Category: Mental Health

It is really important to have stable mental health as you go through medicine because this path is a struggle. It becomes vital to practice good mental health. Here are some tips on how to get by.

RYZE Mushroom Hot Cocoa For Sleep Review

RYZE Mushroom Hot Cocoa For Sleep Review

Are you having difficulty sleeping or getting a good night’s rest? If so, you’re not alone. The good news is that there are multiple ways to improve your sleep. One option that has recently caught my attention is RYZE Mushroom Hot Cocoa.

My Experience with RYZE Mushroom Hot Cocoa

I’ve incorporated RYZE Mushroom Hot Cocoa into my nighttime routine and am excited to share my thoughts. While I don’t use it every night because one ingredient is melatonin, I enjoy it about 1-3 times a week. It’s become a comforting addition to my evenings, and let me tell you — it’s delicious. I mix it with warm milk and add a spoonful of organic honey. The result? A creamy, soothing drink that feels like a hug in a cup.

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Now, let me be completely honest: I struggled with the taste when I first bought RYZE Mushroom Coffee a few months ago. I ended up giving it away, but I’m hopeful that my journey with mushroom coffee will be like my journey with avocado. Avocados have many health benefits, but I hated their taste and texture. Thankfully, now I love it! Mushroom coffee has benefits, so I’m optimistic I’ll eventually come around. But for now, the RYZE Mushroom Hot Cocoa has stolen the show.

Ingredients and Their Sleep Benefits

Let’s dive into the ingredients that make this hot cocoa so special and effective for sleep:

1. Glycine (1000 mg)

  • Promotes Sleep Onset: Helps lower core body temperature, signaling the body to prepare for sleep.
  • Improves Sleep Quality: Enhances REM and slow-wave sleep, leading to more restorative rest.
  • Supports Relaxation: Acts as an inhibitory neurotransmitter, reducing brain activity and promoting calmness.
  • Additional Benefits: Glycine supports collagen synthesis (great for skin and joints), is a powerful antioxidant, and may help reduce leaky gut.

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2. L-Theanine (200 mg)

  • Calms the Mind: Increases alpha brain waves, fostering a relaxed but alert state conducive to sleep.
  • Reduces Stress: Lowers cortisol levels, helping you unwind and fall asleep more easily.
  • Enhances Sleep Quality: Improves the depth of sleep without causing next-day drowsiness.

3. Organic Reishi Extract (300 mg)

  • Adaptogenic Properties: Helps the body manage stress and anxiety, which can interfere with sleep.
  • Promotes Relaxation: Contains beta-carotene and triterpenes that calm the nervous system.
  • Supports Sleep Continuity: May enhance deep, restful sleep and reduce nighttime awakenings.

4. Melatonin (3 mg)

  • Regulates Circadian Rhythm: Synchronizes the sleep-wake cycle, signaling when it’s time to sleep.
  • Shortens Sleep Latency: Helps you fall asleep faster, especially in cases of jet lag or shift work.
  • Improves Sleep Duration: Reinforces natural sleep patterns for a longer, uninterrupted rest.
    • Note: Our bodies naturally produce melatonin, so prolonged daily use can lead to dependency and disrupt natural production. High doses (e.g., 5-10 mg) may also affect other hormones, including sex hormones. This makes melatonin ideal for short-term use (e.g., jet lag, shift work, or resetting your sleep cycle) but unsuitable for nightly, long-term use.

Final Thoughts

RYZE Mushroom Hot Cocoa is a delightful and effective way to enhance your nighttime routine. While I wouldn’t recommend using it every night due to the melatonin content, incorporating it 1-3 times a week can promote relaxation, reduce stress, and help you sleep better.

Have you tried RYZE products? What’s your experience? Comment below! Don’t forget to check out my YouTube video or read more on my blog for additional insights.

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How I Deal With Complex Grief

When you lose someone to cancer or an unfortunate cause, you can lose everything along with them. Your reason, your cause, your motivation. Life can become less meaningful. Hell, it can even feel pointless. 

So, how do you find a reason again? How do you stop holding on to the pain?

