Doctor Psychobabble

“If human beings had genuine courage, they’d wear their costumes every day of the year, not just on Halloween.”

- Doug Coupland

First of all, happy halloween, world! Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. Yet, I’ve always thought it makes more sense to wear fun costumes every day of the year (see above quote). Really, we all wear costumes every day, but for the most part they are not nearly as fun as the ones we wear on “special days.”

I am back from a conference in San Francisco where I presented, chaired and co-chaired some sessions. I also had an absolute blast sightseeing in what is probably my second favorite city in the United States. I think the highlight was checking out the Sutro Baths, since I had never seen them before. Of course, I also never get sick of spending time around the Golden Gate Bridge and although I did not have the time during this past trip, I hope to add that bridge to my list of “I ran over that” structures in the near future.

Another highlight of my trip was attending the American Association of Community Psychiatrists’ reception at the Central City Hospitality House, which is a fabu organization, which serves the homeless population of San Francisco. From their website:

In addition to providing a broad spectrum of resources to support individuals in ending their own homelessness, Hospitality House addresses homelessness and poverty on the broader social level. We endeavor to unite our participants’ voices to educate the larger community about homelessness and poverty, to distribute power to those on the periphery of public policy making, and to stimulate social change.

During my absence from Brooklyn, there was apparently a snow storm in New York City, which is a pretty strange occurrence during the month of October. It was not so pleasant to travel yesterday from sunny and warm San Francisco to cold and snow covered New York City.

Today was for catching up on my ginormous to-do list and tomorrow I start my “Research Month.” More on that to come. It’s din din time!

Click Here to Enjoy the Photo Album

I am very busy right now and only have a few minutes to type. I am packing and preparing for a trip to San Francisco tonight to attend and present at the Institute on Psychiatric Services Annual meeting.

I don’t have any time to say more, but please enjoy these 2 photos taken during the suicide prevention walk on Sunday. And a huge THANKS to everyone who supported my walk! I promise to post more photos and a longer blog post very soon when I have a free moment.

“Our lives at times seem a study in contrast…love and hate, birth and death, right and wrong…everything seen in absolutes of black and white. Too often we are not aware that it is the shades of grey that add depth and meaning to the starkness of those extremes.”

- Ansel Adams

Today was a day full of contrast.

In our lecture on the Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia, we learned about how people with schizophrenia see a more “muted” world, and can better appreciate “contrast” with their visual systems.

On my walk to the hospital, it was cloudy. On my walk home, it was quite sunny.

My neighborhood is always full of wonderful contrasts. This is one of the reasons I love New York City, and Brooklyn. My neighborhood is predominantly inhabited by Afro-Carribean folks. But today, as I walked my dogs through the park, there were literally hundreds of Hasidic Jews in long black suits and hats singing and celebrating “Simchat Torah.” The contrast of the runners in their sporty outfits, the Caribbean folks drumming their drums with long dreadlocks, and the Hasidic Jewish folk marching in their black suits with tzitzis flapping in the wind brings me great joy.

Different. Yet the same. Shades of grey add depth.

Photo: Taken on my walk home today.

Part of My “Yo Brooklyn, Fuhgeddaboudit” Photo Series

Please check out my latest post on “The Ink Blot” at Medscape/WebMD to read about my thoughts on photography as a form of therapy. Thanks to Sandy for the inspiration!

Click Here to View the Original Post on Medscape

“Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don’t be sorry.”
― Jack Kerouac

“Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion.”
― Jack Kerouac

I’m feeling particularly inspired by life right now. I am happy about accomplishing many of my aspirations in life:

- Find a job that inspires and challenges me every day: Check

- Experience living in New York City: Check

- Don’t yield to trends and fads and popular opinion: Check

- Kiss a dog every day: Check

However, I still have many things to aspire to:

- Change the world. (Working on it.)

- Live on a boat.

- Write a book.

- Learn to (skillfully) play the guitar.

- Inspire the masses.

It’s good to have things left to check off my list. Time for sushi din din. I am a blessed soul.

Photo: A view of Chinatown, taken on one of my runs.

“When I read the letter you sent me
It made me mad mad mad
When I read the news that it brought me
It made me sad sad sad
But I still love you so
And I can’t let you go
I love you
Ooh baby, I love you”

- Lyrics to “Dire Maker” by Led Zeppelin

I am home, post-call from a day of psychiatry consultations at the hospital. I’m convinced yet again that I have the absolutely coolest job in the world. I get paid to talk to people, ask them strange questions, and make observations and recommendations in an attempt to help them (and on the consult service, to help their primary docs).

I have a million things to do before hitting the sack, so that’s all you get for now.

Enjoy the photo with this post. It’s an “Easy” button that lives in the psych on-call room. When you press it, it says, “that was easy!” I have no idea what the purpose of it is or who put it there. But I intermittently press it throughout the day when I’m on call, and it makes me feel incredibly happy. I guess that is the point of it.

Please check out my latest post on “The Ink Blot” at Medscape/WebMD to read my thoughts on how challenging it can be to convince a patient (or the parent of a child) that they have a mental illness.

Click Here to View the Original Post on Medscape

Somehow, my super awesome auto-blogging delicious links function got messed up. I’m still trying to fix it. In the meantime, here are all of the links that should have already been posted. Enjoy.

• Moods on Twitter Follow Biological Rhythms, Study Finds – NY Times
• Why Doctors Order So Many Tests – NY Times
• Coffee Drinking Linked to Less Depression in Women – NY Times
• Six Things Every Dog Should Know – NY Times
• How Exercise Can Strengthen the Brain – NY Times
• Safe Birth Kits to Reduce Infant Mortality – NY Times
• When the Nurse Wants to Be Called ‘Doctor’ – NY Times
• Your Medical Mind – NY Times
• Young Doctors Worry About Career Choices – NY Times
• Learning to Cope With a Mind’s Taunting Voices – NY Times
• ‘So, Doc, How Much Time I Got?’ – NY Times
• Stuck in Bed, at Hospital’s Expense – NY Times
• Talk Therapy Lifts Severe Schizophrenics – NY Times
• Did Dropping Acid Make Steve Jobs More Creative? – Slate

This is one of the funniest and truest videos I’ve ever seen. This pretty much sums up what I do:

“There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope.”

- Bern Williams

It’s 9:00 am. I am post call.

It’s strange because I always sort of dread going in for night call, but I usually end up having a good time.

Plus, there is nothing better than a post call day. There is nothing better than walking home from the hospital, tired and hungry and enjoying the sunrise as other folks are scurrying to work.

Today it’s supposed to get up to 85 degrees F. It’s gonna be a gorgeous day.

Time for me to eat and then sleep so I can wake up later and enjoy the day.

I have a strange craving for a bean burrito.

G’nite/morning!

Photo: Taken outside of the psychiatric emergency room on my call last night.