I have seen so many various ideas for combatting COVID-19 (coronavirus) flying around the internet and it's really gotten me thinking about how humans tend to behave in times of stress. One intervention that I keep seeing is the idea to make your own cloth masks to protect yourself from coronavirus. I can completely understand [...]
We realize that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected almost everyone in one way or another. At Free Range Psychiatry, we are making some changes in response to COVID-19: 1) We are no longer offering office visits or house calls at this time. All appointments will be held via online video sessions using Zoom. Click here [...]
With everything that is going on with the Coronavirus pandemic, many of us have found ourselves experiencing high levels of stress. During times like these, even the most resilient amongst us (myself included) may start noticing worsened mental health in the form of increased anxiety and depression. It's immensely important that during these stressful times [...]
Since starting medical school back in 2006, I have worked through multiple natural disasters and outbreaks. I can't even recall them all, but I remember surviving Hurricane Dean while I was a medical student on the island of Dominica. During my psychiatry residency, I worked in a psychiatric emergency room in Brooklyn during Hurricanes Irene [...]
An estimated 6.4 million American children ages 4-17 have been diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). The first line treatment for ADHD is often medication, which comes with a whole host of serious side effects, including sleep problems, decreased appetite, weight loss, irritability and even psychosis. Fortunately, there are a variety of other non-medication [...]
There's fresh evidence that eating a healthy diet, one that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables and limits highly processed foods, can help reduce symptoms of depression. A randomized controlled trial published in the journal PLOS ONE finds that symptoms of depression dropped significantly among a group of young adults after they followed a Mediterranean-style [...]
From EducateInspireChange.org: Clinical psychologist, Julia Rucklidge, delivers an enlightening TED talk on the importance of nutrition and its role in mental health. Julia reminds us of a time when Dr. Semmelweis was ridiculed and dismissed for suggesting that doctors wash their hands before touching pregnant women. She compares the radical reaction that doctors had then, [...]
Major depressive disorder is estimated by the WHO to affect more than 300 million people globally, making depression the leading cause of disability worldwide. Antidepressants are commonly used to treat depression. However, the list of possible short-term and long-term side effects of antidepressant medication is long. Patients who try to stop taking antidepressant medications frequently encounter [...]
As a huge believer and personal witness to the power of psychedelics and the role they can play in healing mental health issues, I am thrilled that Johns Hopkins will be opening a new center for psychedelic research. It's about time! From the NY Times: Since childhood, Rachael Petersen had lived with an unexplainable sense [...]
Meditation and yoga have been practiced by humans for thousands of years. The physical and mental benefits of both are well documented and include the reduction of anxiety, depression and stress. A study published in the journal Brain Imaging and Behavior used MRIs to measure brain structures in participants who practiced meditation and yoga. They [...]
