Power of dreaming
We all love to dream – dreaming of the perfect life, perfect love, or even that perfect cup of espresso in the morning. Or do we? Last two years have been devastating for the world and for the individuals living in it. As a doctor, I watched first hand as it unfolded and seeped into…
Intentional living and Magick
When life gets dizzyingly busy, I often find myself reverting to Autopilot mode, where I mindlessly go about my days, waking up in the morning, going to work, coming back home, eat, sleep, repeat. While Autopilot mode can be necessary at times, I do find myself spiritually depleted after awhile. This can lead to low…
Toxicity of “be the best” culture
“When you show up to those evaluation meetings, I want you to show up like a star athlete, wanting to improve in every way possible. We want you to become the best doctor there ever was.” This was the response of an education specialist when asked how can residents cope with being constantly scrutinized and…
Take ownership of your healing
The sickness role is a psychological concept that we give to patients to help them recognize the fact that they are NOT to blame for having an illness. Being ill is NOT something to be ashamed of, something to apologize for, and they are certainly not responsible for being sick. Unfortunately, some people have misunderstood…
Manifesting success – switching from external to internal
What is your definition of success? Throughout my life until more recently, I used to evaluate success based on external measures, such as how much money I make, the impact factor of journals I published in, how many articles I produced in a year, etc etc. As I started achieving some of those “successes”, I…
Culture of incompetence
Culture of incompetence is a phrase that us, as resident doctors, came up to describe certain hospitals that have a culture that encourages a passive form of incompetence by discouraging productive change. This does not mean that they encourage residents to make mistakes or to be incompetent in a general sense. Rather, it means that…
Season of the witch
I wake up and see warm orange sunlight filtering through the clouds. I see my chestnut tree’s softly yellow leaves dancing in the wind. The season of the witch is upon us. I am a September child. My husband and brother are also autumn children. September is therefore a sentimentally and spiritually meaningful season for…
Good cop vs. Bad cop – Splitting in medicine
I continue to have this rather unsettling experience with an allied health colleague in my team. While meeting a patient together for the first time, she would interrupt the interview during my segment to tell the patient, either directly or indirectly, that I am interrogating the patient, I am being invalidating, the information I am…
Witness to suffering
As a doctor, a lot of the care that I provide has nothing to do with prescribing medications or performing procedures. Sure, they form a significant part of my training and my day to day work. However, there are also many times where all I can provide for the patients is my presence, to be…
Sitting with your feelings
I was reading “Maybe you should talk to someone” by the brilliant Lori Gottlieb this morning just before work, my little morning ritual, when one message really struck me: it is horribly difficult to sit with one’s own feelings, even for psychotherapists. I am no psychotherapist, but as a doctor, I always ask patients to…
Loading…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
Follow My Blog
Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.
Ena's worlds 