One of the qualities a psychiatrist is supposed to have is not getting too emotional when talking with a patient. We are supposed to try to be objective in our work. With that in mind, I will apologize in advance for not being as objective when it comes to talking about the current situation with the Big 12 Conference. I readily admit to being a lifelong Kansas Jayhawk fan. When I was hospitalized at age 5, I somehow managed to get special permission to listen to a KU basketball game after the usual allowed time. It was a thrill to see in person KU sports icons like Gale Sayers, JoJo White, and Jim Ryun, attending what was then the Big 8 Basketball Tournament and Indoor Track and Field Championships in Kansas City. They were highlights of the year. That interest in KU has withstood the test of time beyond my own graduation from med school at KU as well as my younger son's graduation from KU. [Read More]

Over the past year, I have had the pleasure of being a regular guest on a cable morning television show. We usually discuss sports during one segment and an issue related to psychiatry in the second segment. Most recently, we talked about the issues of self-confidence, self-esteem, and social anxiety as there had been requests from viewers and listeners of the show to take a look at these subjects. [Read More]

Welcome to the first of many entries to my blog. As some of you might know, the title "Psych It to Me" is a play on words of one of the signature lines from the late-60s television hit Laugh-In. Those of you who remember the show, as I do, recall the various cast members and guest stars who uttered the phrase "Sock it to me" at various points during the show's run. Those four words became a part of the day's culture as did various other expressions from that show. I have learned in my psychiatric practice that words indeed matter whether they are spoken, written, or simply thought. [Read More]