Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

How societal narratives trap us and how to escape

Jillian Rigert, MD, DMD
Physician
May 25, 2025
Share
Tweet
Share

Lose weight and you’ll be happy,
They say …

I wasn’t happy,
I was exhausted and depleted.

You’re so disciplined,
They say …

As I starved myself
And had to earn my food.

I wish I could have your problem,
They say …

Brainwashed into thinking,
Smaller is better.

How do you always eat so “healthy”?
They ask …

While my list of “safe” foods
Grows shorter and shorter.

As I dream of being free
And escaping the prison in my mind …

They wonder how to be more like me,
Misled by societal pressures.

Societal messages lead us astray,
“Their” opinions often consume us.

Yet, who are “they” anyway?
And why does their opinion even matter?

They often applauded me,
While I nearly died from anorexia.

ADVERTISEMENT

As I looked around while inpatient,
They weren’t there to save me …

And that’s when their opinions stopped mattering.

Every day, we are swimming in messages
That drown out our own voices.

We are surrounded by noise,
Telling us who we should be …

Which conveniently is always different
Than who and where we are.

How would life be different
If you reclaimed the narratives?

If you realized—you are whole, worthy, enough,
As you are right now?

Listening to societal messages,
Telling us we’ll be happy “when”…

Costs way more than whatever BS
They are selling to get us “there.”

Save your money, save yourself.

Reclaim your power, reclaim your voice,
It’s not “their” life, anyway—it’s yours.

What would it look like to detach from societal BS
And live the life you truly desire?

What’s the next turtle step you may take, today,
To live YOUR (not their) life?

And know you deserve to nourish
Your mind, body, and spirit?

“They” often want you to be small,
Depleted and insecure.

That’s how “they” win, and it’s why we must …
Reclaim the narratives.

Jillian Rigert is a physician coach and a marriage and family therapy graduate student.

Prev

How a homeless mathematician taught me the true meaning of success

May 25, 2025 Kevin 0
…
Next

Why self-care must become medicine’s new standard

May 25, 2025 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Psychiatry

Post navigation

< Previous Post
How a homeless mathematician taught me the true meaning of success
Next Post >
Why self-care must become medicine’s new standard

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Jillian Rigert, MD, DMD

  • Fear of other people’s opinions nearly killed me. Here’s what freed me.

    Jillian Rigert, MD, DMD
  • Is perfectionism something to strive for or heal from?

    Jillian Rigert, MD, DMD
  • Society is obsessed with weight loss

    Jillian Rigert, MD, DMD

Related Posts

  • The trap of Black excellence in medical education

    Helio Neves da Silva
  • The effects of the nationwide stimulant shortage on a private psychiatry practice

    Christine Tran-Boynes, DO
  • Navigating the abortion debate: How physicians foster healing and bridge societal divides

    Anonymous
  • If you are pro-psychiatry, should you be anti-RFK?

    Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA
  • Why a prison psychiatry rotation should be mandatory for all medical students

    Tiana Walker
  • A medical student’s perspective: Using my osteopathic training in the field of psychiatry

    Fahad Molla

More in Physician

  • Why more doctors are choosing direct care over traditional health care

    Grace Torres-Hodges, DPM, MBA
  • How to handle chronically late patients in your medical practice

    Neil Baum, MD
  • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

    Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD
  • Why medicine must evolve to support modern physicians

    Ryan Nadelson, MD
  • Why listening to parents’ intuition can save lives in pediatric care

    Tokunbo Akande, MD, MPH
  • Finding balance and meaning in medical practice: a holistic approach to professional fulfillment

    Dr. Saad S. Alshohaib
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • America’s ER crisis: Why the system is collapsing from within

      Kristen Cline, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival

      Michael Karch, MD | Conditions
    • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

      Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Beyond burnout: Understanding the triangle of exhaustion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Facing terminal cancer as a doctor and mother

      Kelly Curtin-Hallinan, DO | Conditions
    • Online eye exams spark legal battle over health care access

      Joshua Windham, JD and Daryl James | Policy
    • FDA delays could end vital treatment for rare disease patients

      G. van Londen, MD | Meds
    • Pharmacists are key to expanding Medicaid access to digital therapeutics

      Amanda Matter | Meds
    • Why ADHD in women requires a new approach [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • America’s ER crisis: Why the system is collapsing from within

      Kristen Cline, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival

      Michael Karch, MD | Conditions
    • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

      Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Beyond burnout: Understanding the triangle of exhaustion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Facing terminal cancer as a doctor and mother

      Kelly Curtin-Hallinan, DO | Conditions
    • Online eye exams spark legal battle over health care access

      Joshua Windham, JD and Daryl James | Policy
    • FDA delays could end vital treatment for rare disease patients

      G. van Londen, MD | Meds
    • Pharmacists are key to expanding Medicaid access to digital therapeutics

      Amanda Matter | Meds
    • Why ADHD in women requires a new approach [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...