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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 …
Physician wellness: stories and solutions [PODCAST]
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 …
When words aren’t enough: the heartbreaking truth about suicide
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 …
Parents in crisis: How physicians can help
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 …
Psychological safety for all: Why this phenomenon matters to everyone
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 …
What you need to know about near-death experiences
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 …
A new approach to antidepressants and anxiolytics: the microbiota-gut-brain axis
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 …
Gus Walz and the male loneliness crisis
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 …
Why we’re never prepared for death—even after years of medical training
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We dive into the transformative power of internal language with clinical psychologist Faust Ruggiero. Discover how the words we use to communicate with ourselves shape our emotions, behaviors, and relationships. Faust shares practical …
How positive self-talk rewires your brain for success [PODCAST]
An excerpt from Facing Suicide: Understanding Why People Kill Themselves and How We Can Stop Them.
Between 2000 and 2007, suicide rates were almost stagnant for young people between the ages of ten and twenty-four. Then they began moving steadily upward. By 2018, suicides in this age group had increased 57.4 percent from 2007 levels. An economic crisis darkened that period, and according to online posts, some seventeen- and eighteen-year-olds …
Is social media fueling the teen suicide crisis?
An excerpt from Krooked Ketamine.
OK, here’s the thing: I had a little problem that needed correcting if I wanted to continue to work as a government surgeon. I had a janky heart, and it had a tendency to fire off at the absolute worst possible moments. I needed a pacemaker to help with the recalcitrant muscular metronome, but I absolutely hated the thought of lying down and feeling, at …
A surgeon’s battle with ketamine-induced hallucinations
You can’t tell how much someone is suffering by looking at them—one reason I don’t share my journey with anorexia using photos to signify my mental health status. I’ve suffered more when appearing well, and “before and after photos” would spread misconceptions about eating disorders. They don’t magically go away with weight restoration and nourishment.
People assume I no longer live with anorexia. I perceive this is partially due to the …
Anorexia nervosa: Silently suffering and debunking myths
As a physician who cares about patients’ health and well-being, you have likely experienced the grief of disillusionment. You spent years in college, medical school, and residency, imagining the kind of health care you’d provide. It would be high-quality, patient-first, equity-oriented, and heart-centered. That vision got you through tough moments along the path.
Now, you find yourself pressured to spend as little time with patients as possible. You’re giving precious hours …
Ways to overcome the grief of disillusionment about medicine
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The fourth major concussion recently suffered by Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa – his third in 24 months – brings into sharp focus the balance between patient/player autonomy and treatment decisions. The right to self-determination, even in sports, has become as much a moral as a medical issue. If Tagovailoa is not able to pass concussion protocols for a third time in his NFL career, he could be forced to …
The erosion of autonomy in sports and medicine
When people don’t understand the depths of hell the brain can take someone to, I am relieved for them. And I am also grateful for the journey I’ve been on—I would never have understood how someone who appeared “successful” on paper could consider taking their own life and think they didn’t matter unless I had lived it.
When I developed intense and pervasive suicidal ideation, I was on top of the …
If these words can save a life, they must be spoken
An excerpt from The Problem with Men.
Gary could tell something was wrong the moment he saw me. “Come in, friend,” he said, his voice gentle. He guided me into the kitchen, a cozy, older space similar to the one in my apartment across the street, but his was painted a cheerful light yellow. After rummaging through a cabinet, he returned with a joint and lit it without hesitation.
“Here,” he …
How a friend’s kindness saved me from my darkest hour
Physician Suicide Awareness Day comes and goes each September, bringing with it the sad and perplexing realization that physicians usually top the lists of professionals most likely to take their own lives—something often described as the “silent epidemic.” I sample recent literature on the topic each year, each time noting how varied and complex the statistics and issues surrounding it are. Over the years, there have been physician suicides in …
Physician Suicide Awareness Day: a call to action against the silent epidemic
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We sit down with Kevin Ramotar, a clinical psychologist and health care executive, to explore the evolving landscape of mental health care. We dive into the challenges of measuring therapeutic outcomes, the role …
How measurement-informed therapy is changing mental health [PODCAST]
Once again, I found myself balled up on the kitchen floor, head between my knees, sobbing. My shoulders shook, and my chest heaved as I gasped for air, but air wouldn’t be enough. What I was truly gasping for was hope, something that had eluded me during this perpetually challenging season of my “neurodivergent” parenting career.
I’m not sure what made that moment any different from the countless dysregulated nights that …
What medicine never taught me about parenting a child with ADHD
An excerpt from Story Treasures: Medical Essays and Insights in the Narrative Tradition.
The Gish gallop – named after American creationist Duane Gish, who challenged the science of evolution – is a rhetorical technique often used by a debater to throw out a fast string of lies, non-sequiturs, and specious arguments, so many that it is impossible to fact-check or rebut them in the amount of time it took to …
Medical gaslighting and strategies to combat it
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