사의 양심과 의료기관의 운영체제 사이에 발생하는 갈등을 중요한 의료윤리 문제로 분석한다.

Medical Humanities

사회학적으로 보면 이는 개인의 양심과 제도의 합리성 사이에 발생하는 갈등이라고 할 수 있다.

의사는 환자의 고통을 줄이는 것을 직업적 사명으로 생각한다. 반면 병원은 진료 건수, 수술 건수, 수입, 운영 효율성을 지속적으로 관리해야 한다.

이 두 가지 목적이 반드시 충돌하는 것은 아니다. 그러나 제도의 경제적 목표가 전문직의 윤리적 목표를 압도할 때 의사는 자기소외를 경험할 수 있다.

구비의 경험은 이러한 구조적 갈등의 한 사례다.

② 의료의 상업화에 대한 비판은 상당한 설득력이 있다

그의 주장에서 가장 강력한 부분은 미국 의료체제의 경제적 유인에 대한 비판이다.

현대 의료는 진단, 약물, 수술, 의료기기 등의 개발에서 놀라운 성과를 거두었다.

그러나 의료서비스 제공자에게 지불하는 방식에 따라 치료와 예방 사이의 경제적 보상이 달라질 수 있다.

예방교육이나 생활습관 상담보다 수술과 시술에 더 높은 수익이 발생하는 제도에서는 예방의 중요성이 충분히 반영되지 않을 가능성이 있다.

이 문제를 경제학에서는 유인구조(incentive structure)의 문제로 분석할 수 있다.

그런데 여기서 중요한 구별이 필요하다.

의료체제가 수술에 경제적 보상을 제공한다는 사실만으로 불필요한 수술이 실제로 얼마나 시행되는지 알 수는 없다. 또한 모든 의료기관이 수술 건수를 늘리는 데 관심을 가진다고 일반화해서도 안 된다.

그럼에도 그의 문제 제기는 정당하다.

의료체제는 질병을 치료한 행위의 수뿐 아니라 환자가 얼마나 건강하게 생활하게 되었는지에 대해서도 책임을 지도록 설계되어야 한다.

이는 미국뿐 아니라 호주, 한국, 일본에서도 검토할 가치가 있는 문제다.

③ 그러나 생활습관만으로 모든 질병을 치료할 수 있다는 생각은 지나치다

이 영상에서 가장 신중하게 평가해야 할 부분이다.

그는 건강한 식사와 운동, 수면, 스트레스 관리가 척추질환의 회복에 매우 중요하다고 주장한다.

이것은 상당 부분 현대 의학의 연구와도 일치한다.

세계보건기구(WHO)는 2023년 만성 일차성 요통의 비수술적 치료지침에서 운동, 환자교육, 일부 심리적 치료 등을 중요한 관리방법으로 제시했다.

who.int

하지만 그의 설명에는 세 가지 문제가 있다.

첫째, 상관관계와 인과관계가 충분히 구별되지 않는다.

건강한 생활습관을 가진 환자가 더 잘 회복되었다는 관찰만으로, 그 생활습관이 회복의 직접적인 원인이었다고 단정할 수 없다.

둘째, 생활습관을 개선해도 해결되지 않는 구조적 질환이 존재한다.

예컨대 심각한 신경 압박이나 진행성 신경학적 손상이 있는 환자에게는 전문적 평가와 수술이 필요할 수 있다. 영국 NICE 지침 역시 비수술적 치료로 호전되지 않고 영상검사 소견이 증상과 일치하는 좌골신경통 환자에게 척추 감압수술을 고려하도록 권고한다.

nice.org.uk

셋째, 모든 질병을 생활습관으로 설명하면 환자 개인에게 지나친 책임을 돌릴 위험이 있다.

노화, 유전적 요인, 사고, 장애, 노동환경 등은 개인이 마음대로 통제할 수 없다.

따라서 바람직한 결론은 수술이나 약물을 포기해야 한다는 것이 아니다.

의학적 치료와 예방, 재활, 생활환경 개선이 서로 보완해야 한다는 것이다.

④ 개인의 생활습관을 넘어 사회적 조건을 보아야 한다

사회학자의 시각에서 이 영상의 가장 큰 한계는 건강을 결정하는 사회적 조건에 대한 분석이 부족하다는 점이다.

그는 건강한 식사, 충분한 수면, 운동, 좋은 인간관계, 스트레스 감소를 강조한다.

그러나 누가 이러한 생활을 실천할 수 있는가?

저임금 노동자가 하루 10시간 이상 일하면서 충분히 잠을 잘 수 있는가?

두 가지 직업을 가진 사람이 매일 자연 속을 걸을 시간이 있는가?

경제적으로 어려운 가정이 언제나 신선한 식품을 선택할 수 있는가?

가족을 돌보는 책임 때문에 자기 자신을 위한 시간을 거의 확보하지 못하는 사람은 어떻게 해야 하는가?

건강한 생활습관 자체가 사회계층과 노동조건의 영향을 받는다.

이것은 공중보건에서 말하는 '건강의 사회적 결정요인(social determinants of health)'과 연결된다.

따라서 구비의 논리를 한 단계 발전시키면 다음과 같은 결론에 도달한다.

개인이 건강해지려면 생활습관을 개선해야 하지만, 사회가 건강해지려면 그러한 생활을 가능하게 하는 노동조건, 소득보장, 주거환경, 지역사회 관계까지 개선해야 한다.

의료의 상업화에 대한 그의 비판은 설득력이 있지만, 건강을 개인적 생활방식의 문제로 지나치게 환원하는 것은 피해야 한다.

⑤ 직업적 성공과 좋은 삶은 다른 문제다

이 영상의 또 다른 중요한 주제는 성공의 의미다.

그는 MIT 교육, 의사 면허, 전문의 자격, 높은 소득, 사회적 명성을 모두 획득했다.

일반적으로 미국 사회에서 성공한 삶의 전형이라고 할 수 있다.

그럼에도 그는 깊은 불행을 경험했다.

여기에는 사회학자 막스 베버가 분석한 현대사회의 합리화 문제와 연결되는 측면이 있다.

현대사회는 효율성, 생산성, 전문성, 경제적 성과를 높이 평가한다.

그러나 그러한 목표를 성취하는 과정에서 인간은 자신의 삶이 무엇을 위해 존재하는지 잊어버릴 수 있다.

구비는 외과의사로서 성공했지만, 그가 처음 의사가 되려고 했던 이유와 실제 직업생활 사이에서 심각한 괴리를 경험했다.

그에게 문제는 성공하지 못했다는 것이 아니었다.

자신이 원하지 않는 종류의 성공을 계속 유지해야 한다는 것이었다.

이런 의미에서 그의 퇴직은 실패라기보다 삶의 가치에 대한 재평가라고 할 수 있다.

다만 그의 선택을 모든 사람에게 적용할 수 있는 보편적 모범으로 제시해서는 안 된다.

그에게는 상당 기간 생활할 수 있는 저축과 지지해 주는 배우자가 있었다. 많은 사람에게는 이러한 조건이 없다.

그의 자유로운 선택 역시 이전에 축적한 경제적·사회적 자원을 바탕으로 가능했다는 점을 인정해야 한다.

⑥ 퀘이커 사상과 연결되는 부분

이 영상은 퀘이커의 삶과 신앙이라는 관점에서도 흥미롭다.

퀘이커 전통에서 중요한 가치는 진실성(integrity), 단순성(simplicity), 평등(equality), 공동체(community) 등이다.

구비의 선택은 특히 진실성과 단순성이라는 두 가치와 연결된다.

진실성은 자신의 내적 확신과 외적 행동 사이의 일치를 추구하는 태도다.

그는 자신이 믿지 않는 방식으로 직업생활을 계속하는 것이 양심에 어긋난다고 느꼈다.

높은 소득과 명성을 유지하는 것보다 그러한 불일치를 해결하는 일이 더 중요하다고 판단했다.

단순성 역시 중요한 연결점이다.

그는 복잡하고 경쟁적인 전문직의 생활에서 벗어나 자연 속에서 걷고, 반려견과 시간을 보내고, 조용히 생활하는 데 만족을 발견했다.

그러나 퀘이커 전통은 단순한 개인적 평안에 머무르지 않는다.

개인의 내적 평안과 더불어 사회적 정의, 공동체에 대한 책임, 불의한 제도를 변화시키는 실천도 강조한다.

이 관점에서 보면 구비의 선택에는 한 가지 질문이 남는다.

그는 자신을 고통스럽게 만든 의료체제에서 벗어났지만, 의료체제 자체를 바꾸는 일에는 어떻게 기여할 것인가?

자연 속에서 개인적 평화를 회복하는 일과 의료제도의 구조적 개혁에 참여하는 일은 서로 다른 차원의 실천이다.

양쪽 모두 중요하다.

그가 앞으로 자신의 경험을 통해 의료윤리와 예방의학, 환자 중심 치료에 관한 사회적 논의에 기여한다면 그의 경험은 개인적 회복을 넘어 공동체적 의미를 갖게 될 것이다.

##

이 영상은 한 의사의 직업 포기에 관한 이야기이면서 동시에 현대 의료와 전문직 사회에 대한 윤리적 비판이다.

가장 큰 장점은 의료의 목적을 다시 질문하게 만든다는 점이다.

의사는 무엇을 위해 존재하는가? 병원은 무엇을 성취해야 하는가? 환자가 진정으로 건강해진다는 것은 무엇을 의미하는가?

그는 자신의 경험을 통해 의료행위와 건강의 회복이 반드시 같은 것은 아니라는 사실을 강조한다.

특히 의료체제의 경제적 유인과 의료인의 양심 사이에 발생하는 갈등을 구체적인 개인 경험을 통해 전달한다는 점에서 설득력이 크다.

반면 그의 임상 경험을 과학적으로 일반화하는 데에는 상당한 주의가 필요하다. 건강한 생활습관의 중요성을 인정하더라도 수술과 약물의 필요성을 과소평가해서는 안 된다.

또한 개인의 생활습관을 강조하는 데 비해 건강에 영향을 미치는 사회구조적 조건에 대한 분석은 부족하다.

내가 보기에 이 영상에서 가장 의미 있는 대목은 그가 의사라는 직업을 버린 후에도 의학을 공부하기 시작했을 때의 가치관을 완전히 버리지 않았다는 사실이다.

그가 처음 배운 의사의 사명은 고통을 덜어주는 것이었다.

그는 그 사명을 수행하는 기존의 방식에 회의를 느꼈고, 다른 삶의 방식을 선택했다.

이것은 직업에 대한 충성보다 양심에 대한 충성을 선택한 사례라고 해석할 수 있다.

그러나 여기에는 개인적 선택의 역설도 있다.

그가 의료체제의 문제를 명확하게 이해했다면, 훌륭한 의사들이 병원을 떠나지 않고도 양심에 따라 진료할 수 있는 제도를 만드는 일 역시 중요하다.

그런 점에서 이 영상의 가장 생산적인 교훈은 '불행하면 직장을 그만두라'는 단순한 충고가 아니다.

진정한 교훈은 인간의 삶과 노동, 그리고 의료제도의 목적을 다시 생각해야 한다는 것이다.

마지막으로 이 영상은 성공과 행복을 구별하도록 한다.

사회가 정해 놓은 성공의 기준을 충족했다고 해서 반드시 좋은 삶을 살고 있는 것은 아니다. 반대로 높은 소득과 명성을 포기했다고 해서 반드시 실패한 삶이 되는 것도 아니다.

구비는 자신의 삶을 재구성하면서 이전에는 발견하지 못했던 만족을 얻었다.

그의 선택을 무조건 찬양할 필요는 없지만, 그가 제기한 질문은 중요하다.

"내가 평생을 바쳐 이루려는 것은 정말 내가 가치 있다고 믿는 일인가?"

이 질문은 의료인뿐 아니라 학자, 교육자, 종교인, 기업인, 그리고 은퇴 이후의 삶을 살아가는 사람들에게도 의미가 있다.

결국 이 영상은 직업을 포기한 의사의 실패담이 아니라, 직업적 성공과 삶의 의미 사이의 불일치를 깨닫고 그것을 바로잡으려는 한 인간의 이야기다.

참고: 요약은 첨부하신 영상 자료와 공개 영상의 전체 발언록을 바탕으로 작성했다. 의료적 주장에 대한 평가는 WHO, 호주 의료품질안전위원회, 영국 NICE의 임상 지침과 대조했다. 영상의 개인적 경험과 과학적으로 검증된 사실은 구분했다.

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Transcript

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Chapter 1: Leaving neurosurgery

0:044 secondshi I'm Gooby from Gooby and doobie so I used to be a

0:1212 secondsneurosurgeon I trained or I went to college at MIT and did uh four years of medical school

0:2020 secondsand six years of neurosurgery training and and I I I was a neurosurgeon

0:2626 secondsfor almost 10 years after after all of that so that's 20 years of my life and I

0:3535 secondsquit I quit last year and nobody understood why I

0:4747 secondsquit uh people would ask but you know a decision that involves 20 years of your

0:5555 secondslife you can't really answer in a couple minutes and most people don't have

1:021 minute, 2 secondstime to sit and listen to uh a 10 or 15 minute story or however long it takes to

1:091 minute, 9 secondsexplain why someone's doing something that most people would never do and they

1:161 minute, 16 secondsdon't really understand why I would do that so that's why I'm making this

1:241 minute, 24 secondsvideo uh first to help sort my own thoughts out about the whole thing because there's a lot of factors but

1:331 minute, 33 secondsalso to maybe help somebody else who's in U in a tough

1:401 minute, 40 secondsspot uh if they're in a tough spot like I was maybe hearing my story will help

1:481 minute, 48 secondsthem get out of that tough spot um I'm going to put my hood on

1:561 minute, 56 secondsbecause there's some mosquitoes out here so I

2:022 minutes, 2 secondscan think without being distracted by them

Chapter 2: The dream of neurosurgery

2:132 minutes, 13 secondsso I became a doctor uh to help people and I remember

2:222 minutes, 22 secondsat the beginning of medical school when um I was just starting there was a u

2:322 minutes, 32 secondsthere was a ceremony and we all took a hypocritic oath I remember there was one of the old older faculty docs and he

2:412 minutes, 41 secondssaid that your job as doctors is to relieve suffering it's not

2:482 minutes, 48 secondsto it's not to uh do a surgery or give a pill it's to relieve

2:572 minutes, 57 secondssuffering that that might be for from doing a surgery or a pill but it might be just listening

3:053 minutes, 5 secondsacknowledging what someone's going through that stuck with me all through medical school and residency and

3:143 minutes, 14 secondsafterwards um how I became a neurosurgeon is is

3:223 minutes, 22 secondsum well I've always been interested in how the brain works how Consciousness Works how

3:293 minutes, 29 secondshow our our brain and body is able to perceive this mountain

3:363 minutes, 36 secondsside um the stream that's nearby um we have so many choices in

3:453 minutes, 45 secondslife like is there such thing as a good life and if so how do you live that those are all questions that I was

3:543 minutes, 54 secondscurious about and that led me to be C ious about the brain and at that

4:024 minutes, 2 secondstime at my medical school there were some researchers and they still they still are working on this um uh working

4:094 minutes, 9 secondson connecting brains to computers uh through a brain machine interface so this was this was like science fiction

4:204 minutes, 20 secondsum like uh

4:284 minutes, 28 secondscreating a robotic arm or leg that's controlled by a person's thoughts that was really interesting to

4:374 minutes, 37 secondsme and there were people working on that so I wanted to go into neurosurgery and learn about that and do research on it

4:454 minutes, 45 secondsand maybe one day do do a surgery like uh a Luke Skywalker replacing his arm kind of

4:534 minutes, 53 secondssurgery so I went into uh neurosurgery training

5:045 minutes, 4 secondsI got in and uh I spent six years learning how to do brain surgery

5:135 minutes, 13 secondsand most people don't know that neurosurgeons spent half their time also learning how to do spine surgery because

5:205 minutes, 20 secondsum spine problems are more common than brain problems so I spent six years learning

5:275 minutes, 27 secondshow to do both brain and spine surgery and I did some

5:345 minutes, 34 secondsresearch uh working on rats and electrodes putting electrodes in their brain

5:405 minutes, 40 secondsand and um I was slated to go go up to Toronto to work with the guru of uh

5:475 minutes, 47 secondsbrain machine interfaces but as I did more research

5:545 minutes, 54 secondsinto the problem I I found that um this dream

6:026 minutes, 2 secondsof being able to give people robotic arms or legs I don't think will ever happen and

6:116 minutes, 11 secondsthat's because the brain the brain knows that these small electrodes that listen to the brain are are not part of the

6:186 minutes, 18 secondsbody so it rejects it builds up a wall of Scar and then the electrodes they can't hear the they can't hear the

6:266 minutes, 26 secondsneurons the little tiny cells in the brain that send the signals

6:336 minutes, 33 secondsso so the the goal that I wanted to to

6:406 minutes, 40 secondsaccomplish which was to become a neurosurgeon who specializes and does research

6:456 minutes, 45 secondson on um brain machine interface work um I thought that that

6:566 minutes, 56 secondswould that would not work out in the end because of those

7:047 minutes, 4 secondslimitations and after putting in 4 years plus at that time 5

7:107 minutes, 10 secondsyears of my life that's nine years of my from 20 to 29 years old it's like the

7:197 minutes, 19 secondsprime of my youth I I I I had put it invested it in doing medical school and

7:287 minutes, 28 secondslearning how to do brain and spine surgery I at the age of 29 I realized

7:367 minutes, 36 secondsthat where I wanted to go I I would never be able to make it it's just not not

7:437 minutes, 43 secondspossible and after putting N9 years of my youth into that job um I didn't want

7:507 minutes, 50 secondsto throw that away so in my last year of residency I

7:577 minutes, 57 secondsum I learned how to do spine Serv urg cuz that's what most neurosurgeons do it's the most common thing is what a

8:048 minutes, 4 secondsregular neuros surgery job is is fixing people's um worn out necks and

8:118 minutes, 11 secondsbacks and I had good teachers to do that and and uh you know I graduated and

8:218 minutes, 21 secondsI I got my first job and um yeah I knew that some something was

Chapter 3: Limitations of surgical care

8:308 minutes, 30 secondsnot right right away it you know I had good partners I

8:368 minutes, 36 secondshad good hospitals that I worked at uh but something was not right I was

8:468 minutes, 46 secondsvery unhappy I I and on the surface it didn't make

8:548 minutes, 54 secondssense I had um I was getting paid very well it was a very well-respected

9:029 minutes, 2 secondsjob I had good colleagues had good support but I was the most

9:119 minutes, 11 secondsunhappy um that I've ever been and I couldn't really figure it out for a long

9:199 minutes, 19 secondstime um I had gotten married before uh just

9:269 minutes, 26 secondsbefore getting the new job and and and that's the best decision I've ever made

9:329 minutes, 32 secondsuh my wife is so understanding and

9:449 minutes, 44 secondssupportive she tried to help me out uh but um really I didn't know what

9:519 minutes, 51 secondswas the problem I couldn't I couldn't describe it uh but you know now I know what it is

10:0410 minutes, 4 secondsso it's really complicated and I I'll do the best I can to explain it going back to medical school when

10:1410 minutes, 14 secondswhen I took that oath and I had that um older Professor say that your job is to

10:2010 minutes, 20 secondsrelieve suffering you know that's what I understood to um of what it means to be a good doctor

10:3010 minutes, 30 secondsand I had learned all these fancy spine surgery techniques to do all this

10:3610 minutes, 36 secondsincredible surgery work through tiny cuts and it's called minimally invasive spine surgery it's the latest

10:4510 minutes, 45 secondstechnology we use navigation like a GPS inside the operating room like all all the latest techniques you know I learned

10:5410 minutes, 54 secondsand I learned how to do well and I I did them and I I helped I helped a lot of people

11:0311 minutes, 3 secondsout but there were way more people that I couldn't help and that's because

11:1111 minutes, 11 secondsum you know surgery surgery like if if someone's got a what's called um degenerative spine

11:2011 minutes, 20 secondsthat means their spine degenerated it wore out could be a bulging disc pinching a

11:2811 minutes, 28 secondsnerve or a disc is just worn out and bones are rubbing on each other or there's a loose joint and the joint is

11:3511 minutes, 35 secondsbanging on nerves causing pain I can do surgery to cut

11:4311 minutes, 43 secondsout like a buling disc to to remove something and make more room for a nerve or I could I could do a surgery where I

11:5111 minutes, 51 secondsput titanium screws and rods into the spine and lock it down and remove motion

11:5911 minutes, 59 secondsit's all removing things the only thing that was adding things was putting in a little electrode

