Tag: mental health

How To Reduce Holiday Stress

woman in santa hat screaming

The holidays are a time to enjoy family, friends, and good cheer, but as we go through this joyous season, many of us struggle with mental health challenges and stress due to a combination of social obligations, financial burdens, and other factors. From going to festive events we may have little interest in attending, to […]

Psychiatrists Prescribe Medication, This Psychiatrist Prescribes Hope

A first time patient comes into my office. I attentively listen to their story, ask pertinent questions, order tests when necessary, make an assessment and recommend a course of treatment. The prescription of medication is often involved. Thankfully, most people get better. But why do they get better? Was it the medication, the talking therapy or just the “tincture of time?” I would like to think that it was my careful choice of medication while the psychotherapist will want to take credit for their role. I think that the honest answer is more than the sum of these parts.

There's Something Rotten In…

I consider myself a well-trained mental health professional and as such an expert on human behavior. These days however, I find myself more and more at a loss pondering the amount of violence and hate visible in our world. This week I attended an interfaith vigil united to protest hate crimes and violence. It was uplifting to share in the community expression of mutual support, love and the need to heal. However, I left feeling that there still were no answers to the existence of such evil.

Mental Health and a Slice of Pizza

I am sure you are wondering what pizza has to do with mental health. It is much more than enjoying a tasty slice or two. A slice of pizza represents a part of a whole and introduces us to the concept of systems theory. The systems concept helps us process a lot of information in a more orderly way, to be able to go back and forth between the whole and its parts, understanding the interaction between the forest and its trees. We can examine the individual trees while at the same time taking in the picture of the entire forest.