You will get great advice and reminders about letting go of pain, which is a gradual process that requires patience and self-compassion. It is essential to recognize that healing does not mean forgetting or diminishing the significance of the loss. And it involves finding a way to integrate the experience into your life, allowing it to shape you without defining you. Sure, that all makes sense. But how do you actually do it? How do you redefine your reason when any reason you think of is not good enough? 

To be honest, I am still figuring that out. Right now, I have concluded that when we lose meaningful reasons, when we are in this complex grief, when anything and everything is just not feeling enough to explain a loss, it is okay to not need a reason. 

Maybe you just keep going anyway until a reason is good enough. You keep going to find that reason. 

Yesterday marked 2 years of my mom’s passing to breast cancer. I am in a new space and just doing it regardless of what, why, how, where, when, and how long. I am just being, and right now, that is good enough for me. 

She isn’t here, but she is in me. And just like she showed us strength, I will keep having strength. I love you, Mom. 

I hope you find meaning in this post. If you are having a difficult time and thoughts of suicide, please, seek professional help. You matter. You can dial 988 to reach the suicide hotline.

“Work Harder on Yourself, Not Your Job”

Check out my style video on Instagram, inspiring this blog post.

I have recently started thinking differently about my life and my priorities. I have become more aware of where I invest my energy, and now I am committed to myself more than ever before.

I’m proud of the person I was, who pushed herself to attain her career goals. She wanted to work hard for her parents, the women of Afghanistan, and the American Dream.

While I am proud of my professional achievements, I have come to understand that I need to prioritize my own personal growth and well-being. I have decided to commit myself to this new perspective and am excited to see where it takes me.

Your Job vs. You:

Your job is only a part of who you are. While it’s commendable to excel in your profession, true fulfillment comes from becoming the best version of yourself.

It’s a shift from the external to the internal, from the job defining you to you defining your path.

Investing in Personal Growth:

Working on yourself involves committing to continuous learning and self-improvement. Whether developing new skills, honing existing ones, or caring for your physical and mental well-being, investing in personal growth pays off in all areas of your life.

I may be scared by how much I neglected my health during medical school and residency. If I had taken better care of myself, maybe I wouldn’t have the regrets I have now. I also wouldn’t have struggled so much, constantly in anxiety, placing constant stress on my body.

Balancing & Building My Focus:

I am setting and keeping boundaries related to everything else around me. Read my blog post on the Importance of Setting Boundaries as an Attending Physician.

It’s not about neglecting my job but finding a balance that allows me to excel professionally while fostering personal growth.

As you work harder on yourself, you bring renewed energy and passion to your job, creating a positive feedback loop.

Remember, success is not just a destination but a journey of continuous improvement and self-discovery.

Much love,

Why You Should Love Yourself – The Importance of Self-Love

Love yourself more than anyone else. Here is WHY:
 
1. Mental Well-being:
Self-love fosters positive self-esteem and a strong sense of self-worth, reducing the risk of mental health issues like anxiety and depression. It allows you to develop a more resilient and compassionate attitude towards yourself during challenging times.
 
2. Healthy Relationships:
When you love and respect yourself, you establish healthy boundaries and standards for how others treat you. This, in turn, leads to more fulfilling and respectful relationships with others.
 
3. Emotional Balance:
Self-love enables you to regulate your emotions better. Rather than seeking validation from external sources, you develop an internal source of validation, leading to emotional stability and contentment.
 
4. Pursuit of Goals:
Believing in yourself and your abilities encourages you to set and pursue ambitious goals. Self-love provides the motivation to strive for success, embracing challenges as opportunities for growth.
 
5. Physical Health:
Self-love encourages self-care practices, such as regular exercise, balanced nutrition, and sufficient rest. Taking care of your body demonstrates respect for yourself and contributes to overall well-being.
 
6. Decision-Making:
When you love yourself, you make decisions based on what is truly best for your well-being rather than seeking external validation or approval. This leads to more authentic and fulfilling life choices.
 
7. Empathy and Compassion:
Loving yourself enhances your ability to extend empathy and compassion toward others. By understanding your own struggles and triumphs, you develop a deeper understanding of the human experience.
 
8. Resilience:
Self-love equips you with the strength to bounce back from setbacks and failures. You become more adaptable and less likely to be discouraged by challenges
 
I hope you always remember you are worthy of love.
 
