Conditions

Why psychotherapy works and why psychotherapy fails

Conditions
July 7, 2025

What is psychotherapy?

Psychotherapy is a talking process between a patient and a psychotherapist. Psychotherapy makes connections among feelings, thoughts, impulses, and behaviors to understand what works and what gets in the way of meeting life’s goals, reaching one’s fullest potential, feeling successful, and being fulfilled. This is accomplished by self-reflection. By examining life patterns, changing, improving, and unlearning emotional and behavioral habits that get in the way and are no …

Read more…

How oral health silently affects your heart, brain, and body

Conditions
July 7, 2025

The mouth is connected to the body by blood vessels, lymphatic pathways, and the immune system. Ignoring oral health means risking more than a toothache — it could mean risking your life.

When most people think of oral health, they think of teeth, cavities, brushing, flossing, maybe the occasional root canal. But the truth is, what’s happening in your mouth can have a ripple effect throughout your entire body. This is …

Read more…

How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

Conditions
July 6, 2025

In the realm of American politics, discussing the mental fitness of a sitting president – or the performance of a former one – is as delicate as it is critical.

As a psychiatrist, I am profoundly aware of the ethical constraints outlined by the Goldwater Rule, adopted by the American Psychiatric Association (of which I am a Fellow). Psychiatrists’ ethical responsibility is to refrain from making specific clinical diagnoses without Read more…

The emotional first responders of aesthetic medicine

Conditions
July 6, 2025

When people think of Botox and filler, they think of vanity. Frozen foreheads. Pouty lips. Women chasing youth. Injectors chasing cash. They don’t see the woman who finally escaped her husband after 20 years of abuse, coming in not for attention but for control. They don’t see the mother burying her child, hoping that looking “normal” on the outside might steady the chaos inside. They don’t see the cancer survivor …

Read more…

Why testosterone matters more than you think in women’s health

Conditions
July 6, 2025

Menopause is finally having its moment in the spotlight, thanks to high-profile women breaking the long-standing taboo around discussing this life stage. Yet, while discussions around hormone replacement therapy (HRT) have increased, one critical component remains largely overlooked — testosterone.

Traditionally seen as a “male hormone,” testosterone is equally vital for women’s health, playing a key role in mood, energy, libido, muscle mass, bone density, and cognitive function. Yet, …

Read more…

How veteran health care is being transformed by tech and teamwork

Conditions
July 5, 2025

Veterans deserve the highest-quality health care our nation can offer, but fulfilling this promise often means overcoming major challenges. About 9 million veterans receive care through the VA, with a third living in rural areas far from VA facilities. Meeting their needs requires innovative solutions that combine expertise, technology, and strategic partnerships.

Why VA’s holistic model outpaces traditional care

The VA stands apart with its integrated, long-term approach to care. Unlike the …

Read more…

What Elon Musk and Diddy reveal about the price of power

Conditions
July 2, 2025

I remember those days well. Long before the era of Beyoncé and Jay-Z, another Hollywood “power couple” captivated the world: Jennifer Lopez and Sean “Diddy” Combs. J.Lo brought the glamour and Latin flair, while Diddy embodied the swagger of hip-hop’s reigning bad boy. Their union was a bold fusion of Latina sass and African American pop culture, a sizzling romance that lit up the entertainment world.

Diddy wasn’t just another rapper …

Read more…

Understanding depression beyond biology: the power of therapy and meaning

Conditions
July 1, 2025

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) defines mental health, including depression, in terms of pathology or a deviation from normal that is reliably exhibited in observable behaviors. It describes genetics and risk factors, differences in gender, and considers cultural perspectives. Limitations of the DSM diagnostic criteria are acknowledged and recognize that human experience, or interaction between genetics and environment, cannot be captured completely. While the underlying neurobiology …

Read more…

Why medicine must stop worshipping burnout and start valuing humanity

Conditions
June 30, 2025

Medicine loves a martyr.

From the first white coat ceremony to the last day of residency, we are told a story: That good doctors are tireless, self-sacrificing, endlessly available. That the more you give up—sleep, family, hobbies, sometimes even health—the more worthy you are to wear the title. The message is rarely said aloud, but it’s everywhere: the ones who leave early to pick up their kids are “lucky to be …

Read more…

Why perinatal mental health is the top cause of maternal death in the U.S.

Conditions
June 29, 2025

“I look at my baby and I don’t feel a thing,” the patient whispers as she cradles her 3-week-old baby. “I feel so much guilt … sometimes I don’t want to be here at all.” And yet, she is not alone. Her words echo the silent yet growing public health crisis of perinatal mental health.

