Anger
Browsing posts in Anger
Four way stop signs
Everyday on my way to work I arrive at a four way stop sign. No traffic light, just an intersection at a busy road with four stop signs. I am always amazed at the unspoken rules that fluidly come into play. All cars stop, and the one perceived to have arrived first gets to go. […]
Love
Unrequited love does hurt, as we all know from experience. It has generated some of the most creative pieces of art and literature, or can devastate ones entire life, resulting in deep and ruminative anger. With drugs and alcohol in particular, an insidious trap can occur. Many people use substances to avoid feelings, getting an […]
I Never Stopped Loving You
As a psychiatrist I am always interested in how my adolescent and teen patients say goodbye to their parents after being admitted into our residential programs. Subsequent to their arrival, we will schedule a speakerphone conversation with their parent(s). Some kids readily say I love you as they say their goodbyes. Others do not. The same […]
Changing the Face of Schizophrenia
Flat and blunted affect. Clinicians use this term to describe a person whose face expresses little emotion. Their voice may be atonal, with minimal cadence, unlike the natural sing-song like expression we make in the simple act of talking with each other. But does this mean such a person does not have a range of […]
Decaf, OK? Part 2
Thanks to all of you for giving an answer. Each suggestion shows how many choices we make, every day, every minute, even every second in the way we treat our patients, and each other. One small change, one small difference, can have a huge effect. Here is what I decided to do in part 2 […]
Decaf, OK?
“Put down the chair!” I was walking on to the inpatient unit. A nurse was screaming in fear for herself as a very large and psychotic man had a chair raised high over his head, ready to smash it onto the defenseless woman. Staff were already running towards them, about to intervene, about to try […]
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