Outlook
During a psych elective, students get to meet with the elective director once a week to discuss various topics. This past week, we got into the discussion of how "charmed" our lives were, how we were so lucky to have received the opportunities we'd been offered. He asked me and the other student why we think our lives were so charmed. I said it was a mix of luck and good timing. The other student said it was luck. He begged to differ. In his experience as a psychiatrist for a number of years, he's noticed that the people who seem to think they have "charmed" lives have a different outlook on life compared to those who say their lives have been "cursed." He posed the question: when you have been offered things that change your life, do you see it as something that is enriching, or something that is an obstacle? I said I saw it as an adventure. Reflecting back, perhaps in the past I would have said an obstacle - I had A Plan and if something came up that wasn't part of The Plan, it was not cool. I suppose growing up and having various life changes has altered how I see life now, and I think I am more flexible than before.
He set up a scenario to make his point. Say you and a friend are on a hike, and somehow you two get lost off the trail. You both continue to walk through the land, see a rabbit, it starts to rain, you both set up a tent to protect yourselves, and after it stops, make it back onto the trail and notice you had gone about a mile off from where you started. There are two (possibly more) ways of looking at the situation: (1) someone who says they have had a "charmed" life would see the situation as "it was cool, we got lost, got to explore some uncharted part of the forest, we saw a rabbit, and it started to rain; I got to use my survival skills and set up a tarp tent, and after it stopped, we found ourselves back on the trail and we'd gone a mile!" (2) someone who may think they have led a "cursed" life would see the situation in this way: "It was awful, we got lost, we had to wander this area without a trail, we saw a rabbit but weren't able to catch/shoot it and I was hungry, and then it started to rain! it was cold and damp, and when we finally got back onto the trail, we'd only gone one mile after all that time!"
I think my life has gone in the general trajectory that I'd desired, but there are different nodes along that path that had altered it slightly, but still in the same general direction. I saw the various opportunities that popped up as new experiences to get to the same general goal: switching to Neuro, doing the NIH fellowship and then working at the NIH, med school, and whaddya know, they've got a good psych program and we get 8 weeks of psych during our 3rd year. Someone who may think they live a "cursed" life may see those nodes as obstacles to the goal, paths that prevent you from reaching the goal. Perhaps there are people I've met throughout my life who may have varying degrees of having a "cursed" outlook. It's all about perspective, which is something I've shared and have heard many times.
Outpatient psych is going well; a lot of PTSD and depression, which is all good and fine. Some of the pt's have had really interesting stories and personality pathology. I gave a little presentation on the neurobiology of PTSD and loved researching the topic. I'm stepping things up and really trying to improve my interviewing and assessments. I've enjoyed this "break" of sorts, not having to study for an exam at the end (although the stupid CPX is coming up) and being able to chill each evening and do "normal" things over the weekend. Hopefully I'll be reenergized for the SSM when it starts next week.
The birthday came and went, had dinner at McCormick and Schmick's, did not get carded for my raspberry cosmimosa (unfortunately), shared a $16 oyster appetizer (not as big as the Tofino oysters, but still tasty), inhaled my dinner (this is the 2nd time eating out that I've actually finished my meal during that setting), met up with Jenn at Tower Cafe for dessert, and watched The Princess Bride back home.
He set up a scenario to make his point. Say you and a friend are on a hike, and somehow you two get lost off the trail. You both continue to walk through the land, see a rabbit, it starts to rain, you both set up a tent to protect yourselves, and after it stops, make it back onto the trail and notice you had gone about a mile off from where you started. There are two (possibly more) ways of looking at the situation: (1) someone who says they have had a "charmed" life would see the situation as "it was cool, we got lost, got to explore some uncharted part of the forest, we saw a rabbit, and it started to rain; I got to use my survival skills and set up a tarp tent, and after it stopped, we found ourselves back on the trail and we'd gone a mile!" (2) someone who may think they have led a "cursed" life would see the situation in this way: "It was awful, we got lost, we had to wander this area without a trail, we saw a rabbit but weren't able to catch/shoot it and I was hungry, and then it started to rain! it was cold and damp, and when we finally got back onto the trail, we'd only gone one mile after all that time!"
I think my life has gone in the general trajectory that I'd desired, but there are different nodes along that path that had altered it slightly, but still in the same general direction. I saw the various opportunities that popped up as new experiences to get to the same general goal: switching to Neuro, doing the NIH fellowship and then working at the NIH, med school, and whaddya know, they've got a good psych program and we get 8 weeks of psych during our 3rd year. Someone who may think they live a "cursed" life may see those nodes as obstacles to the goal, paths that prevent you from reaching the goal. Perhaps there are people I've met throughout my life who may have varying degrees of having a "cursed" outlook. It's all about perspective, which is something I've shared and have heard many times.
Outpatient psych is going well; a lot of PTSD and depression, which is all good and fine. Some of the pt's have had really interesting stories and personality pathology. I gave a little presentation on the neurobiology of PTSD and loved researching the topic. I'm stepping things up and really trying to improve my interviewing and assessments. I've enjoyed this "break" of sorts, not having to study for an exam at the end (although the stupid CPX is coming up) and being able to chill each evening and do "normal" things over the weekend. Hopefully I'll be reenergized for the SSM when it starts next week.
The birthday came and went, had dinner at McCormick and Schmick's, did not get carded for my raspberry cosmimosa (unfortunately), shared a $16 oyster appetizer (not as big as the Tofino oysters, but still tasty), inhaled my dinner (this is the 2nd time eating out that I've actually finished my meal during that setting), met up with Jenn at Tower Cafe for dessert, and watched The Princess Bride back home.
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