Approximately 1 in 5 women is affected by mental health conditions during the perinatal period. …

Read more…

A world without vaccines: What history teaches us about public health

Conditions
June 28, 2025

What would a world without vaccines even look like?

Well, it turns out that we do not have to wonder since accurate historical records allow us to distinctly see and learn for ourselves. This is in keeping with our Secretary of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) recent guidance to Do Your Own Research.

What we actually need, individually and as a nation, is clear and consistent science-based advice when it comes …

Read more…

Unraveling the mystery behind one of the most dangerous pregnancy complications: preeclampsia

Conditions
June 27, 2025

When reviewing poor maternal health outcomes in the U.S., it is clear we cannot keep doing the same thing and expect to make pregnancy safe and healthy for all. A new approach is needed that harnesses the power of molecular advances to bring precision medicine to pregnancy health. Preeclampsia, one of the most dangerous complications in pregnancy, is a disorder of high blood pressure that has eluded the ability to …

Read more…

How community paramedicine impacts Indigenous elders

Conditions
June 26, 2025

Tucked along the edge of the frigid James Bay, Moosonee stands as one of Northern Ontario’s most remote and storied communities—a place often referred to as the “Gateway to the Arctic.” While towns like Thunder Bay or Rainy River echo similar titles, Moosonee carries its own unique distinctions.

This isolated town of about 3,000 people is shaped by its subarctic climate, deep cultural roots, and resilient spirit. Read more…

ADVERTISEMENT

Pain is more than physical: the story your body is trying to tell

Conditions
June 25, 2025

Pain is a signal. It gets our attention. It arrests, alarms, and demands we listen. C.S. Lewis wrote in the problem of pain: “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” And what a deaf world we have become.

Pain is physical—a sign of tissue damage. It’s defined as “physical suffering or discomfort caused …

Read more…

Why sleep is the missing pillar in modern health care

Conditions
June 24, 2025

Sleep is not a luxury — it’s a fundamental pillar of health on par with diet and exercise. As we enter a new era of sleep, people are more aware than ever before of how rest impacts their overall health. We are at an inflection point where sleep is increasingly recognized as essential to preventative care and wellness. Yet, many still suffer in silence, trapped in a cycle of exhaustion.

The …

Read more…

How a family’s strength led to a successful kidney transplant

Conditions
June 24, 2025

An excerpt from The Healthy Kidney Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Manage Hypertension, Control Stress, and Prevent Renal Failure, Kidney Disease, and More.

A good friend and neighbor of mine is a kidney transplant survivor, and I wanted to thoughtfully document her thoughts on different parts of her journey. She is currently a married, African American woman, mother of a teenage son, in her forties, and works full time in …

Read more…

Beyond the TikTok hype: Rebuilding trust in evidence-based weight loss medicine

Conditions
June 24, 2025

A woman sat nervously in front of me, eyes wide, voice low. “I saw this video on TikTok,” she said. “Now I’m not sure I want to try it.” “It” was semaglutide—one of the most transformative medications we’ve seen for weight loss and metabolic health in years. But her fear wasn’t uncommon. Like many patients I see, she came in hopeful, but hesitant—torn between her desire to get healthy and …

Read more…

How deep transcranial magnetic stimulation is transforming mental health care

Conditions
June 23, 2025

As a psychiatrist deeply committed to my patients’ well-being, there are moments etched into my memory—moments of profound suffering, struggle, and ultimately, redemption. I vividly recall Sarah (name changed for confidentiality), a 45-year-old teacher whose severe depression had drained all joy from her life. “Dr. Rifai, I just want my life back,” she told me, tears streaming down her face. Her plea echoed the silent anguish of countless patients I’ve …

Read more…

Nurses aren’t eating their young — we’re starving the profession

Conditions
June 22, 2025

I know what I’m about to say is unpopular, and maybe even controversial within our field — but I need to say it.

I’ve been a nurse for 18 years. I care deeply about my patients, and I care about the future of this profession. But I’m increasingly disheartened by what I see inside our own ranks. There’s a phrase we all know: “nurses eat their young.” We repeat it so …

Read more…

What if medicine had an exit interview?

Conditions
June 20, 2025

They left quietly. Logged their last note. Disconnected their badge. Maybe cleared out a drawer, maybe not. And just like that, another clinician walked away from medicine. No exit interview. No debrief. No conversation about what led up to that final decision. Just silence.

In most professions, when someone resigns, leadership wants to know why. What worked? What didn’t? What could we do better next time? But in medicine? We barely …

Read more…

117
pages