12:0712 minutes, 7 secondsto to block pain signals uh if there was nothing else you could

12:1712 minutes, 17 secondsdo but th those were the tools I had I I learned to use them really

12:2312 minutes, 23 secondswell but what I what I realized later on is that

12:3112 minutes, 31 secondsyou those those aren't fixing the problem there's so many people with with back problems neck pain back pain nerve

12:4012 minutes, 40 secondspain down their arms and legs surgery surgery might make him better for a little bit

12:4912 minutes, 49 secondsbut it didn't address what caused that disc to wear out or the disc to bulge or the joint to get

12:5712 minutes, 57 secondsloose or the the the disc in between the bones to disappear and then the bones are rubbing

13:0413 minutes, 4 secondson each other those surgeries they don't address

13:1413 minutes, 14 secondsthat so what what I was

13:2713 minutes, 27 secondsdoing so what I I was doing was

13:3613 minutes, 36 secondsum there's a lot of

Chapter 4: The leaky roof analogy

13:5413 minutes, 54 secondsmosquitoes so what I was doing was I was doing the surgeries that I learned how to do I was trying to help people but

14:0314 minutes, 3 secondsthese surgeries they weren't fixing the problem they would help some people feel better some people would feel the same

14:1114 minutes, 11 secondssome people would be worse u a lot of people I saw in clinic I had to tell them that oh surgery is

14:1814 minutes, 18 secondsnot going to help you and of course they would be devastated because I was sort of their

14:2514 minutes, 25 secondslast hope that all weighed really heavy cuz I

14:3514 minutes, 35 secondsthought I was going to relieve suffering and I did relieve some suffering but I saw so much more suffering that I

14:4314 minutes, 43 secondscouldn't relieve even if I tried even if I tried to do

14:5514 minutes, 55 secondssurgery I'm going to change the battery so um a PA a PA a physician assistant

15:0615 minutes, 6 secondsthat I worked with um he made a good analogy that the surgeries we're

15:1215 minutes, 12 secondsdoing is like this it's like you have a house and the roof the top top of your

15:2015 minutes, 20 secondshouse has a leak somewhere and rain water is coming down into the house and it's ruining the

15:2915 minutes, 29 secondsdrywall and you can see it you can see water damage the surgeries that I could do

15:3815 minutes, 38 secondswere like going into that house tearing down that drywall ripping out the moldy

15:4715 minutes, 47 secondsinsulation putting in brand new insulation and rebuilding the

15:5615 minutes, 56 secondswall but not not fixing the leak in the

16:0316 minutes, 3 secondsroof that's what I was doing and the way I I realized that is

16:1216 minutes, 12 secondsthat I could do a perfect surgery and some people would get better some people would stay the same some people would

16:1916 minutes, 19 secondsget worse even though I did the exact same perfect surgery and some people would get better

16:2816 minutes, 28 secondsbefore I could oper praying on them even with gigantic bulging discs they would get better if I scheduled a

16:3716 minutes, 37 secondssurgery a month out they would sometimes they would call me a week before surgery and say oh hey Doc uh you know my my

16:4516 minutes, 45 secondsnerve Pain's gone um do I still need to do surgery yeah I got a big disc in there a

16:5216 minutes, 52 secondsbig bulging disc right and you that that was

17:0217 minutes, 2 secondsuh that was very confusing to me you know I had learned some of that in nurse in residency

17:1017 minutes, 10 secondsbut actually being out there and practicing and seeing seeing what happens to people I realized that well

17:1817 minutes, 18 secondswait a second wait a second this this isn't

17:2417 minutes, 24 secondsquite what I thought it was I thought that um if I do a perfect surgery people are

17:3417 minutes, 34 secondsgoing to get better it wasn't always the

17:4717 minutes, 47 secondscase so over the nine years that 9 to 10 years that I I was a neurosurgeon

17:5717 minutes, 57 secondsI it really bothered me it really bothered me I felt that um I felt that wait there's something

18:0418 minutes, 4 secondsmissing here you know I my surgeries are not they don't seem

18:1218 minutes, 12 secondsto be they don't seem to be addressing what's causing people's health problems

18:1918 minutes, 19 secondsin their spine I mean it they sort of do but but not um not in the way that I

18:2818 minutes, 28 secondsthought not in the way that I thought when I was training and so over 9

18:3618 minutes, 36 secondsyears I did everything I could try to do to try to figure out but how do people actually get

18:4418 minutes, 44 secondsbetter and how do they get worse and um you I had help along the

18:5118 minutes, 51 secondsway I had a really good partner who was a pain management doc at my first job

18:5918 minutes, 59 secondsand he really clued me into um a lot of a lot of the things I'm going to explain

19:0819 minutes, 8 secondshere but I just started asking patients like everything I could think

19:1519 minutes, 15 secondsof um what do you what do you normally do what's your job what do you eat what do you drink do you smoke do you do you

19:2419 minutes, 24 secondselicit drugs do you uh you have a lot of friends do you you how's your family are you stressed

19:3219 minutes, 32 secondsout do you sleep well I I just would ask all my patients

19:4019 minutes, 40 secondsjust kind of this whole bunch of questions about their life and what I found

19:4719 minutes, 47 secondswas that um patients that did certain things would

19:5619 minutes, 56 secondsget better and patients who wouldn't do those things would get worse my surgery

20:0320 minutes, 3 secondsmight help them out a little bit but they would get worse after that um and those things that I I saw

Chapter 5: Factors for true healing

20:1420 minutes, 14 secondswere the following it's um people that got better people that

20:2020 minutes, 20 secondshealed they were doing following and not exactly but in general and this is my

20:2720 minutes, 27 secondsobservation uh they they were having a diet well diet seemed to

20:3520 minutes, 35 secondsbe the most important the food that people ate and the liquids they

20:4120 minutes, 41 secondsdrink the ones that would heal up they had a low salt diet like not it

20:5020 minutes, 50 secondswasn't really salty and most of them ate mostly plant-based Foods you know like

20:5820 minutes, 58 secondsvegetable vegetables fruits whole grains beans and this is not this is not like a

21:0421 minutes, 4 secondsvegan rant or anything I I I'm not vegan I enjoy a steak or sushi every once in a

21:1321 minutes, 13 secondswhile I'm just describing what what I saw over N9 years of doing spine

21:2021 minutes, 20 secondssurgery people that got better were having a mostly plant-based diet they weren't eating too much animal foods and

21:3021 minutes, 30 secondsthey were definitely not eating salty and they would do things that would make them sweat like exercise being outside

21:3721 minutes, 37 secondshiking like this going to a sauna um or they live in a warm

21:4621 minutes, 46 secondsplace um they didn't smoke they didn't drink

21:5321 minutes, 53 secondsmuch uh they usually had a good soci social support like uh loved ones family

22:0222 minutes, 2 secondsmembers children friends

22:0922 minutes, 9 secondsum like a way to socialize they would sleep they would sleep like eight hours every day and they weren't stressed out

22:1822 minutes, 18 secondsor they if they had a stressful job or something they they they found a way to like be mindful or meditate or like

22:2822 minutes, 28 secondsjust be present and um release the stress back into the Universe

22:3722 minutes, 37 secondsum that's what I saw and I saw that the people who did

22:4322 minutes, 43 secondsthat they would heal so quickly that I couldn't operate on them I mean sometimes I could but if I was booked

22:5322 minutes, 53 secondslike three or four weeks out a lot of times people would that were doing that they would heal before I

23:0223 minutes, 2 secondscould do the surgery that I thought would fix the problem and the opposite was true you

23:1023 minutes, 10 secondsknow patients that patients that um so they smoked like a chimney they

23:1723 minutes, 17 secondssat on the couch and they ate hot dogs all day they had no friends they were super stressed

23:2323 minutes, 23 secondsout and um they didn't sleep

23:3023 minutes, 30 secondswell yeah th those patients like I I could do a really good surgery I would get them temporarily better but 6 months

23:3923 minutes, 39 secondsyear later the same part of their back would have a recurrent problem or a

23:4723 minutes, 47 secondsdifferent part a different joint of their back would have a similar problem and I would operate on them and

23:5423 minutes, 54 secondsthey might get better for 6 months and then yeah then the same thing would happen so

24:0224 minutes, 2 secondsit's the it's the Leaky Roof problem so that that was my that was my

24:1224 minutes, 12 secondsaha moment it's like oh I know what's going on wait to actually heal you you need to

24:2124 minutes, 21 secondslike eat a certain way sleep a lot not be stressed out I have a good

24:2824 minutes, 28 secondssocial network exercise move your body stretch if you do all those

24:3624 minutes, 36 secondsthings you heal and when your body heals it doesn't just

24:4424 minutes, 44 secondsheal worn out joint in your neck or your back it heals everything it heals a worn out joint in your neck your back it

24:5224 minutes, 52 secondsheals the skin problem it heals um your digestive tract problem it heals your hair

24:5924 minutes, 59 seconds[Music]

25:0025 minutesissues when when your body heals it heals everything

Chapter 6: Incentives in the medical system

25:0825 minutes, 8 secondsand that actually became a huge problem and uh let me explain why that's a huge problem because most people will say wa

25:1725 minutes, 17 secondshow is that a problem that you figured out how people are healing uh it's a problem because our

25:2525 minutes, 25 secondsmedical system isn't set up isn't set up this way our our um our you know I'm I'm not knocking any

25:3525 minutes, 35 secondshospital or group that I worked with I've I had the privilege to work with really amazing people and amazing

25:4525 minutes, 45 secondshospitals amazing institutions but the way that everything is set up in the whole country it's not

25:5425 minutes, 54 secondsany particular Hospital the way things are set up is that the hospital needs to make

26:0326 minutes, 3 secondsmoney they need to make money they need to they need to

26:1126 minutes, 11 secondsgrow economically they need to grow economically and the problem there is

26:2126 minutes, 21 secondsthat if you figure out a way to help patients heal

26:2826 minutes, 28 secondsand that in that way doesn't include a pill or a surgery

26:3626 minutes, 36 secondswell then the hospital and the doctor are in big trouble because if you figure out a way to help

26:4526 minutes, 45 secondspeople heal and you can't charge them for it well then you've just um worked yourself out of a

26:5426 minutes, 54 secondsjob let's just say let's just say um like for example there's a hospital in a

27:0127 minutes, 1 secondtown and um you know there's an x amount of people with back problems um and the hospital that

27:0927 minutes, 9 secondsthere's a doctor say it was like me Dr Gooby was doing we'll just say 100 spine surgeries

27:1727 minutes, 17 secondsin a year to fix those the people in the community's backs and the hospital got paid Dr Gooby got play

27:2627 minutes, 26 secondspaid and um they Contin every year 100 people needed surgery from Dr

27:3527 minutes, 35 secondsGooby well the hospital's happy Dr Gooby gets paid Dr gooy may not be happy with his life

27:4327 minutes, 43 secondsbut he's getting paid and the do the hospital is getting paid but if Dr Gooby figures out

27:5127 minutes, 51 secondshey um yeah you know what this surgery can help some people but really the best

28:0028 minutesthing that people can do is eat a certain way exercise

28:0628 minutes, 6 secondssleep meditate be mindful you not be stressed hang out with their loved ones and friends and then their back problems

28:1528 minutes, 15 secondswill get better and if Dr Gooby actually

28:2428 minutes, 24 secondsrecommended that to his patients and they actually did get better well it's a big problem for Dr goobie's

28:3228 minutes, 32 secondspaycheck and the hospital cuz let's say in that town let's say

28:3928 minutes, 39 secondseverybody everybody ate more veggies and fruits they really watched the salt intake they did things that made them

28:4728 minutes, 47 secondssweat like being outside in the summer exercising enjoying fresh air and the nature and and uh spending time with

28:5628 minutes, 56 secondstheir loved ones and they slept 8 hours every day and they they meditated and they weren't stressed out let's just say

29:0329 minutes, 3 secondseverybody who had back problems in that town did that and they got better they

29:1229 minutes, 12 secondshealed then nobody needs spine surgery anymore in fact they probably don't need

29:1929 minutes, 19 secondsa lot of things anymore and then Dr guy's office is empty

29:3029 minutes, 30 secondsand the hospital's operating room is empty at least for Dr Gooby

29:3829 minutes, 38 secondssurgeries now I'm not saying that that's exactly what happened because not everyone's going to do all those things that

29:4529 minutes, 45 secondsI that I talked about but I had a lot of patients that did do those things and they got better I never had to operate

29:5229 minutes, 52 secondson them and they were very happy that they never had to be operated on and they got better better that the pain went

30:0130 minutes, 1 secondaway and um yeah so that that

30:0730 minutes, 7 secondswas that was what I figured out over N9 years and

30:1530 minutes, 15 secondsI I still did surgery because you know not everybody could can do all those things I talked about I mean just practically

30:2530 minutes, 25 secondsspeaking and so I I I still did surgery but I really felt

30:3530 minutes, 35 secondslike really felt like the focus of medicine wasn't in the right place it wasn't in healing it was in making money

30:4330 minutes, 43 secondsfrom surgeries and pills and images whatever you can make money

30:5230 minutes, 52 secondsfrom uh again I'm not knocking any particular place that I work I work for very good hospitals people

31:0131 minutes, 1 secondhave good intentions but the incentives are not not right in the whole system this whole country's medical system

31:0831 minutes, 8 secondsprobably not just this country but most countries um it's not about prevention

31:1531 minutes, 15 secondsit's about therapies so yeah once I once I figured out this

31:2431 minutes, 24 secondsproblem or figured out what was going on it was a huge problem for me

31:3131 minutes, 31 secondsethically I was doing surgeries that I knew weren't fixing the underlying

31:3831 minutes, 38 secondsproblem they may be fixing the drywall and taking out the insulation and putting in brand new insulation and

31:4531 minutes, 45 secondsputting a brand new drywall and some pretty color of paint on the wall but it wasn't fixing the Leaky

31:5431 minutes, 54 secondsRoof um and so I didn't know what to do I I I was

Chapter 7: The decision to quit

32:0432 minutes, 4 secondsdoing a job that I didn't believe in anymore it was the way I was getting

32:1132 minutes, 11 secondspaid and I don't know how to do any other job at that time my wife wasn't working I was the only

32:2132 minutes, 21 secondspaycheck we don't have kids thankfully makes things a lot easier uh we have dupy our doggy our doggy child and she's

32:3032 minutes, 30 seconds7 years old and but yeah we don't we don't have like a a human child and um yeah I I was thinking well

32:4032 minutes, 40 secondsI'm the only paycheck I I need to keep working I need to keep going to this job that I don't believe in

32:4732 minutes, 47 secondsanymore and that tore me apart I gained 40

32:5432 minutes, 54 secondslbs uh I was really sad I was really

33:0133 minutes, 1 secondangry frustrated didn't have hope I thought I was

33:0833 minutes, 8 secondsstuck I was stuck and then um this was the year

33:1733 minutes, 17 secondsbefore last year before last I was like I don't know how I can do this for the rest of my

33:2533 minutes, 25 secondslife most surgeons they keep operating till they're 60 and that time I was 38 I was like I

33:3333 minutes, 33 secondsdon't know I don't know how I can I don't know how I can operate doing this doing surgeries I don't believe in

33:4133 minutes, 41 secondseven though I I can do them I can do them very well and I can help some people out I helped out a number of

33:4833 minutes, 48 secondspeople but I I it was a moral dilemma or moral injury

33:5633 minutes, 56 secondsI think there's the term moral injury it was a moral injury um and it

34:0334 minutes, 3 secondsdevastated me and I kept going to work and I kept doing my best to do a good

34:1334 minutes, 13 secondsjob but um yeah it tore me up inside and I knew that if I kept going

34:2334 minutes, 23 secondsback to that job every day for another 20 years uh I would die before 20 years I I my

34:3234 minutes, 32 secondsbody and mind and soul they would

34:4034 minutes, 40 secondshave they would have just broken down and I don't I don't think I would have

34:4834 minutes, 48 secondsmade it I wouldn't have made it to 60 uh

34:5634 minutes, 56 secondsso so I I I knew that something had to change but I was stuck I I was the bread

35:0335 minutes, 3 secondswinner and I think a lot of people can relate to this I think a lot of people may may feel this

35:1035 minutes, 10 secondsway um and uh I knew that I was dying I I was dying

35:1835 minutes, 18 secondsinside and my body was dying so you know I I talked with my wife and I said well you know would it

35:2635 minutes, 26 secondsbe okay if if I I just work part-time maybe I'll cover the ER neurosurgery job for couple weekends a

35:3535 minutes, 35 secondsmonth or a week or week and a half each month and do something else something that makes me feel good like being out here

35:4435 minutes, 44 secondsbeing out in nature uh the rest of the time and my my wife you know I was I said earlier that

35:5335 minutes, 53 secondsshe's amazing she said I see what you're going through

36:0036 minutesI've I've lived with you through it you should just

36:1336 minutes, 13 secondsquit and I I said what H how can I quit you know you're not you're not working

36:2136 minutes, 21 secondsyet she's she was going to school for a second career and

36:2936 minutes, 29 secondsand she said well you know we'll be okay we we saved up some

36:3736 minutes, 37 secondsmoney it's not enough to retire but it's something to live off of for a few

36:4736 minutes, 47 secondsyears why don't you just quit and I thought about it thought

36:5436 minutes, 54 secondsabout it really hard and I knew that I couldn't keep going back but I didn't know what I was going

37:0237 minutes, 2 secondsto do instead for work but I knew that I would die if I kept going

37:1137 minutes, 11 secondsback so with my wife support I went to my job and I said hey

37:1937 minutes, 19 secondsI can't do this anymore I will do it for another I think it was nine months at that time I'll do

37:2737 minutes, 27 secondsit for another nine months until you can find someone to replace me so that our that hospital still have a spine

37:3737 minutes, 37 secondssurgeon um so I I I I just worked another nine

37:4537 minutes, 45 secondsmonths and I quit and nobody understood why I quit

Chapter 8: Life without a plan

37:5837 minutes, 58 secondsI I would try to explain but this video is probably already 40 minutes long and people don't have 40 minutes to listen

38:0538 minutes, 5 secondsto me explain why I quit you know so I would tell them oh yeah I was burnt out or um it's just too

38:1538 minutes, 15 secondsstressful I I just want to take a break or um it said I said all kinds of things

38:2438 minutes, 24 secondslike like that I mean they're all true but they weren't the full picture um and you at first I was like I was

38:3238 minutes, 32 secondsreally embarrassed to say that I'm quitting and that I have no plan of what to do afterwards that was

38:4138 minutes, 41 secondsembarrassing too um but

38:4838 minutes, 48 secondsafter after some time had passed and a lot of people had asked me that question and I told a lot of people I have no

38:5638 minutes, 56 secondsidea what I'm going to do afterwards it actually felt good if if

39:0439 minutes, 4 secondsit feels good to not have a plan it's

39:1139 minutes, 11 secondsum it's freeing it's I got because I don't have a plan I I don't have to be

39:2039 minutes, 20 secondsanywhere I don't have to do something at a certain time um

39:2839 minutes, 28 secondsand then I just kind of like leaned into it and someone asked me oh what's your plan I said I don't

39:3739 minutes, 37 secondsknow and I felt good about it and I could tell they felt embarrassed for

39:4539 minutes, 45 secondsme they felt uncomfortable where where whereas I was feeling uncomfortable initially saying that

39:5339 minutes, 53 secondsbut yeah over time I you know I I just accept it like I know I can't do

39:5939 minutes, 59 secondsneurosurgery anymore and I don't have a plan and I'm quitting and I won't have a paycheck uh I got I got some money saved

40:0940 minutes, 9 secondsup and I can live off of that for a while but I've got to work again at some point I can't retire um but yeah no I

40:1640 minutes, 16 secondsneed to do this I I knew I needed to do this and I and I did it so that was last September I

40:2340 minutes, 23 secondsquit haven't gone back and um you know at

40:3140 minutes, 31 secondsfirst oh so so you know this is I think what most people call a midlife

40:3940 minutes, 39 secondscrisis um but I would say the crisis part was really the nine years that I was super unhappy that was the

40:5040 minutes, 50 secondscrisis so I think that's what most people call a midlife crisis is what I would say was those 9 years I

40:5840 minutes, 58 secondswas really unhappy I I I knew something was wrong and I knew I couldn't live like that but I I felt stuck felt stuck

41:0741 minutes, 7 secondsin that situation felt like I couldn't um Escape it that was a crisis now that I've

41:1741 minutes, 17 secondsleft I haven't been this happy in my whole life it does not feel like a crisis right now I mean maybe financially it

41:2541 minutes, 25 secondsmight be a crisis that's some point but I I've never been this happy before

