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self care

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Let’s talk about food

Diet

I am taking a break over the holidays. For the next four weeks I will be republishing a few of my favourite blogs. In continuing with thoughts about selfcare, I would like to talk about food. I hosted a dinner party the other night and there was a vegetarian, someone who was Banting-it and a gluten intolerant guest. We generally agreed that Trump was a disaster, wailed about corruption in SA politics and lamented the drought. But when we got to food, the opinions clashed and arguments got heated. I bet that Mrs Cavewoman host did not have these problems.…

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Let’s talk about self care- introduction

Family

We are biological beings. At a basic level everybody knows that for a plant to flourish it needs water, nutrient rich soil, air and sunshine. Human beings aren’t that different. To thrive and avoid disease we need at minimum a healthy diet, exercise, fresh air and like our chlorophyll infused friends- sunshine. It seems obvious, doesn’t it? When we are hungry, we should eat. When we are tired, we should rest. Yet, for many in my practice, meeting these basic biological needs seems like an indulgence. An unobtainable luxury. Success is often driven by grit, determination and a high threshold…

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Let’s talk about sleep

Health

Almost all of my patients struggle with sleep problems. It stands to reason, a symptom of many mental illnesses is disturbed sleep. Furthermore, sleep disturbances destabilise mental illnesses and makes them worse.So, for many of my patients addressing sleep problems is a serious priority. It should be for you too. 40% of South Africans are not getting enough sleep. Sleep deprivation is linked with chronic illnesses like hypertension, heart disease and stroke. It drops your immunity, so you end up with constant colds and flus. Being sleep deprived makes you moody, depressed and leads to cognitive decline and memory problems.…

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Inflammation: the brain on fire

Health

A patient came in very upset. She was suffering from headaches and joint pains. She had been to various physicians and had several tests done. She was told that her pain was due to her mood disorder. She felt that she wasn’t being taken seriously, that her doctors wrote it off as “all in her head”. The reality is that mental illnesses can make you physically ill, and physical illnesses can trigger a psychiatric illness. The common pathway is inflammation Inflammation is your body’s response to insult and injury. It is normal and necessary. It’s when a part of your…

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The happiness enigma

Lifestyle

A patient recently came into my practice and pleaded: “I just want to be happy.” I was touched. Afterall, who doesn’t want to be happy? It was such a seemingly small and reasonable request. I felt that I was letting her down by saying that I could not guarantee happiness. That happiness is a state of wellbeing that encompasses living a good life and has to be self-generated. As a psychiatrist, I could help her with her thieves of happiness. Those forces which thwart her attempts to be happy. In this patient, it was the unholy triad of depression, poor boundaries…

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Is Meditation really all that?

Lifestyle

Is Meditation all that? Well, I’m glad you asked. Meditation is the practice of using various techniques to train the mind to focus and be clear. The modern world is becoming more and more plugged-in, frenetic and multi-tasking. Meditation may well need to be the next step in our evolution. Eastern religions and philosophies have always extolled the benefits of meditation. In the West, we have been more sceptical of the benefits of sitting still and doing “nothing”. Over the last few decades, science has been applying tools like functional MRI’s and EEG’s and rigorous research techniques, like longitudinal studies,…

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The holiday blues – tinsel and tears

Family

Summer holidays are starting. I have learnt to close my practice doors in the middle of December. Partially because of increased family commitments, but also because everybody is so out of their routines that they miss their appointments or get the times wrong. During the December holidays, routine psychiatric work falls apart and emergency work picks up. We cannot compare holiday blues and stress to clinical depression and anxiety. It’s like comparing a cold to incapacitating flu. The emergency work I handle seems to be triggered by increased alcohol and substance abuse, less sleep than usual and financial stress. There is…

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