Caissa Troutman is an obesity medicine and family physician.

Breaking free from perfectionism: a physician’s story of transformation

Physician
June 28, 2024

In my personal life and my training as a physician, the burden of “trying to never be wrong” was a mantle I was accustomed to carrying. In retrospect, it was probably a fusion of people-pleasing and perfectionist tendencies. Part of this character trait is having a fix-it mentality. Everything that was not working according to my plan should be fixed. If my patient is sick, I need to find out …

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Breaking free from perfectionism: a physician’s story of transformation

Eye dryness, insomnia, and more: hidden signs you’re in perimenopause

Conditions and Diseases
May 24, 2024

I am 47 years old and was today years old when I realized I have been going through perimenopause for the last four years. It is only with a retrospective lens that I can review my last four years and pick up intermittent symptoms or even just mild nuisance-level symptoms that I can say are likely from perimenopause.

What is perimenopause? Perimenopause is the transition stage before reaching menopause, which is …

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Eye dryness, insomnia, and more: hidden signs you’re in perimenopause

Breaking the stigma with science

Conditions and Diseases
May 18, 2024

Oxford Dictionary defines stigma as “a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person.” In other words, it’s a state of being in shame. One of the most influential thought leaders in shame is Brene Brown. She describes shame as “the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love and belonging. We feel like something we have experienced, done, …

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Breaking the stigma with science

Navigating self-judgment with compassion

Physician
April 15, 2024

Earlier this week, I made a stupid mistake, and that mistake cost us our dental and vision insurance for the year 2024.

You see, I had my COBRA from my old job that I had planned to keep, as the kids still had braces, and switching midway apparently resulted in non-coverage. So, I spent a lot of time researching it and setting it up so we would retain the dental component. …

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Navigating self-judgment with compassion