The Masked Shrink

Something that is true for me: I am way happier when I embrace pessimism. When I do, I get to enjoy more pleasant surprises when things go better than anticipated. I can be happy that I just survived the day rather than being disappointed in my failure to "thrive."

Is BlueSky less toxic than other social media sites or have I just avoided the trolls thus far?

I love my e-bike commute. Not all of us are athletic enough to bike the full distance to our place of work, but the pedal assist opens up a whole new world. And I am saving so much money on fuel and insurance.

In times of stress, he falls back on his catch phrase from his reality TV show.

To the people who flipped our house before we bought it, I am grateful for you building my confidence. I have learned that I can do a way better repair job with YouTube knowledge in comparison to your sloppy job.

If medicine was like Step 1 TikTok video by Dr. Glaucomflecken

And for reference, a video of what kind of things doctors are encouraged
to memorize instead: www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8SvYNe5/

Might be worth trying to get in the ear of the group of doctors who write the board exams/other medical standardized tests. If healthcare for trans people questions start trending on tests, they are going to study this topic more.

Even having some of the info about autism from the fine print of the DSM-V tested could go a long way. Heck, even the basic diagnostic criteria so there is none of this ruling out autism based on things like making eye contact or lots of creativity.

Because let's face it, we doctors tend to be a neurotic bunch, and if we know it is likely to be on the test, we are more likely to study it.

I was taking the PRITE yesterday, a standardized test used in psychiatry residency. Got me thinking, maybe patient advocacy groups and the #autism community need to fight to have a place at the table where decisions are made about what type of questions are on these exams.

3) Follow Alexis Nikole/Black Forager on social media. She is like the Steve Irwin of edible plants and will guide you on the path of happy snacking.

2) Watch more cat videos (self-explanatory)

1) Watch (or rewatch) Avatar: The Last Airbender. You need Uncle Iroh and King Bumi wisdom is your life. Plus laughs are good.

Three tips for a happier life from an autistic psychiatry resident:

As someone who used to work with protein, DNA, and RNA as part of bench research, I find it hilarious when people fear RNA. Breathe on it and it is gone. If DNA is like info in a library, RNA is like a snap chat.

My favorite quote from Princess Bean from Disenchantment: "Two things can be real." Wisdom for our time, that. Embrace dialectical thinking!

For the people who ran the clinical trials on acamprosate or involved in getting it to market, I am curious: Was making the dose 666 mg TID a way to be funny, or was using the devil's number completely unintentional? #pharmacology #addiction

Two easy ways to get me to like you: 1) Express admiration for the works of J.R.R. Tolkien or 2) talk about being a Zelda fan. Do either of these, and you can make a lot of mistakes with me and I will still like you as a person with almost unlimited patience. #autism

That hit hard right now. So much truth there.

I highly recommend sharing articles you do agree with more or as much as you quote post writers and sharing articles you disagree with.

Give articles you like traffic! Not just give traffic to hate reads.

Question to parents of neurodivergent children: How does one go about diplomatically confronting teachers that shame neurodivergent traits without risking that teacher retaliating by further shaming your child? #adhd #parenting

And guess what? I'm not dead, yet.

I decided to live a little dangerously today. Ate some mushrooms I found in the woods and identified myself. I'm still alive. Not even a tummy ache. #foraging

If a patient with ADHD sees clinical notes by me, I hope they don't feel hurt by me documenting when they are late to appointments. It is just me providing objective justification of the diagnosis and/or treatment plan.

Would it be problematic if an interviewer asks why I applied to their program and I mention among other reasons that one of their faculty has pink hair and I'm planning to dye my hair purple? I hate ambiguous professionalism rules in medicine. #residency #medicine

Some exceptions to this, but in general have not liked it when a therapist regularly self disclose. The ones who routinely do it end up making premature conclusions about things. While my current therapist will occasionally self disclose, it is done sparingly but effectively. Others takes?

What if I'm positive we are all going to die?

Was helping a colleague with some computer walk throughs in person while she was camera off on a separate zoom call, volume cranked up. While I was near sensory overload, she suddenly unmuted and answered a direct question to her without missing a beat. Is that what NT multitasking is like? #autism

And then when it does not believe I am the age I say I am and I wonder if I look younger or older.

I love lithium. Only mood stabilizer that can reduce dementia risk in bipolar disorder. At first it was a bummer thinking about how pharma might not want to pay for a trial on an old drug, but maybe a foundation for Alzheimer's?