Category: Psychiatry

Breaking the silence on mental health: Why understanding past traumas is key

Depression is a complex and multifaceted illness that affects millions of people worldwide. For a long time, the prevailing explanation for depression has been that a chemical imbalance in the brain causes it, and I, like many other clinicians, accepte…

The secret to staying alert during night shifts: coffee naps and more

Working night shifts in health care, particularly emergency medicine, requires maintaining alertness and focus during extended hours. I’ve experienced firsthand the challenges and risks associated with sleep deprivation, including a frightening i…

The invisible epidemic: How physician burnout is affecting the medical community

Physicians dedicate their lives to the well-being of their patients, often neglecting their mental health in the process. The demanding nature of their profession, coupled with long hours, emotional exhaustion, and immense responsibility, can result in…

Why doctors are experts at dissociating

When you think of the word dissociate, it likely conjures up images of someone stumbling up a beach with no recollection of their life before being washed up on shore. Sure, dissociative amnesia is a (rare) phenomenon. But dissociating is not. In fact,…

Psychological safety: the unspoken key to health care success [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! In this episode, we are joined by clinical psychologist and health systems leadership consultant, Nicola F. De Paul, to discuss the importance of psychological safety in health care environ…

What was right with me when I developed severe depression?

For several years, I fixated on what was wrong with me rather than seeing what was right with me when I developed symptoms of severe depression. If you’re struggling, too, you’re not broken, either. What is your brain telling you? While I a…

Collaborating with occupational therapists: a game-changer for behavioral health [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! In this episode, psychiatrist Maryna Mammoliti discusses the importance of collaborating with occupational therapists. Occupational therapists are health care professionals who can help ass…

Unlearning our habits: a journey from intelligence to wisdom

Not too long ago, I was struggling over a plate of meatloaf in the doctor’s dining room. Fortunately, the table conversation was better than the food. Somehow it turned to how early career doctors tend to mirror the culture and clinical habits fr…

Breaking free from a toxic relationship with medicine [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Today’s show discusses the telltale signs of a toxic relationship between physicians and their job, with guest Elizabeth Hughes, a dermatologist. In this episode, we delve into the si…

Surviving and thriving after life’s most difficult moments

An excerpt from Beautiful Trauma: An Explosion, an Obsession, and a New Lease on Life. The experience of trauma changes us. Like spilled ink, it seeps into every aspect of our being, perceptibly and imperceptibly tinting memory, perspective, identity, …