Dr. K Psychiatry
341 King St. L4R 3M7 Midland, ON, Canada

Robin’s virtual office/Angus’s bathroom, temporarily until we can find someone to finish the woodwork. But it is at least insulated and warm now. Angus has been zooming a lot during the renovations.

In CBT I often talk to clients about ways to think rationally when something bad happens. Some of you will know of the example of my snowmobile trailer theft story, where I skipped feeling angry and instead thought about what kind of life the thief or thieves must have had to make them think that trailer theft was the best thing to do. (Then I got Coleen Walsh to paint the Dark Side of the Moon album cover on a new one, making it essentially theft proof!) Anyway, today I was... reading about the philosopher Epictetus, on the Daily Stoic site and found this quote: As Epictetus put it and providing an important Stoic lesson: I keep an iron lamp by the side of my household gods, and, on hearing a noise at the window, I ran down. I found that the lamp had been stolen. I reflected that the man who stole it was moved by no unreasonable motive. What then? Tomorrow, I say, you will find one of earthenware. Indeed, a man loses only that which he already has. I had never seen this before but reflected with pleasure that I was able to adopt the same perspective as a philosopher whose teachings I try to spread because they fit with CBT. I think I’m on the right track.

I'd like to announce that our practice is now 100% virtual, for safety reasons. All visits are by phone, or computerized audiovisual connections. We routinely use Zoom, FaceTime, Ontario Telemedicine Network (most secure), and Facebook messenger (least preferable) according to your preference. Seeing nobody face-to-face in person ensures that none of us are at risk of transmitting a COVID-19 infection, and also better ensures your privacy, because you don't have to share a w...aiting room. Our contact information is the same. Robin takes calls at: 705-644-2226 during our working hours, and the answering machine takes messages. We are not able to exchange text messages, or emails for appointments, but we can communicate via the secure scheduling link, if you are one of our patients. Our fax number is the same: 1-888-326-9511. Dr. K

I like mindfulness because it helps you to cultivate not judging. Judging in our day to day lives usually leads to unpleasant emotions and who needs more of those? But it occurred to me today that by not judging, I mean not to judge from an emotional mindset. When you are being careful, rational and thoughtful, maybe that's when judging could be ok. I think that's supposed to be how an impartial court judge looks at things. - Dr. K

Finding myself with a couple of minutes to spare between clients, I found the latest "daily stoic" email to be rather enlightening, and very consistent with the ideas about finding different perspectives on the same situation, which I usually cover during CBT. Apparently this idea has been around for centuries... - Dr. K "Seneca was not excited to be exiled to Corsica, a mountainous and rough-hewn island 60 miles off the coast of Italy, in 41 CE. It was over 190 miles from R...ome. It was a rock in the middle of the ocean with a single paved road. It was far from his friends and family. Anyone who reads the consolation he wrote to his mother during his time there can see that the person he was really consoling was himself. Because he was miserable in this godforsaken place. So it catches a student of history off guard to read Napoleon’s descriptions of his bucolic boyhood and beloved homeland of Corsica. This was a place he was willing to fight and die for. This is the place he wanted to see one last time before he was exiledthe place he wept to think he would never see again. That’s sort of how things go, isn’t it? It’s what that expression one man’s trash is another man’s treasure means. But also that one man’s nightmare is another man’s dream. What matters is how we choose to look at things, what matters is the perspective we bring to the situations we face. Seneca could have drank in the beauty that Napoleon did, he could have approached Corsica with more childlike eyesbut instead all he could see was what he lost, all he could do was compare his fate to his life in Rome. In so doing, he deprived himself of what was actually around him and he made his sentence more difficult. The question for you today is in, what way are you doing the same thing to yourself? With where you live? Or the job you have? Or the person you married? Or the punishment you’re enduring?"

Happy Thanksgiving to all. It’s a great day to eat turkey, if you aren’t a vegetarian, and a great day to be thankful if you have anything to eat at all. Many people in the part of the world where I live can barely afford to pay for housing. If you have a secure place to live, you can be thankful for that. If someone loves you, or cares about you, you can be thankful for that. If you have the ability to feel emotions and to think rationally, even if not all the time, you can... be thankful for that. If you are retitred, or have the ability some day to retire, you can be thankful for that. If you have the means to protect yourself from COVID 19, you can be thankful for that. If you are sad because you can’t share thanksgiving with others, because you have to be socially distant, you can be thankful that you and others are doing your part to flatten the curve. I recently pointed out to a patient who is beginning work as a contact tracer, that they can be thankful because they have a chance to make a profound difference in the ability to prevent the spread of COVID 19. Wow. Even during the pandemic we can find reasons to be thankful. What are you grateful for in your life? Name something that’s not the first thing that comes to mind...something perhaps not obvious! - Dr. K.

Mental illness awareness week. I should have something profound to say, but for the present, "hang in" is the best I can come up with. In other words, apply the "rule of tens" (google it if you don't know it already!) These are turbulent times. More than ever in our lives, things are very unpredictable and stress levels are high for many reasons. These things predispose to mental decompensation. What heartens me is that many more people, at least among my own patients, ar...e showing stronger levels of resilience than I might have expected, given current circumstances. So keep on doing things that improve your resilience. You know what they are. If you have trouble figuring those things out, lean on exercise and mindfulness. Don't forget that talking is ok. Lots of people can understand what you're going through, because they have been through it too. Avoid toxic people. Don't expect them to change. They are the way they are for valid reasons, that have nothing to do with you and you'll never know the whole story. Keep this in mind, and continue to try your best not to judge when possible. Have a great day everyone. - Dr. K

These are wise words, nothing to do with religion.

Happy Monday to all! Here's a thought to ponder, from "The Daily Stoic"...

When you’re down in the dumps, the sunrise can be a promise that every day can be a new start, and that something beautiful and profound can be discovered in every moment.

Recently I've been discussing expectations of others, and of society, and justice, with some patients. I'm trying to figure out what's reasonable to expect. If I do good for you, does that mean you always must do good for me? What about "pay it forward"? How does that fit? What about "an eye for an eye"? That's ancient justice, but not part of current practices in most civilized countries. Yet, sometimes even when justice is doled out, it seems insufficient. Is it realist...ic to take a life for a life? What's the right price to pay when the ability to have a trusting relationship has been robbed? It seems that an eye for an eye is impractical, and it also does't necessarily lead to rehabilitation. I don't know what the answer is. All I can say is if you've been wronged, I think that someone else somewhere else may have been the recipient of a good deed, and maybe if you look at the biggest possible picture, things more or less even out. But not necessarily during the life of one individual, will things exactly even out. I don't know... Thoughts? See more

Borrowing from my friend Tamas Treuer, this visual guide may matter to many of you who are struggling to lose your COVID 19 pounds. Personally, I confess I’m heavier than I’ve ever been. But I’m not beating myself up about that. Everybody wants to improve in some way and nobody is perfect, not should they be. Anyway, given that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, it’s likely easier to lose the weight by not eating as much, versus exercising it off. That said, regular moderate exercise is good for you too.

Recently a patient reported success with a method I suggested for getting rid of PTSD-Related or OCD-Related intrusive obsessive thoughts, memories or images: Replace them with a totally ludicrous image, like a cartoon character doing something funny or foolish. My patient said it was both amusing and provided relief. I'd be curious to know if it works for others. If it was me, I'd imagine an anvil. (happy memories of the roadrunner and Wile Coyote... )- Dr. K