I remember the first time I pronounced a patient dead—that’s something they make sure you learn well in medical training, as nobody wants to get it wrong. They taught us how to apply pressure to the fingernail to ensure the patient does not respo…
Category: Psychiatry
How positive self-talk rewires your brain for success [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! We dive into the transformative power of internal language with clinical psychologist Faust Ruggiero. Discover how the words we use to communicate with ourselves shape our…
Is social media fueling the teen suicide crisis?
An excerpt from Facing Suicide: Understanding Why People Kill Themselves and How We Can Stop Them. Between 2000 and 2007, suicide rates were almost stagnant for young people between the ages of ten and twenty-four. Then they began moving steadily upwar…
A surgeon’s battle with ketamine-induced hallucinations
An excerpt from Krooked Ketamine. OK, here’s the thing: I had a little problem that needed correcting if I wanted to continue to work as a government surgeon. I had a janky heart, and it had a tendency to fire off at the absolute worst possible m…
Anorexia nervosa: Silently suffering and debunking myths
You can’t tell how much someone is suffering by looking at them—one reason I don’t share my journey with anorexia using photos to signify my mental health status. I’ve suffered more when appearing well, and “before and after pho…
Ways to overcome the grief of disillusionment about medicine
As a physician who cares about patients’ health and well-being, you have likely experienced the grief of disillusionment. You spent years in college, medical school, and residency, imagining the kind of health care you’d provide. It would b…
The erosion of autonomy in sports and medicine
The fourth major concussion recently suffered by Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa – his third in 24 months – brings into sharp focus the balance between patient/player autonomy and treatment decisions. The right to self-determination, even in …
If these words can save a life, they must be spoken
When people don’t understand the depths of hell the brain can take someone to, I am relieved for them. And I am also grateful for the journey I’ve been on—I would never have understood how someone who appeared “successful” on pa…
How a friend’s kindness saved me from my darkest hour
An excerpt from The Problem with Men. Gary could tell something was wrong the moment he saw me. “Come in, friend,” he said, his voice gentle. He guided me into the kitchen, a cozy, older space similar to the one in my apartment across the street,…
Physician Suicide Awareness Day: a call to action against the silent epidemic
Physician Suicide Awareness Day comes and goes each September, bringing with it the sad and perplexing realization that physicians usually top the lists of professionals most likely to take their own lives—something often described as the “silent…
