“Our country, and the world, is beyond exhausted by COVID-19 and the utter chaos and destruction of lives it has caused. All people, including physicians, are being pushed beyond capacity. What do we mean, collateral damage? Originally related to…
Category: Psychiatry
Psychoanalysis for physician wellness
“Physician burnout” and “physician wellness” are now ubiquitous terms in the health care profession. For example, the ACGME’s common program requirements for residency now have an entire section dedicated to “well-being.” In addition to the numerous av…
A reminder of the psychiatry’s sordid past
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” is a quote by George Santayana. It rings true in so many facets of life and medicine. In my career in psychiatry, I have held fast to this treatise. Psychiatry, as a practice, has changed …
COVID-related stressors and increasing instances of substance abuse [PODCAST]
“While the rise in substance use disorders during COVID will become more apparent as the pandemic eventually ebbs, the silver lining is that this is not a novel problem. We understand substance use disorders far better than we understand COVID-19…
The pedestal that’s killing doctors
Doctors are often called “heroes” – a surprisingly uncomfortable label. Physicians are already tired of being held to a higher standard than the average person; raising the pedestal is problematic. While doctors are compassionate individuals who care a…
Let’s make compassion go viral [PODCAST]
“We are social beings. Evolution has taught us that in order to survive, we must work together. Community trust (trusting your fellow citizen) is a very effective way to build community resilience when hardships strike. Studies have been done in …
A nontraditional approach to fear and stress [PODCAST]
“Like 9/11, we have a new reference point touching everyone on the planet: life before COVID-19 and life after. Regardless if you get it or don’t, the unknowns and secondary consequences are scary. Life before COVID was scary, too, minus the urge…
Thought disorder, clinical silos, prediction and prevention vs. diagnosing what’s in front of you
I have worked part-time as an applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapist for the last few years. The job isn’t complicated, and where I am, one doesn’t need a specifically tailored education or license to practice under supervision. An ABA&#…
Election anxiety and post-election depression
To know our history is to predict our future. We’ve been here before. To be more specific, we were in this very position in 1920. It was an election year amidst a pandemic, the Spanish flu that began in 1918. The Republican nominee, Warren Harding, cla…
Female physician suicides: a silent pandemic
“Aunty blew her brains out a few weeks ago!” Words I shall never forget. For weeks, she had been in my thoughts. But I never called her. I didn’t because of all the myriad reasons we often give ourselves for not checking up on each other. In my case, t…
