Knitting again and other mid-December Ramblings

Knitting

This weekend I picked up my knitting needles again. It had been so long since I had knit something. It’s also been a while since I last blogged!   I purchased this yarn over a year ago.  That tells me how I have been neglecting the things I enjoy. One ‘small’ reason was I was having to re-certify  my Psychiatry Boards which I can gladly report I completed and passed. I started the process in June and finally finished several weeks ago.  This was round three.  It was different this time in that I was able to read 30 articles and pass mini tests.  It was a lot of reading but I would say this was better than sitting for the 3 to 4 hour exam.   Every 10 years we must re-certify although the requirements are changing.

Glad I was finally able to pick up my knitting again and just relax. I am taking a few days off each week because of the mid week holiday’s. I don’t like to use vacation time during the winter months, but I will gladly take it.  Knitting for me is meditative. It lets me sit on the couch and get lost in thoughts or if my pattern isn’t too hard I can also binge watch shows I have wanted to catch up on.  I encourage my patients to take time for self care. So whether it’s knitting, painting, yoga or whatever suits her I encourage my patients to do as much as they can. Life can get in the way sometimes of good self care. It is important we make sure we find the time to nourish ourselves.

On another note I got to go to Star Wars with my teenage  son.  I was in shock he went with me because my mere existence embarrasses him. Thankfully, his friends couldn’t go and he really wanted to.  Mom win!  The movie was great but these few and far between moments I will cherish forever.  I love that I got to spend the afternoon with him like I used to when he was young.

Have a happy holiday or few days off!

I have a name.

In life there will always be things that bother us.  For me one of my biggest pet peeves came when all of a sudden I went from being a Psychiatrist to becoming a “behavioral health” provider.  I personally can’t stand it.  I feel like it lessens my training as a Psychiatrist.  I am a Psychiatrist not a behavioral health specialist.  I think what bothers me more is that we didn’t fight the name change of the field.   Did surgeons become cutting specialists???   I think I detest it so much because I know how hard I worked to become a psychiatrist.  Now to call me “a behavioral health specialist” takes away from the field of Psychiatry.  There is no such thing as a “behavioral health” residency.  Psychiatrists as a group should have said,”no” when it was implemented by hospital administrators.  I don’t know what drove the decision to change the name of the department.  I see it more in hospitals that don’t have Psychiatry residencies.  I think because all hospitals are required to meet every patient’s mental health needs they came up with a way to offer mental health services that was less stigmatized which gets me onto another topic for another day as to why we still make it a “bad thing” to seek out mental heath care.