Chapter 9: New path and nature

41:3641 minutes, 36 secondsever it feels right um so so what I did when I quit

41:4541 minutes, 45 secondsis I just walked a lot outside cuz I you I had gained 40 lbs like I said earlier

41:5141 minutes, 51 secondsand yeah I ate healthy I slept a lot because you know a neurosurgeon they

41:5941 minutes, 59 secondsdon't sleep very well because they're they keep getting called about emergencies you I nobody was calling me

42:0742 minutes, 7 secondsI slept every night for a really long time and I walked and I spent time

42:1542 minutes, 15 secondsoutside I spent time with my dog I did the things that I wanted to do which like be out

42:2242 minutes, 22 secondshere um my dog she's Dobie she's seven years old and for the majority of her

42:2942 minutes, 29 secondslife she um unfortunately had a very boring life because I was so busy my wife was busy

42:3842 minutes, 38 secondsand we take her out for a walk every day for half an hour to an hour and then she would just lay at

42:4542 minutes, 45 secondshome the rest of the day and yeah made me sad made me sad that

42:5242 minutes, 52 secondsthat's her life or that was her life and so I I wanted to spend time with her and

43:0143 minutes, 1 secondspend time with her outside because she loves being outside um and so so I first started out I want to lose

43:1143 minutes, 11 secondsweight get back to a healthier weight I want to help my dog live a full life you know

43:1943 minutes, 19 secondsthe way she's having fun she's smelling things she's experiencing things outside

43:2843 minutes, 28 secondsthat's kind of where things started and I um I made that made this YouTube channel

43:3643 minutes, 36 secondsGooby and doobie to to um

43:4443 minutes, 44 secondsrecord the experiences I have with uh with dubie because she's not going to

43:5143 minutes, 51 secondslive forever if I live a fulllength life you know she's going to pass pass away

43:5843 minutes, 58 secondsbefore before um before I do and um I wanted to be able to

44:0744 minutes, 7 secondsremember the times that I've had with her and so that's that's why I made this Channel and recording our

44:1644 minutes, 16 secondshikes um where I'm going with this is is that

44:2544 minutes, 25 secondsyou know I didn't have a plan but so where I'm going with

44:3344 minutes, 33 secondsthis where I'm going with this is you I quit I quit I had no

44:4244 minutes, 42 secondsplan but when you let go of something that you're holding too tightly even though it's hurting you and you let go of it then you're able to pick up

44:5144 minutes, 51 secondssomething else that hopefully is better for you um

44:5944 minutes, 59 secondsI I wanted to spend time outside I wanted to help my dog live a full life

45:0645 minutes, 6 secondsby being outside with me and then I wanted to record those moments so

45:1345 minutes, 13 secondsthat if I live longer than duie I will have those memories I can look back at them and uh appreciate the time that

45:2245 minutes, 22 secondsthat I have with my dog um that's how this Channel got started

45:3145 minutes, 31 secondsand uh being outside with her I I started taking video

45:3745 minutes, 37 secondsof these Pleasant nature scenes and

45:4545 minutes, 45 secondsum I found them very therapeutic for myself

45:5245 minutes, 52 secondsum there were a couple stressful times over this past year due to family family

45:5945 minutes, 59 secondshealth issues and I found that hearing those uh nature

46:0646 minutes, 6 secondssounds really helped helped me feel better helped me process what was going

46:1246 minutes, 12 secondson better be more present and aware and and um kind of release that

46:2046 minutes, 20 secondsstress stress and anxiety um and so yeah that's that's that's how I that's how I I am I came to

46:2946 minutes, 29 secondswhere I am now by letting go of Nur

46:3746 minutes, 37 secondssurgery I am able to be outside be healthier my dog is able to live a

46:4346 minutes, 43 secondsfuller life and I figured out a way that I can help relieve people suffering by

46:5146 minutes, 51 secondssharing nature scenes with them it's not a surgery

47:0047 minutesbut but it it definitely works to at least one of those several things that

47:0747 minutes, 7 secondshelp people heal which is to relieve stress

47:1647 minutes, 16 secondsso yeah that's my story that's that's how that's how um an MIT

47:2447 minutes, 24 secondseducated neurosurgeon got to the point where they're

47:3147 minutes, 31 secondsunemployed and out in the mountains by themselves well that was a really long

47:4247 minutes, 42 secondsthat was really long and I hope that that might help somebody

47:4947 minutes, 49 secondsum I hope that you have a wonderful day if you're listening to this and uh you

47:5547 minutes, 55 secondsknow trust your heart trust your heart lean on the people that love

48:0548 minutes, 5 secondsyou and do what you need to do whatever that is

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제공된 유튜브 댓글 문서(I Was An MIT Educated Neurosurgeon Comments.pdf)에 나타난 대중의 반응을 분석한 요약 및 평론입니다.

댓글 내용 요약

• <의료계 종사자들의 내부 고발과 깊은 공감>

  • 현직 의사, 흉부외과·정형외과·안과 전문의, 마취과 의사, 간호사, 약사, 병원 CFO 등 수많은 의료계 내부인들이 댓글을 통해 화자의 고백에 전적으로 동의했다.

  • 현대 의료는 환자의 근본적인 건강을 돌보는 '참된 의료(Well-care)'가 아니라 질병과 처치로 이윤을 창출하는 '질병 산업(Sick-care / Medical-Industrial Complex)'으로 변질되었다고 지적했다.

  • 환자를 이윤 창출의 도구(Cash cow)로 보게 만드는 시스템 속에서 화자와 동일한 도덕적 손상과 탈진을 겪고 퇴직을 선택했거나 고민 중이라는 고백이 이어졌다.

• <과거 환자의 직접적인 감사와 증언>

  • 10년 전 20세의 나이에 화자에게 두 차례 척추 수술을 받았던 실제 환자(Brady Swanson)가 댓글을 남겼다.

  • 그는 당시 화자가 보여준 따뜻한 위로와 세심한 보살핌 덕분에 수술을 이겨냈고, 현재 통증 없이 자전거로 미국을 횡단하고 스키 강사이자 교사로 활동하며 충만한 삶을 살고 있다며 진심 어린 감사를 전했다.

  • 화자 역시 해당 댓글에 직접 답글을 달아 그의 회복과 건강한 삶을 축복하며 따뜻한 재회를 나눴다.

• <‘중년의 위기(Midlife Crisis)’가 아닌 ‘각성(Awakening)’>

  • 대다수 시청자들은 그의 결정을 단순한 번아웃이나 방황이 아닌, 참된 자아와 영혼을 되찾은 '각성'이자 '생애의 올바른 교정(Life correction)'으로 규정했다.

  • 사회적 성공, 명예, 부라는 외부 기준에서 벗어나 자신만의 평화와 온전한 삶을 택한 용기 있는 결단으로 높이 평가했다.

• <다양한 직업군의 자발적 탈출 및 다운시프트(Downshifting) 고백>

  • IT 엔지니어, 변호사, 금융권 임원, 대학교수, 연구원 등 고소득·전문직 종사자들이 비슷한 허무감과 건강 악화를 겪고 직업을 전환한 경험담을 털어놓았다.

  • 목수, 수영 강사, 카페 아르바이트, 비행 교관, 농사 등 단순하고 자연과 맞닿은 삶으로 전환한 뒤 비로소 행복과 건강을 되찾았다는 사례가 줄을 이었다.

• <콘텐츠 자체의 진정성과 지지 구조에 대한 찬사>

  • 화려한 편집, 자극적인 썸네일, 광고, 배경음악 없이 산속에서 모기에 물려가며 40분간 진솔하게 털어놓은 태도 자체가 큰 울림을 주었다고 반응했다.

  • 수입이 끊기는 불안 속에서도 "그냥 그만둬(You should just quit)"라며 남편의 영혼과 생명을 우선시해 준 아내의 헌신적 지지에 대해서도 깊은 존경과 부러움을 표했다.

댓글 평론: 환멸의 시대를 관통한 거대한 집단적 공명

1. 의료 자본주의의 민낯을 증언하는 '내부자들의 연대' 댓글란은 일개 유튜버에 대한 응원 창구를 넘어, 현대 의료 시스템에 환멸을 느낀 전·현직 의료인들의 거대한 성토장이자 연대의 장이 되었다. 의사, 간호사, 약사들이 일제히 쏟아낸 증언은 화자의 고백이 개인의 나약함이나 돌출 행동이 아님을 입증한다. 치료 행위와 검사를 상품화하여 수익을 뽑아내는 '질병 산업' 안에서 의료 노동자들 역시 심각한 도덕적 분열을 겪고 있으며, 화자의 발언이 그들의 억눌린 상처를 대변해 주었음을 보여준다.

2. 지위의 덫(Status Trap)을 깨부순 카타르시스 댓글 작성자 다수가 의사, 교수, 변호사, 금융가 등 이른바 '사회가 공인한 성공'을 거머쥔 이들이라는 점은 매우 상징적이다. 현대 사회는 고학력과 고소득을 행복의 절대 척도로 가르치지만, 댓글란은 그 정점에 선 이들이 겪는 영혼의 고사(枯死) 상태를 적나라하게 고발한다. 사람들은 화자가 가장 견고한 '백의(의사 가운)'라는 계급장을 미련 없이 벗어던진 모습에서 대리 만족을 넘어, 자신을 옭아맨 사회적 타이틀에서 걸어 나올 수 있다는 용기와 허가를 얻고 있다.

3. 원초적 진정성이 입증한 진정한 치유의 의미 10년 전 그에게 수술을 받고 건강을 되찾은 환자의 등장은 화자의 지난 20년이 결코 헛되지 않았음을 증명하며 이야기의 완성도를 극적으로 끌어올린다. 동시에 시청자들은 "메스는 내려놓았지만, 말과 태도로 이미 수백만 명의 아픈 마음을 고치고 있다"고 입을 모은다. 과장된 연출이 지배하는 미디어 환경 속에서, 모기에 물리면서도 투박하게 삶의 진실을 이야기하는 한 인간의 태도는 기술적 화려함보다 '있는 그대로의 진정성'이 가장 강력한 치유력을 지닌다는 사실을 여실히 보여준다

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I Was an MIT Educated Neurosurgeon, Now I'm Unemployed and Alone in the Mountains

자료: 첨부된 유튜브 댓글 PDF 83쪽 | 댓글 화면에 표시된 전체 댓글 수: 81,395개

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이 영상에 대한 반응은 놀라울 정도로 호의적이다. 댓글 작성자들은 의사가 사회적으로 성공한 직업을 포기했다는 사실보다, 자신이 추구하던 성공의 의미를 근본적으로 재검토했다는 점에 감동한다.

특히 주목할 것은 의사, 간호사, 약사, 변호사, 연구자 등 전문직 종사자들이 자신의 비슷한 경험을 이야기한다는 점이다.

이들에게 영상은 단순한 개인의 고백이 아니다. 오랫동안 느껴 왔지만 표현하지 못했던 불만과 갈등을 대신 말해 주는 증언이다.

댓글들의 중심 주제는 다섯 가지로 정리할 수 있다.

1. 사회적 성공과 개인적 행복은 다르다.

2. 현대 의료체계는 환자의 건강보다 수익을 우선할 위험이 있다.

3. 양심적인 전문직 종사자들이 오히려 정신적 고통을 경험한다.

4. 직업을 포기하는 것은 실패가 아니라 새로운 삶의 시작일 수 있다.

5. 인간에게 가장 중요한 것은 돈과 명성이 아니라 자유, 건강, 인간관계, 삶의 의미다.

다만 이 자료는 전체 댓글 81,395개의 통계적 표본이 아니라 PDF에 수록된 댓글 모음이다. 따라서 다음 평론은 댓글에 나타난 주요 경향을 분석한 것이며, 전체 시청자의 의견 분포를 추정한 것은 아니다.

##

1) 이것은 중년의 위기가 아니라 각성이다

가장 많은 공감을 받은 댓글 중 하나는 70세 여성의 말이다.

“나는 70세인데, 이것이 중년의 위기가 아니라 당신의 각성이라고 확신한다. 앞으로 당신에게는 훨씬 많은 것이 기다리고 있다.”

— @maryfarwell-uragallo2373, 좋아요 약 13만 1천 개

이 댓글은 영상의 핵심을 정확히 포착한다.

일반적으로 명문대 출신의 성공한 의사가 직업을 그만두고 산속에서 생활한다면 사회는 이를 실패, 우울증 또는 중년의 위기로 해석하기 쉽다.

그러나 이 댓글 작성자는 정반대로 이해한다.

의사가 비로소 자신의 삶을 스스로 결정하기 시작했다는 것이다.

많은 시청자는 이러한 해석에 공감한다.

2) 성공했지만 행복하지 않은 사람들

한 댓글은 이 의사가 대부분의 사람이 도달하지 못할 직업적 성공을 이루었으면서도, 다시 대부분의 사람이 실천하지 못할 자유로운 삶을 선택했다고 평가한다.

또 다른 댓글은 인상적인 역설을 제시한다.

겉으로 부유해 보이는 삶이 실제로는 가난할 수 있고, 겉으로 가난해 보이는 삶이 오히려 풍요로울 수 있다는 것이다.

댓글 작성자들은 명문대 학위, 전문직 지위, 높은 소득이 행복을 보장하지 않는다는 사실을 자신의 경험과 연결한다.

특히 인지과학 박사학위를 가진 한 사람은 연구직 생활에서 극심한 스트레스와 불행을 경험한 뒤 직장을 그만두고 그림을 그리며 소규모 일자리로 생활한다고 소개한다.

그는 영상이 자신의 선택에 위안을 주었다고 말한다.

여기서 나타나는 공통된 정서는 단순한 반(反)물질주의가 아니다.

자신의 삶을 타인의 기대에 맞추어 살아왔다는 뒤늦은 깨달음이다.

3) 의료인들의 고백: 의료체계의 구조적 문제

사회학적으로 가장 흥미로운 부분은 현직 또는 전직 의료인들의 댓글이다.

15년 동안 의료 분야에서 일한 한 사람은 심각한 소진을 경험한 끝에 직장을 그만두었다고 말한다.

수술실 간호사로 일했던 사람은 환자를 돕고 싶었지만, 의료체계가 오히려 환자를 충분히 돕지 못하게 한다고 느꼈다고 한다.

로스앤젤레스의 통증 전문의는 환자의 복지를 소득이나 지위보다 중요하게 생각하는 척추외과 의사가 드물다고 평가한다.

응급의학과 의사는 의료의 중심을 일차 진료로 되돌리고, 의료행위에 작용하는 경제적 유인을 재검토해야 한다고 주장한다.

또 다른 의료인은 자신이 환자를 치료한다기보다 질병을 계속 관리하고 있다는 느낌을 받는다고 말한다.

이러한 댓글에는 공통된 갈등이 존재한다.

의료인은 환자를 돕겠다는 동기로 직업을 선택하지만, 실제 의료체계에서는 수익성, 행정적 요구, 과중한 업무와 갈등하게 된다는 것이다.

이는 의료사회학에서 말하는 전문직 윤리와 조직의 경제적 목표 사이의 긴장을 보여준다.

4) 다른 전문직 종사자들의 경험

이러한 문제는 의료계에만 한정되지 않는다.

10년 동안 변호사가 되기 위해 준비한 한 댓글 작성자는 14년 전에 변호사 일을 그만두고 지역사회 복지 분야로 옮겼다고 한다.

그는 취약한 사람들을 직접 도울 때 변호사 시절보다 더 큰 만족을 느낀다고 말한다.

68세의 전직 은행 종사자는 36년의 은행 경력을 돌아보면서 처음 10년은 고객 서비스가 중요했지만, 이후 26년은 수익성이 중심이 되었다고 회고한다.

은행은 고객을 인간으로 보기보다 수익성에 따라 분류하게 되었다는 것이다.

이러한 증언은 의료기관뿐 아니라 은행, 법률, 연구기관에서도 직업의 본래 목적과 조직의 경제적 목표 사이에 갈등이 발생할 수 있음을 보여준다.

5) 아내의 지지와 인간관계

많은 댓글 작성자가 의사의 아내를 높이 평가한다.

특히 아내가 직장을 그만두라고 권유했다는 대목에 감동했다는 반응이 반복된다.

이는 전문직 종사자의 경력 변경이 단순히 개인적인 결단만으로 이루어지지 않는다는 점을 보여준다.

배우자의 이해와 지지, 경제적 안정, 가족관계는 새로운 삶을 선택할 수 있게 하는 중요한 조건이다.

댓글에서 아내의 역할이 특별히 주목받는 것은 성공을 포기하는 선택이 개인의 의지뿐 아니라 관계적 신뢰에 의해 가능해진다는 사실을 보여준다.

##

1) 현대사회의 성공관에 대한 집단적 반발

이 댓글들은 현대사회의 성공관에 대한 일종의 집단적인 반발로 읽을 수 있다.

좋은 대학에 들어가고, 전문직을 얻고, 높은 소득을 확보하는 것이 성공이라는 관념은 현대 중산층 문화의 핵심이다.

그러나 댓글 작성자들은 이러한 성공을 이룬 뒤에도 행복하지 않을 수 있다는 사실을 반복해서 증언한다.

사회학자 막스 베버의 합리화론과 연결하여 생각할 수 있다.

현대사회는 효율성과 계산 가능성을 중시하는 조직을 발전시켰다. 그러나 이러한 조직이 개인의 자유와 자율성을 제약할 수 있다는 것이 베버의 문제의식이었다.

영상 속 의사는 사회적으로 가장 성공적인 직업 중 하나를 얻었지만, 그 직업을 유지하는 과정에서 자기 삶의 주도권을 잃었다고 느낀 것으로 보인다.

댓글 작성자들은 그의 선택에서 자신들이 경험하는 비슷한 갈등을 발견한다.

2) 도덕적 상처와 전문직의 소진

의료인들의 댓글에서 특히 중요한 것은 단순한 업무 피로와 윤리적 갈등을 구별하는 일이다.

장시간 노동으로 지치는 것과 자신이 옳다고 믿는 의료행위를 할 수 없어 고통받는 것은 다르다.

후자는 도덕적 상처(moral injury)의 개념과 연결하여 이해할 수 있다.

의료인은 환자를 위해 최선을 다하려 하지만 조직의 규칙이나 경제적 압력 때문에 자신의 전문직 윤리를 충분히 실현하지 못할 수 있다.

이러한 경험이 반복되면 직업적 성취와 관계없이 깊은 좌절감을 느낄 수 있다.

따라서 영상 속 의사의 선택은 단순한 직업 기피라기보다 양심과 직업적 요구 사이의 갈등에 대한 대응으로 해석할 수 있다.

3) 의료체계 비판에는 주의가 필요하다

그러나 댓글의 의료체계 비판을 모두 사실로 받아들여서는 안 된다.

특히 척추수술과 만성통증 치료의 효과에 관한 일부 댓글은 개인적인 경험에 근거한다.

수술이 불필요했던 사례가 존재한다고 해서 척추수술 전반이 불필요하거나 효과가 없다고 결론 내릴 수는 없다.

마찬가지로 의료기관에 경제적 유인이 존재한다는 사실만으로 모든 의료행위가 수익을 위해 이루어진다고 주장하는 것은 지나친 일반화다.

의료체계의 상업화 문제는 중요하지만, 의료기술의 실제 치료 효과와는 별도로 평가해야 한다.

4) 직업을 그만둘 자유는 누구에게나 있는가?

댓글의 또 다른 한계는 직업적 성공을 포기할 수 있는 사람들의 경제적 조건을 충분히 고려하지 않는다는 것이다.

고소득 전문직 종사자는 일정한 재산을 축적했거나 새로운 직업을 선택할 수 있는 교육과 기술을 가지고 있을 가능성이 크다.

반면 생계를 위해 매일 일해야 하는 저소득 노동자는 같은 선택을 하기 어렵다.

따라서 성공한 의사의 은퇴가 자유의 상징이 될 수는 있지만, 그것을 모든 사람에게 적용 가능한 삶의 방식으로 일반화하기는 어렵다.

진정한 사회적 자유의 문제는 개인이 직장을 그만둘 용기가 있는가만이 아니다.

누구나 인간다운 생활을 유지하면서 자신의 노동과 삶을 선택할 수 있는 사회적 조건이 마련되어 있는가 하는 문제다.

##

이 댓글 모음의 가장 흥미로운 점은 한 의사의 개인적인 고백이 수많은 시청자에게 자신의 삶을 되돌아보게 하는 계기가 되었다는 것이다.

댓글에 나타난 반응은 크게 세 가지로 요약된다.

첫째, 사회적 성공과 삶의 만족이 반드시 일치하지 않는다는 깨달음이다.

