In a world full of white coats, wear a leotard.
The news of Simone Biles’s recent withdrawal from the Tokyo Olympic Games shocked the world. What was surprising to many was the reason—not a physical injury, but a commitment to prioritizing her mental health. Biles later revealed that she had been experiencing a case of the “twisties.”
So, what are the twisties?
Twisties is a term that refers to a mental block or …
Be the Simone Biles of health care
I cannot accept that others have control of how I feel, act and think. I admit it’s easier to blame others — the disrupted system, the incompetent “leaders,” the unhealthy environment and the micro-aggressive behaviors. But I refuse to give that power to others! I’m the owner of my goals, thoughts, feelings and actions. And I refuse to burn out!
Burnout
Dr. Freudenberger first coined the term in 1974 to define …
Take back the power and joy of being a doctor
I just finished watching an hour-long YouTube special about pride — yes, I know I’m late for Pride Month. The concept of pride is always one I’ve had trouble getting my head around. Not as a bisexual woman — that’s been relatively easy. Just as a person. Let me explain.
Imposter syndrome
When I started med school, I felt like I was pretending to be a doctor. Like I …
Pride: It’s not only for the LGBTQAI+
When the greatest-of-all-time gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from the Olympics to focus on her mental wellbeing, most observers applauded her decision, viewing it as an act of courage and bravery, an eye-opener for breaking the stigma around mental health. Many felt it was a positive step (no pun intended) because it reignited conversations about elite athletes and other high-stress professionals and their ability to perform under psychological adversity. However, does the …
If Simone Biles were a doctor she would be vilified, not praised
By deciding to forgo further competition in the Olympic Games this week, Simone Biles brought a spotlight to prioritizing one’s own mental health.
She has shown what grace under pressure looks like. Even champions make mistakes and have the right to protect their body and mind, especially when the agency tasked to protect them failed in such an egregious manner that subjected them …
Simone Biles: I am thankful for her strength under pressure
They say we should “work until we are old enough to retire.” What age is that? For some, retirement is at 65 years, and for others, it is never. As a physician, I guess I fell in the “never” category. I never thought I would hang up my beautiful red pediatric Littman stethoscope with a picture of Princess Tiana on its diaphragm. I never thought I would replace my prescription …
Calling the shots and bossing up: retirement at 52
“Embrace dialectical thinking, stupid!”
That’s the mantra I repeat when I catch myself getting worked up about a deep-seated belief, idea, or cause. Understanding the flip side of the equation helps me to neutralize powerful negative feelings like righteous indignation, bitter disappointment, and utter disgust with the incompetence of fill-in-the-blank.
Dialectical thinking is the ability to view an issue from multiple perspectives. Embracing it helps us recognize that it’s almost always possible …
Why it’s important to embrace dialectical thinking
In recent years, the medical community has recognized that burnout — a sense of exhaustion, loss of motivation, and growing cynicism — is prevalent among physicians and other medical providers.
We’ve also learned that stress and burnout are experienced by medical trainees: the students, residents, and fellows who are learning the ropes of medicine and specializing in their fields of interest. For the physicians of tomorrow, student loans, expansive work demands, …
Pay attention to the mental health of medical trainees during COVID-19
I am sitting in hot springs deep in the dark and crisp air woods – naked. It has been a day of lectures and workshops at a retreat with my fellow physicians. We are all naked in the effervescent, warm bubbles of the springs. In the dark, I can recognize who people are by the fluorescent necklace each wears. You know, the kind that you crunch and shake to activate …
The profound experience of being naked with other doctors
Value-based care (VBC) continues to be a popular expression across the health care landscape, but the challenges and opportunities it offers are quite different across specialties. Behavioral health (BH) providers are an important case in point. The opioid epidemic combined with increased recognition and prevalence of mental illness secondary to the pandemic has brought behavioral health to the forefront, but for BH providers, the transition to VBC continues to present …
Behavioral health providers face challenges in value-based care
I am a first-generation Chinese American. And amidst the complexity of the pieces that form my identity (mom, wife, daughter, woman, doctor), it is the piece I have often prized the least.
In one of my earliest memories, I am riding a crowded bus in Beijing. My aunt and cousin are pointing out the American tourists as we pass, commenting on their high nose bridges and round eyes and how these …
It’s time to rethink the model minority
“This plea for help is on behalf of every hospital worker who has been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic — from the environmental services staff and medical assistants who are often not recognized, to the social workers and chaplains who are surrounded by distress, to the physicians and …
A plea for help from the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic [PODCAST]
My days start differently now than they did a year ago. I arrive in my private practice office and take a seat on a meditation cushion as the sun breaks through the curtains. New Orleans streetcars can be heard passing by outside, splintering the stillness of the morning. I grab my phone, turn on Clubhouse, and join my friends and fellow healers in meditating to sounds transmitted by a Chinese …
From physician to holistic healer: my journey on Clubhouse
ADVERTISEMENT
The COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented as such an event has not happened on such a global scale since 1919, with the Spanish Flu. At the beginning of the pandemic, we sometimes heard muzzled voices of health care providers who experienced sheer horror due to the quickly escalating demand for urgent care, ICU beds, and ventilators.
It is important to note that these incidents were happening on an unprecedented scale due …
Moral injury: What is it, and how is it relevant post-COVID?
The orders from the state seemed to come suddenly, although we all knew we would have to adjust our methods of treating our clients, the news wasn’t good, and seeing anyone in person was treacherous since many still thought it was a hoax and they didn’t believe they needed to be cautious. Some would wear a hazmat suit if they could get their hands on one. As a psychiatric nurse …
Nothing prepared me for telehealth’s nightmare
Burnout among doctors is not something new. In fact, way before the pandemic, 69% of physicians reported they were somewhat or incredibly happy in 2020, before the pandemic started.
This number drastically fell to 49% when COVID-19 stepped in. This is a statistic that we need to be aware of.
For many of us, we embarked on our journey in medicine with naïve optimism. We stepped into medical school thinking about the …
The dark truth of physician burnout
I was first diagnosed with major depressive disorder as a preteen after my teenage sister died. I attempted suicide three years later. This would be the first of several attempts and the first of countless times I felt my life was not worth living. But I am not unique.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 1 person dies by suicide every 11 minutes.
My depression is like …
Surviving medical school with depression
“Doc, I can’t believe it. I can’t believe I’m here right now.” Though in his mid-60s, my patient had the wide-eyed bewilderment more familiar of a child. He was late for our first visit together — but he was there and against the odds.
He explained to me that he had been picked up by police for attempted shoplifting while intoxicated the night before, stopped while trying to stumble out of …
People dealing with addiction belong in clinics — not jails
The pendulum in the physician wellness space continues to move, and for good reason. When mindfulness started becoming more mainstream in medicine, it was often touted as the solution to burnout and, subsequently, led to a lot of mandatory workplace mindfulness programs. (For me, personally, my meditation practice is what ended my burnout, but I am fully aware that isn’t the case for everyone.)
Building resilience became a wellness box-to-check that …
Tap — yes, tap — to relieve stress
There is a connection between mental health and what we eat. Food can be a surrogate for our emotional needs. We could say that you are what you eat, but the truth is more complicated than that. Our food habits often mirror how we’re doing emotionally-whether it’s as simple as eating when we’re hungry or tired or using food to respond to stress in our lives.
We should “trust our gut” …
The connection between mental health and what we eat
Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.
