by DrMichelle | Blog, Mental Health |
“You know It’s bad when this doctor finally gives up the fight and becomes the patient. It’s pneumonia. Prayers appreciated.” That was the first post I put on social media to update the status…on Good Friday.
Illness had gripped my family a couple of days before our spring break trip and traveled from one family member to the next every couple days until I was the last to succumb. Unfortunately, I was also the one who took the longest to recover and not until it first got much worse. [more]
by DrMichelle | Ask Dr. B., Blog, Encouragement, Mental Health |
Dear Dr. B,
Something weird happens in the days leading up to my husband’s return from deployment either for good or R&R… I find myself doing some weird, completely unnecessary things. Like cleaning out and organizing my closet when I should be getting my kids out the door for school. I’m also often unable to make logical decisions. Easy ones, like what’s for dinner. There’s got to be a good explanation. Is there? [more]
by DrMichelle | Blog, Mental Health |
With almost every patient I see in my office, I spend at least some time discussing the importance of rest, nutrition, and exercise. No matter what the health or mental health condition they are experiencing, those three factors of their treatment plan are the three that are more or less in their direct control, and the three factors that can have a significant impact on their overall emotional and physical well-being.
Yet, if I’m being honest with you, every time I explain the importance of those three factors to my patients, I am mentally challenged to take a mental appraisal of how well I’m doing following my own advice. [more]
by DrMichelle | Ask Dr. B., Blog, Mental Health |
Dementia is a disease that is growing at alarming rates. It is a cruel disease that doesn’t just impact the one diagnosed—it impacts the whole family. It can at times be very frustrating to be a caregiver because out of love you want to take care of your loved one, but they are no longer the same person that you have loved and cherished all these preceding years. In today’s post, we are continuing an interview with a caregiver whose wife was diagnosed with dementia. Today we’re discussing ways of decreasing a caregiver’s frustration. [more]
by DrMichelle | Ask Dr. B., Blog, Depression, Encouragement, Hope, Mental Health, relationships |
In my private practice, I evaluate and treat patients with a variety of conditions ranging from ADHD to depression to dementia, and I find that there are so many un-asked questions, primarily because until you’ve been through a situation, you don’t know what to ask. So I usually try to anticipate some of those questions ahead of time and answer them.
Dementia is a cruel disease that doesn’t just impact the one diagnosed—it impacts the whole family. When a loved one is diagnosed with dementia, caregivers are often filled with fear, concern, and dread. In today’s post, I’m continuing an interview with a caregiver whose wife was diagnosed with dementia, about the importance of respite care for both the dementia patient as well as the caregiver because support prevents burnout.
by DrMichelle | Blog, Encouragement, Hope, Mental Health, prayer |
The early morning temperatures were frigid, enough to make me want to stay in bed. Yet I knew if there was anywhere I might sense His presence, where He might see me, it would be in His house.
I half-wondered if the tears would freeze on my cheeks as I drove the deserted roads alone that morning. Pulling my cape around my head and neck to block the wind, I hoped it might shield any onlookers from noticing my blotchy eyes and puffy cheeks as I skirted from the parking lot into the building.
I spotted her as I entered the sanctuary, but diverted my gaze. [more]
