You may be feeling hopeless. That wouldn’t be shocking, under the current circumstances. Reading the headlines, one can’t help but remember the beginning of the pandemic, when we were reading about “flattening the curve” and ove…
Category: Psychiatry
Who will heal the physician?
I was a third-year medical student in 1999 when the landmark report titled “To Err is Human” was released by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), unveiling the uncomfortable truth about the fallibility of physicians and our medical system. I re…
I risked my career to save my life
Early into my military career and as an oral and maxillofacial surgery resident, I started to acknowledge the fact that, during periods of sleep deprivation that were initially inherent to my military training hours and then surgery call requirements, …
Reflections on physician mental health and tips for sustaining it
The problem Even in the midst of a global pandemic, mental health in medicine is rarely discussed. And yet, the circumstances of our profession create the perfect milieu for darkness. The long work hours. The regularity of tragedy and loss. The nights,…
Misinformation in transgender health care is harming patient care
Living in the U.S., chances are you get some regular mail that you never signed up for — a magazine, a journal, a sales flier. As medical professionals, we also get these free journals related to our field. We don’t always have the time to fact-c…
Recognizing high functioning depression
High functioning depression (or HFD) is the mental health diagnosis given to an individual who exhibits symptoms of high-level depression but manages to maintain overall functionality in life. An HFD person will often engage in activities that would be…
Mildred Mitchell-Bateman, MD: an icon in psychiatry
New Haven, West Virginia, is a small town nestled in Appalachia and located approximately eight miles from the juncture of the Ohio and Kanawha rivers. Newspaper articles from the 1950s and ’60s suggest that the town’s demographic makeup an…
What doctors need to know about psychedelic medicine
Frustration. If you’ve treated patients with PTSD, I’m guessing that both you and your patients have experienced frustration at numerous points along the treatment course. And it’s understandable – up until this point, the effic…
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…
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…
