On Xanax

As some of you know, I had a dark period in my life caused by an acute dissociative episode. Since then, I learned quite a lot about mental health, depression, antidepressants, and other psychiatric medications. The first real problem I had was chronic, untreated anxiety that spiraled into an episode

Am I a Good Person?

What constitutes a good person? You might think you are one, but what if you are wrong? What if you could be much better? What if you're not really trying hard enough? In a world where the most successful people are also the most selfish, it is hard

What to focus on in medical school?

"Colleges and universities are not places where you will learn the exact way to do your job; rather, they are places where you will get all sorts of skills required for progress in your career and your life."  My first job after finishing med school was as a

philosophy

Why hookup culture sucks

“We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone.” Orson Welles Searching for a romantic partner in this day and age should be easier than ever before. With

medicine

What’s up with probiotics?

You heard about the rising trend of gut health research, fecal transplants, probiotics, and prebiotics. The real question is- do they work and should you take them regularly? What is the difference between probiotics and prebiotics? Probiotics are good bacteria found in all sorts of food and supplements. Our bowel

psychology

Being in the moment – is that possible?

While we are engaged in different activities, countless thoughts pass through our minds. Some are positive, some are negative, some are related to what we are doing, while others concern our private lives, family, obligations, worries, or future plans. Sometimes we don’t even notice these thoughts, but other times

philosophy

How to be faster?

We often hear that successful people do a lot of work, most of the work to be precise. The problem is that there is a cap on how much work we can do. The real difference between really successful people and those at the top is the speed at which

medicine

How Your Eyes Help Us Diagnose Certain Conditions

“Eyes are the windows to the soul.”  The famous quote by William Shakespeare is a true one indeed. Many psychologists would agree that by a mere glance at someone’s eyes, we can deduce many things. Whether someone’s smile is genuine or simply out of politeness can be easily

psychology

Toxic Positivity

How am I supposed to feel? Is it okay to feel exhausted, empty, lonely, sad, or angry? We often hear that these emotions are “negative,” that they take over our minds so much that we can’t work, focus, or do anything productive. In the end, they feel like brakes,

philosophy

Forgetting your Dreams

I just had a sudden desire to write this blog post. It might not be something I write about very often, but I promised myself I would write almost anything that comes to my mind. As I learned early on, creating a blog post is a process in which the

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Disease That Turns Your Body Into Stone

What is a fate worse than death? I’ll tell you. Watching your body slowly turning into stone.  Your skin and your every muscle being petrified while you cannot do anything about it. Your ribcage fusing, your jaw becoming shut, your body becoming your prison, and your mind slowly falling

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The Hallucinations That Predicted Her Brain Tumor

Picture this: You're at home, reading a book, minding your own business, when BAM! A random voice starts talking to you inside your skull. Is it God? Is it the devil? Or is it your dead grandma watching you disappointed because you married a 5'4"

medicine

Does Cold Weather Cause the Common Cold?

A common cold is a collection of symptoms affecting the upper respiratory tract—primarily the nose, throat, sinuses, and larynx (voice box). It’s caused by a variety of respiratory viruses, most notably rhinoviruses, but also adenoviruses, coronaviruses, and others. These viruses spread mainly through airborne droplets from coughing, sneezing,

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A case of Cancer that transferred from the Patient to the Surgeon

Cancer…one of the most, if not THE MOST interesting medical conditions you can have! Dating back to ancient Egypt some 3000 years ago, cancer remains an elusive disease that spreads like…well, cancer. Before I present this case, let us remind ourselves what cancer is.  Cancer is a group

philosophy

How Social Media is slowly killing You

The world can be a cruel place. After a hard day’s work, social media might sound like a good place to find shelter from other duties that surround you. That statement cannot be further from the truth because social media gives you a little spike in dopamine levels to

philosophy

Stoned Ape Theory

If you’re a big movie fan or a big fan of the old classic movies, you might be familiar with Kubrick’s magnum opus, 2001: A Space Odyssey. While I’m neither a big fan of Kubrick's work (probably because I don't understand it quite

medicine

Why I love Neuroscience

I have been interested in the human brain for as long as I can remember. I always wondered why an organ that controls us wonders about itself. It seemed paradoxical and incredibly intriguing. Although I had many interests as a child, nothing could beat the science of the most complex

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Woman Discovers She's Pregnant—On The Day of Delivery!

A 19-year-old female student presented to the emergency room with a 4-day history of abdominal and lower back pain and discomfort. She and her doctor were shocked when they found out she was 37 weeks pregnant and about to become a mother. CP is a 19-year-old student living with her

philosophy

On Consciousness

Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience or awareness of internal and external existence. Just like the meaning of life, consciousness remains one of the greatest unresolved mysteries to date. Despite the efforts of philosophers and scientists and countless debates on the topic, it remains one of the most controversial ideas,

medicine

Something about Cancer

One of the greatest achievements and dreams that a medical student, a physician, and a medical scientist have in common is to cure cancer. Is it possible for us to find a single cure for this terrible disease that affects almost 40% of the human population? How can we defeat

philosophy

What should I write next?

That is a common question we writers (?) ask ourselves. Whether we write short blog posts and restaurant reviews or full-blown novels and fiction trilogies, we often get stuck. This phenomenon is commonly known as writer's block. We feel desperate and try our best not to go insane when

medicine

Why I won't specialize in psychiatry?

As a medical student, you are often asked questions about what you will do after medical school. Many of us wonder what specialty to pursue after becoming medical doctors. In the first year of medical school, many of us had great ambitions of becoming top-notch neurosurgeons, cardiothoracic surgeons, or other

philosophy

Determination to study

In one of my blogs, I have written about the passion for learning and how some people possess an almost unnatural ability to be interested in the world around us. Those are the people I consider true scientists with an unquenched thirst for knowledge and a clear advantage in medical

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Man was left blind after spinal surgery

CB is a 40-year-old man who underwent spinal surgery due to a car accident. At first, the surgery was without complications. Several hours later, CB woke up completely blind in both eyes. CB is a 40-year-old construction worker who was brought to the emergency department after a car accident at

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Death by Rectal Exam: One of the most interesting cases I've ever read

A 66-year-old male was brought to the Emergency Department with a complaint of abdominal distention, meaning he had a swollen abdomen. His other symptoms were insignificant except a decreased appetite, which wasn’t unusual since his last bowel movement was about a week ago. Even though the patient had a