News Summary
A Fast Way to See If You’re Wise or have Wisdom
My mentor Dr. Jeste recently published his book "Wiser," which describes wisdom and its role in our happiness. He posits that Wisdom is a potentially modifiable trait with seven primary components: acceptance of diverse perspectives,...
The Paradox of Choice: Do More Options Really Make You Happy?
Economists and business leaders tell us that more choice is better. But the truth is that you'd probably be miserable if you had unlimited access to all the goodies in the world. Why? Because according to research, endless choice opens the door to regret, self-doubt,...
Raising Great Kids: Developing the 24 Character Strengths
Recent pandemics, war, and mass shootings have stressed our kids more. We want to raise good kids, and these tough times have made us wonder how to do the job right. I came across this old article by Steinburg-Kunts. She took it from Marin Seligman's work on Character...
Spirituality and Medicine: A Surprising Pairing Can your doctor discuss spirituality with you?
I did not think of the importance of religion or spirituality in my early years of practice. Moving to Alabama and working with religious-minded patients made me realize that faith and spirituality are essential in healing. Features of spirituality include a...
Three Years of Pandemic Followed by War and Inflation! This Year, Try Spring Cleaning Your Brain.
Three Years of Pandemic Followed by War and Inflation! This Year, Try Spring Cleaning Your Brain. A recent AmericaTM poll, fielded in March 2022 by The Harris Poll on behalf of APA, revealed striking findings. More adults rated inflation and the invasion of...
Why Do People Deceive Themselves?
Whom do we deceive the most? If you know the answer, you are not fooling yourself. We deceive ourselves to self-preserve from falling apart and shield our positive image. In the journal philosophical psychology, Marchi & Newen have analyzed four common strategies...
Keep Forgetting Things? It Might Be a Hidden Brain Advantage
Forgetting things can be annoying and worrying. As we grow older, those trends make us wonder if we are getting dementia. According to a new theory in the journal Nature Reviews Neuroscience, there are several key points: We must remember that, at any moment,...
The Seven Habits that Lead to Happiness in the Old Age
We see many unhappy, lonely, and downright miserable older people in our medical practice. In a recent book, Arthur Brooks talks about creating habits earlier in your life to bring and maintain happiness in later life. Happiness usually increases...
We Don’t Need Self-care; We Need Boundaries
This Doximity article (submitted by my friend Dr. Debbie Kolb) discusses female professionals being bombarded with so much self-care advice. Author Pooja Lakshmin states that busy physicians do not have time for self-care (Go for solo lunch, pedicure, spa and massage,...
Just 8 Minutes of Exercise a Day Is All You Need
Really? The CDC recommends at least 150 minutes of "moderate intensity" exercise each week, such as walking briskly, or you could spend 75 minutes each week doing vigorous exercise, like running. The CDC also recommends muscle-strengthening activities at...
Nearly 1 in 3 Americans Anticipates More Stress Over Holidays This Year
More than 30% of adults said they expect to experience more stress this holiday season than the last, with half worried about affording holiday gifts. Yet adults were also less worried about spreading or contracting COVID-19 at a holiday gathering than last year. The...
Americans are Drinking Less than they Used to: Should we Thank Young People for “Sober Curious Movements”?
The average number of drinks Americans consume in a week has been falling over the last several years — from 5.1 in 2003 to 3.6 in 2021, Gallup found. 60% of Americans say they drink, down from 65% in 2019, Younger people are leading the...
Disengaged employees have the power to break your workplace.
Engaged employees are inspired, productive, and motivated. They love what they do, try hard, and care about your company and its direction. According to Gallup, 34% of US employees were engaged in late 2021. Those lucky organizations with higher...
Employee Happiness
US workers’ mental health strained; employer relations cited as a significant factor. LifeWorks released its monthly Mental Health Index™ that found 17 percent of Americans report a decline in trust between employers and employees since the start of the...
Are Wealthy Countries Happier than Poor Countries?
The factors that contribute to Happiness are as subjective and specific as the billions of humans they influence, but a few have continued to resonate over time. Family. Love. Purpose. Wealth. The first three examples are tough to measure, but the latter can be...
Mistreatment and Discrimination Take Burnout Toll on Physicians
In 2019, approximately 13,000 healthcare workers reported nonfatal occupational intentional injuries. Little is known about physicians' mistreatment and discrimination experiences by personal characteristics (e.g., gender and race). A new research article says that...
How Many Walking Steps do you Need Each Day?
A brisk walk is the most straightforward exercise to get you in shape. Around 62% of people reported walking (in 2010) at least once for 10 minutes or more in the previous week. Last week's study published in Nature Medicine identified statistically...
Mindful Investing: How to Balance your Emotions While Investing in the Bull and Bear Market?
Life has its cycles, as do the economy and the financial markets. But when it comes to market cycles, emotions often get in our way. Strong feelings can cloud our judgment and steer us toward financial decisions that may not support our long-term goals. Taking a...
Do you want to live longer? Find a Female Physician
I am going to offend someone here. Female physicians are better than male physicians. Are you surprised? An earlier 2017 study of patients admitted to internal medicine wards in the USA noted that those cared for by female physicians had a lower...
How To Be Resilient: Four Steps to Success When Life Gets Hard
A must-follow blog for positive well-being is from Eric Barker. In this blog, he talks about Icelandic life and how it has made them more resilient. Taking material from the book "Comfort Crisis" Barker outlines four steps. 1. Too much...
Friendship in the USA: Current Status, Change, Challenges, and Loss
The survey center of American life recently published a survey result on friendship. The pandemic has placed significant challenges on making or maintaining a friendship. -Our number of close friends has declined considerably from 30 years ago, when 33% of U.S. adults...
Is Unrealistic Optimism a Positive Delusion and Hard to Change?
Optimism is viewed by many as an indication of mental health, associated with higher levels of subjective well-being, better physical health, and more success. Unrealistic optimism or optimism bias is the "tendency for people to believe that they are...
Bedside Manners are Essential for your Patients, Yourself and Good Outcomes
The bedside manner is the way a healthcare professional communicates with patients. It includes verbal and nonverbal communication, which can significantly impact the patient's experience. Bedside manner is one of the most important things about the healthcare...
Openness to Experience: The Gates of the Mind
Some of you may have taken the Big Five-factor personality test at work or school. These consist of Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion/Introversion, Neuroticism, and Openness to experiences. Open people tend to be intellectually curious, creative, and...