Who’s Depressed? Some of my medical colleagues thought I would see patients sleepless and unhinged, suffering “post-election depression.” I haven’t seen it. Bodies regenerate themselves continuously. They never stay the same, always rebuilding, from the beginning to the end of life. Countries do the same. Populations are born, immigrate, emigrate, grow up and die witnessing […]
Who Will Pay For Health Care? (11/13/12)
So Where’s the Money? The election is over. Who will now pay for health care? There’s a simple answer – you will. Where Will You See Increased Costs? First through higher co-pays. The Affordable Care Act does little to control health insurance pricing or capriciousness (we paid for it last week but we decided against […]
How You View Your Body Changes Your Body (10/17/12)
Thought As Action Ideas change the world. They also change your body. In the early nineteenth century scientists worked eagerly to discover the fundamentals of chemistry. Using progressively more accurate equipment they measured the ratio of oxygen to hydrogen in water, of oxygen to carbon in what we now call carbon dioxide. The ratios they […]
Why Did I Get Sick? Creating a Clinical Narrative (10/15/12)
What Happened To Make Me Sick? Why? People want to know. Why they have an illness and new, never before experienced symptoms plagues, obsesses and fascinates patients. The human brain thrives on order, creating it wherever it can. The confusing pixels of a computer monitor processed in the brain come to represent a 1930s film […]
Rest to Learn (9/3/12)
Want to Learn? Rest What’s the best way to remember a story? It may be to close your eyes and daydream. That’s the conclusion of a study of Michaela Dewar at the Edinburgh University. She looked at men and women 61-87 in relatively good health, asking what improved memory. One answer – not thinking about […]