둘째, 전문직의 윤리적 목적과 현대 조직의 경제적 요구 사이에 깊은 갈등이 존재한다는 인식이다.

셋째, 인생의 후반기에 기존의 성공 기준을 버리고 새로운 삶의 의미를 찾는 일이 가능하다는 희망이다.

특히 70세 여성의 댓글이 큰 공감을 얻었다는 사실은 의미심장하다.

그녀는 의사의 선택을 인생의 실패나 위기가 아니라 각성이라고 해석했다.

젊은 시절에는 성공하기 위해 노력하지만, 나이가 들면서 무엇이 진정으로 중요한지 새롭게 이해하게 될 수 있다.

이것은 단순히 노년의 지혜를 찬양하는 이야기가 아니다.

오히려 젊은 시절부터 사회가 제시하는 성공의 기준을 비판적으로 검토할 필요가 있다는 메시지다.

퀘이커의 단순성(Simplicity)과 양심에 따른 삶이라는 관점에서도 이 댓글들은 흥미롭다. 자신의 신념에 어긋나는 사회적 성공을 유지하기보다 양심에 따라 다른 삶을 선택하는 태도는 퀘이커의 전통과 상당히 통한다.

다만 개인의 은퇴와 자연 속의 생활만으로 사회의 구조적 모순이 해결되는 것은 아니다. 개인의 각성은 공동체적 책임과 사회적 실천으로 이어질 때 더 깊은 의미를 갖는다.

결국 이 영상의 댓글들은 단순히 한 의사의 결단을 칭찬하는 반응이 아니다.

현대사회에서 성공했다고 여겨지는 사람들조차 왜 자신의 삶에 만족하지 못하는가라는 질문을 집단적으로 제기하는 자료다.

이 점에서 나는 영상 자체 못지않게 댓글들이 사회학적으로 흥미롭다고 평가한다. 특히 의료인들의 반복되는 증언은 전문직의 소명과 현대 조직의 작동방식 사이의 갈등을 연구할 가치가 있음을 보여준다.

===

81,395 Comments

Sejin Lifeforce 生命

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@maryfarwell-uragallo2373

2 years ago

At 70 yrs old, I can confidently affirm this is not a midlife crisis. This is your awakening. There is so much more ahead of you. Embrace it.

131K

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@SasukeUchiha-qr8hp

2 years ago

sitting in nature, mountains in the background, minimal editing, just a man talking about life for 40 mins. This is what YouTube is for

103K

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362 replies

@Im_Okay_Mom_Travel

8 months ago

Not all who wander are lost.

4.2K

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29 replies

@RB-je3yj

4 months ago

Freedom is the best thing in the world! Time and Health can't never be replaced!!

614

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1 reply

@orcanimal

2 years ago

You did something 99.9999% of people would never be able to do (become a neurosurgeon) and now you're doing something 99.9999999999%  of people would never be able to do - living a fulfilling life.

69K

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Goobie and Doobie

·

392 replies

@BradyPSwanson

2 years ago

Hello! My name is Brady Swanson. You performed two spine surgeries on me nearly 10 years ago.  I think I was one of your first patients! At the time I was living in so much pain, and I was young when you did the surgery on me. 20! Your kind words, and attentive nature always made me feel comfortable with going forward with the procedures. It was tough to make the call to get the surgeries, but I trusted you.  You always showed me kindness and were there with me. I have gone on to recover from the surgeries, and the spine injury and have lived a very active and fulfilling live. Now 30, I've cycled across America, Taught Skiing in California, and New Zealand. I've become a schoolteacher, and have lived a very active life. Thank you for the kindness you showed me 10 years ago. Your videos have been so wonderful, and your voice sounded so familiar. I'm so happy for you. Always,

-Brady Swanson

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@GoobieAndDoobie

2 years ago

I am so happy you are living life and bicycling and teaching ❤❤❤

11K

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@BradyPSwanson

2 years ago

 @GoobieAndDoobie   Yeah! Sorry, I copied and pasted that comment on a few videos, because I wanted to be sure you saw it.

4.8K

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@GoobieAndDoobie

2 years ago

 @BradyPSwanson  no need to be sorry!  I'm so happy to hear from you 😊

4.3K

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@DiZzRoCkN_pLaYbOyZiNc

2 years ago

 @GoobieAndDoobie  God bless you Dr. Goobie you are a great person 🙏🏼

361

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@elingyn

2 years ago

 @GoobieAndDoobie  After all, really, what you did still lay meaning! So, please, don't feel sorry for your past decisions - this must be a reminder for me too!

45

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@cathleen5469

1 year ago

 @BradyPSwanson  The world needs more people like you, Brady.  So glad you were persistent

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@EKUL8

1 year ago

 @GoobieAndDoobie  it was cool to see in the comments that you guys had connected again. Sometimes it feels like you have to brush away the dust of life to see these authentic moments. I hope you all are doing well.

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@jitendraTIWARI-d6z

9 months ago

@GoobieAndDoobie as you saw here from his storey. So many people needs you. Your skills can save so many people. If you are working on consciousness then please never stop serving people. Because serving mankind is the most important aspect in this understanding.   You can save so many people from your skills.

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@sarahmcbeth9156

7 months ago

 @BradyPSwanson this beautiful conversation made my day and warmed my heart ❤

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@BVMMT

5 months ago

 @BradyPSwanson  Brady, thank you for sharing your testimony with all of us. Thank you for sharing the kind yet brilliant nature of this neurosurgeon and how he touched so many lives. It brings me joy that you recovered and living life to the fullest due to God and the gifts God gave this young neurosurgeon.  God bless both of you!  🙏🙏🙏

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@devotion_daily

2 years ago

In summary, Gooby, a former neurosurgeon with 20 years of training and experience, left his career due to dissatisfaction and ethical concerns about the effectiveness of his work.

He discovered that lifestyle factors like diet, exercise, and stress management were more crucial for patients' recovery than surgeries, which often did not address underlying issues.

Gooby struggled with the realization that the medical system was not set up to promote true healing, which led to ethical conflicts and a sense of being stuck in a job he no longer believed in.

With his wife's support, he decided to quit his job, despite having no clear plan for the future, to avoid continuing a life that was making him unhappy.

He started a YouTube channel to document his hikes and time spent with his dog, finding solace in nature and aiming to cherish the moments with his pet while exploring new possibilities for his life.

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752 replies

@Alva999-q3r

3 months ago

This is the doctor that the world needs and we have lost our way

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1 reply

@DarwanVicelow

1 year ago

A man who survived 40 min with mosquitos around him is a man who can achieve anything he wants in his life. 🙌

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50 replies

@bayubudiman5375

2 years ago

"if it costs you peace of mind, its too expensive to keep"

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35 replies

@JohnSmith-yv9tq

1 year ago

Blessed are the people who have the courage to really do the things they want to do.

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12 replies

@RebeccaKojak

9 months ago

Imagine if all humans were this ethical and honest. You're a good soul. ❤

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8 replies

@0xggbrnr

2 years ago

This is a man who saw through all the bullshit and decided to live. Good for him. The system destroys brilliance.

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267 replies

@chrishkumar1250

2 years ago (edited)

those who got this video out of no where on their YouTube, we  are blessed.

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184 replies

@LadyLionRoars

4 months ago

Thank you for sharing your story <3

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@Mangomochiluvr

11 months ago

“20 years of my life” bro LOOKS like he’s 20

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@Lampr4y

2 years ago

A man has two lives. The first one starts when he is born, the second life starts - when he realises he has only 1.

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Goobie and Doobie

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287 replies

@kijasr

1 year ago

Medical doctor here. Graduated 2.5 years ago, worked as a general practitioner, sucked the life out of me. Now I cycle on my bike and drive food deliveries and work part time at a cafe. Never been happier and more fulfilled.. I would also like to open my own cozy cafe! Life is good, I meditate daily and do my yoga. It takes real courage to step away from societal norms and challenge the dogmas we've all been taught. To anyone in doubt or facing similar crossroads, trust that internal guide—it never lies.

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73 replies

@paulettelawrence6680

11 days ago

you are a rare  species....your revelations about the Healthcare system are something that's been so evident for years. I admire you for speaking truth.. you ARE a real doctor! you are relieving people's suffering through your videos. I learned alot just now..to take better care of my body through diet and excercise..the rest im in line with..good family. friends..sleep well.  maybe a bit stressed ( but will work on it)...and this knowledge you shsred didn't cost me a penny..this is your calling  ..educating people to care for their bodies and souls before their health starts to decline! please be proud of your accomplishments in being honest with people .you truly sent healing my way with this video.  God will provide those who bless others. you'll be blessed! ❤❤❤

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@shshmyst

11 months ago

This is why youtube is still my favorite app. Thank you for your wisdom and inspiration.

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1 reply

@emesuuuu

1 year ago

This is hundred times better than any podcast I've listened to. Very natural, raw, relatable.

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@nosip9950

1 year ago

The fact that 15 million people watched this shows how much we are longing for this awakening and change as human beings!

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24 replies

@mialoveall1457

3 months ago

Thank you for your courage and your candor!!!

❤🙏♥️

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@peterwu8471

2 years ago

A good wife is more precious than any treasure.

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21 replies

@danie-9311

3 weeks ago

❤️‍🩹 thank you for sharing this story (and a truly beautiful scene), Goobie! it made me ponder on my current life situation which is such a help. may the Lord bless you and Doobie and wifey!

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@helenasarubbi9887

2 years ago

1. Good diet

2. Good sleep 

3. Exercise

4. Social support 

5. Stress Management

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72 replies

@eggplnt

2 years ago

I was a professor at a major university... Now I live in my car and travel full time while making very little money. Best choice ever!

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299 replies

@convaliya1

4 months ago

Your words gave me strength! Thank you so much! 🌟

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@jchancalifornia

9 months ago

36:06. Wife, “you should just quit”. Listening to this was emotional. Your wife is heaven sent.

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4 replies

@DrSimple-Tech

1 year ago

The part where your wife said "You should just quit" got me. She is a keeper.

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@icecl0ud

2 years ago

You're still healing people, sir.

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6 replies

@rosemary-h3f8z

10 days ago

I love that you posed this thank you !!!!!!!!!!!

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@TheNikhilmishras

2 years ago

Dr Goobie, you just fixed the roof for millions of people. Thank you. ❤

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7 replies

@BrandonChen-sdef123

2 years ago

Respect to the first Asian guy to walk away from the typical Asian dream when he realized it was a nightmare

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65 replies

@jonskaleidoscopeescape

2 years ago

Medical professional here... walked away after 40 years of high stress 24/7... sold everything and lived off the grid. Immediate happiness and content... I'm still here.

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Goobie and Doobie

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95 replies

@AudreyGreene-v9o

4 months ago

Thank you for your honesty & integrity.  am very glad for your improved health & happiness. Blessings always to you, your wife & Doobie!

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@balkismani2821

1 year ago

This is the real definition of an INFLUENCER .

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6 replies

@NickatLateNite

2 years ago

My grandfather taught me, at 15, " learn two jobs, one with your mind, one with your hands... At 35, I walked away from corporate & became a carpenter. Retired & very happy.

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338 replies

@bonbons0220

2 years ago

I have a PhD from MIT, 1998 geophysics. I was working at Hopkins in a big data group. I started feeling like this about science, like it isn't healing the world, it's just chasing government grants. I got chronic fatigue syndrome. Doctors said I was "just depressed." So I quit my job, stopped sitting at a desk, sold my house, figured out how to heal myself, stopped stressing, started believing in something greater than myself, got better, moved west. Now I'm a lifeguard and a swim instructor. Just got backyard chickens. Life is more meaningful. Feeling better all the time. I understand.

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220 replies

@AgingWithRick

4 days ago

I still come back to this video again and again. Truly authentic.  Truly inspiring.

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@henketooraw

2 years ago

The mosquitos were just gathering around to listen to the wisdom

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26 replies

@0727JustMe

1 year ago (edited)

Last year, a tumor was discovered in the brain of my 7 year old granddaughter.  No words will ever express my gratitude for all the years her neurosurgeon trained to do what he did for her.  Even the specials care to avoid scarring her hairline... he cared what she would see when she looked in the mirror.  She's free of the tumor and living a normal life.  No... you can't help everyone, none of us can, that's life.  But even ONE life saved matters beyond what mere words can articulate.  Thank you for doing it as long as you could.

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@summrflowers7253

2 years ago

Just because you're unemployed doesn't mean you're not still an MIT educated Neurosurgeon.

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168 replies

@gayleandrus7050

3 months ago

Thank you for your true wisdom!   I find that being outside, working in my garden,  weeding and planting is " good for my soul".   I  love being around living things.

Your deep thoughts about freedom  are  so appreciated.....THANK YOU SO MUCH!

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@sinesaii

2 years ago

A good spouse is invaluable. This gentleman is very lucky to have one.

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@The_Movie_Duck

2 years ago

I've never before sat through a 45-minute video, completely mesmerized, with just a man talking to the camera. No music. No text. No graphics. This was all about your story and trust me, I wanted to hear every single word.

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128 replies

@NicholasRioux

2 years ago

Finally a real person. A real true human being, no edits, no bs just a kind, simple guy being himself.

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11 replies

@christina_nagowski

2 months ago

I respect your decency and honesty as a human being and you are ahead of your time 💜💜💜

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@jenniferrau8293

2 years ago

5,000,000 people have watched this. We are all some version of burned out seeking solace. You inspire us.

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30 replies

@ADS-cg1sp

2 years ago

This is the new American dream we need. More exercise outside, healthier foods, less stress, being in good company. We've lost the simplicity of existence. Kudos to him for reminding us!

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Goobie and Doobie

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22 replies

@Liflowcbd

2 years ago

I value the authenticity of this guy. It's so rare.

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@RAULOTI-x2d

4 months ago

I just love his testimony,love it.

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@cyberneticiann

1 year ago (edited)

This really takes me back to the first days of when YouTube was released…

When it was really about people in the “real world”…

And not just people trying to sell you something…

Get out there ppl!

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1 reply

@Carl-e1x

1 year ago

You did not "quit" my friend you "moved on" which takes courage. I have a similar story. Take care.

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14 replies

@sebastianomaisola5296

8 months ago (edited)

I'm a student of psychology; this video is like a summary and a reminder of the reason I decided what I wanted to study. Our society is really sick, in the way that we forgot all the basic things that were normal for the human communities for a really long time. Sleeping well, eating properly and mostly eating seasonal fruits and vegetables, appreciating life, nature, people around us. We're too focused on our careers, on keeping a certain profile that we forget too often what really matters. All of this mostly because we're governed by slaves to money and power who are completely blind to reality. this video is really a reality check.

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13 replies

@syd4289

6 days ago

type of shit i start watching 4 hours before an exam

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@BoleroMonk

1 year ago

As a neurosurgeon I'm sure you've healed a lot of people but now as an enlightened one you're still helping people through your words of truth! Thank You Doctor!

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1 reply

@brendacaurant

9 months ago

You’re more than a doctor, you’re a healer. You don’t need a scalpel to heal people, your energy does it. People healed just by talking to you. They heal, not only because of the good advice you give but also because you are mirroring a healed version of themselves to which they can relate and embody !!! That’s a superpower that you have to be holding that space for others. Your wisdom is  inspiring thank you for sharing with so much honesty and authenticity, this is really beautiful 🤍

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4 replies

@BrumaFilm

1 year ago (edited)

as a filmmaker, I can't believe I've watched an hour of unedited general shot with a talking head. That was a great mono-spectale. Thanks!

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9 replies

@akshayambekar4266

1 month ago

You healed me somewhere in my heart 🙏

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@thaiswise5237

2 years ago (edited)

Thank you for sharing this. Our medical system is a ‘sick care’ model, not a ‘well care’ model. Once you saw that, it was very hard to unsee. You have strong integrity. You’re a beautiful person.

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60 replies

@stefanobajos6627

1 year ago

Your wife rocks man. Very happy that you have such a great partner. Kudos to your courage brother.

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@TooAjit2Quit

2 years ago

“It feels good to not have a plan.” That was profound 🤯

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16 replies

@jamesmcfadyen-r8v

3 months ago

Deepest Love Brother. Thank you. Darkness to Light! ❤️🌎🌅

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@terianderson7951

2 years ago

The world needs more people with integrity like you.  Thank you for posting.

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3 replies

@Yeagsy

2 years ago

“It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything.”

Thank you so much for making this

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Goobie and Doobie

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10 replies

@earlwarren2079

1 year ago (edited)

You’re so wrong. We HAVE 40 minutes to listen to you. One of the best 40 minute listens I had here on youtube. Thank you.

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5 replies

@ProtestantPolemics

3 months ago

Praying for you, man. God bless you and your wife.

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@e.c.beaumont

2 years ago

“People don’t have 40 minutes to listen to why I quit…” 

We do, we’re here, your story is important and we are all listening.

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15 replies

@blabla89520

2 years ago

Here I am, a 35 yo lawyer, sitting at my desk, i do not know if I am bored out or burnt out at this point, watching diving videos, diving has been something I have always wanted to do but never did for no tangible reason, your video pops out of nowhere, and now I am crying my eyes out like a toddler. Thank you for sharing and inspiring.

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60 replies

@Colossal_Knack

2 years ago

This man gets how things are and still chooses to be good… such a good person

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1 reply

@LolaTVChannel23

3 months ago

Fifteen-year pharmacist, and I have come to this realization over the past 7 years, not only from seeing patients but also from my own health struggles of cancer and bipolar disorder.  Nothing ever gets better for patients. It is all about the Medical Industrial Complex and making more and more money for CEOs that feed off the backs of the sick and those professionals who want to actually make a difference.

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@ashleybrown8718

4 months ago

Thank you for sharing. I am a nurse currently making the transition out of healthcare primarily for the same reasons you are discussing. I have been very nervous about not having a plan but also can’t ignore the moral dilemma and how it is affecting my own health. Seeing another healthcare professional especially a doctor share this makes me feel so seen and understood and not alone! So thank you for sharing everything you did here.

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3 replies

@iowajojo

2 years ago

I’m a pain physician in Los Angeles. Very rare to see a spine surgeon like you, someone who cared about the patients not just their income and status… Wish there were more like you!

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9 replies

@jasondai991

2 years ago

I have a Ph.D in cognitive science and I have worked in research for 6 years. But I was extremely unhappy and stress out all the time. I quit my job 4 yeara ago, now I just spend most of my time painting and work small jobs to sustain a simple life. Thank you so much for sharing, it brings great comfort.

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8 replies

@MayerSupernarcicista-d6z

2 months ago

Thank you for being honest to yourself and  potential patients.

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@beanguyen3965

2 years ago

Tears came to my eyes when you said "now that I've left, I haven't been this happy in my whole life" - I'm so happy for you.

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3 replies

@太空经济观察室

2 years ago

The fact that this video got to everybody reflects how sick we all are.

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5 replies

@Madison-Browne

1 year ago (edited)

I’m a Berkeley trained neuroscientist who left for similar reasons, currently unemployed. I felt so seen by this video, thank you!!

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10 replies

@alenaleonova2168

13 days ago

Thank you! I really appreciate you shared it!

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@LadyPenelope

2 years ago

You're following your soul's path.  That takes courage.

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2 replies

@johnf6146

2 years ago

This doesn't sound like a mid life crisis. Sounds like a mid life awakening. Good for you putting yourself first.

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Goobie and Doobie

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37 replies

@GlenKowalchuk

2 years ago

After 20 years as a government I.T. network engineer working long stressful hours I remembered what my first boss said 20 years earlier.  Suddenly one day he tossed me his keys and said "One day you will wake up, look in the mirror and not like what you see! Don't wait as long as I did."  He walked out and never looked back.   I packed up, walk out, moved on and became a Flight instructor then 15 years flying for WildFire Air Attack in Canada.  Instead of sitting infront of Microsoft Windows I flew in Cessna Windows.   The best decision I ever made.  Healthy & Happy at 66 👍😎

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Goobie and Doobie

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84 replies

@zoom33333

2 months ago

You are a kind soul.

Your heart is pure gold.

I would want you for my doctor.

May God give you the peace that you need my friend.

Take care 

I am praying that God will guide you to where you are supposed to be in your life!️

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@HystericalHistoryTV

2 years ago

Quitting work and being alone in the mountains sounds like a dream!

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17 replies

@ClementsPhoenix

11 months ago

As a mental health nurse of almost a decade, I feel exactly the same.

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4 replies

@estellagiraldo-hv2kb

1 year ago

What we see here, it's a man with a strong moral conviction, who puts his values before profit. Admirable!!

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3 replies

@Duran-n1v

4 months ago

Your my new hero for real! I can relate to all you say

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@Tư.Duy.Vùng.Xám.Official

6 months ago

I'm a software engineer, and I'm in the same boat. I decided to move to an island and take up farming to escape the office pressure and live more in harmony with nature. I truly love the outdoors.

