Mental Health

We Need Trauma Recovery For Health Care Workers

Because I used to be a doctor, I have my finger on the pulse of what it's been like to be a front-line Covid doctor, even though I've been safely sheltered in place since retiring from clinical practice over a decade ago. Among my friends, colleagues, clients, and family members are physicians and nurses who have been relentlessly exposed to the traumas of the front lines, not unlike battle-weary soldiers in seemingly endless wars. They have pandemic fatigue, and it's brutal.

May 6, 2021 | 0

How To Begin Healing & Milk The Past Year For All It’s Worth

The pandemic is not over yet, and we have so much loss to grieve- lost lives, lost jobs, lost financial security, lost belief systems, lost school days, lost friends, lost feelings of safety, and lost social contact, in addition to things we needed to lose- like losing some of our racial, gender, socioeconomic, or sexual preference privileges or losing political leaders who do not wish our countries well or losing online influencers who do not respect science or truth or losing some of the mobility that is causing the climate crisis.

Apr 29, 2021 | 0

Who Is The “You” That Will Come Out Of Quarantine?

While making the final edits to my Sacred Medicine book, I asked one healer if she had a point of view in response to the question, "Why do horrific things happen to seemingly innocent people?" I explained to her that the question is relevant to the book because those who chronically suffer from physical or mental illness often seek answers to the question, "Why me" or "Why not her?" I told her that every answer I had heard thus far in my research fell flat from a post-2020 lens, and because I had a lot of respect for her, I was curious about her point of view at this point in our understanding (and lack thereof) of human suffering.

Apr 14, 2021 | 0

Is Long Covid A Trauma Symptom?

According to a recent Lancet study, 1/3 of people who recover from Covid wind up with psychological and/or neurological symptoms. Another study suggests that 7 in 10 people who were hospitalized for Covid have not fully recovered five months later. One in five Covid survivors wind up with a new onset disability, which we're calling "long Covid," and which is likely the same kind of post-viral illness we've seen before as the result of other kinds of viral infections, such as post-Epstein Barr.

Apr 12, 2021 | 0

Why Reflexive Rebellion Or Blind Compliance In The Face of Authority Figures May Be The Result Of Unhealed Bullying Trauma

My cousin Rebecca Bass Ching, an incredible Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist who is responsible for turning me on to IFS and introducing it to me as "game changer," just wrote a beautiful piece about being bullied- by someone else or by yourself- and how today's trying times can bring up emotions from past bullying encounters.

Feb 22, 2021 | 0

The Difference Between Feeling Shame & Being Shamed

In comments on things I write about, I'm noticing something I want to make a distinction between. Sometimes I write something about the social responsibility of vaccination to protect the vulnerable and marginalized, for example. Or I write about anti-racism...

Feb 20, 2021 | 0

It Is Okay To Not Be Okay

In the Healing With the Muse community, our intention is to alchemize uncertain times into creative gold for the purposes of healing and being “makerly,” leveraging both the joyful and painful experiences of our lives (the last year has been chock full of them!) into opportunities to write and make art straight from the raw, cracked open heart.

Feb 19, 2021 | 0

It’s Not “Cancel Culture;” It’s “Accountability Culture”

If you’ve been following what I write, you know I’ve done A LOT of writing about Covid, public health recommendations (including vaccination), and social justice and human rights lately. This is not my typical gig, but given the intersecting disasters we face, it’s felt more important than what I usually write about. That said, what I usually write about (Whole Health) is more relevant now than ever!

Feb 15, 2021 | 0

What Is The Muse – And How Can You Meet Yours?

If you’ve been following what I write, you know I’ve done A LOT of writing about Covid, public health recommendations (including vaccination), and social justice and human rights lately. This is not my typical gig, but given the intersecting disasters we face, it’s felt more important than what I usually write about. That said, what I usually write about (Whole Health) is more relevant now than ever!

Feb 5, 2021 | 0

Why Lockdown Could Be Turning Your Memory To Mush (& How To Reverse It By Adding Novelty To Your Routine)

If you saw the rom-com Groundhog Day, you know that this movie explores the question, "What would it be like if you woke up every day to the exact same routine?"

