I understand what it feels like to be in the depths of depression and hopelessness. I have had a lifelong battle with stuttering, obsessive-compulsive tendencies, depression, and suicide. I continually fight these battles and have learned to heal and r…
An executive father. Alcoholism. And that gallon of wine. As I walked through the wine section at the grocery store, I spotted one of those gallon jugs of wine. I was searching for Christmas presents for my friends. But that brand glared at me. Daddy —…
“Stress is just part of the alcohol con trick. And the truth is that every benefit we have ever imagined alcohol giving us it doesn’t. It is a drug, and it works the same way as all other drugs. Many of my clients are doctors and nurses, and some…
When I was married to a physician, dinner was often delayed. When he finally came home, I was hungry if I hadn’t already eaten with the kids. Our dog would greet him with her whole body of yearning and relief, tail wagging furiously, whining, smiling, …
When I was married to a physician, dinner was often delayed. When he finally came home, I was hungry if I hadn’t already eaten with the kids. Our dog would greet him with her whole body of yearning and relief, tail wagging furiously, whining, smiling, …
Mental health has blazed its way to the forefront of the national conversation over the last decade. Increased awareness and decreased stigmatization around mental health issues have undoubtedly allowed many to have access to necessary resources, and t…
I opened my email recently and blurted out a heartbroken expletive that I can’t print here. Another member of our health care family had died by suicide. I didn’t know them well, nor had I known our colleague who died from suicide just a fe…
The middle-aged veteran curled up on the uncomfortable foam mattress appears irritated. Perhaps he is irritated at himself, knowing that he has gone through this process multiple times, or irritated at his providers, who simply think of him as a chroni…
My energy level was plummeting as Mrs. Jones explained how much her shoulder, her knees, her back, her belly, her head, hurt. She was worn out. “And I don’t ever think I’ll feel better. I’ve felt like this for so long and I thin…
When our pediatric clinic added the PEARLS (Pediatric ACEs and Related Life-events Screener) questionnaire to well-child visits, we were worried that we would uncover trauma that we didn’t know how to address. Our physicians feared that the volum…