Much love,
Dr. Mursi

My ADHD Story

I was recommended to get evaluated for ADHD by my pediatric attending during my 3rd-year clinical rotations. I did not listen to her recommendations until I started to see her reasoning as I was functionally struggling, but always in near breakdown.

I was in denial because I saw ADHD as a form of weakness and even now still struggle with this idea (I know it is silly but my truth). I finally decided to get evaluated at the end of my third year of medical school. I got diagnosed and was started on the medication, methylphenidate. I tried it for a week or two and decided it wasn’t doing anything and I just needed to change my habits and learn to control my focus.

I continued to struggle but there were also a lot of other things happening in my personal life that I continued to make excuses for my symptoms.

My excuses:

  • My constant inner restlessness is all from my anxiety.
  • my anxiety is from having generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
  • My impatience and impulsivity are part of my personality
  • My inattentiveness is my selective hearing and daydreaming habits from my childhood
  • My disorganization is just my lack of good habits
  • My forgetfulness is from being distracted by so much work.
  • My distracting behavior is from having so many things on my plate.
  • Remarks by friends and family are just remarks and it doesn’t mean anything.

 

 

I continued to just functionally struggle. I worked really, really hard and the payoff was average. Over time, I burnt out more frequently.

My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. I began to get moody, and easily irritable and my anxiety even worsened. I continued to work on coping mechanisms and thought I was doing okay. I thought I was handling it well. I started my intern year of family medicine residency. The stress of my mom’s cancer and the stress of residency was taking on a further toll on me with uncontrolled ADHD.

 

I was struggling with residency as an intern and I had mentioned a history of ADHD to one of my attendings during an evaluation. I was again recommended to discuss treatment with my PCP.

 

 

I have been on methylphenidate for over a year now and my anxiety is more controlled, and my inner restlessness, impatience, impulsivity, distractibility, and disorganization have improved. On the days I don’t take my medication there is a difference compared to when I do. Often noted by others more than myself. I am learning to accept external help for my ADHD.

LYSSE

I struggled for years, I mean really struggled when I could have had it a little less difficult.

This was all shared as a reminder of the various insecurities everyone deals with. truthfully, I still struggle with admitting that I have ADHD out loud as I find this a weakness like I am making an excuse for not being good enough.

As always, my posts are always a self-reminder and a reminder that you are not alone.

@Dr.Mursi.MD

Response to Hardship

The Process of Healing – Journal Entry 1

Through these journal entries, I hope to help myself find meaning in life again after the loss of my mom. I share such a private journey publicly in the hopes of helping someone out there who is also in a lot of pain. You are not alone in your feelings. I am here with you. This can be our healing process. To make the most of these journal entries, I encourage you to be an active participant and journal along with me. Write out your thoughts after reading each journey entry. It can be concerning the topic I talk about or just your current existing thoughts running through your head, keeping you distracted.

 

HOW I RESPOND TO HARDSHIP

I have always believed there are three ways that you can respond to a painful happening in your life

 

 

1. You can get stuck in the past and drown in your sorrows.
2. You can deny its existence and just go with the flow of life.
3. You can acknowledge the pain and actively work on how to grow and
improve.

My response to hardship has mostly been about the next step. What do I have to do next to survive the hardship? What I have to focus on to make the burden of the pain I feel… less. I believe I am a person who often chooses the third option, but at times I feel I do practice the second.

What do I have to focus on to make the burden of the pain I feel… less.

You Are a Warrior

⚠️ My personal self-assessment post. I share as it may help someone else.

Are you worrying about things and feeling anxious/upset/overwhelmed? Here is a self-eval task that I did right before posting this and the outcome, keep reading.

💢 I started typing out what I worry about without pausing.
💢 As I kept typing I had a realization towards the end (one I have had before but reminded again about).
💢 I read through it and realized the theme of it and possibly the root cause.
💢 I begin taking deep breaths, slow and steady. 4 counts in and 6 counts out.
💢 I type out my thoughts base on my realization
💢 Then I remind myself what if I stopped worrying and believe that it will all work out. What if it all works out?

FIGS

Now you try it!

Keep reading to see my self-analysis thoughts.