Feb 2, 2021 | 0

Amanda Gorman, The Hill We Climb, & How We Must Heal From A 4 Year Abusive Relationship With Our President

Because I couldn’t find the poem on Google, I transcribed the incredible poem read by the youngest Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman at the Biden/Harris Inauguration today. You can listen to her here or read it below. The Hill We Climb When day comes we ask...

Jan 20, 2021 | 0

The Health Benefits Of Creativity (& Why We Don’t Need To Choose Between Conventional & Alternative Medicine)

If you’ve been following what I write, you know I’ve done A LOT of writing about Covid, public health recommendations (including vaccination), and social justice and human rights lately. This is not my typical gig, but given the intersecting disasters we face, it’s felt more important than what I usually write about. That said, what I usually write about (Whole Health) is more relevant now than ever!

Jan 20, 2021 | 0

The Way We Make Health Decisions Need Not Be All Or Nothing

I want to respond briefly to all the people who have responded to me lately with criticism, contempt, and sometimes abuse because "I trusted you to promote health sovereignty and now you've sold out." Or "You teach about the dangers of fear, yet you're going to kill me by scaring me every day when you talk about how many people are dying of Covid." Or “I thought you were critical of corruption and capitalism in health care and Big Pharma, yet you’re promoting Big Pharma’s vaccine, so you’ve let me down.”

Jan 18, 2021 | 0

Is It Safe To Get Vaccinated If You Have Autoimmune Conditions Or Allergies?

In response to the State of A Pandemic essay I posted from my friend Rick Loftus, MD, a front line COVID ICU doctor, virologist, epidemiologist, immunologist, and researcher who used to be on the front lines of the AIDS epidemic, many of you asked questions about autoimmune conditions, allergies, and anaphylaxis risk with regards to the Covid vaccine.

Jan 15, 2021 | 0

A Note To The Vaccine Hesitant From A COVID Researcher & Front Line COVID Physician (& My Sister Keli)

This essay is written by one of my close friends, a doctor I trust who reads my Facebook comments and asked for permission to respond to all those who are vaccine hesitant. This opinion is my friend's opinion, so please don't attack me for sharing what my friend asked me to share as a public health broadcast. Also, please don't ask me questions, as I’m not resourced nor experienced enough to answer them, and neither are my friends on the front lines.

Jan 14, 2021 | 0

There Is A Stand Off Between White Privilege & Democracy – Which Side Are You On?

In a statement by the President of the Ford Foundation For Social Justice, Darren Walker writes, "I have long believed that inequality is the greatest threat to justice—and, the corollary, that white supremacy is the greatest threat to democracy. But what has become clear during recent weeks—and all the more apparent yesterday—is that the converse is also true: Democracy is the greatest threat to white supremacy... Yes, the ideal of democracy is the greatest threat to the ideology of white supremacy; neither can long endure in the presence of the other.

Jan 13, 2021 | 0

Mental Health

We Need Trauma Recovery For Health Care Workers

How To Begin Healing & Milk The Past Year For All It’s Worth

Who Is The “You” That Will Come Out Of Quarantine?

Is Long Covid A Trauma Symptom?

Why Reflexive Rebellion Or Blind Compliance In The Face of Authority Figures May Be The Result Of Unhealed Bullying Trauma

The Difference Between Feeling Shame & Being Shamed

It Is Okay To Not Be Okay

It’s Not “Cancel Culture;” It’s “Accountability Culture”

What Is The Muse – And How Can You Meet Yours?

Why Lockdown Could Be Turning Your Memory To Mush (& How To Reverse It By Adding Novelty To Your Routine)

Amanda Gorman, The Hill We Climb, & How We Must Heal From A 4 Year Abusive Relationship With Our President

The Health Benefits Of Creativity (& Why We Don’t Need To Choose Between Conventional & Alternative Medicine)

The Way We Make Health Decisions Need Not Be All Or Nothing

Is It Safe To Get Vaccinated If You Have Autoimmune Conditions Or Allergies?

A Note To The Vaccine Hesitant From A COVID Researcher & Front Line COVID Physician (& My Sister Keli)

There Is A Stand Off Between White Privilege & Democracy – Which Side Are You On?

FREE ebook—5 Ways Radical Cure REALLY Happens

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