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.

Medicine Life/

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? 

Read my blog post on how to establish and communicate boundaries effectively.

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. 

Check out my YouTube Video for my update on life during these difficult times.

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.

Medicine Life/

“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,

Mental Health/

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
Medical School/

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

Medical School/

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.

Medicine Life/

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.
Follow me on my instagram with similar posts: @dr.mursi.md

Check out my reels, my blog and YouTube channel!

FIGS

Mental Health/

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?

Mental Health/

8 Ways to Use Hateful Comments As Your Fuel to Success

You think you are your own worst critic, but I think the internet could beat you at that. We all know that the internet can be brutal! Here are 8 ways you can use hateful comments as your fuel to success:

1. Learn, learn, LEARN from the criticism by evaluating yourself.

DO NOT let the hate become your definition. DO NOT allow it to get in your head and heart, but listen to what they have to say. Use it to evaluate your wrongs and change yourself for the better. Remember, you are human and you are capable of making mistakes. You are also capable of learning and growing from those mistakes.  Recognize when you have done wrong and this will empower you to be better.

2. Be more accepting of others based on this experience.

When you experience hate first-hand, you know the feeling of being treated horribly. Use this to vow that you would never treat someone like you have been treated. Always remind yourself that everyone is going through something and that lashing out is never the answer. Accept people for their flaws and provide them lessons through kindness. You will gain empathy which you can then use to help others going through a similar experience. You can motivate them and provided them support.

3. Be kind and humble even when they only have hateful words to share.

Taking the time to validate your every move simply is another invitation for criticism from the wrong people. Most likely, hateful people will continue to hate and nothing you say will change their minds. Hateful comments always stem from something, whether it was a trigger from a hurtful experience from their past or anger that has grown in them. People will only take the time to write out comments to hurt you because they are hurt themselves. Trust your path of growth. You will be better off than to validate yourself to them. 



4. Learn to control your anger.

This is challenging when people say things about you after, for example, only seeing a 12-second video of you and defining you by it. It can make you really angry because they had all the opportunity to look into who you are but instead they utilize one content and spread hateful assumptions of who you are as a whole. Whether they are big youtube stars or wanting to be influencers (clearly I am still hurting from my own experience). You can’t change the past but you can take advantage of their actions by learning to control your anger and using this lesson throughout life. Stay calm and know you are worth more than their words and assumptions of who you are.

5. Ignore negative opinions of you.

Not everyone will like you and not everyone will agree with you. That is okay. We all have our own thoughts, mindsets, opinions, and interests. Focus on the positive. Be around positive people with a growth mindset and not people with constant negative opinions. Block hateful comments that provide you little value.

6. Love yourself including all of your flaws and failures.

People will use your past to attack you and bring you down, for example, use your past failures. They may use it to define you and attack your character. BE PROUD of your failures as they are the beautiful life-lessons that build you to be the warrior that you are. Do NOT conform to anybody’s beliefs. Again, love yourself for all your flaws and failures which are leading you to greatness.


7. Use their hate to motivate

Let their words sink in enough to push you forward. For example, people may tell you you are not good enough, you are not worthy. Use these negative comments to motivate you to learn and strive for success. You do not need to prove anything to anyone but yourself. Utilize their hate to fuel your fire to success. Work hard to be the best you can be.

8. Truly, Move-forward

What has happened has happened. It is in the past. It cannot be changed. If you did something wrong and you were criticized for it, learn from it, accept that it happened and move on. Learn from this very experience. You truly have gained so much from it and you will only see it with time. Don’t let it spiral you down a hole of depression and self-hate. People on the internet can care less about what happens to you, but your loved ones and the followers that support you, care a hell of a lot. Move forward! Focus on the good of it, the lesson. People will now learn through you.