2009 Tucson, Arizona A short story by Dr. Kim The ground is covered with stones. Our host is squatted down, touching each stone passively then rearranging them according to color. He’s engaged mindfully. It’s an impressive coping skill. Even a psychiatrist has to admit that. (The psychiatrist is me, by the way, though I never […]
If someone offers you 50 million dollars… save mental health
Someone once offered me 50 million dollars to pursue an idea. The problem Let me start in the beginning. If you’ve ever worked or been a patient in a psychiatric hospital, you know about the problem: there’s no middle ground between the tight routine & support of being hospitalized and the toss-you-out-into-the-world discharge plan that […]
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So you want to be a psychiatrist? At least play one on TV? Here’s what you gotta know.
The part of the brain below the tentorium handles the basics, like breathing. It’s not the interesting part. Forget about it.
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Behavioral Therapy: why you shouldn’t drive by your ex’s house
When was the last time you did something you regret? Like drive by that old boyfriend’s house just “because.” It starts out innocently enough. There’s that old yearning and a little curiosity, and you hope by God you see him. He’ll have gained weight, have an enormous beer belly, and his hair will be filthy […]
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Is happiness a choice? If in doubt, google it.
Jeanne Calment took up fencing at 85, rode a bicycle at 100, starred in a movie at 114, and didn’t quit smoking until 120 years of age…
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Thoughts about surviving mental illness
The challenge with mental illness is that it can’t be willed away. Dealing with depression, anxiety, substance abuse, or a personality disorder isn’t about pulling your socks up or changing your attitude. There’s no easy fix. By the time most of my patients reach my door, they’ve fought the fight of a lifetime trying to […]
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Finding meaning: the creative way
You’re meant to immerse yourself in this “topic” until it surfaces in your dreams, until you subliminally speak its language and bring it up at every conversation, until you understand a world you’ve never understood before…
