As a psychologist, I have long been aware of some of the emotional impacts that illnesses like COVID-19 can have on individuals and families. I never imagined that I would experience some of these impacts directly. Furthermore, I never could have guess…
Today I woke up to the news that a fellow physician died by suicide. As I read the article, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. My eyes watered. They still do, as I write this piece. Although I did not personally know Dr. Lorna M. Breen, an ER doctor in N…
Some physicians have opined their belief that physician health plans (PHP) are contributing to the increasing physician suicidality. These beliefs have been used to attack PHPs and unfortunately, steer those in need to other resources or even have thos…
The worldwide pandemic over COVID-19, and the heavy-handed government response to it, has generated a wide range of reaction among patients. As a family physician and a psychiatrist, we have seen some patients adapting well. On the other hand, many fee…
My father would have liked to know Dr. Young’s husband, Tad. Tad is a professional wrestler, the world-class wrestling kind, complete with lots of belts and awards (or so I want to believe). My father, he’s been dead a long time. He liked b…
Philomena was the youngest child in a large Irish family. She grew up in a place called Kilquane, about ten miles from Dingle town in the Republic of Ireland. At about age three or four, she contracted measles, which settled in one eye, and that eye ha…
“I’m in a constant state of fear.” “I have nothing to look forward to now.” “I don’t know when my life will go back to normal.” As a psychiatrist practicing in a busy urban academic medical center, I have started to see the toll that the COVID-19 pande…
We are all traumatized by the unfathomable devastation caused by the coronavirus. What can we expect as a result of this national and worldwide trauma? The trauma approach uses posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as a frame to understand trauma. PTSD…
As death tolls rise from the global spread of a novel coronavirus, I have observed an increase in anxiety among my patients. I am writing this article to provide physicians with tips on how to help their patients cope with anxiety from the coronavirus….
This essay is for my colleagues. When I say “colleagues,” I am referring to all health care workers who are currently working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis or are engaging in patient care at any level. This might be an unconventional essay c…
