Category: Psychiatry

8 reasons why people ignore and defy COVID-19 safeguards

If you’re amazed that people are still shaking hands, waltzing around mask-free in public, and rushing off to hair salons and beaches in some states, learn to think like a therapist. Understanding the underlying motivations of people who ignore and def…

To combat COVID-19, we endanger our doctors in training

American hospitals are quickly running out of resources during this devastating time. It’s not simply a lack of protective equipment and COVID-19 testing – health care workers are rapidly becoming exposed, which limits their ability to care for patient…

The unsettling result of a negative coronavirus test

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…

The unspoken death toll of COVID-19: suicide

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…

Why you should support physician health plans

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…

Lockdown panic syndrome, and how to fix it

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…

A doctor’s pro wrestler husband

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…

A hidden alcohol problem: a social worker’s story

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…

Amidst the COVID-19 crisis, we must not neglect the needs of those with mental illness

“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 must care about our doctors. Especially now.

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…