CC: “I feel like crap.” HPI: 29-year old female internal medicine resident. Hasn’t seen sunlight in over three months due to 100 hour work weeks. Crying at work. Always exhausted and irritable. Isolated from friends and family. Fee…
Category: Psychiatry
Medicine’s culture forces us to ignore our health [PODCAST]
“Physicians are steeped in a noxious culture that seems to be averse to creating healthy physicians. We ignore mountains of evidence that show exercise, sleep, and healthy eating is beneficial for cognitive function, learning, and performance — a…
Clearing the misinformation surrounding medical cannabis
An excerpt from Medical Marijuana: A Clinical Handbook. Imagine two patients sitting in the waiting area of a clinic. The first is a man in his sunset years who has recently begun treatment for stage 2 lung cancer. His treatment involves the use of che…
Medical student suicide is the trend that must end
Last November, our medical school’s community faced a devastating loss, as second-year student R took her own life. As she was rushed to our hospital’s emergency room, some of R’s classmates, as well as her physician mentor, were on rotation and bared …
In the rush to get back to school, let’s not forget teachers’ mental health
Teachers in Ontario, Canada never imagined they would leave for March break and not return to finish the school year with their students. Many classrooms were frozen in time with Friday, March 12, 2020 still displayed on the walls. Before COVID-19, the…
Can what you eat worsen your ADHD?
An excerpt from This Is Your Brain on Food: An Indispensable Guide to the Surprising Foods that Fight Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, OCD, ADHD, and More. Suzy was a bright and hardworking student. However, even though she was conscientious and generally ch…
An insufficiency of enoughness: a doctor’s reflections on anxiety
My college graduation was approaching, and I was slated to start medical school in the fall. I was happy. You could find me with an impossible smile, singing along with the windows down to my favorite song — Beat of the Music by Brett Eldredge &#…
Your brain and PTSD: biomarkers and high-stress states
If you’re reading this, you’re probably stressed. Whether it’s related to work, household chores, parenting, school, politics, or, yes, COVID, stress is a normal part of life. Because stress is a normal part of life, our bodies have adapted to react to…
The importance of holding space
Today I wanted to talk about a concept that is very near and dear to my heart: Holding space. Have you ever heard of it? Do you know how to describe it? I will first start with the definition and then give you an example. Holding space means being phys…
Do patients addicted to drugs truly have capacity? [PODCAST]
“We care for patients suffering from addictions every shift and are often the only care providers they can turn to. Despite our best efforts, we are often forced to watch as these patients continually succumb to their addiction, sacrificing their…
