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Psychiatry

When high achievers and isolated adults share a common enemy: social anxiety

Conditions
November 2, 2024

Karen, age 46, mother of two, is a world-renowned physician who has headed numerous clinical trials and has saved many lives. She suffered from public speaking anxiety disorder. Mike, age 26, a college graduate, spends most of his life in his room. He doesn’t work, is socially paralyzed, and spends over 100 hours a week with various technology dependencies. His parents walk on “eggshells” for fear of triggering his anger. …

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Why parents today are more stressed than ever—and how we can help [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 30, 2024
YouTube video

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We sit down with Marissa Caudill, a psychiatrist specializing in child, adolescent, and adult mental health, to explore the findings from the U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory “Parents Under Pressure.” We discuss the skyrocketing …

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Work-life balance in health care: Is it a need or a necessity?

Conditions
October 27, 2024

As health care professionals, have you ever stopped and asked yourself, “How am I doing?”

A humble doctor once asked my team, “How are you doing on a personal level?” That question stopped me in my tracks. None of us knew how to answer. Were we okay? Were we coping? Maybe we were, but maybe we weren’t. The truth was, we didn’t know. His question echoed in my mind for days, …

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The widow’s walk: a poignant tale of loss, love, and recovery

Conditions
October 25, 2024

A widow’s walk, also known as a widow’s watch or roof walk, is a railed rooftop platform often having an inner cupola or turret, frequently found on 19th-century North American coastal houses. The name is said to come from the wives of mariners, who would watch for their spouses’ return, often in vain, as the ocean took their lives, leaving the women widows. In other coastal communities, the platforms were …

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Nurses sue over trans colleague’s actions

Physician
October 22, 2024

Eight female nurses at a United Kingdom hospital are suing their employer for not assuring their psychological and physical safety. The nurses work in specialized areas that require their changing uniforms once daily. There is a trans-female nurse, similarly specialized, who changes with them. He wanders about the locker room in briefs or nude, the women report, ogling them as they exchange clothing. It has also been related that he …

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Is the surge in adult ADHD diagnoses helping or harming patients?

Conditions
October 21, 2024

As an outpatient adult psychiatrist, I have witnessed an increasing trend of patients seeking a diagnosis of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Often, these patients have had friends or family members diagnosed with the condition and wonder whether they have it as well. They have read about ADHD online and felt that the described symptoms matched perfectly with their lived experience.  They were never diagnosed as children but remember …

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Near-death experiences: What doctors need to know but aren’t taught [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 19, 2024
YouTube video

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In this episode, we delve into a fascinating yet often overlooked medical phenomenon—near-death experiences (NDEs)—with  John C. Hagan III, an ophthalmologist and expert on the subject. Despite being reported by as many as …

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How to build a healthier diet without overthinking

Conditions
October 18, 2024

An excerpt from Adultish: The Body Image Book for Life.

The way that different foods (for example, fats), are talked about in the public and online isn’t always scientifically correct. People can have very strong opinions about food, but this doesn’t mean that these opinions are accurate. It is important to eat foods you enjoy, but some foods are more nutrient dense than others. Eating a variety of foods is …

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Why the future of depression treatment may be magnetic [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 17, 2024
YouTube video

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We speak with Heather Luing, a psychiatrist specializing in treatment-resistant depression. As depression rates in the U.S. have tripled over the last year, we explore why traditional treatments may not work for everyone …

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From patients to clients: the tragic business of mental health care explained [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 14, 2024
YouTube video

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We sit down with Nicholas Rosenlicht, psychiatrist and author of My Brother’s Keeper: The Untold Stories Behind the Business of Mental Health―and How to Stop the Abandonment of the Mentally Ill. Nicholas unpacks …

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The dangerous shift in mental health: Are we clients or patients?

Physician
October 14, 2024

An excerpt from My Brother’s Keeper: The Untold Stories Behind the Business of Mental Health―and How to Stop the Abandonment of the Mentally Ill.

