“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…
Category: Psychiatry
The difficulty in coming home: What doctors and soldiers have in common
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, …
The difficulty in coming home: What doctors and soldiers have in common
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 advocacy applies to physicians, too
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…
We must start looking for drowning colleagues
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…
Appreciating patients as unique individuals makes us better physicians
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…
Depression is a notification that the old patterns are not working
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…
Screening for adverse childhood experiences in pediatric primary care made my job easier
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…
The high achiever and the motivated drinker
I would like to say that this is a story much like the tortoise and the hare, only it isn’t. There is only one character in this story, the hare. The High Achiever and The Motivated Drinker are the same character and are driven by the same human …
Is it OK to leave your partner in light of a serious emotional issue?
So, your guy or gal is struggling with a serious emotional issue. Is that a basis for bailing? Let’s get personal here; if you’ve got one foot out the door, you’re probably asking the wrong guy. One of my key values is loyalty. But be…
