As a psychiatrist with 23 years’ experience, I am always looking for innovative and scientifically grounded methods of easing depression and the suffering it causes.
Two new tools that we have for better treating depression are Ketamine and Spravato.
Choosing the right drug to target anxiety can be confusing. People often ask me what anti-anxiety medications are best. Here’s how a psychiatrist thinks about
As therapists, we work hard to help women discuss and navigate abortion (and beyond) and to support them in their individual choice. But it’s complicated.
Spravato (esketamine) nasal spray is a game-changer for depression treatment. It helps with depression that has not responded to first-line treatments, where there are suicidal thoughts and where
Choosing the right antidepressant is important. There are a vast array of antidepressants and knowing where to start can be confusing.
Here are five ways that I, as a psychiatrist, think about choosing an antidepressant:
Emotional problems such as depression and anxiety often cause financial disarray.
Surprisingly, psychotherapy can not only make you happier but also richer. As people grow in therapy, their self-esteem, confidence and rational thinking improve.
Psychiatrists are trained to focus on emotions and medications, not physical fitness, but, according to the latest research, this approach is problematic.
There are five reasons why psychiatrists should put exercise on their patients’ agenda.
The COVID-19 era is extremely stressful – as many as 30-50% of people who survive the infection experience depression and anxiety. One vitamin that might help is the folic acid metabolite, methylfolate.
With the worsening COVID-19 pandemic, people are faced with illness anxiety in the context of social isolation, economic pressure and political instability.
Given that anxiety can be adaptive or maladaptive, let’s first look at how anxiety can be helpful for coping with COVID-19 and why we have anxiety.
Psychiatrists often start antidepressants based on best guesses. Is there a way to prescribe more confidently to increase the likelihood of starting the right medication the first time?
Personalized medicine involves tailoring medications to the individual based on predictions from genetic testing. Psychopharmacogenomics is how a patient’s genome interacts with psychiatric medications.
“I feel that, although it is new, psychopharmacogenomic testing is a game changer for psychiatry.”
People are often surprised to see me sitting on a yoga ball. It’s not the conventional therapist’s armchair.
My job, perhaps similar to yours, involves sitting for eight hours a day in therapy sessions. I spend additional time sitting at my computer, making calls and, prior to COVID-19, on a long commute too.
Even though you are now feeling great, think twice about skipping your last therapy session.
Typically CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) takes 12-20 sessions. It starts with weekly therapy. Once anxiety and depression scores drop, therapy moves to consolidation appointments every 2-4 weeks followed by maintenance sessions 2-3 months apart. This means that your last session could be 3 months after the previous. Should you just skip it?
Although smoking marijuana is increasingly socially acceptable, the equation is not that simple when viewed from a COVID-19 psychiatric perspective
Many of us are and will be dealing with severe sickness, critically ill friends and family, and even death. Frontline workers and remote employees have significant albeit different challenges: Savings are being eroded. Unemployment and poverty are worsening. Social isolation and loneliness will further impede well-being.
We will need every inch of our brain power to deal with COVID-19, our under-resourced health system, and confusing leadership messages.
If you are realistically worried about coronavirus and are problem-solving effectively, you are coping well. Keep going! Research shows that moderate amounts of anxiety helps us address potential threats such as illness.
If you are paralyzed by corona-anxiety, not sleeping, functioning poorly and perpetually worried, then you need assistance. Try adding the de-catastrophizing tool to your toolbox. It’s a way to manage medical uncertainty.”, read on to find more
Yes, long-term, depression is as harmful as smoking. Think heart attacks, cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure.Part of the reason is that depression causes a pro-inflammatory state…Read on to find more
The rehab mindset whispers, “Finish your cancer treatment and then we will send you to rehab to strengthen your body.” The prehab mindset, by contrast, is proactive. It asks, “How can I adapt to my medical challenges and maximize recovery?”, read on to find more
At Weill Cornell Medicine where I work, regular doctors were not able to access psychiatry notes in the electronic health record (EHR). This meant primary care practitioners (PCPs) could read cardiology and oncology notes but not psychiatry notes. The only way for the PCPs to figure out what was happening with…
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