Darkness covers the sky so that no light can enter the soul. Only a silhouette of life is possible — only a shell devoid of existence, devoid of meaningful experiences. Living is like walking in a dense forest where its canopy envelopes all who dare to enter. The falling rain is black. It covers everything […]
Two cars arrive at a stop sign at the same time. Both start into the intersection. One driver speeds through, while the other jams on the brakes, avoiding a collision. This driver feels insulted, offended, diminished. Who the hell does that other driver think he is? He nearly killed me! This scenario, and countless others […]
We’ve all been through difficult times. It may be the death of someone we love or suffering abuse with no one to help. In life, many events fly at us that are hard to manage. Many of us just suffer silently through the pain, not allowing anyone in. And even while we do that, we […]
“Oh, you’re a psychiatrist? I hope you won’t analyze me!” I never know what people actually mean when they say that upon learning that I work as a psychiatrist. I think they’re saying, “I hope you’re not going to spend our time together trying to discern my flaws.” Nobody wants people to seek out, highlight, and […]
Gratitude may be more beneficial than we commonly suppose. One recent study asked subjects to write a note of thanks to someone and then estimate how surprised and happy the recipient would feel – an impact that they consistently underestimated. Another study assessed the health benefits of writing thank you notes. The researchers found that […]
It’s been a gut-punch kind of time for many of us, and I want to say a few things that I think are important. First of all, I really love working with you guys. It is the best part of my job, hands down. I have taken stock of my career lately, and I keep […]
Fortnite Season 5 has officially arrived — bringing new features, a new maps, and new skins. Parents can anticipate battles over the amount of time spent playing the game to “level up” with your teens. If you are not familiar with this game, then it likely means that you are not the parent of a […]
Just recently, New York and Virginia became the first two states to mandate that mental health become incorporated into school curriculums. New York passed a law for educators to teach material on mental health beginning from elementary school continuing on to high school. Virginia’s legislation intertwines mental health education with physical and health education for […]
We bear the pain in different ways. For me, it feels like you’re a combat medic and you’ve used up all your tourniquets on a wounded soldier that seems to hemorrhaging from everywhere. The blood seeps through the skin, and no matter what you do you cannot stop the soldier from choking to death on […]
Physicians on the front lines of health care today are sometimes described as going to battle. It’s an apt metaphor. Physicians, like combat soldiers, often face a profound and unrecognized threat to their well-being: moral injury. Moral injury is frequently mischaracterized. In combat veterans it is diagnosed as post-traumatic stress; among physicians it’s portrayed as […]
