The CDC is trying, desperately, it seems, to pound a square peg into a round hole, blaming COVID-19 for a surge in alcohol use and ignoring a glaring problem with the evidence. That’s not something you generally expect from scientists. However, I…
Category: Psychiatry
Common pitfalls underlying cause-and-effect relationships
In the realm of medicine, cause-and-effect relationships are those where a specific cause, such as a disease, condition, or treatment, directly leads to a specific outcome or effect. An example of this is the established fact that smoking causes lung c…
Addressing mental health in the medical field
In the heart of a bustling hospital, where the relentless pace of saving lives never wanes, lies an unseen battle that rages quietly within the souls of those who care for us. Health care professionals, heralded as heroes, especially in the wake of a g…
Wendy Williams’s battle with health and the fragility of success
Lifetime recently premiered the documentary Where is Wendy Williams? This four-part special delves into the captivating life and career of Wendy Williams, the once dynamic 59-year-old American broadcaster, media personality, and writer. Renowned for ho…
Thin places: Where memories come alive
I was listening to Marty Smith of ESPN do the Fore Please, Now Driving podcast for the 87th Masters Golf Tournament this year. The discussion turned to how some places like the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, are just full of memories, …
Get over toxic situations by leaving them
“Get Over It” is a 1994 album track that marked the Eagles’ reunion after a 14-year hiatus. The tune reached number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song was written by band members Don Henley and Glenn Frey (1948-2016). Henley …
Beyond the oath: the unaddressed challenge of physician impairment
Despite their idealized oath to do no harm, physicians are still human, and as such, mistakes, errors, and the unpredictability of life still occur. Although the stories that grab headlines are of doctors intentionally harming patients, such instances …
Understanding seasonal affective disorder: more than just winter blues
As the summer sun bids its farewell, a distinct group of people seem to “fall back” as a mysterious change begins to take hold. Several individuals get caught in the embrace of the transitions of fall and winter, revealing a shift between t…
Physicians are being forced to pass polygraphs if they want to continue to practice
I am a former associate director in a state physician health program (PHP). I also hold faculty appointments at Baylor College of Medicine and Harvard Medical School in medical ethics and psychiatry. There is a little-known nether realm inhabited by a …
The fifth vital sign
An excerpt from Narrative Medicine: The Fifth Vital Sign. “If you don’t take a temperature, you can’t find a fever.” — Samuel Shem, The House of God I enrolled in a creative writing course at a local university to better underst…
