tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400899087028462396.post3470467447939185308..comments2019-06-19T12:02:43.936-07:00Comments on Milo's Janus Outlook: Gratitude is a Skill That You PracticeMilo Thornberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11845016303101455368noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400899087028462396.post-15648036631377835922011-02-22T20:52:15.994-08:002011-02-22T20:52:15.994-08:00and Mitsuko in Tokyo, married to Saturo and with o...and Mitsuko in Tokyo, married to Saturo and with one son age 10, read the poem here just now and said:<br /><br />Konnichiwa Dan-san,<br /><br />Wonderful poem!<br />Thank you for sharing "gratitude" !!<br />Yes, I will practice it too!<br /><br />MitsukoDANIELBLOOMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05130493903696077379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400899087028462396.post-46474168197903320162011-02-22T20:50:56.700-08:002011-02-22T20:50:56.700-08:00( part 2 of Dr Moffic)
A psychiatrist - - at leas...( part 2 of Dr Moffic)<br /><br />A psychiatrist - - at least one with some psychodynamic training - -<br />can't help applying this way of looking at the world to everyday life.<br />That's why I might quickly think that Colonel Sanders of Kentucky<br />Fried Chicken fame might be of special meaning to the Chinese if they<br />associated his appearance to the revered Confucius and their emperors<br />of the past. (See last month's blog). Sure, one has to learn to keep<br />this kind of reaction in check for fear of inappropriately applying it<br />to one's children, friends, acquaintances, and colleagues. Those who<br />are not our patients don't appreciate that we are trying to read their<br />minds or analyze them, as the public commonly assumes anyway.<br />Psychiatry has exposed me to people and populations in ways that would<br />have been unlikely or impossible in any other way. Every patient has a<br />deep and unique story if you allow enough time and trust to hear. In<br />what other field would I have had the chance to work with the<br />transgendered, with refugees from so many countries, and with prison<br />inmates, often all in the same week? One can see not only their<br />weaknesses, fears, and problems, but also their strengths, courage,<br />and potential contributions to society - - and to me. The<br />psychiatrist is often privileged to encounter the heights of service<br />and the depths of evil; courage and/or cowardice; morality and/or<br />corruption.<br />I feel psychiatry has helped me to fulfill my destiny in this life.<br />I've come to believe that each of us is challenged to find the best<br />way to use our unique psychology and skills. Psychiatry has been that<br />for me.<br />There may be one more reason to feel grateful about feeling gratitude.<br />As I was finishing this blog, I ran across new research that suggests<br />that feeling gratitude can improve one's mental and physical health.<br />If so, I hope I have expressed enough gratitude to psychiatry!DANIELBLOOMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05130493903696077379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400899087028462396.post-84405123825738289942011-02-22T20:50:13.470-08:002011-02-22T20:50:13.470-08:00A friend of mine in Wisconsin who I first met when...A friend of mine in Wisconsin who I first met when he published a very good letter to the editor in TIME magazine some 5 years ago about climate change and the need to combat it, just sent me this blog piece he did earlier in the year re gratitude:<br /><br />Thanks to Psychiatry!<br /><br />By H. Steven Moffic, MD <br />webposted on December 3, 2010<br /><br /><br /><br />We've just had Thanksgiving and I have been in a most thankful mood.<br />I'm still feeling that way after returning to work--and even after an<br />email from a colleague reminded me of one of the many problems facing<br />our field. The colleague marveled that a plumber called by her<br />daughter over the weekend charged $175 an hour.<br />I think it's interesting that society will pay as much or more for<br />plumbing of our waste than for plumbing the depths of our minds.<br />Regardless of this reimbursement issue and the many other problems in<br />our field, I give much thanks for my career in psychiatry. Here's why.<br />When I was in high school, I read Freud's Interpretation of Dreams and<br />was fascinated. Combined with my mother's desire for me to be a<br />physician, what better career choice than a psychiatrist?<br />Of course, being so interested in Freud as an adolescent implied that<br />I was curious about myself, and maybe even needed psychiatric help.<br />And I did. I was voted "Most Accident Prone" in High School as<br />confirmation of that.<br />Actually, the most help for myself came from my wife, but psychiatry<br />did its part. I was trained in the era when personal treatment was<br />expected, and I did receive some psychotherapy during my residency. It<br />also helped.<br />And, in turn, psychiatry has allowed me to feel that I've helped<br />others. . . to play my part in Tikkun Olam, in healing the world. Not<br />that this is ever easy. Psychiatry is a relatively young profession<br />and the brain is well-protected and not easily assessable to study or<br />remedy.<br />On Thanksgiving Day, I heard a radio interview with the jazz great<br />Dave Brubeck. About the same time I was learning psychiatry, I began a<br />lifelong fascination with jazz and Brubeck was an early favorite. On<br />the show, Brubeck discussed how sometimes he has felt like a<br />psychiatrist in managing and interacting with his musical group. In<br />addition, he discussed how one's profession would influence what one<br />paid attention to in the world. For him, his love of music led him to<br />pay particular attention to the rustling of the wind, the burbling of<br />the streams, and the clanging rhythm of a car going over bumps in the<br />road (which helped lead to his innovations in jazz rhythms).<br />In a similar way, psychiatry has helped me to see the world with more<br />depth by sharpening and strengthening my senses. This includes hearing<br />and listening, but in a different way than Brubeck. We were taught to<br />listen to patients with a "third ear" for unspoken messages. I think<br />we also can learn to see with "3-D vision" for the hidden messages of<br />appearance. When shaking hands, the nature of the touch may be<br />revealing. We can also learn how to "smell a rat," though<br />unfortunately, that took me a long time.!DANIELBLOOMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05130493903696077379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400899087028462396.post-65281570468322247432011-02-22T06:41:15.909-08:002011-02-22T06:41:15.909-08:00Thanks, Steve! It is a beam of light!Thanks, Steve! It is a beam of light!Milo Thornberryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11845016303101455368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400899087028462396.post-42382958207990868392011-02-22T03:05:36.814-08:002011-02-22T03:05:36.814-08:00A beam of light from Danny Bloom.A beam of light from Danny Bloom.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com