Who Is Really in the Room? – A Psychiatrist’s Reflection on Intentionality and the Future of Mental Health
Sometimes, when I sit in front of a patient, the silence between us feels crowded. There are two of us in the room — but it rarely feels like just two. There’s the voice of the parent who once said, “You’re too sensitive.” The shadow of the boss who whispered, “You need to toughen up.” The echo of the partner who walked away when pain became inconvenient. And sometimes… there’s me. Not the psychiatrist I want to be — but the one who’s tired, distracted, or afraid to say the wrong thing. That’s...
Lithium: The Golden Medicine Nobody Talks About
When I first began my psychiatry specialty training in Romania, lithium was almost impossible to find. Patients rarely wanted it, partly because it was difficult to obtain, and partly because its reputation was marred by whispers of “too many side effects.” Lithium was seen as heavy, dangerous, and unattractive. Now, many years later, I see it differently. Today, I know that lithium is, in fact, golden medicine, if and only if we respect certain universal laws. Just like in every part of life,...
When Healing Needs New Air
A couple of days ago, I stepped outside the hospital. The automatic doors slid open, and the sun hit my face like a warm hand. The air smelled of cut grass and distant rain. A breeze wrapped around my shoulders, soft and deliberate. I hadn’t realized how shallow my breathing had been inside until I felt my lungs expand in the open. The fluorescent light of the ward, the faint antiseptic smell, the constant low hum of machines - all of it had been pressing in. Within seconds, my heart rate...
We Forgot How to Feed Ourselves
Last week I told a patient to eat one egg a day. That’s it. One egg. Packed with protein. Rich in fat-soluble vitamins. A natural source of choline, selenium, and vitamin D, especially when paired with a bit of sunlight. He looked at me and said, almost apologetically: “But eggs are expensive. Just give me the vitamin D pills. One bottle lasts a month. A carton of eggs… just a few days.” And something in me twisted. Not in judgment, but in sadness. Because I realized, once again, how far we’ve...
The War Inside the Mind: What We Feed Ourselves Is Who We Become
There are days when I sit across from someone in my clinic, and the story they tell me (of anxiety, of racing thoughts, of deep exhaustion) isn’t about what happened to them. It’s about what they keep living, over and over again, in their own mind. It’s not the world that breaks them. It’s their mind that doesn’t stop replaying the fears, the guilt, the comparisons, the shame. I say this often, maybe too often: We are what we eat, what we think, what we drink, what we smoke… or snort. But I...
🔥 The invisible burnout no one talks about (especially the high-performers)
You love what you do. So why are you so exhausted all the time? I’ve seen it in the hospital. I’ve seen it in coaching calls. And sometimes, I’ve seen it in the mirror. The kind of exhaustion that doesn’t scream, but settles in quietly, like fog. You wake up. You show up. You deliver. But inside, something is slipping. And the scariest part? You still love what you do. That’s what makes it so dangerous. You’re not dragging yourself to work. You’re not bored. You’re not stuck. You’re...
The Day I Chose a Comment Over My Child
“People are lonelier than ever. They don’t want more content - they want more connection.” I read this in a post by Steven Bartlett last week. I was at the beach. My husband is beside me. My son digging tunnels in the sand. The sun soft. The waves slow. The moment, perfect. And yet I wasn’t in it. I wasn’t on a Zoom call. I wasn’t working. I wasn’t filming a Reel. I was on LinkedIn. Reading. Scrolling. Replying. And then I heard it, faint but clear behind me: “Mama! Mama! Come see the tunnel!”...
The Best Doctors Don’t Wear White Coats – They Live Inside You (And it’s time you finally believed that)
It was early morning when I saw the post. Still in my robe, coffee steaming beside me, my eyes landed on a list shared by a fellow therapist, Alina Maria Blăgoi. She quoted Charlie Chaplin, a man known for his humor, but whose depth too often gets overlooked. One line stopped me: “I love walking in the rain… because no one can see my tears.” I felt that. Not because I was sad. But because I knew how many of us hide our exhaustion under the performance of competence. We show up, smile, and keep...
Longevity Doesn’t Come in a Pill. It Comes in Presence.
A few days ago, I walked barefoot in the forest with my son. The earth was cool and wet under our feet. The light filtered through the leaves like gold dust. Adam giggled as he picked up a stone, then looked up to see the sun breaking through the trees. No app. No notifications. Just our breath, our laughter, and the raw pulse of life. In that moment, I thought about how far we've drifted from what we were made for. As a psychiatrist, I see what happens when people lose touch with nature, with...
Bipolar Disorder: What Healing Really Looks Like (Beyond the Diagnosis)
The moment after the diagnosis often feels the hardest. Even when the words make sense. Even when they bring relief, finally, a name for the struggle. There’s still that quiet, sharp question inside: "What does this mean for my life?" "Will I ever be stable?" "Will I lose myself?" I know this moment well. Not from the textbooks. But from the faces sitting across from me, their eyes filled with both hope and fear. From the parents who write to me, asking about the patterns they’ve seen but...
11 Myths About Bipolar Disorder (The Stories That Keep People Silent for Too Long)
What if the story you believe about bipolar disorder… isn’t true? How would you know? How would you know if the thing you call burnout... The thing you call stress... The thing you call just being difficult... …is actually something else? What if it’s not your personality? Not your failure to cope? Not a weakness to be hidden behind a smile? What if the patterns you’ve been wrestling with have a name? And what if that name has been buried under layers of myths, misunderstandings, and silence?...
Bipolar Disorder Is Not One Thing: Understanding the Spectrum (and Why This Matters More Than You Think)
After my last article on the topic, many people reached out. Some shared their own stories quietly, sometimes painfully. Some simply said, “Thank you. I had no idea.” But one message stayed with me. It was from someone who didn’t write about themselves. They wrote about their parents. "I’ve read your articles, and now I wonder… could this explain what I grew up with? Could this help me understand them, and finally make sense of all those years?" There was no blame in their words. Only longing....
I’m Not Addicted… I Just Have One Glass a Day.
Imagine a quiet evening. The kids are finally asleep. You slip onto the sofa, the soft pop of the wine bottle marking the end of another long day. You pour a glass, not too much, just enough. It’s your moment. Your ritual. You’ve earned this. But have you ever stopped to ask: Why do I need this to unwind? I’ve heard it more times than I can count. "I’m not addicted. I just drink a glass of wine every evening to relax. It helps me unwind." And I get it. As a psychiatrist, I’m not here to shame...
What Psychiatry Taught Me (and What They Don’t Tell You)
I’ve spent years studying the mind. Diagnosing. Treating. Listening. Helping people find their way back from darkness. But some of the most important lessons I’ve learned—the ones that actually change lives—aren’t in the textbooks. No professor stood at the whiteboard and told me this. No exam tested me on it. So today, I’m telling you. Because you deserve to know. Here’s What They Don’t Tell You: You are not just your thoughts. You are not just your biology. You are not even just your past....
Bipolar Disorder Is Not What You Think: What If You’ve Been Asking the Wrong Questions?
How would you know if the thing you call stress… is actually something else? What if the story you've been telling yourself is only half the truth? How long have you been working so hard to hold it all together, without realizing you're holding together the wrong pieces? I meet them when they collapse. Not when they're on top of the mountain. Not when they feel unstoppable. Not when they launch the project, lead the team, run the marathon. No, most people don't come to me when they're...
Get My Blog Posts Right in Your Inbox Every Week
Get My Blog Posts Right in Your Inbox Every Week