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10 replies

@GS-kj5pc

2 years ago

This man just proved Hustle Culture is a lie. YouTube had become corrupted by ads and corporate interests. This is a real video and people are loving it. Thanks for telling the truth.

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10 replies

@casao17

2 years ago

When YouTube algorithm finally suggests a 48min video that’s actually worth watching. Thank you so much for sharing your history. It is truly inspiring.

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3 replies

@eloisadornelles5365

4 months ago

Grata Doutor por tudo que o senhor é e faz.

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@msgz8825

2 years ago

It seems like you’ve gone from neurosurgery into teaching—and relieving suffering. You started with relieving your own suffering. Now you’re teaching others to have the courage to make change. It’s amazing how the natural world can bring peace and healing. Your story and the sounds of water are very soothing. What a wonderful journey you have embarked on.

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@CaySea321

2 years ago

He broke out the matrix, accolades 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏

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30 replies

@stephchristine3717

2 years ago (edited)

Surgeon here. Preach my brother, lead the way. Medicine and surgery are due for a serious overhaul. thank you for opening up this important conversation

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29 replies

@GaylSwarat

3 months ago

I am 79 and have been a vegetarian for 50 years. I have heart failure but have done all the things you spoke about for all these 50 years. My heart doctor says I am doing incredible and I believe that it is because I wanted to live a healthy life. I live in the incredible southern California desert on five acres. I sleep outside on a deck most of the year and feel I am living with the animals and desert landscape. I understand what you are saying and I am so glad that you found your way.

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@Jonathan-ru9zl

2 years ago (edited)

The best of YouTube.  No clickbait, no edited content and no special effects and stupied ai.

Just a guy telling his authentic story.

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20 replies

@bradcoen7924

2 years ago

You didn't quit. You're just getting started. Congrats.

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@madison.w8615

1 year ago (edited)

I'm genuinely impressed and envious of this man's ability to stay unbothered and give an in-depth, meaningful retelling of his life with 500 mosquitoes swarming his face!

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9 replies

@trishanderson6131

2 months ago

Very frank and honest. Thank you for the truth.

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@WandaWelch-p3s

2 years ago

one of the BEST neurosurgery residents that i ever had the privilege of working with

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3 replies

@lenorebr69

1 year ago

Hi: I am a Neurologist and Neuro-ophthalmologist who finished my training at the age of 31 and practiced medicine for 13 more years and I quit.  It was the best decision of my life.  I understand where you are coming from and I wish you the best.

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9 replies

@LC-bb6jd

2 years ago

Those of us who have worked in the medical field understand. Greed does not leave room for anything human.

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Goobie and Doobie

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83 replies

@barbaravadas4140

8 days ago

Thank you so much for this

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@powerbeard5653

2 years ago

10m+ views?

Bro helped more people heal by making this video than he ever could have helped doing surgery

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19 replies

@RedOctober2011

2 years ago

Imagine a society so healthy that "being a surgeon" is only a "side gig".

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85 replies

@SimplyInterestingShort

2 years ago

8.8 million views in 12 days? It's great to see YouTube spreading love to this man.

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7 replies

@rhami3925

4 months ago

Thank you for speaking truth…… in this incredibly sick & evil system…… BLESS YOU!!!!! You ARE a BLESSING!!!!!

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@ROD1998-e4l

2 years ago

If 7 million views isn’t confirmation of how empowering your message is I don’t know what is ! Enjoy your time out in the mountains my friend

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9 replies

@aznexile602

2 years ago

The real blessing is having a wife that fully supports you.

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3 replies

@carsonking605

2 years ago

Insane how this video is blowing up. People must be in need of this message.

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8 replies

@EveryDae9

3 months ago

Thankyou for no adds,  and thankyou for the   truth,  it's extremely empowering to hear that we already have everything thing we need,  it's our programming to dismantle and freedom awaits.  Blessings 🌱

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@afghzr7729

2 years ago

He thought he saved 100s but now he saved millions. Thank you doctor goobie

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5 replies

@bernardnader

2 years ago

Life's too short to be doing something that you don't believe in! You're a good man and you're helping people by simply sharing your journey!

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1 reply

@ZurkiOh

2 years ago (edited)

My uncle was a neurosurgeon, he took his own life during covid. I'll never know what was going on in his mind. rest easy

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Goobie and Doobie

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112 replies

@frankfrok1265

3 months ago

Thank you for your honesty. I am sure you are a healer physically and mentally.

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@tommywiseau4594

2 years ago

A wise person once told me. “You define your own success” I live by that.

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Goobie and Doobie

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2 replies

@indee105

2 years ago

Saying, "I don't know" might be one of the healthiest things you can do. I'm only 38 and have found that no one on this rock has a clue. Day by day man.

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Goobie and Doobie

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58 replies

@garrettswenson794

2 years ago

 $19.99

I’ve never done this and unfortunately it’s not letting me do it anonymously. The lesson is invaluable but I wanted to give this as a thanks. So much wisdom packed in to this video

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Goobie and Doobie

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3 replies

@Alifestyleoflight

2 months ago

You Sir are a true man of Honor ! SOoooooooooooo many sell out! Bless your heart and mind and soul ! This is what life is all about, facing injustice and standing up to it.

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@Lobserva-teur

2 years ago

The amount of courage it takes to do what you did has to be huge! I don’t call it a midlife crisis, I call it integrity. Thank you for setting a great example for anyone looking for the courage to do what feels right! Amazing!!!

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@CreativeByNatureSLM

1 year ago

I don’t understand Youtube’s algorithm😳 I did not search for anything like this BUT this is EXACTLY what I needed. My body hurts.. my head hurts from a cumulation of bad choices, stress, worry and hopelessness. Thank you for your heartfelt honesty. Today….is the day to walk away from what does not serve me. ❤

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6 replies

@Thealrightdoc

2 years ago

This man awoke and discovered the true meaning of his life, respect

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2 replies

@barefootgirl01

3 months ago

You’ve really helped !

You’re so spot on with listening to your heart. God has a path for you an you listened. I’m sure you will be greatly rewarded an that there’s great things in store got you. Already freer an happier then you’ve ever been ?  How much is that worth ?  To me you’re an extremely wise an rich man !  ❤❤❤

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@calsowa4831

2 years ago

You get one shot at a life worth living and no one can define that worth but you. Kudos to you for taking the leap of faith and happy to see your happiness shining through!

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Goobie and Doobie

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50 replies

@hyzelfadhil5691

2 years ago

Its his authenticity and the humility to say " i dun know, im lost and unhapoy" that makes this video reasonate with all of us

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1 reply

@raffle3002

2 years ago (edited)

I'm a lawyer, spent 10years of my life training to be one. I quit being a lawyer 14yrs ago and  now work as a community worker. I get more satisfaction working with the vulnerable members of the community than the years I spent as a lawyer.

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@LordLoMR2

4 months ago

As a dentist, I 100% agree. The only way to be able to practice the way you want to practice is to open your own office.

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@hollyc7539

2 years ago

Marrying that woman was the best decision of your life.

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@intelligentcat192

2 years ago

This sounds like a man discovering the truth. He's a thoughtful, intelligent well educated man who is kind enough to share his journey with us. Thank you.❤

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@carolynw2747

2 years ago

I’m a 73 year old woman who started my nursing career at age 20. I have been an RN for 53 years and have recently retired. Medication and surgery, are the tools used for the sick. But what are the tools of wellness? A natural, simply prepared food, exercise, sleep, friendships, a relationship with nature, helping others. You are living your best life now. Congratulations on sharing and keep supporting a better way to health.

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@MadDog_Barks

3 months ago (edited)

Dr. Goobie, you're my hero! Set up your own office to help people, given what you have learned. No problem with video time! Would love to hear more.

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@br7606

1 year ago

I’m an attorney practicing in healthcare law and I quit my job this week. I’m so glad to have come across your video when I did! Thank you for sharing this video and I wish you all the best. Doors are opening for us and happiness is coming 😊

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@Alex-dw9im

2 years ago

I quit a high paying job at 55 and decided to retire myself with 10% income. Now I am 71 and think that was the best decision. I look younger and I am healthier. Living in a warm city with wonderful people and quality food ingredients. This man is right, listen to him.

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@landstaylor2425

2 years ago

It’s very unusual for me to post a comment on you tube but  I felt compelled to send you one after listening to what you had to say. I too am a physician - I practice mostly addiction medicine and some primary care. The heart of your message needs to be heard and your presentation was strikingly humble and poignant. Having listened to your heartfelt explanation for your life changing decisions certainly made an impact on my life. You seem to be a rare human being; I wish you and your family all the best.

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@mochimaruko39

2 weeks ago

Thank you so much for making this video!

Your YouTube channel gave me so much encouragement.

Being honest with oneself takes a lot of courage,

but you gave me the strength I needed.

I’m also a surgeon in Japan, having left the hospital about four years ago for almost the exact same reasons as you.

I feel the time has come for us to live by honoring what truly matters.

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@DrBerkantAtay

1 year ago (edited)

I'm a neurosurgeon in Turkey, and I'm 59 years old, married, and have a son 28 year old. I retired 2 years ago, built a camper, and I spend my time travelling with it, and compensate the things I've been missing for so long, I read a lot on biology, physics, and neurophysiology, and make music. Everything you say is exactly the same here in my country. Ditto, as you say it. Congratulations on your decision. I feel you.

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@TeeBuhOwn

2 years ago

I think the fact this video went so viral speaks to the need that people collectively feel to lose the need for a plan, to just wander into the woods and to belong to the land instead of the idea that land belongs to you.

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@breathe.live.do.3566

2 years ago

I quit my job last week. Never been happier. I listened to the entirety of this video and made me realize I made the right decision.

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@HattoriZura

2 months ago

Back here again, thank you!!

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@cayezara8110

2 years ago (edited)

This medical doctor is telling the truth about the reality of the neurological surgery. He took the courage to tell the truth. I applaud this man.

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@farmerswalk4life

2 years ago (edited)

Your wife is a amazingly supportive partner who really wants to see you genuinely happy this is really heartwarming life experience:)

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@daniellechoi6983

2 years ago

I teared up when you said that your wife encouraged you to quit rather than to stay part time after seeing what you went through.  You’re blessed to have someone who loves you right by your side!  It is so tragic and sickening that the American healthcare system has become a for-profit-business, making money off of sick people.  I am sorry that you’ve become a victim of the system in a way.  I hope you discover your new passion in life soon!

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@EsperanzaLara-u7j

4 months ago

Gracias Dr.  Dios lo bendiga🙏🏽

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@cato451

2 years ago (edited)

For me sleep was a game changer. I didn’t sleep well for 35 years. I quit my job and now I sleep 8 hours straight every night. No more health issues. Sleep is incredibly important for overall health. Good luck Dr.

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@ElysiumRose31

2 years ago

Algorithm didn’t fail me with this beautifully courageous message. I have no idea who you are, but I hope every single human gets the chance to see and hear it with their hearts.

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@Tone2K

2 years ago

The level of focus in the midst of a bug and mosquito frenzy earns my most utmost respect. This is the level of focus I would want in a surgeon, ironically.

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@DianaPietryszyn

3 months ago

i love this video with my whole soul.

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@wendyomalley3116

2 years ago

Your wife is a wise woman and a precious jewel. You married well. And she chose well too!

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@mariahomeburger9398

2 years ago

This is the quite possibly the most profound, most therapeutic, and most healing thing I’ve ever watched. I think this former neurosurgeon has found his calling: truly healing people in the way that matters most.

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@ANL111

2 years ago

It is not a midlife crisis Doc, you had a spiritual awakening.  ❤

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@crystalburrell3852

4 months ago

So very deep thank you  for sharing… thank you for the much needed depth ❤❤❤

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@RockNRollDelivery

2 years ago

IMO dude's humble story is a microcosm of a massive shift in our civilization

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@Mushu.Ballooh

2 years ago

I’m an MD, I totally understand your decision to quit neurosurgery!  You are honest and caring, truly and deeply compassionate and true to yourself. We should all be like you, the world would be so much better

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@yeonarina1719

2 years ago

Man this dude sounds like a good person to be friends with

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@lizgarcia6741

3 months ago

I really appreciate this video. Thank you.

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@Rivskidd

1 year ago

The misquotes trying to devour this man and he’s just discussing life lessons in the middle of nature. He’s a real one and has figured out true happiness.

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@dvdvdivya

2 years ago

Welcome to the club of doctors who quit! Very well articulated! I could not have said it better. It's not a mid-life crisis, it is called integrity!

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@Kotepitia

2 years ago

The interesting part of this video for me is how our society seemingly has no place for this type of human being. Someone who has genuine empathy, someone who is uninterested in the trappings of wealth for the sake of wealth itself, someone who is extremely emotionally intelligent.

How can we say our society is succeeding and thriving if the only metric is financial success and we continually select for those who are motivated by and enjoy finding financial success?

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@janjackson-author

3 months ago

You touched on So many points many people can resonate with!!! Bravo 👏 ❤❤❤❤

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@AidixMh

2 years ago

man just proved that dealing with mosquitoes is much easier than dealing with people

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@dylanwilkie1518

2 years ago

Thanks for not cutting this to pieces, i hate talking videos where every half sentence has a cut. It was nice to see you stop and think/reflect on different thoughts or events, super genuine! Hope things continue to go well for you buddy

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@haleymmarie

8 months ago

I am not a neurosurgeon, but I am a registered nurse. I’ve been only working this job for 5 years and I became a nurse to help people. I knew since I was in middle school that I wanted to become a nurse because I wanted to help people. After 5 years, “helping” I can unfortunately relate to these same feelings. I’ve tired types of nursing, they’re all the same. The same patients, for the same problems, over and over again, because the system is not designed to keep patients healthy. It’s exhausting. For a while I considered going back to school to become an NP, but with the feelings I have now, I feel I would be in the same position with slightly better pay but the same overall dissatisfaction for the work. It’s truly draining. I’m 28 years old, and feel like I want to start my life over entirely since I cannot picture a life of living the rest of my life this way. I think I’ve realized that in order to be fulfilled in healthcare, you cannot be the type of person who asks too many “why?” questions. I unfortunately try to solve the problems before they become a problem, and that’s impossible in healthcare because the standard treatment is not prevention, it’s slapping a bandaid on it until it catches up with the patient again. I have no idea where to go from here with my own life, but thank you for putting the thoughts and feeling so many health care professionals experience into words. It’s a type of situational awareness that cannot be unseen, unlearned, or ignored.

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@rodolfosparapan

3 months ago

Thanks for sharing your inspirational story.

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@6infinity8

2 years ago

This is not a crisis, this is a realization. In my opinion you 200% made the right choice.

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@MrNickallday

2 years ago

Lab scientist here. Currently 1am just woke up from a nightmare and hopped on YouTube and found this video. Thank you for making it

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@SupersonicSidekick

8 months ago (edited)

In 2004 when I was 22, I i was told by a neurosurgeon (after a horrific car accident) that operating on bulging discs was unnecessary surgery, that people walk around every day with bulging discs and never know it and others have pain. That the pain is not cause and effect. That my nerves and body needed healthy treatments, not major surgery. He sent me to PT until I was well enough to do pilates and chiropractic adjustment. The chosen chiropractor focused on an extremely healthy diet, getting off medications, and regular exercise. They literally gave me my life back!!! I'm so grateful I saw the one neurosurgeon I saw instead of one who did surgery no matter what. I could have had spinal surgery at 22 before my life barely even got started, thanks to him, I did not.

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@blue-ghost-rider

2 months ago

Listening to you speak is very calming

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@kwonderful

2 years ago

I left a career in project management and engineering from Tesla at 36 years old. I was burnt out from working 12 hrs days, 6 days per week. I had symptoms of chest pain, chronic indigestion, chronic back pain, poor sleep habits, depression...The list goes on. When I left that job I moved in with parents, I started eating healthy again. I started working out consistently. I started getting 6 hours of sleep, then 7, then 8. I started working on things that I enjoyed. It look me 12 months to heal, but thanks to my amazing parents, I am back on my feet and ready to be a productive member of society. This gentleman speaks is the truth. The power to heal is within yourself. In my case, I couldn't have done it without my parents love and encouragement. Thank you Mom and Dad, I have beyond lucky to have you in my life.

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@bryanbrozy4477

2 years ago

A neurosurgeon gave me my life back after an injury left me severely disabled for a moment in time.  Im sure there are people you have helped just the same.  Thank you for people like you.  Life is a journey, take the path that brings you happiness🙂

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@ledzep921

2 years ago

Dear Doctor:I'm one of your colleagues.I graduated in 1977 in Cuba and I became first pediatrician and then pediatric surgeon.I migrated with my wife and two small kids and I started to get ready for USMLE.Suddenly I got sick of a neurologick condition,doctors dx as MS but I doubt it is,this is another story.

You as a good human being underwent the crisis of a real doctor who is surrounded of a corrupt medical enviroment where patients are money ONLY and the system main goal is only to achieve more money.

You don't have a crisis,you have an awakening!

Congratulations and continue enjoying your life with your wife and dog.

Respectfully yours.

Dr Pedro Garcia-Montalvan.

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@MichelleHernandez-q7n1y

4 months ago

I am so excited to have heard your story! Healing 💞!

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@veronicaharwick9013

2 years ago

Honesty, humility, sincerity, & simplicity are severely underrated in our society. This man is wealthy beyond measure. 🕊️🌎💚

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@orale_vato

2 years ago

I don't know how I ended up here but this was well worth 48 minutes of my life.

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@solo-repair9374

2 years ago

I love how your wife just said "why don't you just quit"' she gave you proper support 👏

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@stevewalsh-balshaw1727

2 months ago

Bless you, and may your life's journey be blessed

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@Khadejia369

2 years ago

I found this video on the same day that I quit my job and I feel alone and scared but this video has honestly changed my entire perspective on it all.

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@handa2373

2 years ago

bless this man for he sees how corrupt our health care system is and not selling out! Neurosurgeons make the most money and he gave it all up because he has a heart of gold... subscribed!

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@robinshoesmith5929

2 years ago (edited)

30 years a nurse. Left a year ago. Making ends meet. Sold my home and bought a old trailer on its own lot next to the woods. God bless you

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@ConversationsWorthHaving-v7p

3 weeks ago

I am so glad you came through my feed somehow...Your presence is pure peace and I am just happy you exist on this planet as a human. Thank you for what you are trying to do here. Amazing!

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@StudyingSuckz

7 months ago

I work in finance in London. It is eating me alive, the lack of sense of purpose, long hours, no support system whatsoever. I have flirted with the idea of quitting for a while, as I started dealing with clinical depression. I would only leave the house to go to the office, the weather is too bad for anything outdoorsy. Everyone is so focused on climbing the career ladder, no sense of humanity is left. You convinced me to do it. I am quitting, and will be moving to Cyprus and just be in the sun and exist

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@nataliedvorak930

2 years ago

as a third year medical student who is starting to witness first hands the failures of our means of delivering healthcare it so refreshing to hear a surgeon say these things

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@santiagogomez-vo3it

2 years ago

The real success in life is not having a good job, a good house, or a bunch of expensive material garbage, the real success in life is finding a peaceful life.

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@joycebraxton8092

3 months ago

I understand! And I commend you on your decision to follow your heart!❤️

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@victorsaenger9401

2 years ago

41:15 "Now that I have left, I haven't been this happy in my whole life, it doesn't feel like a crisis.... It feels right" congratulations sir, you've found peace in your life.

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@moonwolfdog.5

2 years ago

It's not healthcare, it's sick care bc the sick are profitable...Thank you Dr.Goobie for your honesty and integrity, we need more doctors like you!

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@anndutton5448

2 years ago

I went through this exact same thing two years ago. Sixteen years in academia created a massive moral injury. Prestige is currency and I fought so hard to try to address the “leaky roof” but the system doesn’t care. Like you, I was holding on too tight and it was slowly killing my soul. So I took a 9 month leave and then quit. Now I live in the mountains in a 1000 person, no stoplight town. I have two hourly paid jobs working with kids and am finally content and at peace. Achievement at all costs is our culture and I refuse to take part in this anymore. I’m 50 and living my best life. I recognize the incredible privilege I have to be able to change my life so drastically, but please know that even the most “successful” people are human and struggle with this stuff. Love your message. Thanks for your vulnerability.

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@syedhussainali2989

4 months ago

I respect you. You are blessed

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@Io-Io-Io

2 years ago (edited)

Oh yes, preach it!

My father was a physician too, a generalist. He never got rich, because he took the time to listen to his patients. He didn't view them as cash cows.