My freestyle:
I am a worrier. I worry about what happens next. I worry about my goals and where I want to be. I worry about not doing enough today for tomorrow to be better. I worry about missing something today that I would regret not finding sooner. I worry things are not happening now. I worry that if it doesn’t happen soon, then it won’t happen. I especially worry about losing time. I don’t want to lose time, so I want it now so I can be in that state longer or have it for longer.

FIGS

My self-analysis:
My worrying makes me pushy. I push for things now. As soon as I have decided I want it, I act on it or make it known without a second thought. This has affected my relationships because when people are not on my page, I leave them behind. I move forward on my own. My family and friends would be screaming right now in agreement. I have known this about myself for some time now and it is difficult to change a habit which has also lead me to my achievements. Today it was brought to my attention that I could lose something very special because of my worries which causes me to be very pushy.

My reminder:
Instead of worrying about what happens far in the future work on what happens today, this week, this month. Let it all work out naturally because it will all work out nicely in the end. Enjoy the moments of now instead of waiting for the moments of tomorrow. This chapter will be a chapter you will look back. If you rush through it now, you will regret rushing the opportunity of life that you were given.

I hope that made sense.
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FIGS

We Need Actual Therapists To See Our Hospitalized Patients. Here is why:

If you work in a hospital setting, you know that most adult patients have multiple chronic diseases. While we take care of their physical illnesses, we are neglecting their mental health.

How many times have you left a patient’s room and they were still distraught with the news you delivered, or they are sad and disheartened being in the hospital. While yes, you gave a thorough explanation, several minutes to take the information in, and gave them the appropriate time to ask questions. You even provided them a touch of human interaction by placing your hand on their shoulder but was all that enough? Not likely.

Once physicians leave the room, it isn’t clear whether the patients are mentally handling their illnesses. It isn’t clear whether they are emotionally stable. It isn’t clear whether they know coping mechanisms. In fact, you may even acknowledge that they are emotionally drained. You may even ask them if they want to talk to a pastor (likely only a pastor is an option even though there are multiple faiths in America–besides the point), or you actually ask about their mental state. Then what? Most of the time, they deny being depressed. Let’s say they actually admit to being depressed and you offer them antidepressants. Awesome, add another medication to the list! Maybe you even acknowledged that they need a therapist and you connect them with the social worker who provides them with a list of therapists. Most likely, the social worker tells the patient to look at the back of their insurance card and call the behavioral health number to see what is covered by their insurance. Do I have all the scenarios down? And how long do you think it takes for a therapist to actually see the patients as an outpatient? MONTHS and MONTHS!!!

Dealing with physical health conditions is stressful and mentally exhausting. When patients are mentally exhausted, emotionally unstable they are less likely to take care of themselves. This increases their return to the hospital as their chronic diseases worsen. If money is your motivation, this costs billions of dollars because of constant readmissions and further requirements of treatment of their progressed diseases. AND this causes further progression of their mental illness(es) which adds emotionally unstable people in a society that may have other domino effects. The point being, mental health needs to be acknowledged and better addressed.

So, what can we do? I strongly believe we need to provide actual therapists to come and see patients. Similar to how we place consults for physical therapists or case management, we would place consults for a therapist.

You might ask, well, where the hell are the psychiatrists? That is a good point. They only show up when patients are in an active state of suicide, homicide, or self-harm (or having a psychotic breakdown, etc). In terms of the hospitalists, they are seeing a number of patients and often do not have the appropriate time that the patient actually needs and deserves. Plus, not all doctors know how to or are appropriately trained to provide appropriate mental health advice. Therapists would provide patients their undivided attention also provide them with coping mechanisms and mental health goals that they can work on during the patient’s admission. Also, this increases job opportunities.

The days I have more time to talk and listen to my hospitalized patients, I see a huge difference in their spirit and mental state of mind. I can’t say enough how absolutely honored I feel knowing I have lifted their spirits. While I would always and forever make my best effort to do this more often, the reality is that there isn’t enough time every time. The reality also is that not all doctors may put that effort, therefore there isn’t consistency. While a hired therapist’s job is to be consistent. Hiring hospital therapists will provide patients with the mental health support they deserve, therefore bettering their outcomes in their physical health, etc. I can’t prove it just yet but I can just about guarantee it.

What are your thoughts? Does this make sense? Do you currently work in a hospital that provides therapists?