How Not to Lose Your Mind

1.5M ratings
277k ratings

See, that’s what the app is perfect for.

Sounds perfect Wahhhh, I don’t wanna
doctorkintsugi

Reasons to stop fat-shaming

healthforpositivebodies

1. Fat-shaming contributes to poor mental health. Weight-based stigma was associated with increased scores of depression in individuals with obesity [1]. Unsurprisingly, weight stigma has also been associated with increased body dissatisfaction, and decreased self-esteem [2]. 

2. Fat-shaming works against weight loss on a metabolic level, and may contribute to chronic disease. Exposure to weight-based stigma and fat-shaming statements has been shown to increase cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stress hormone, and has been shown to inhibit weight loss. It also works against insulin, thereby increasing blood sugar levels. [3, 4]

3. Fat-shaming makes people exercise less. Research has shown that the more weight-based stigma people experience, the more they avoid exercising [2, 5]. There is no evidence that shaming people for their weight motivates them to exercise, and in fact, it seems to do the opposite. 

4. Fat-shaming makes people eat more. Exposure to weight-based stigma leads to increased caloric consumption [6, 7]. This directly challenges the notion that shaming individuals to lose weight will have any sort of positive or motivating effect. 

5. Do you really need a reason to be kind? Fat-shaming has been associated with a myriad of negative effects on mental and physical health, and has never been shown to have a positive, motivating effect on individuals. Most importantly, though, all people are worthy of respect and should not be judged, shamed, or pressured to act differently due to their weight or appearance. 

The next time you’re thinking of making a comment about someone’s weight out of a desire to ‘motivate them’, or supposed concern about their health, consider the points above. You’re only doing harm to people’s mental and physical health when you engage in fat-shaming behaviour. 

References are included below the break, and I’m happy to chat about any of the above in more detail on request. 

Keep reading

body posititivity fat shaming medicine
lilydodge

May is Foster Care Awareness Month

lilydodge

so I’ve decided to compile a non-exhaustive list of things NOT to say to foster parents! these are all things people have said to me; I didn’t make any up to extend this post.

What happened to them/Why are they in foster care?
Bad stuff. Bad stuff happened. If a kid is in foster care, it’s because bad stuff happened. The details are not your business. 

Were they born addicted to drugs?
For some reason, people ask me this all the time. Too much media coverage about this particular issue, I suppose. This is not your business.

Are you going to adopt them?/You should adopt them!
This is not your business and is usually a very sensitive and painful subject for both the foster parent and the child.

Sometimes I wish I could give my kids away!/Do you want to take my kids?
We get it, kids are annoying and difficult sometimes. Parental commiseration is necessary. But don’t joke about the serious pain and grief that comes with kids losing their families and families losing their kids.

They look just like you/you could really be related!
I suspect people say this as a sort of compliment, but it risks sending the message that genetic ties are what really make a family. It’s just sort of icky.

Where/how did you get them?
I’m happy to answer questions about the foster care system and process; but let’s not phrase it as if there’s a ‘kid store’ I went to and picked one up.

They are so lucky to have you!
No, no they are not. A kid is with me because they are in foster care. A kid is in foster care because bad stuff happened. Placement with me only comes after serious trauma and loss. I am the last, worst option.

They get to do things with you that they wouldn’t otherwise - what an amazing opportunity!
Foster care is not a summer exchange program. Being able to go to Disneyland is not better than being with your family. A savior complex feels good to indulge, but it’s not healthy for either party.

I do something similar - I rescue/foster/adopt/volunteer with animals!
Rescuing, fostering, and adopting animals that need homes is an awesome thing to do, but it’s insulting and disrespectful to compare it to foster care. These kids are not shelter dogs being “rescued,” and they need their humanity, trauma symptoms, and connections to first families to be honored in all their complexities. Please, definitely show me your rescue cat, or tell me about your foster puppies! But don’t talk like it’s the same thing.

You should try [whatever thing you’re selling/your homeopath swears by]!
It takes months of meetings and paperwork to get medication or supplements approved, and we do that with thoughtfulness and intentionality. This is a tricky one, because I find some recommendations really helpful. If you’re a trauma survivor or you work with kids with similar struggles, by all means, suggest a book, or a therapeutic intervention to look into. But don’t try and push whatever capsule or bracelet you swear will “fix” my kid. Cure-alls minimize the issues my child and I are facing, and you are not an expert.

foster care foster parenting child psych
queeringfeministreality
agentscarters

anyway jeff bezos could eradicate homelessness. he could literally give each homeless person 100k and it would only take less than .5% of his entire wealth. what the actual god giving fuck

the-prolefeed

Why do you think they deserve it

anarcho-kaibaism

Well shelter is a basic need, and would at the very least allow them a place where they can get back on their feet. Food water and shelter are necessary for a healthy body and psychology. There’s also the fact that they’re people too, and a little help goes a long way in making a decent community. There’s plenty of reasons

the-prolefeed

Yeah they need stuff, but why does every homeless person deserve 0.5% of someone’s income

teaboot

You have five hundred apples, and just one day to eat them all. 

You pass by a small crowd of hungry children, and decide you’d rather 455 apples go rotten than give them to some snotty brat who isn’t your problem.

It doesn’t matter how hard you’ve worked for your 500 apples, or that you aren’t the parent of any of those kids. in the moment you decide to walk away, it doesn’t matter why they’re hungry, or who owes who what.

You had the opportunity to help people, you had the ability to help people, you had the resources to help people. You had everything you needed to make a small, tiny little difference in someone’s life, and you decided not to.

