“The problem with modern psychiatry… You’re sad, you fit the DMS-V criteria for depression, let me prescribe you an anti-depressant, I’ll see you again in 5 weeks and we’ll make eye contact”. – Paul Conti
This morning, I listened to Paul Conti and Peter Attia’s discussion on trauma “How to heal from trauma and break the cycle of shame“. Conti’s words encapsulate the feeling I had, in 1997, when I had to pick a residency program. As much as I loved exploring the human soul and being comfortable as I was with all forms of human suffering, from my limited experience of psychiatry as a medical student, I couldn’t convince myself that I would be happy prescribing pills.
I must admit that my perspective might have been biased by my experience but Conti’s word resonated deep inside me and reminded me of what I felt 25 years ago.
Martin Pham Dinh 