A good, moral, absolutely integrous human being. He couldn't help it but be that way. He will forever live on in my heart .

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@Reemnycfl

2 years ago

This is definitely not a midlife crisis, this is enlightenment, you woke up to a corrupt system, you quit because you’re a person of conscience, god bless you! It is unfortunate for the people that have to go to that hospital that they lost a genuine wonderful surgeon and a person of substance 🙏🏻

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@shivdeep2983

2 years ago

I absolutely loved this. You got a million views in just 3 days, it means that people DO watch a 50 min long video! You said that nobody would listen 40 min straight, one million people did. Im glad you posted the video.

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@VenatorVeritatis247

3 months ago

Man, I really needed to hear this message, made me tear up. Thank you for sharing.

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@michaelelliott3559

2 years ago

8.2 million views in 10 day. This shows a whole lot of us respect this and want to do the same thing.

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@AbysswalkerASMR

2 years ago

I think a man with a socially admired background such as yours introducing himself with "Hi, I'm Gooby" encapsulates everything perfectly already. We can be proud of our achievements, but they don't have to define us. We should chase what makes us truly happy, even if others don't understand.

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@doc2622

2 years ago

I’m a board certified fellowship trained Orthopedic Spine Surgeon. After 10 years, I walked away for the same reason.  People don’t understand how we can walk away from such a prestigious career.  It’s the best decision I ever made, I don’t miss it.

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@claireyou351

3 weeks ago

Thank you for sharing your story with us.

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@YourTioTravels

1 year ago (edited)

You have no idea how much this video helped me!  I quit my job almost 2 years ago. I have been ashamed to explain my depression and my not having a plan. It's been hard to explain, and I would get the looks you talked about because I didn't have a plan. This video just shifted my way of thinking about my situation. I feel healing brewing, and I may finally find peace in the unknown. My train of thought has been holding me back so much. I'm also in the Seattle area. If you ever want to get coffee, or a healthy meal, a healthy smoothie, or a short nature hike with someone in the area, I'd be happy to meet. I'm am very thankful for you sharing your story!!!

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@clayton8001

2 years ago

Yesterday I was clever , so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I work to change myself.

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@dannyramirez425

2 years ago

Wow!! It hit home for me. I spent 30 years as a fire medic. Saw a lot of human misery. Saw and treated every kind of trauma, suicide, cardiac issues, strokes and many things you can't think of. The new kids hiring on had no work ethic, no brotherhood, entitlement. The hospital ER staff was becoming more angry and arrogant. I was very unhappy. Gain weight. Acquired  3 herniated discs. Saw a spine surgeon regularly. Had 2 knee surgeries. 

  I walked away from the career. Lost 30 lbs. Sleep all night, every night. Changed my diet. No stress. Do what I want, when I want with no set schedule. After 2 years. No more back issues. No more knee issues. No need for knee replacement now.

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@Onlyvoice-g

3 weeks ago

This video... Healed something in me . I needed it

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@ericag2233

2 years ago

I’m a 60 yr old retired Canadian family physician and I too was disappointed and nearly killed by “the system.” Your wise thoughts gave me permission to mourn this sad truth. Thank you for sharing.

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@nightwritr

2 years ago

“A hospital needs to make money.” that was the moment that hit me.

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@marktuyet

2 years ago

I was burned out with my business and bad marriage at 45 . It cost me a stroke and the loss of vision in my right eye. If you are feeling so bad its time to make a change in your life.

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@CherilynnFaber

3 months ago

Caught in the same cog of the medical industrial wheel. Thank you for sharing.. you brought me to tears with truth!

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@claireperry4451

2 years ago

As a medical school dropout, this resonates so much. It takes a lot of courage to walk away from a previous dream. Congratulations!

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@MissingPersonSearchPodcast

2 years ago

From my perspective this isn't a mid-life crisis, this is a soul awakening and figuring out what you really came here to do.

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@Katî_De

2 years ago

People who get in to Healthcare, especially in America, want to help people but we often get burnt out so quickly because we end up only helping corporations in the end. 😢

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@DaisyMaybe-w7o

3 months ago

Thank you for showing us what it looks like to live a life that is genuine and heartfelt. You validated so much of what I believe in. Our society is conditioned to believe that we need outside fixes for everything and we're kept too busy with the attainment of sh&t that in the end means nothing. It's when we start to turn inward and realize that we have the answers - we just need to be quiet enough to hear them - then life begin to slow down and improve. Grateful to have found you & Doobie!

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@jonzilkow7272

2 years ago

I’m a former hospital CFO. I had to retire early due to the constant pressure for higher profits and the related stress related ailments it presented; hypertension, insomnia, and various mental health issues. The business side of healthcare in the United States is largely corrupt. Insurance companies win, everyone else generally loses.

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@marinamisa6174

2 years ago

One day as a free man is better than 1000 days as a slave. I’m happy for you and wish you nothing but the best.

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@Stuntkrazy929

2 years ago

I was shocked when I heard he was a neurosurgeon for 20 years. This dude looks like he's 20

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@marucaleach8754

3 months ago (edited)

Very Courageous!! You walking the path less path for others who like you see like you have felt and then honor input of the their soul is telling them. In this path you will find that which brings you joy in your living day to day and nothing will have been waisted. You are doing what wished for  your patiences you’re going to source of injury and healing it in you and eventually in others… going from being a Doctor to a Healer .

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@DannyCheng-t8f

2 years ago

ER doc here. I agree 100%. We need to shift the focus of medicine back to our primary care docs. It is a complex topic but we need to take financial incentive out of medicine. It is a conflict of interest. 

I am glad you did what you did. Take care of yourself friend~!

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@arturus4750

2 years ago

“I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself.”

― Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis

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@veryrandomworld

2 years ago

When he said "when you let go of something that you're holding too tightly even though it's hurting you, when you let go of it, then you're able to pick up something else that hopefully is better for you" it felt like a warm hug. It was comforting. Thank you, Dr. Goobie. <3

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@glevtube

3 months ago

Wow, what an honest and ethical man! Very brave too, for quitting and being open to life. Thank you. God bless you! 😊

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@johnnyo5116

2 years ago

MD of 23 years. Quit last years without a plan. Did things I never made time for and spent time with my adult sons. I appreciate your sharing and have respect for you. It’s all part of the journey.

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@JoonYSeo-pn4ts

2 years ago (edited)

Dear colleague. I am a German thoraxic surgeon who decided to quit working endless hours after about 15 years in hospital. I was burnt out and mentally and physically very vulnerable. My wife also told me that I should quit and do something else. Since then I became a general practitioner and I am a very happy doctor and family man. I listened to every word you said and I had tears in my eyes because I went through what you went through. I know the system makes you sick and you become disillusioned if you really care for your patients. I wish you all the best and hope that your heart continues to guide your way. You have made the right choice and you are a very lucky man. Hugs from Germany.

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@reachnewheights1268

2 years ago

2.5 million people wanted to hear your story in 5 days. Everything you said makes sense. Nature is where we are supposed to be. Try meditating out there if you don't already. Really proud of you for making the change. I'm happy for you brother.

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@myeneme

3 months ago

Look at all the people you are healing through this video! Thank you!

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@ericag2233

2 years ago

I’m a 60 yr old retired Canadian family physician and I too was disappointed and nearly killed by “the system.” Your wise thoughts gave me permission to mourn this sad truth. Thank you for sharing.

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2 replies

@nightwritr

2 years ago

“A hospital needs to make money.” that was the moment that hit me.

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15 replies

@marktuyet

2 years ago

I was burned out with my business and bad marriage at 45 . It cost me a stroke and the loss of vision in my right eye. If you are feeling so bad its time to make a change in your life.

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@CherilynnFaber

3 months ago

Caught in the same cog of the medical industrial wheel. Thank you for sharing.. you brought me to tears with truth!

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@claireperry4451

2 years ago

As a medical school dropout, this resonates so much. It takes a lot of courage to walk away from a previous dream. Congratulations!

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6 replies

@MissingPersonSearchPodcast

2 years ago

From my perspective this isn't a mid-life crisis, this is a soul awakening and figuring out what you really came here to do.

588

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3 replies

@Katî_De

2 years ago

People who get in to Healthcare, especially in America, want to help people but we often get burnt out so quickly because we end up only helping corporations in the end. 😢

721

Reply

11 replies

@DaisyMaybe-w7o

3 months ago

Thank you for showing us what it looks like to live a life that is genuine and heartfelt. You validated so much of what I believe in. Our society is conditioned to believe that we need outside fixes for everything and we're kept too busy with the attainment of sh&t that in the end means nothing. It's when we start to turn inward and realize that we have the answers - we just need to be quiet enough to hear them - then life begin to slow down and improve. Grateful to have found you & Doobie!

1

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@jonzilkow7272

2 years ago

I’m a former hospital CFO. I had to retire early due to the constant pressure for higher profits and the related stress related ailments it presented; hypertension, insomnia, and various mental health issues. The business side of healthcare in the United States is largely corrupt. Insurance companies win, everyone else generally loses.

480

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@marinamisa6174

2 years ago

One day as a free man is better than 1000 days as a slave. I’m happy for you and wish you nothing but the best.

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@Stuntkrazy929

2 years ago

I was shocked when I heard he was a neurosurgeon for 20 years. This dude looks like he's 20

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@marucaleach8754

3 months ago (edited)

Very Courageous!! You walking the path less path for others who like you see like you have felt and then honor input of the their soul is telling them. In this path you will find that which brings you joy in your living day to day and nothing will have been waisted. You are doing what wished for  your patiences you’re going to source of injury and healing it in you and eventually in others… going from being a Doctor to a Healer .

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@DannyCheng-t8f

2 years ago

ER doc here. I agree 100%. We need to shift the focus of medicine back to our primary care docs. It is a complex topic but we need to take financial incentive out of medicine. It is a conflict of interest. 

I am glad you did what you did. Take care of yourself friend~!

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@arturus4750

2 years ago

“I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself.”

― Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis

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@veryrandomworld

2 years ago

When he said "when you let go of something that you're holding too tightly even though it's hurting you, when you let go of it, then you're able to pick up something else that hopefully is better for you" it felt like a warm hug. It was comforting. Thank you, Dr. Goobie. <3

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@glevtube

3 months ago

Wow, what an honest and ethical man! Very brave too, for quitting and being open to life. Thank you. God bless you! 😊

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@johnnyo5116

2 years ago

MD of 23 years. Quit last years without a plan. Did things I never made time for and spent time with my adult sons. I appreciate your sharing and have respect for you. It’s all part of the journey.

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@JoonYSeo-pn4ts

2 years ago (edited)

Dear colleague. I am a German thoraxic surgeon who decided to quit working endless hours after about 15 years in hospital. I was burnt out and mentally and physically very vulnerable. My wife also told me that I should quit and do something else. Since then I became a general practitioner and I am a very happy doctor and family man. I listened to every word you said and I had tears in my eyes because I went through what you went through. I know the system makes you sick and you become disillusioned if you really care for your patients. I wish you all the best and hope that your heart continues to guide your way. You have made the right choice and you are a very lucky man. Hugs from Germany.

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@reachnewheights1268

2 years ago

2.5 million people wanted to hear your story in 5 days. Everything you said makes sense. Nature is where we are supposed to be. Try meditating out there if you don't already. Really proud of you for making the change. I'm happy for you brother.

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@myeneme

3 months ago

Look at all the people you are healing through this video! Thank you!

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@anthonymangino9662

1 year ago

A couple of hours into 2025, the universe bestows gifts and messages regularly. It's hard to recognize these due to so many distractions. Your honesty and integrity stirred me in a positively cathartic way. Thank you.

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@samauyeung1119

2 years ago

A seemingly rich life is so poor, yet a seemingly poor life is actually rich. Thank you for reminding us money cannot buy happiness.  True happiness lies in purpose and simplicity.

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@Ladran_Sancho

2 years ago

I'm just going to say, if I were your dad, I would be extremely proud of you.

Heck, I'm not your dad and I'm still proud of you. What a noble soul you are.

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@Veronica-ojoy

4 months ago

I am proud of you Doctor.  ❤ no fear with no plan .   Thank you .

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@Soycowgirl

2 years ago

As a former doctor, I 100% understand what you are saying. I came to the same realization you did, but much more earlier in my career, so I left before specialist training. I have never been able to fully explain to people why I left, and my best attempts are usually met with blank stares both from people inside and outside medicine. Thank you for openly and articulately sharing your experience... it made me feel less alone. The comments section also reassured me that there isn't something wrong with me because others in and around medicine have similar sentiments.

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@yourspineandbrain4805

2 years ago (edited)

Fellow Neurosurgeon here. Been working for the last 12 years of my life, and the goal was always to reach specialist level. Now that I'm here, I'm not sure I can say I'm happy. Everyone wants a piece of me each day, and I spread myself so thinly, I have none of myself left for me anymore. I haven't found my equilibrium yet - what makes me tick... what takes my mind off work / responsibilities of life. I do know that each time I do help a patient, it always feels like a calling I'm glad I answered. I just need to find the balance.

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@russellmurray8162

2 years ago

10M views and counting. How many millions of people were helped by watching this I’m sure more than you would’ve helped in surgery over a career as a surgeon. Thank you for sharing your journey.

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@archanakumari5408

1 month ago

Absolutely loved this.

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@kathielittlefield1795

2 years ago

I faced stage 4 throat cancer twice and I hit nature hard, got a puppy 8 years ago and she has not left my side.. I can’t speak, she’s raised on hand signals.. best ever relationship.

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@robertocolon5811

2 years ago

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why” -Mark Twain

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@lewismclean25

2 years ago

They have been telling us for centuries that food is medicine, and movement is life. Congrats on taking your freedom!

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@Lisa-j5h2l

4 months ago

Absolutely ❤❤❤ Happy hunting for peace in life and love with your family and pets. ❤❤❤

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@iria9720

2 years ago

Your story really resonated. As a junior doctor, I've been becoming increasingly disillusioned with modern medicine, and stressed and isolated to the point where I was driven into developing a brief psychotic episode, forcing me to take significant time off. I had just received a dream residency offer, however I have declined this in favour of recovering and later pursuing part-time work once I heal and restablish healthier habits myself.

Thank you for your courage and vulnerability - I was so scared of being labelled as acopic, or a failure, but by sharing your story, it has helped me fortify my decision to prioritise my wellbeing and values first, and I have no doubt it will do the same for countless others.

All the very best to you, your wife and Doobie!

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@LouisW-q8x

1 year ago

I was an busy anesthesiologist for 20 years when one day I decided to just quit in my mid 40's. Why? It was part stress, part hospital politics, part insurance hassle with mounting paperwork, part always on call, part having no real life of my own... and my wife was sad and unhappy. Quiting was the best thing I did in my life. It's not all about money or wealth. It's quality of life. And about living a good life.. a good long life. I'm in my late 70's now and been retired for over 30 years. Yes I am most of the time on a vegetarian diet, relaxed and meditate daily, enjoying nature, drink alcohol only occasionally, sleeping 7-8 hrs a day and excercise daily including having ran 15 full marathons and 27 half marathons all after my 50's. I'm now preparing for another half next month.  Quitting practicing was the best thing I did in my life. I congratulate and admire you for your decision to quit too. Bravo!

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@cherrydrums

2 years ago

Putting yourself out there like this takes a ton of guts! 350k views in 2 days on an account with 10k subscribers means this is resonating with a ton of people and proves it needed to be shared. Kudos to you for being so open and articulate.

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@WWMHome

3 months ago

Thanks for sharing Gooby, its inspiring and encouraging.

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@STYCER_

2 years ago

Whenever a person picks morals over ethics and money they are awoken consciously . He will understand more in the future as he discovers more about himself . God bless this man’s soul . He’s mentally free .

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@kavehadib8402

2 years ago

Over 1M views in 3 days.  This man has touched a nerve in America, and that is to be good to yourself first.  The rat race is a real problem all the way to the multi- millionaire world.

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@FaithandFootsteps2026

2 years ago

It’s hilarious how he said that no one has 40 minutes to listen to him explain why he quit, I listened to the whole thing…❤️❤️❤️

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@lolamitchell8208

3 months ago

I salute you Thank you for sharing. First time listener, now number one fan.

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@dstalhamer

2 years ago (edited)

I'm an anesthesiologist and have been in practice for 18.5 years. I have struggled with very similar feelings throughout my career. You are brave, strong and courageous. I applaud you!

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@veryfinepeopleonbothsidesb62

2 years ago

That's a Good Wife. To have someone beside you is a Great help.

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@sg639

2 years ago

This man has (re)discovered Thoreau's truth: "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation."  It takes great courage to forge an independent path.

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@JuliaSantos-zk8ds

3 months ago

Thank you. 

It had to be said and you said it.  You're very brave.❤

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@stevelettunich442

2 years ago

Dr. I worked with you as a tech in California for a couple of years and you told me goodbye one day after we did a spinal cord stimulator surgery. You said you were going to  try trauma hoping that you could help people. I always admired you and appreciated your instruction and patience. Great video. Glad you are on the mend

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@kevinreusch1590

2 years ago

I’m a PA, I’ve been working in orthopedic spine surgery for the past few years. My last day is tomorrow. I resonate with everything you said. I quite literally know exactly what you meant when you said “if I stay in this job, I will die early”. I feel as if I have been living in a world of pain, and the pain has insidiously begun to creep into my own body and soul. I am embarrassed to admit to my colleagues that I am leaving without another opportunity lined up. All I know is I must take the time to heal myself before I can continue to help others. Thank you for sharing your story, it was very courageous of you, you have my deepest respect.

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@Esvenk

2 years ago

This man is a zen master. Calm, unfettered by the flying pests, found wisdom and gave up what others think is a golden profession for peace.

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@savvasaspris5689

8 days ago (edited)

Thank you for this video man for real this was very helpful for me.

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@outspoken2276

2 years ago

I quit high stress IT consulting at at age 38 - that was 15+ years ago. I was dying in a cubicle, day by day. I sold my house and moved to the country and raised animals. I never looked back. Good for you, give my best to Doobie!

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@yoteslaya7296

2 years ago (edited)

my wife is a pharmacist in 3 hospitals. She works EVERY day. Rarely does she have a day off. She comes home exhausted and miserable because the drama at these hospitals is through the roof. Backstabbing people trying to get ahead and incompetence that has lead to patient deaths by the dozens. The medical system in the USA is a cesspool of corruption and mismanagement. Im glad you got out of it because im waiting for the day my wife can retire and be happy again. 

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@FaBouNa1465

2 years ago

"I don't have a plan...and it feels good.." Those words resonate so much to me. Yeah, it feels good to be free. You don't have a plan not because you are not capable, but because you don't want to be a slave for the system and social conformity

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@zionzonetp

3 months ago

This is refreshing and i learned a lot.. thanks ❤

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@toseeornottosee333

2 years ago

Registered nurse who now lives in a van. I. Feel. You.

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@tammyque1506

2 years ago

Thank you, doctor for helping me see the light at the end of a tunnel.  I'm an Iraq combat veteran who came home broken and could not understand the craziness of this world.  I watched your video and was going to give you some advice but it turned out the advice is really for me, as well.  Finding INNER PEACE is most important.   Stress is the root of all problems: physically, mentally and spiritually.  I need to let go of my anger, hate, and regrets with my experiences and look for a healthier perspective in life.  Ultimate goal in  life is to pass on helpful , positive, and meaningful suggestions to making this world a better place to live.   Thank you for helping me!

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@anthonycastro9110

2 years ago

I am a eye dr and quit practicing at 51 when i lost my wife! Not all things can be explained by Medicine!

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@FatRosieandFriends

3 months ago

Thank you for sharing your story. It gives me perspective on life

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@andremodesto

2 years ago

Nine years ago, I quit my job as a general surgeon. I had very similar reasons, and I am happy I did it. I wish you good luck and all the best

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@caminator1

2 years ago

'The purpose of the doctor is to amuse the patient while the body heals.' Molière

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@markandrews3928

2 years ago

Physician, you healed yourself. You honored the Hippocratic Oath to the letter.

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@selmapezo4974

3 months ago (edited)

At least 19 Million people wanted to hear your story, instinctly feeling that could be their story too...and yes, at the end feeling happy for you and inspired to do something what feels right in their own life. Amazing!

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@artistsurvivor

1 year ago

Congratulations!! You've discovered the secret in your 30s. I didn't discover the secret until my 50's. The secret is hard to explain. But, when you find it, you know it. It's the realization that it's okay to take care of yourself. It's okay to put yourself first. It's okay to walk away from people and situations that are causing you misery. You're awake and I'm so happy for you.

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@kari8187

2 years ago

Not a midlife crisis, it’s a life correction. This is your trip around the universe, do what brings you peace darling.

