

The Darkness of Heart
But I suppose my point is this: Knowing about this darkness, this hopelessness, this isolation, this pain — JUST KNOWING THAT THEY EXIST — m


Lifelines or guardrails?
As I scrolled through various social media outlets, one trend clearly stood out. The posting of heartfelt messages, pleading for those in ne


Is Wellness Well Enough Alone?
On first blush, my story is not at all unique: - Aspire to be a doctor from early childhood - Work my tail off in high school and college to


Software Update: Introducing Leonard v2.0
It's time for a re-boot. Only this time we're overhauling the entire OS and wiring it with hope and fairy dust.


Nailing the Compulsories - or How I skate my way through explaining mental health
Here comes my answer to a question nobody asked me. Depression? Mental health? Come to me to be confused AF.

Should All The Quaint Rants Be Forgot...
I started this blog about 5 months ago. The response was very welcoming and encouraging. They even included some “I just might have some stories for you” comments. But there were also folks who were dubious. “You aren’t a failure,” “This should be a success story,” “Quitting your job is the bravest thing I’ve seen in a long time, not a failure!” and so on. Here’s a funny thing: I wasn’t going to start a blog if not for my therapist. She made me register the domain name right
Yes and...
Last week I completed what will most likely be my last session of Improv classes. I started these a year ago on a whim. It was a blast. Four quarters and 3 levels later we wrapped up our last showcase and our last class. The first level, Improv 101, was mostly introductory exercises which laid the groundwork for strong Improv. We learned concepts like CROW: Character, Relationship, Objective, and Where (location). We practiced making up characters on the spot, establishing th


Masking The Exam
In medicine we had to examine patients for important signs of disease. These signs could point us in the right direction of a diagnosis, or more importantly warn us of impending disasters. Pain is one obvious sign, but not just “Ow it hurts” pain. We needed to find out when did the pain start, where it was exactly, what kind, how bad, and so on. So when your doctor constantly asks you more and more questions about your pain, this is why. When you want to respond “Who the hell


What Have You Done?
English is a fascinating language. Of course by that I mean it is stupidly inconsistent. Just look at that old “I before E” nonsense or poll


Choose Survival First
I wrote this blogpost for a dear friend and medschool classmate of mine, Kathy Tsapos Parmele, MD. Her blog, www.healthyselfhealthyworld, is a very important site for Physician and Healthcare Provider Wellness. And if her site is all about Wellness, then I'm the Goofus to Kathy's Gallant. I promised open honesty on this blog of mine. This is pretty damned open. Please read this if you read nothing else on my blog. [Click here on the link below or cut & paste it into your bro