What are you going to buy in your lifetime that’s worth more to you than your own humanity?

just-pansexual-things

What are you going to buy in your lifetime that’s worth more to you than your own humanity

i-sold-my-soul-to-thefandom

Reblogging for the very, very important lesson

smarter-than-the-republicans

Sometimes I wish there were a Hell if only for the visuals of a bunch of rich shit heads wandering around on fire asking “Where’s my money?!”

nerdgal-dorkski

image
fuck bezos fuck capitalism the world is broken
aspiringdoctors-blog

Anonymous asked:

Hi! My two sisters are general surgery residents, and they have experienced burnout many times. They try not to let it affect them but it’s getting to the point where if they don’t take a break one of them might just lose their shit. I’m worried for them and I hate that I’m unable to help them out.

md-admissions answered:

Hi there anon!

1. Your sisters are badasses, and I hope they know this. 

2. YOU are a badass probably help a LOT and you don’t even know it! You (and any family member, friend, loved one) help a physician who is burning out/burned out when:

-you take time to just listen to us vent. People want to help us, but sometimes before you offer advice, just hear us out. You have no idea how much an active listener helps

-you recognize that they’re not okay. We docs are smart at certain things, but not everything. And we’re usually the LAST person to realize that we’re not okay. When you see that they are in distress and you let them know that you worry for them and you care about them, you are helping. 

-you make time for them. This kind of goes back to the other stuff. Because in our jobs, no one really makes time for us. Especially not in surgical residencies. 

-you encourage them to do things they like when they’re not at work to re-humanize them. Even if it’s cooking dinner, watching a terrible movie, letting them take a nap on your bed, feeding them snacks, etc. The little moments of humanity during residency have been the ones that heal me the most; I think most residents would agree. 

3. You want to help more! To every person like you who worries about a loved one or friend who is a resident physician/physician/med student who is burnt out, burned out, here are some things to start with:

-learn about the financial and institutional structures that entrap and hurt us. Read about the current state of US healthcare, the state of residency training, medical student loans and debt, physician suicide, resident and physician burnout, what medical training entails. 

-learn about our experiences. I know it sounds superficially so stupid that any doctor, resident, or med student would whine. It sounds lame that we smartasses would whine about anything. After all, we put ourselves in this mess, right? NO. Medical training is not TV medicine. The American conception of medicine, medical training, and physicians is erroneous and dangerously so. I recommend reading articles written by physicians, residents, and med students (like @intrainingdoc​, KevinMD, or other medblrs and read about our experiences). Widening our breadth of experience makes us all better people. 

-If your loved one tells you they need to step away from medicine or quit, hear them out before offering your opinion. Don’t dissuade them. No one walks away from this profession, the 6 figure debt, the 10+ years of training casually. If we’re walking away, we are usually doing so because we see no hope if we continue. 

-if you think they are going to hurt themselves or others, call in professional back-up: therapists, suicide hotlines, etc. It’s for their own safety and others if it gets to that point

-do not victim-blame. Residents, med students, and physicians in malignant programs/jobs are victims of an oppressive, antiquated training and healthcare system that is still controlled mostly by old white baby boomer men who have enjoyed the Golden Age of Medicine and think we’re, on the whole, a bunch of whiny privileged porcelain dolls. Fuck’em. The “advice” or “words of comfort” I got when I was burning out that I hated the most was “this will pass” or “just bear with it until the end of the rotation” or “maybe you’re forgetting that this is residency, not a walk in the park.” 


I hope this is a place to start. You’re a great sibling and I hope your sisters know how amazing they are. 

Best,

md-a

relational resilience burnout fuck medicine
aspiringdoctors-blog
highfemscience

More info on the school walkout! Spread the word and please participate if you can!
[set of tweets from the National School Walkout on twitter reading; “This .is .a. national. movement. All schools are encouraged to participate. The 10:00 time is done by your time zone, “rolling” over the country.
Gather your classmates. Work with your administrators and class presidents. Propose these ideas respectfully and efficiently. Just emailing your local school officials can get the ball rolling on this movement. #NationalSchoolWalkout
On Friday, April 20th we want students to attend school and then promptly WALK-OUT at 10:00 am. Sit outside your schools and peacefully protest. Make some noise. Voice your thoughts. “We are students, we are victims, we are change.”
So, what’s our plan? On Friday, April 20th, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine shooting we propose a National High School walk out. Don’t attend school, wear orange and protest. Sign the petition on our page if you pledge to do so. #nationalwalkout #schoolwalkout”]

damnedifyoudeeohh-deactivated20
haamuressu

I hate it when certain type of people, typically 13-20 year old, form this elite clique of “the appropriately mentally ill”, you know, the people who constantly demonize and ridicule healthy coping mechanisms and make “neurotypical karen” jokes about anything that could actually be helpful (ex. healthy sleeping schedule, exercise, healthy diet..) as if those are stupid and laughable and not actually helpful for people who suffer from mental illnesses.

these same ppl also excuse all of their shitty actions with “I have X so it’s not fair to hold me against these standards of basic human decency” and as much as they claim to hate the romantization of mental illness they are actually the worst ones, because instead of posting black and white gifs or whatever they constantly glorify their destructive way of life almost as if it’s a competition of who suffers the most. 

like. going to bed before 2AM and eating three meals a day is not going to be easy or cure your depression and sometimes it’s impossible and that’s ok, but there is no denying that putting effort into the basic things can help. it has helped me. and it pisses me off when people write off drinking water, getting healthy amounts of sleep and going outside as “neurotypical bullshit” because I for one love this neurotypical bullshit because it helps me to cope with my mental illness.