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@50outoftheblocks

2 years ago

It is not a crisis.  It is an awakening.  I am 49 years old and figured it out about 7 years ago.  Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life.  You are going to love it!!

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@Nivtarrasrav17

3 months ago

This is hundred times better than any podcast I've listened to. Very natural,

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@kristellrodriguez7742

2 years ago

“This is what some people call a mid life crisis. Well for me, the crisis was the 9 years I was super unhappy. That was the crisis.” THIS. I’m glad to see you happier and leaving a place you were unhappy and did not believe in. I wish you and your family blessings, and enjoy this period in your life. Keep enjoying life. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. You are still saving lives despite not conducting surgeries.

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@AshtonTheMelon

2 years ago

Sleep, excercise, whole food, and water are some of the best things you can do for yourself.

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@DylanMyth5728

2 years ago

I have backpacked over 4500 miles and believe walking in nature is healing and strengthening. Now I am paralyzed for 20 years and unable to walk, but those miles are in my cellular memory and continue to support my journey thru life. I am glad you found the strength to follow your good heart.

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@carmenrosaalayoramos1390

1 month ago

Ser libre, ser libre, no es fácil , es verdad eres consciente de la vida y no del sistema.

Gracias or compartir tu historia.

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@ananda_miaoyin

2 years ago

Relieving suffering is not just the duty of doctors, it is the prime directive of all humans.

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@toofar2real

2 years ago (edited)

Within the first 5mins I knew where your story was going,  but I listened and paid attention to it all. For 7yrs I worked a government job that changed my life financially. The longer I worked the job, the more my financial options improved, and the more I hated my life. The job was dehumanizing and stressful. The conditions and the unwritten unethical rules of what the job really entailed were physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually draining every single day. So when I had some crypto, stock investments, and over 6 figures saved I left, with no official career replacement planned. I lost 20lbs of bad weight within the first month of leaving. I exercised more, took up hobbies, spent more time socializing with friends and family, ate better, slept better and valuede my own time more. I still have not found a replacement career that comes close to what I was making before. I no longer hate my life. Thank you for sharing.

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@isaacdennis5412

2 years ago

So the answer to health really is just eating healthy, working out, reducing stress, drinking water, and avoiding harmful substances. Damn.

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@sbyerley

4 months ago

You are blessed.

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@elizabethliusirban7765

2 years ago (edited)

Dr Goobie,I feel for you and feel with you.  I quit my job after working 15 years  as a medical provider  in  January for similar reasons. I was not able to take care of myself, burned out and frustrated at the whole system. It took a huge toll on my body. I knew I was going to die if I had kept going.

We do not have a healthcare system. What we have is  a systemically sponsored sick care model which is only sustained by sick unhealthy people. 

I hope that your journey in life takes you a place you can feel self-actualizing, knowing you are truly helping others without residues, and  fulfilled inside and outside❤

All the best,

Fellow dog lover

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@CS-pu4ti

2 years ago (edited)

Dear doctor,  this is EXACTLY how I felt & how it led to my decision to quit my well-paying job as a surgical nurse.   

Last year I quit my job, sold my house & left the country, so I can live on my savings & pursue my dreams as an artist.  These were the same thoughts, and the realization that I had in the last few years.   

Thank you so much for making this video!

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@MrTantriq

2 years ago

As a man, born and raised in Arkansas, the amount of courage you displayed by standing calmly in that swarm of mosquitoes is uncommon, to say the least. I was itching the whole time. 😂

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@martagarciacarrio3268

4 months ago

Beautiful testimonial. Thank you

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@brett.unbound

2 years ago

Your wife is a very selfless, supportive person. "Why don't you quit."

She knew you would succeed at anything you did after being a surgeon and prioritized your happiness over your income.

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@ChrisAho-w4y

2 years ago

I am a neurosurgeon. I have practiced for 18 years. I believe I am in a tough spot like this gentleman was….

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@B_eingtransformed

2 years ago

30 year pharmacist here. Felt the same way 15 years ago and had to walk away. I didnt have a plan,  but I just couldn't do it any more. May the Most High Bless your beautiful soul.

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@janjackson-author

3 months ago

I’m in the middle of similar what you’ve been describing. And this nature healing for the whole essence of a person - yes it is very healing. ❤️‍🩹 To me this video was a very wonderful gift. 🎁

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@ronaldcarrel5388

2 years ago (edited)

I was a pharmacist, graduated in 84, was out by 92.  Could not stand the financial abuse the system creates.  It was unbelievable back then and so so much worse now.

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@supershy1515

4 months ago (edited)

I graduated as a pharmacist last year, and I found your video. I truly can't agree more with what you said. I had a experience during my hospital internship. I was assigned to make a case study, so I had the responsibility to monitor one patient. I chose my patient after reviewing several medical records. My patient was a middle-aged woman. Last year, she had undergone heart surgery and she also had diabetes. During my first visit, everything went well. I mostly talked with her mother, who accompanied her. I felt confident because I did what I had been taught by my university. But almost one week later, during my next visit, I found out that my patient was the same patient that the internship doctors had been discussing because she was refusing to eat. I was confused. Why? Because I always checked her medical records, and from what I saw, I thought she could recover well if she followed her treatment plan.

Then, on my last day of collecting new medical records from the nurse station, I accidentally overheard the doctor visiting my patient. The doctor tried to remind her that she needed to eat well so she could get better. But just like during my visits, her mother was the one who answered most of the questions.

I stayed in the hallway after the doctor left. I didn't go anywhere. When her mother finally left the room, I was standing there, feeling confused. I really wanted to enter the room and ask her: "What happened? Why are you refusing to eat? Why don't you want to take some of your medication?" . But I was afraid. I was scared that I would cross a boundary. The next day, I tried to be brave and meet her again. But her room was empty. The nurse told me that she had finally gone home. I really regretted it. I felt like she went home without being completely healthy. Her medical records showed improvement, but somehow I felt that she was still not truly okay.

That experience made me realize that sometimes medicine alone cannot help people heal. And your story really answered the question I had at that time.

I keep thinking that if I had been brave enough to talk with her and understand what was happening in her life, maybe I couldn't fully help her, but I might have found the root problem behind her health condition.

Right now, I am still looking for my first job as a pharmacist. But when I finally get the opportunity, I will remember what you said, like sometimes healing people is not only about the pills, surgery procedure, but also about understanding their background, their lifestyle, and their life.

Thank you for sharing this story. It reminded me of the kind of healthcare professional I want to become ❤

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@whiteheart6827

2 years ago

Met a Neurosurgeon in my twenties at a cigar bar in Boston. A very handsome man in  his 30's . He was from Hawaii in town for a conference. We played backgammon and spoke. At the end of the night I walked him back to his hotel. We sat in the public garden and he cried for a solid two hours.Here was this man that had everything, 24k gold watch. Custom made shirt hand tailored custom  suite. Top of his career. He said his father was  also a neurosurgeon his parents pressured him into  the profession. And he needed a stranger to bare his soul. It taught me a valuable lesson that day.A. Everybody deserves the right to the pursuit of their own happiness as long as it is not at the expense of others.B. You are not what you do. C. You have the right to change your mind, and change yourself. I am 53 and after being poisoned by my exterminator in 2016 and losing everything I once cherished. I will begin again. I will start massage school in the fall and try to also find my art until then I will work at my minimum wage job that keeps a roof over my head and live in peace.

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@digitalfox9604

11 days ago

I can listen to this man put me to sleep. In a good way

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@user-eh4jv6xw4l

2 years ago

I am so glad I retired early. So much stress, lack of sleep, and so much pressure and unfairness. I don't have as much money now, but I'm happy

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@cheezifs

2 years ago

wow, mad respect. telling your story clearly and calmly for 48 minutes with that many mosquitos may be more impressive than the almost 10 years of neurosurgery

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@waxandwayne

2 years ago

I'm a NYU grad fund manager with a masters and a CFA.... and an actuarial degree.  I've been a CFO at a small firm for two years......... I just quit so I can become a fly fishing guide in the PNW.  Glad to see I'm not alone.  Thank you for sharing!!!

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@annbotnick4539

4 months ago

Thank you for relating your struggles. I’m glad that you have found happiness.

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@Mspollyanna

2 years ago

My husband left his career in teaching because it was taking a toll on him. Now, he works in aviation and loves it.

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@drjasonyuan

2 years ago

"I was dying inside and my body was dying." When we finally let go of the resistance to our true being, the only thing that is left is happiness and freedom.

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@kaelascuriosity

2 years ago

I was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease at 19 years old, at 26 I’ve just started to figure out how to fix the leaky roof after being told over the years that I don’t qualify for the drywall repair. Thank you for this video 💜

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@elainetsang7215

4 months ago

What a brave man !!

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@janviergalle

2 years ago

You dare to quit a prominent job, originated from a prestigious school which brings fame and big financial reward that many people just dream of, to me you're a hero!

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@primitivedaisy

2 years ago

This video was put out 4 days ago and has over 2 million views. That alone says we’re a society that has its priorities out of wack. Good luck to you, sir. You are wise beyond your years. 😊🙏🏻

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@e.a.miller6503

2 years ago

I was an EEG tech working in a 300 bed hospital and miserable like you. Endless call, doing needless testing, and witnessing the same moral decay of my chosen profession. I quit and opened a dog daycare. Never been happier or healthier. Good to know there are others just like me. Thanks for your video.

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@aisheebhattacharyya6039

3 months ago

Thank you..I am going through the same phase.. yet to take the hard decision.. wish you all the best ..be happy and peaceful in life..

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@jendam

2 years ago

I am a software developer who have decided to mow lawns for living. I am exhausted and drained by tech space and the constant need to keep up with the fast pace, so much burn out and i am done! Now i have peace .

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@Tolkienlady

2 years ago

I have a Master's in Biology. Specialty Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. GPA 3.9. I too, experienced EXACTLY the same thing as you. Science is for profit. And I did EXACTLY what you did. I sold everything, bought a truck and camper, and hit the road traveling as a solo female with her cat. Namaste fellow rebel. Namasté

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@AlpinePreparedness

2 years ago (edited)

I was a PhD candidate working in one of the most prestigious science research labs in Canada… now I live in rural northern Canada, grow fruit trees and run backcountry ultramarathons.

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@dalewhite4759

2 months ago

This is riveting the awareness of this individual

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@What_do_say_think

2 years ago

As a former patient, with terrible back problems, I can attest to the fact that everything this man said is 100% correct.  I sat in a office for twenty five years, I smoked, I drank, I was overweight.  I had a couple of procedures and several injections in my spine and it kept getting worse, until I had a mild heart attack, I met a fantastic doctor who suggested a Paleo diet and excursive.  The change was so dramatic, every aspect of my life improved, my back problems went away, I slept better but the most dramatic change was my focus and mental acuity, my state of mind and general feeling of wellbeing and happiness.  We need more of this man and less of the money oriented ones.

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@popcornjeans

2 years ago

Don't worry. At this point when I am commenting you've helped 9.2 million people. I'm sure that in future it'll help even more people, I hope this video reaches to everyone.

Thank you for sharing <3

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@mumeishii

2 years ago

I’ve only been working in healthcare for about 3 years now, but it’s sad how true it is. Our healthcare system doesn’t care about actually helping people, only the amount of money it can get from them. The realization has made me want to leave the healthcare field entirely.

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@andreashofmann8484

3 months ago

I really appreciate the sincerity in this video.

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@lisewall6131

2 years ago

As a medical professional with a moral injury from how the system is flawed, I spent the last 10 years more focused on my dog and hiking than I did my "real" job.  My dog recently passed and I will never regret spending more time with her in nature and less time at work.

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@LowErgsMicroCHP

2 years ago

Mirrors my story, I got burned out and left high tech at the pinnacle of my career.  I quit and had no plan but made the most of the past 14 years.  Became a massage therapist, got fit and competed in a lot of endurance events.  Our family was so much happier including our dog Candy.  Fit at 50!

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@davidhaynes3126

2 years ago

This talk is not what I expected. My daughter completed a Masters degree in Science in 2019.

She started working. She was good at it, but got sick and had to stop.

It was a crisis that ended up in a great place. She’s dedicated to a better life than studying and doing research 

I was scared because, I had a significant investment, that was about giving her a career. I had to let go and let God.

It has not necessarily been  a lucrative change.

I let her fly her wings and now she has made many changes in her health plans, does Jujitsu and physical work everyday.

I am proud of her. I am her Dad. I am a Carpenter

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@bonniematthews7611

3 months ago

Goobie, I'm truly moved - blown away actually - by you and your personal journey and your love for your dog. You had the moral courage to be honest about problems in the medical profession and industry as a whole.  You cared deeply for your patients and offered them sound advice. Then you listened to your own heart and body. You are such an inspiration. And your deep and abiding love for Doobie truly is a hallmark of good character. I'm so glad I discovered your channel! (Thanks to FM) Looks like I've found another kindred spirit.

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@ntp3099

2 years ago

To call it “midlife crisis” is to trivialize this courageous decision. It took a lot of self-knowledge, integrity, courage, and, most critically, your wife’s amazing support, to take off the “white coat” which every doctor knows is not just a job but a 24/7 ingrained identity. Not to mention dealing with other people’s confusion, disappointment and judgment. I applaud your willingness to share this for the young people thinking about a career in medicine to know what they are going into. I’m an eye surgeon in my 50s who loves her job, but it helps that I’m self-employed and my practice is comprehensive eye care from birth to elderly so I can offer preventative , holistic care for the whole family, using surgery as one tool among many, and am not as dependent on procedures as neurosurgery. So glad that you’ve found fulfillment right now and the universe will bring more good into the space that you’ve created.

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@Yiannomangas

2 years ago

Brother I used to be dentist. I left dentistry opened restaurant, construction business, now I open medical spa the human is made to do many things and you should do what you love. I loved every second in construction being outside it so important for human beings.

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@aliciastephens1159

2 years ago

I understand completely why you left. I worked as a nurse at a large teaching hospital. I encountered numerous residents who were so disillusioned and burned out already. I felt so bad for them. They had invested so much of their life into a future they were unsure about. I'm glad you found your calling and took steps for happiness.

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@jaimejaviersorianolozano800

4 months ago

ERES INTELIGENTE Y VALIENTE.

NO SÓLO PIENSAS EN TÍ.

TE FELICITO.

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@dennis99

1 year ago

Just throw away my almost full pack of cigarettes while watching your video. I will give a notice that I am leaving my job as a proposal developer at the biggest Clinical research organisation. I will be more active and have more time with my 6 years old Belgian shepherd. I will stop eating trash and I will find a job just to support my monthly needs and nothing more. Thank you, brother. This is exactly the video I needed to make the steps I already knew that are necessary. Thank you!

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@tutacat

2 years ago

And yet people would say a hospital with zero patients, was a bad hospital. Thank you for making this.

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@cyndeeharvey3902

2 years ago

You have so much integrity. I love that your wife supported you. Maybe your next job is YouTuber. Encouraging people to be themselves. 😊

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@Jessicab-u7c

2 months ago

Consciousness is fascinating!

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@elizabethprince1268

2 years ago

I quit an office management job at 43 and started cleaning houses for the exercise  & supplement income. I'm now 58, still cleaning 22 hrs a week. I'm healthier and feel great physically,  spiritually & mentally.

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@Nicole-dy6kl

2 years ago (edited)

As a 19 years old student, studying alone in Germany and speaking limited German, I have been under stress and suffering from my knee pain for 2 months. I became down, lost, and with unstable emotions. No matter your observations are true or not, they gave me some sense of power and feeling with hope. I am really encouraged by you! Thanks a lot:)

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@abhinavdhillon7537

2 years ago (edited)

I think Goobie's story powerfully reflects how futile the pursuit of pedigree and status really is. We often are quick to judge someone for their occupation and base their worth on material successes even though, on an individual level, all of that ceases to matter when it comes at the expense of our peace/wellbeing. Aren't we all just on a giant floating rock, living life day by day? Who cares what one does to be content as long as they aren't inflicting harm? None of us asked to be born, and literally, no one will take their degrees, fancy titles or luxury toys with them when the inevitable day comes, so why not just try to have a good time while we're here. We keep clinging to these labels (student, doctor, executive, etc) that we box ourselves into and then suffer needlessly when the labels are no longer organically adopted but externally prescribed. The extent to which Goobie's message has resonated with the world proves that collectively, we are moving towards being labelless and identifying ourselves with just being/existence in its most authentic form. This is not a crisis/nihilism but profoundly liberating -- there is no real cost to being true to yourself, but you pay the price every day when living in denial.

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@anilucia313

3 months ago

This is so inspiring. Thank you.

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@janetsmith7808

2 years ago

My brother is a pediatric thoracic surgeon who went to Harvard and did residencies from Haiti to Inuit villages in Northern Quebec. After landing a position of prestige at Stanford's Lucille Packard Childrens hospital, he became very frustrated with the BUSINESS aspect of healthcare in the US. He would tell me about his frustrations. He quit the job at Stanford, moved to Maine and opened his own clinic

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@BigLu4

2 years ago (edited)

There is nothing more addicting than being with your family and not having a plan. It could serve as a definition of freedom.

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@CarsonWhitsettJr

2 years ago

I was developing an app for a company that makes continuous glucose monitors. There came a moment when I realized there was no incentive to cure diabetes and instead the incentive was to get as many people as possible to use CGM devices. I quit not long after that realization. I believe there is still a lot to discover about how the universe works and as an engineer, I hope to find ways to apply my skills and decode those mysteries - leading to better outcomes. Cures, not therapies.

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@olgataylor3608

4 months ago

Good for you ❤ God Bless you*** and your family💫

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@dannyhern1673

2 years ago

My dad and his friend sat me down today to convince me to start in the same field as them, so 20 years down the road I could retire with a pension from a job I would hate. Ironic this video pops up today. Watching this video just confirmed, I’m continuing to  walk my own path. And I will continue to scale my business

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@sometalkmoresquat2210

2 years ago

You dont realise how many of us like you are in this world. Stuck in "the world" that doesnt make sense but having to live in it.

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@lorcelli

2 years ago

My dad was a hard worker, worked way too much and was very frugal and saved so much money. Before he passed away, n his deathbed at the age of 71, he said, “ I wish that I’ve enjoyed my life by going on vacations and enjoying things that I wanted to do. I have all this money and yet I can’t take it to my grave. What’s the use of hay when the horse is dying?” Now I try to live simply, eat healthy and just do what makes me happy like gardening, travel or spend time with family. I may not have a lot of money, but I am happy and contented.

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@jamesmasterson1886

1 month ago

Thank you! I’m in a very similar situation as you were/are. And I’m struggling with those feelings of embarrassment you mentioned. Even though you know what you’re doing is for your own good and well being. Hearing your story makes me not feel so alone on this journey, and provides even greater conviction.

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@Sychonut

2 years ago

I'm a software engineer working in Silicon Valley, and while working with computers is nowhere near as noble or impactful as improving people's lives as doctors do, I unfortunately have come to the exact same (in hindsight obvious) conclusion that the focus is not to help people but rather just make money; more money; way more money. To always grow, grow, grow even at the cost of making people's experience worse. Greed is a sickness.

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@BrandonChen-sdef123

2 years ago

Respect to this man, you could see the dozens of mosquitoes trying to eat him alive but he toughed it out and told his story alone in the mountains for us to hear

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@RukiRose

2 years ago

Hello, I am a Lawyer here in my country and since primary 4, I have always wanted to be a farmer and own a restaurant. I find peace in it, I always felt the need to feed people at cheaper prices so that people can have access to food at a reasonable value of their hard earned money and not be cheated like others. But my father beat me up when I was in primary 4 and now I am a lawyer. Because of this video, You have inspired me to return to my joy. Thank you.

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@zelllers

3 months ago

2 years since the video came out.  

Thanks for all you do sir.  I have only seen a few of your videos, but each one I chose to watch I have watched beginning to end.  I enjoy your pause, and straight up talking from the dome instead of scripted and highly edited stuff.

Keep on doing what you do.  You have a lot of good and rational takes

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@AshwinPraveen

2 years ago

I moved to California in 2016. I studied and started working a tech job for 7 years. I had everything I thought I wanted. A high paying job, my own car, apartment, no debts, dating and friends. But it was all so empty. I was living a life that the culture told me to live. I hated my stressful job. 

I quit my job at 27, left America. Now I live in the woods basically with no one around me. Just silence and time. I’m creating what I want with no clear plan. I’ve never been happier in my life. 

Thank you for sharing your story. You’re not alone. ❤

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@WomensHealthHub1

2 years ago

I totally understand. my husband recently had severe back and leg pain and MRI showed severe stenosis in spinal canal less than 4 mm due to a lumbar desc protrusion. And every neurosurgeon recommended a surgery right away.

