psych

The fear behind mental illness reflects the nature of fear itself: We fear what we don’t know. We can never truly know what is happening inside the mind of another person. We as people follow fixed rules most of the time. Drive through an intersection when the light is green. Wear some amount of clothing outdoors. Don’t cross the double yellow line. So many rules. When rules are broken, it is jarring to us as bystanders. Perhaps that rule breaker is innovative. Perhaps that rule breaker is a genius. Or perhaps that rule breaker is sick. The more bizarre the

Positive Psychology, Lindsay Doran, and Story

Many months ago I attended a lecture by Lindsay Doran on Psychology as an approach to understanding story. It was hosted by the Blacklist. For anyone interested, her Ted Talk covers much of the same material. Ms. Doran is a studio executive that has helped in the development of a number of films, including recently The Lego Movie. She also has a fondness for Positive Psychology. For those not familiar, the wiki page is actually pretty good on the subject. In short, it’s an approach to human psychology that focuses on the positive side of functioning, such as how to

How to Not Burn Out

“I just can’t do it anymore.” People burnout everywhere, in every field. They burn out professionally. They burn out in taking care of others. I live in Los Angeles and I can understand how just driving a car can burn someone out in this level of traffic. No one plans to burn out. Maybe they do have a little awareness that they’re going down that road, though. We have a level of control over where we place our attention, as well as our effort. If you’re worried you’re burning out, consider preventing it. There’s two parts, I believe, to preventing

Psychotic vs. Psychopathic

They aren’t the same. Going back to at least Hitchcock (one of my faves), who brought the muddy term “psycho” into the public psyche, conflated the definitions as if all are violent, and all “crazy” is crazy. I’m sure there are briefer answers out there for those wondering what’s the difference between psychotic and psychopathic. And even though SRSLY made it into the OED because of its widespread use, lay inaccurate uses of the term psychotic will likely not. Briefly in discussing how we got here, the words are interchanged because they sound alike, and are used commonly to describe

Portraying Mental Illness in Story

Mental illness as a term gets thrown around a lot. It’s used by politicians as a scapegoat for problems or a target for funding. It’s sought by individuals to find meaning to their experience, or sometimes a justification for their difficulties. It’s a thing, talked about like any other disease. And yet the term is a lumping of many conditions under a single term, as if all mental illnesses are the same. They are not, but we talk about them that way and “let the experts sort it out.” I get that. At the same time it maintains the mystique

10 Life Lessons from a Psychiatrist

I run into the same issues everywhere, from patients, co-workers, and friends. People are stuck, and not sure how to “un-stuck” themselves. I’ve noticed some basic rules on how to live a more fulfilled life, to make life easier, and make you more effective. Consider them like guideposts if you feel off track. Some may be obvious. Others, maybe not so much. It’s not about knowing them. It’s about where you put your attention and effort. 1. Be Polite I’m not suggesting to be fake or disingenuous. Instead find the way to being kind to others. And if kindness can’t be

Why I hate Xanax

A lot of people like Xanax. It’s given out like candy. People get it from their friends, from their primary care doctors, even from their psychiatrist. I hate it. I might go so far as to say it’s evil, though really it’s just bringing out the worst aspects of our nature. In my professional opinion, it’s bad for you. But no one wants to hear that. Yes, it feels good when you take it. People take it for anxiety. They feel less anxious (usually) after taking it. Must be working, logic would dictate. Unfortunately this is short-sighted, in the same

Anti-Heroes Embodied: The Act of Killing

We love the bad guys. Scarface. Tony Soprano. Vic Mackey. Walter White. The Anti-hero is king in the world of TV and Film, especially of late. It’s probably a fantasy fulfillment, at least to some extent. We love to watch that unacceptable part of us get unleashed, just temporarily. We can barely imagine what would happen if the bad guy was unleashed permanently. What if his killing was legalized, even state-sponsored? Without stating it, that is the subject of the documentary The Act of Killing by filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer, produced by Werner Herzog and Errol Morris. A long time ago

But I’m not crazy, right?

“But I’m not crazy, right?” I get asked this question at least weekly. There’s a person, let’s say twenty years old. Or forty. Or eighty. Or fifteen. Doesn’t really matter the age. And they’ve reached some point where they’re actually starting to question their own sanity, wondering if they’re about to “lose it.” So they come to someone for help. Are they really at risk? Maybe. If so, it’s probably being driven by the fear itself. Of course there’s that old colloquialism that if you think you’re crazy, you’re not crazy. That has a grain of truth. One of the

Paul R. Puri, MD