Throughout history, civilized societies have recognized the vulnerability and suffering of the ill and accordingly granted them special rights and protections, as well as a unique designation: “patient.” This is changing. In the 1990s, when I was involved in negotiating managed care contracts for a community …

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The growing discrepancy between health care promises and practice

Physician
October 13, 2024

I had a dismal start to the second year of my psychiatric residency, and my subpar performance was noted by many faculty members. One professor approached me and told me to discuss the situation with my psychotherapy supervisor, adding, “Don’t let your supervisor sugarcoat it.” The professor knew that my advisor was an extremely kind and gentle person who would prefer to leave out the details of my performance so …

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Physician wellness: stories and solutions [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 9, 2024
YouTube video

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We bring together three passionate advocates for physician wellness: Michael Foti, an internal medicine physician; Tushar Bhagat, a research assistant professor; and Kim Downey, a physical therapist. Join us as they share their …

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When words aren’t enough: the heartbreaking truth about suicide

Conditions
October 9, 2024

They died by suicide—that is the politically correct way to say it. I want to be politically correct, but I am not sure words can dampen the impact. Someone just lost a friend, a son, a partner, a child. Somehow, we believe if we say the words prettily, it takes the sting away—it doesn’t. No matter how you say it, they left the world today, or yesterday, or whatever day …

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Parents in crisis: How physicians can help

Conditions
October 5, 2024

Did you hear the news from the U.S. Surgeon General recently? Dr. Vivek Murthy issued an advisory called “Parents Under Pressure,” outlining the ways in which the 63 million-plus parents and caregivers in the U.S. are struggling—really struggling. Even as a parent who is a child psychiatrist, I was shocked by some of the data.

An analysis of parents’ responses from the 2023 Stress in America survey, conducted by the American …

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Psychological safety for all: Why this phenomenon matters to everyone

Conditions
October 4, 2024

We saw the smile vanish from her face instantly. Our colleague, a zestful individual with a passion for obstetrical care, fell silent after our superiors met her ideas for improving her training experience with defensiveness and deflection. After the meeting, she confessed she was losing hope about getting robust enough exposure to delivering babies and managing laboring mothers prior to completing residency. For her, this was essential to her securing …

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What you need to know about near-death experiences

Conditions
September 30, 2024

Imagine a medical syndrome so common that as many as one in five patients who nearly die in a medical setting experience it. Also, imagine that this syndrome has a profound, lifelong effect on both the patient and their family. Finally, imagine that if this syndrome is mishandled by the patient’s physician, it may have major adverse consequences for the patient and their loved ones.

Sounds like something all physicians and …

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A new approach to antidepressants and anxiolytics: the microbiota-gut-brain axis

Conditions
September 26, 2024

Our understanding of anxiety and depression has evolved over the years, leading to advancements in diagnosis, treatment, and clinical management. However, their prevalence has not lessened; in fact, it has heightened in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its effects will last for years to come, so all mechanisms that can influence its incidence should be thoroughly considered, and the gut microbiota is the newest emerging target for antidepressant …

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Gus Walz and the male loneliness crisis 

Conditions
September 25, 2024

As Tim Walz accepted the vice presidential nomination at the DNC, his teenage son, Gus, inadvertently became internet famous after clips of him crying and exclaiming, “That’s my dad!” circulated. While many across the political spectrum found the display of emotion endearing, inevitable ugliness ensued.

Ann Coulter commented in a since-deleted post on X: “Talk about weird.” Podcaster Mike Crispi mocked “Walz’s stupid crying son” as a “puffy …

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Why we’re never prepared for death—even after years of medical training

Conditions
September 25, 2024

I remember the first time I pronounced a patient dead—that’s something they make sure you learn well in medical training, as nobody wants to get it wrong. They taught us how to apply pressure to the fingernail to ensure the patient does not respond to pain while holding the patient’s hand, watching for breaths, and feeling for a pulse. They taught us to take our time to ensure we got …

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