But my husband was very hesitant to do surgery as he usually uses chat gpt and we went through all the risks of surgery and the risks of not doing surgery together. He is 30 years and with good health. He decided to not go to surgery and I supported his decision

I am an obgyn, and  I still remember how to do neuro exam from medical school. He limited his daily activities and started an anti inflammatory diet . Full with anti oxidants . He stopped smoking, started to use bars from the ceiling to move the vertebra away from each other 

And  we used to do daily exams to check for any new signs indicating cauda equina syndrome

He had few signs like urine retention that went away after a week

He had poor heal walking in left foot and now his strength is 80 %back 

We are still in the healing process and will repeat mri soon. But symptoms fading was a good indicator for us

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@skylite9478

2 years ago

Morale of the story:

1. Do what makes you happy.

2. When problem rises, find and fix the root of the problem, do not be satisfied with a temporary solution. 

3. When you give up something, whether it be an opportunity, job, or relationship, you will be able to replace the it with something else. 

3.1 If something is hurting you or is bad for you and you know it, don’t hold on to it, no matter how long you’ve had it for. Let it go. Find something else to replace it that won’t hurt you. The faster you let go of it, but better it will be for you in the long run.

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@anaionut5364

4 months ago

Thank you!

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@beebold4379

2 years ago

I am a 68 year old grandma and I had a 36 year career in banking -  the first 10 years it was all about service - the last 26 years it was all about profit - how much a client was worth  - we started labeling clients as A- B - C .  We became aware of the fact that if you took care of A clients the bank rewarded you - If you focused on C clients  it was not in your best interest when it came to bonus time . Banking became all about greed .It destroyed me - Moral injury for sure - I was able to retire at 55 (decreased pension) - 13 years later I have been humbled , healed and I now enjoy being one of the banks C clients. Thanks for sharing your story! God bless you !

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@Bigzmd

2 years ago

I am an emergency physician, I had a conversation with a hospitalist recently about this same topic. We see mostly the same people most of the time. We are managing diseases, seldomly healing anyone.  what ills us all is our lifestyle choices. We do CT scans,MRIs, GI follow throughs from abdominal pain without finding a source. Patients are unhappy, we are unhappy. Don’t feel empowered to have that discussion about lifestyle without fear of patient complaints and administrative action that follows. So we push on. I wont quit because someone’s got be in the ER when people show up. We help some and we push on.

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@Emilthehun

2 years ago (edited)

I had a motorcycle accident about 10 years ago. The doctor explained to me how back surgery is smoke and mirrors and won't actually solve the problem.  He sent me to therapy 3 days a week. All I did was swim in hot water. I'm glad my spine wasn't fused and made a full recovery. Thank you doctor for being honest about the roof analogy.   Maybe you should open your own health clinic somewhere

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@ely6597

3 months ago

Thank you for coming out about this. I have no degree, yet I have  known this. The body is intelligent and it is us humans that mess it up.on all levels along with our fur friends/ animals.

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@SunshinesArt

2 years ago

I had to stop teaching at 42, due to an autoimmune disease. I am now disabled, and I don’t miss teaching! It drained me, made me sick, & I was not taking care of myself. Now, that’s all I have to do, and that’s ok. I’m finally at peace about it. At 51, my days are filled with grandbabies, my art channel, & living simply. It has been an awakening for me. Thank you for sharing, more of us understand and needed to hear your message.

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@Osirus37

2 years ago (edited)

Spinal surgery saved my life. My sciatica was so bad I could not walk.  It was a Dr like this who saved me from a lifetime of pain.

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@FavoriteKris

2 years ago

I am a Family Medicine doctor that quit my job after taking care of patients for 7 years. Just like Dr. Goobie says, the medical system that we are currently afflicted with DOES NOT look at the root cause. Your doctors, PAs, nurses, pharmacists are not taught to fix the roof. We are taught to follow protocols set up by the pharmaceutical industry, prescribe medications or surgeries because that is how money is made, and tell the patients - good luck. Our medical system, our food system, our economic system - all of them are set up to make us sick and keep us sick, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Fortunately, more and more people are coming awake to these facts and choosing to live in a way that actually nurtures life and support your body to heal itself. Dr. Goobie, God bless you, and I pray that you are able to work through the trauma of being a part of that death system, and find a way to use your experience and history to contribute to life, and not participate with death.

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@christinepollard4379

3 months ago

This video popped up in my suggested to watch.

Thank-you for your beautiful words and story.  I got teary a few times.  What a wonderful human you are!  I have now subscribed of course, and look forward to watching your videos, and meeting Doobie.  If there were more humans like you in our world, it would not be in such an aweful mess.

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@chrischan3881

2 years ago

I am a dental surgeon and quit last year to full time with animals and dogs in the jungle  recycling trash

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@mandulovesdumplings

2 years ago

I needed a five level spinal fusion due to stage 4 cancer. Tumors were growing in my spine, and cancer in my bones were eating away at my spine as well. Without an emergency surgery, I might’ve been paralyzed. A neurosurgeon cut out the tumor and replaced my spine with hardware. Thanks to him, a year later I am able to walk and live my life for the remainder of whatever I have left. For that freedom, I am so thankful to him. There may have been surgeries that could’ve been avoided in your career as you described, but there may have also been surgeries that are life changing like mine and patients who are forever grateful like me.

That said, your story about changing your path resonated with me. I wish I’d learned this lesson earlier. Chasing IPO gold in Silicon Valley led to so much stress, unhappiness and an unhealthy lifestyle. Do I think my cancer could’ve been caught or maybe even prevented if I’d taken better care of myself and not got caught up by societal pressures and riches? Definitely.

I wish you so much continued peace and happiness in the future.

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@KMWags

2 years ago

Neurosurgeon 3 years into my career struggling with all the same issues. Fighting a broken system, feeling futile, while sacrificing my youth, and mental and physical health. Amazing courage to do what you did, working to find that for myself because I’ve never been this miserable. Wishing you peace and fulfillment and plenty of adventures with your family

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@lindabentley8578

4 months ago

Thank you for being authentic.  Just listening to your advice regarding back pain has already helped me - I have back issues.  I am going to follow your suggestions.  (Your wife was so kind telling you to just quit.)  Glad you did.

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@maureenhargrave3568

2 years ago

I ran the office for a cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon. When his daughter finished medical school and started an internship in surgery, she called me one day, crying telling me that she couldn’t do this. It wasn’t for her and she was afraid that her father would be upset. I told her no all he would ever want was for her to be happy, I put her call through to her father and when he came out, he said oh thank goodness now maybe she’ll have a life. His partner when he left surgery, he got a teaching degree and substitute taught biology, math, physics, Latin, and dance. one of the plastic surgeons I knew there when he left, he enrolled as a student in college classes of American history and then wrote a book. Another faculty in surgery stayed practicing surgery but took up playing the cello which he practiced in the office. What you are doing is important for your mind and body and now you are teaching all of us.

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@marcosburyos

2 years ago

I left my family medicine residency in the first year for the same reasons. Now I work as an adjunct professor, grow mushrooms, and road trip like a gypsy, happiest I've ever been. I'm proud of you.

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@rubired123

2 years ago

37:58 “this video is 40 minutes long and people don’t have 40 minutes to listen to why I quit.” Says the guy who has millions of views on this video 😊 Yes, we do have 40 minutes ❤

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@DRoblin-b9t

4 months ago

Thank you for your story.  You are a very lovely person.  You made the right decision.  You have an enormous amount of humility & love for people.  You should be a dietitian.  I got lucky as I grew up in an Italian background  and was taught to eat healthy foods.  God bless you & your family!!❤

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@thesheb8311

2 years ago

When I was 27 I was diagnosed with “an enormous disc bulge”  and surgery was recommended. Luckily the dr that was referred recommended physical therapy first. It taught me to stretch and keep my legs limber, I didn’t get the surgery. I’m in my 40’s now and in great shape with no pain at all, I ran a marathon. I’m so thankful to that doctor.

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@keiphyn

2 years ago

Two years ago I had decided to go back to school. I was stressed, miserable, and overwhelmed. My second year in, the left half of my body shut down and I was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder. 

I ended up needing to quit school and started rehabilitation… and once I could walk with some safety and stability, I took a six month trip around America in my small Prius. 

It changed my life. 

I’m glad you’re leaning in to not having a plan. I’m glad your wife is in your corner. I’m glad you have Doobie to inspire you. 

Thank you for sharing your journey.

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@Bearded__boomer

2 years ago

I worked a Corp career for 30 years. I was unhappy with it the last 20 years and actively hated it the last 10 years. I wasn’t strong enough to leave on my own. But, 3 years ago I was laid off, which ended up being the best thing to ever happen to me. It opened a door for me which I had never realized was closed. I now teach jiu jitsu and dance and am happier than I ever was in my corp career!

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@Crazykaiandfamily

4 weeks ago

Your a good man for making this move, ultimately you put yourself in the healing position you witnessed.

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@JazzR31

2 years ago

I know exactly how you feel. At age 48 I bought a defunct music school and turned it around. It wasn’t ez. I made a lot of sacrifices. I did it alone …but I’ve never been happier. Now I’m 66 and will continue on. I wake up every morning with gratitude.

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@LB-ll7kb

2 years ago

It isn't a midlife crisis. It's called freedom. You shut the background noise in your life. You're healing yourself mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally. 

Money and social status isn't everything.

I worked for a major news network as a news producer. I let go too, best decision made. Too much stress, I was married to my job.

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@BradFanestil-e6l

2 years ago

This is why I quit a 30 year internal medicine career and now I help people by teaching them how to heal back pain, other chronic pain,  anxiety, GI problems, headaches, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue -without medications. Western medicine is great for car accidents, infections, and acute problems like heart attacks. It does a lousy job treating about 40% of what walks into a primary care office. I now ALL THE TIME cancel their planned back surgery or back injections when they learn how to put their body in a position to heal, instead of subjecting themselves to a medical system that is not addressing the root of their problems. Thank you for putting this out there Dr Goobie!

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@Untaimedoracle

3 months ago

Thank You for sharing!

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@benjamincarter8962

2 years ago

I was an operating room nurse and I've seen how miserable some of the doctors were. I tried so hard to help my patients with limited success. I continued to study every day to improve my practice. I advocated for my patients as best I could. I worked in a place where poor and over weight patients were looked down upon. After 8 years, I had a breakdown and slipped into psychosis, I now work as an ihss provider, but I've gained so much more perspective. Eat a healthy diet, please exercise, walk, meditate, listen to music, paint, write poetry, sleep well.

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@bipolarbear9917

2 years ago

Epicurus said; “We need two things to be happy: friends and freedom”.

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@jonphotos8631

2 years ago

You are not having a crisis, you are having a break through.

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@brendatapia1877

3 months ago

So glad you made a decision for yourself.That's the start, keep going and listen to Your Heart.You'll never go wrong

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@hihillari

2 years ago

Those of us with chronic pain/health issues, especially as young people, know this all too well. The US healthcare system is for profit, not for healing.

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@fluffyhoundog

2 years ago

I retired early as a stressed out engineer who got rid of my double yellow-sticky to-do lists. As I'm watching you, my 11 year old dog is laying behind me bored, so I'm gonna go take her for a nice walk, order a salad and start improving our lives too. Thank you for sharing!

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@johnsikes1172

2 years ago

You are doing well. If you had not stopped, you would have died from within. You are the Surgeon healing yourself, which is right and proper.

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@user-qy2sd4jj6f

3 months ago

You are wonderful human, you deserve to bring another wonderful human after you and find out what is still missing inside of you; your baby is waiting for you, a wonderful father

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@badxradxandy

2 years ago

I'm a nurse. I talked to a brand new Neurosurgeon who just started his job. I asked him how it is. "I hate it" He was just out of fellowship and this was his first week of his first job. And he hated it. So I can see where this guy is coming from. I also got burned out and quit healthcare.

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@carriebradley7634

2 years ago

I'm a 55 yr old single mom to a 32 yr old son who was born with multiple medical problems. Two operations before birth and 98 since! Dialysis, transplant, cancer from anti rejection meds, a year of chemo, which killed the kidney so back on dialysis the past 12 years with no transplant in his future! Then there is his severe scoliosis, bone disease, and hip displaysia... And one leg 2 inches longer than the other! My son has never gotten to leave home and live! So when I say that I've spent 32 yrs immersed in the medical world! Deeply immersed, I've seen the whole picture. This young man simply figured out what I've learned over those years! He's absolutely correct about all of it! I've said for years "stop calling it a healthcare system, it's a sick care system"! I'm deeply grateful to every pediatric doctor, specialist, and nurse who gave their all for my son! But adult medicine is a whole different world, and it needs fixing! I applaud you for sharing your story! In my opinion, you did exactly the right thing!😊

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@joviesactiontv

2 years ago

Prevention is better than the cure! I am 72 years old, a runner, hiker, eat fresh food, exercise every day, sleep 8 hours, nap 30-60 minutes after lunch, and had served the military for 37 years. I travel abroad 4 times a year to connect with some of my IG friends. You are an inspiration, Doc! Congratulations! Cheers!

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@austinlunsford2424

13 days ago

Hearing this really connected to my life, thank you for your story. Im happy for you bro!

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@latman1

2 years ago (edited)

I don't think you're old enough to be in a midlife crisis but you're obviously a deep thinker. I hope you find a career that brings you some joy and peace. The fact that you love your dog so much says alot about your character!

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@ConnectedLightsCoaching

2 years ago

Pediatrician here, I completely understand why you left. You chose you and your wellbeing that’s what matters. I’m Celebrating your choice. The narrative in medicine is toxic we’re groomed to loose ourselves and our wellbeing for a deeply broken system.

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@MelissaPerhamusArt

2 years ago

I never (I mean, NEVER) comment on YouTube videos. I feel compelled to comment.  

I am a visual artist. I'm 55 years old. A single mom. 

It would seem on the surface that we're worlds apart. But, nope. I've been going through something similar...AS AN ARTIST!

I no longer believe in my work. 

I've gained 50lbs.

I used to not sleep well. 

My 3 children are ages 20, 25, 30.

I did raise my kids with giving my time as a priority and I have them time camping, hiking, exploring the outdoors.  They all still  embrace the outdoors and  travel, which I feel is important. 

My 30yo just moved (10 days ago) to finish her last year of her phd (clinicals). 

I have a Civil Engineer son who also hikes the world. He's currently in Greece for 10 days with friends. 

My 20yo is a college athlete majoring in Physics Engineering, has an internship and on a "great" trajectory. (He's also recording music and believes he'll be the next best rapper).

So, as a MOM, I wonder/hope they will travel well through life. 

Yet, my daughter has been married and divorced. (I believe she's in a better personal place now).

My youngest is questioning his commitment to playing volleyball in college.

Also....NOBODY UNDERSTANDS why I have seemingly given up on my ART. How do I explain to them that I believe humans are meant to know they can problem-solve and , for me, art is problem-solving.

Yet, no longer feel driven to convince people of this. 

All I want to do is be in the world experiencing things and offering my thoughts based on experience to others. 

I don't really have the support you talk about, though. So I want to add to your data how important this connections are for good health amd happiness. 

Thank you for simply speaking your mind.

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Goobie and Doobie

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22 replies

@KE010101

3 months ago

Thanks for sharing these insights.

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@tuw2528

2 years ago

Just left my commercial banking job after realizing I have been missing out on my children’s lives. Just took a business analyst role working no more than 40’s per week, no more evening work, no more weekends.

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@brendafosmire6519

2 years ago

I recently escaped the US Healthcare system.  Our healthcare system is very broken and it is not rewarding to be part of the profiteeering going on the backs of doctors.

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@theNMSDMAGIC

2 years ago (edited)

I'm 32M, used to be a chef, switched back to music full time. I have esophageal scarring and extreme stomach issues, predispositioned to have colon cancer. Additionally I am on the autistic spectrum. I've had to nearly completely eliminate everyone out of my life due to manipulative abuse of my spectrum disorder and empathy. Once I did that, I returned home to my mom, whose in her autumn years. We're enjoying our time together, and I'm back working out. Suddenly I'm feeling loads better, my stomach is not perfect, but I shed a massive amount of weight (for me), my joints are feeling better, my digestion slightly improved, and like you said my skin has rejuvenated. I actually had more wrinkles and looked older before. The system is setup to bank off our fears and doubts, and then locks us into a perpetual cycle of death. I'm breaking out of it, and I'd like to thank you for your information here about your own experiences and why you've come to your conclusions.

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@QuantumDanny-q3x

3 months ago

You definetly relived my stress with this video!

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@AvaCherry189

2 years ago

I’m an RN for 30 years. I’ve told patients for years that physicians are diagnosticians, surgeons and pharmaceutical distributors. You explained things so well. Thank you. I eat pretty healthy already but evidently the salt I eat needs to go. Thank you for that as well. God bless you and all who hear this and try to improve their lives.

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@image8743

2 years ago

I'm almost 2 years unemployed. Before that I have finished college. I realized that I was unhappy with my profession. It was also well respected, but I feel like I don't belong there. Now I do work-outs, exercise, body building to build myself and create confidence. I believe that our career/profession does not define our track. The progress we should seek is the happiness that we attain in everyday life. I pray that to whoever is reading this, will find happines and prosperity.

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@caseyfaitel

2 years ago

Not many people understand the mayor of Detroit. Being the former CEO of the DMC is a conflict of interest.  Hospitals make guaranteed billions from gunshot victims.  I know you see this.  You made the right choice.  I enjoyed your story, and it is everything I have believed for a long time.

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@TanyaBoudiccea

1 month ago

YouTube suggested this video 2 years after you made  it.  

I hope you have had a good long rest and found a career that brings you joy and abundance. 

It is a great shame to lose a talented kind neurosurgeon , especially after all those years of education and experience.  But there is nothing worse than a doctor just going through the motions, hating his vocation, and turning that discomfort onto himself.  

I am so glad you realised that there was another life for you.  

I love that you prioritised your dog too. Their precious lives are so very short and in that small frame of time they pack so much love into their tiny furry existences. 

Be blessed…and yes…keep doing what you need to do.  Enjoy life fully with the ones you love, who love you back.  That is the secret to a full and happy life.

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@musicalt1052

2 years ago

My mother was a physical therapist and always harped this to us growing up. She got so tired of people wanting to go under the knife, thinking it would be a magic pill, instead of doing the things that would actually help them heal.

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@philliplow5379

2 years ago

My biochemistry teacher once said that the person who would find a cure for cancer would not be a person who wanted to find a cure for cancer but rather would be a person who loved doing research.

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@myohan77

2 years ago (edited)

From someone who quit his position after almost 15 years,  when you are thinking outside the box, don't forget to look back at the box itself.  Medicine is a large field and there are many things you can do with medicine, aside from being a neurosurgeon.

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@rameshkadariya6498

3 months ago

lovely real story.

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@lovinbluegrass

2 years ago

My Dad chased a dollar. Worked until he could no longer lift his feet and put one in front of the other. Into his early 70s. He had spinal stenosis.  He had never had even one surgery. He didn't drink, smoke, ate more veggies than meat by far, had a social life, a temper...all his life, controlling of his family,  never really showed love in the normal ways. He ended up having 3 back surgeries. 1st one wasn't done properly. 2nd surgeon was excellent. Gave my daddy 5 years of a much better life. He did all his exercises till he couldn't. Died at 78 from various other conditions. I agree with everything you shared in this video. Watching my family members die taught me how to live. Daddy didn't take one dime with him. You will figure it all out. Being in nature helps. Greed doesn't help anything except evil. I pray you find your way. You are young and can make a big difference with your caring attitude. Wish every doctor was old school.

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@huyqn

2 years ago

it took 9 months for finding a replacement and then 9 months for you to still want to quit the job says a lot about it already, well done!

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@g-sailing4427

2 years ago

It’s like a vet who goes into it because they love animals only to realise that their job is mostly putting animals to sleep each day….

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@jeffh93-77

1 month ago

I remember being recommended this video two years ago but I never watched it until now.

Also two years ago, I was diagnosed with a herniated disc at the age of 15 and became really sad, either due to it or in addition. It really was those factors you talked about that helped. I exercised, lost 20 pounds, and slept on the floor for two whole years for better stability. 

Now, I've been totally pain-free for over a year. I attend a top 10 college in the US. I've made some new friends kind of. On the surface, everything is great.

But I think kind of like you, I'm now facing a similar crisis. Although much younger than you, I also have no direction in my life, and I don't know what to do. I considered medicine, law, finance, and almost every career you can think of. 

I'm totally lost, and your words helped me find peace in that. Being lost isn't always a bad thing. I hope to find my way like you.

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