In previous posts, we have reviewed the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), as well as the off-label prescribing of gabapentinoids, for treating anxiety disorders. Anxiety is …
Category: Psychiatry
Burnout in fashion and medicine: A fashion designer turned physician compares notes
“Fashion Is Moving Too Fast, and It’s Killing Creativity,” by Veronique Hyland, talks about burnout in the fashion industry. As a former Fashion Designer turn physician, my curiosity was peaked. If you substituted the word “medicine” …
Laughter breaks trauma’s grim spell
An excerpt from The Transformation: Discovering Wholeness and Healing After Trauma. Reprinted with permission of HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Copyright 2019 Reader’s Digest used to tell us each month that “laughter is the best med…
Should pediatricians treat ADHD with medications or behavioral treatment first?
When children are diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, stimulant medications like Ritalin or Adderall are usually the first line of treatment. The American Academy of Pediatrics issued new guidelines Monday upholding that central ro…
Should pediatricians treat ADHD with medications or behavioral treatment first?
When children are diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, stimulant medications like Ritalin or Adderall are usually the first line of treatment. The American Academy of Pediatrics issued new guidelines Monday upholding that central ro…
A patient confesses that he cuts himself
I walked into the room and said: “Hi, Jason.” “Do you think it’s deep enough to need stitches? I am really scared of needles,” was his reply to me. I said, “Why don’t you let me take a look, and we can both com…
To reduce suicides, follow the data
On Kimberly Repp’s office wall is a sign in Latin: Hic locus est ubi mors gaudet succurrere vitae. This is a place where the dead delight in helping the living. For medical examiners, it’s a mission. Their job is to investigate deaths and learn from th…
What’s the best way to treat doctors and nurses with drug addiction?
Dr. Wesley Boyd, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard, has spent years working with state programs that help doctors, nurses and other health care workers who have become addicted to opioids get back on their feet professionally. He supports…
Overcoming the challenges prosperity can bring to teens and young adults
They received a call that their 19-year-old son had been transported to the local hospital, extremely agitated and intoxicated, with a blood alcohol level of .245. What they learned over the next few days was that this wasn’t the first time their son h…
When hospitals are like prisons
Some weeks ago, this writer visited with a friend who had been admitted to an inpatient psychiatric unit of a New York hospital. The friend had been there for a few weeks. Other patients have been there for longer. After spending approximately an hour …
