No one can deny that 2021 has been a momentous year. It has had a mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly for sure. It has at times been frightening, confusing, comforting and educational. We have witnessed a very unusual presidential election, a subsequent denial by some of the validity of the election and an unheard of polarization of our peers and lawmakers. Most critically, we have endured a gift that keeps on giving; the novel coronavirus that has killed…
Psychiatrists Prescribe Medication – This Psychiatrist Prescribes Hope A first time patient comes into my office. I attentively listen to their story, ask pertinent questions, order tests when necessary, make an assessment and recommend a course of treatment. The prescription of medication is often involved. Thankfully, most people get better. But why do they get better? – Was it the medication, the talking therapy or just the “tincture of time?” I would like to think that it was my careful choice…
Never before in modern memory has the human race been faced with such a stressful and anxiety provoking foe. The novel coronavirus or covid 19 has resulted in untold emotional unrest and fear among all nations and peoples of our world. There has been a lot of talk about the “invisible enemy,” an RNA based complex protein that looks like a World War 2 anti-ship mine with spikes sticking out of its surface. We are informed daily by the media…
What is resilience? Resilience is something we all want, few of us practice and most of us have little idea as to what it is. We go through our lives in lock-step dealing with life’s numerous pitfalls and challenges without an understanding of the impact that stress has on our bodies and psyche. Resilience represents an individual’s ability to effectively tolerate life’s stressors, to more effectively “go with the flow” so to speak. To be resilient means that even though…
Coming down with an illness is part of our human condition. We will all be tested at one time or another. Learning effective coping strategies becomes an integral part of recovery. I find it helpful to differentiate “illness” from what I call “sickness.” The term illness refers to the physical nature of a disease process while the term sickness refers specifically to how one reacts to being ill. In my experience as a practicing physician for more than 40 years,…