The first time I heard the phrase “shoulding all over yourself,” I laughed. As a gastroenterologist, I have a particular affinity for poop jokes. It might not be obvious when you read the phrase, but say it out loud, and you will hear it. I…
Category: Psychiatry
Stop “shoulding” all over yourself
The first time I heard the phrase “shoulding all over yourself,” I laughed. As a gastroenterologist, I have a particular affinity for poop jokes. It might not be obvious when you read the phrase, but say it out loud, and you will hear it. I…
Support desperate health care workers now, before your life counts on them
I come calling from the frontlines of COVID. My colleagues and I are exhausted. Defeated. And on the brink of collapse. I have been a health care worker for 15 years. I have never seen things so bad in so many ways. At the height of COVID, I was workin…
The silent burden of shame
Shame. It’s what keeps physicians silent. It’s what keeps physicians from getting the help they need. I’ve been a successful doctor for many years, but I’ve lived with the shame of having an eating disorder. It was my secret that hardly anyone in my li…
Using positive psychology to cultivate attention to things that matter
If we are honest with ourselves, many of us are often bored with our lives. It’s not our fault. We followed the blueprint that society laid out for us. We worked hard to get to this stage of our personal and professional lives. Most of us have ac…
Why do physicians stay in toxic work environments?
For the most highly educated and specialized professional on the health care totem pole, physicians put up with a ridiculous amount of nonsense in the workplace. You are pressured to see high volumes of patients in a rapid-fire fashion (15 minutes per …
A case for legalizing marijuana and ecstasy
Substance abuse should be a medical problem, not a legal or moral problem. If it is considered a legal and moral problem, drug abusers may delay or refuse medical help. In my case, I was battling severe bipolar depression, and I was using cannabis and …
Who will heal the wounded healers?
One of the most extensive studies to look at trauma in the U.S., the ACE study (Adverse Childhood Events), showed that more than 60 percent of adults surveyed had experienced one traumatic event during childhood, including enduring physical, emotional,…
“Me too” instead of “me last”: Have you filled your self-care bucket today?
I began pondering this topic after I witnessed a health care professional post on Facebook her hospital system’s expectation that she return to work five days into COVID, still ill and actively symptomatic. She needed more recuperative time but strug…
How do we help physicians in the time of COVID?
There’s a phrase we use in golf when you hit one good shot after many bad ones: “That was whipped cream on sh*t.” I used this phrase the other day in a collaborative of coaches whom I had just met (maybe not the best idea). I spoke sp…
