Charles Nemeroff, MD, PhD, discusses the role of social influences on biology, using the example of early life trauma. He explains brain changes, inflammation, and genetic risk factors that modulate the development of PTSD or depression in patients with a history of trauma.Keeping in line with epigenetic theory, Dr. Nemeroff discusses what happens to genes during psychotherapy, exploring the interaction between attachment to the therapist and how this contributes to the efficacy.Finally, he answ [...]

Abuse, Attachment, and Resilience: Genes and the Environment (with Dr. Nemeroff, part 2 of 2)

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Medicine

In this episode, we talk to Mark Lukach, author of the book My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward: A Memoir, about his experiences as the loved one of someone with new onset symptoms of mania, depression, suicidality, and psychosis. Mark tells us the story of his wife Giulia and how their future changed unexpectedly when they were 27 years old and she was first hospitalized on a psych ward.He describes why he wrote his article and then his book (no other books on caregiving in a romant [...]

His Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward: An Interview on Love, Writing, and Mental Illness (with Mark Lukach)

In our interview with Carol Tamminga, MD, we discuss biological psychiatry and the evolution of the field of psychiatry to now include a greater understanding of the neurobiologic underpinnings of disease through brain imaging, genetics, and circuits. We talk about the "battle" between biologic and psychologic and whether this should exist.Dr. Tamminga also discusses her groundbreaking research on schizophrenia and how trying to find biological confirmation for DSM diagnoses led her to finding " [...]

The Last Undiscovered Organ in the Body (with Carol Tamminga, M.D.)

In the final part of our discussion with Janae Sharp, Janae further discusses the loss of her husband and how best to support others through grief. She details some unique differences in responses by others when her husband died by suicide (eg, no GoFundMe pages, but requests for donations!) and emphasizes the importance of other survivors and their stories to her and her new community. She responds to the question of whether she is "sensationalizing" her husband’s death, but focuses on he [...]

Digital and Community Solutions After a Physician Suicide (part 3 of 3 with Janae Sharp)

In the second part of our interview with Janae Sharp, she discusses why she feels she has been a different kind and less restricted voice for physician suicide awareness. She notes that it is important for physicians to speak on this issue and that there is true power in community. However, she feels physicians are more silent on this issue as they tend to avoid "unsafe" and "uncertain" topics and are ultimately afraid of the potential repercussions to their licensure. Using her background in so [...]

Physician Suicide and the Need to Talk About It (part 2 of 3 with Janae Sharp)

In Part 1 of our 3-part interview with Janae Sharp—a physician suicide loss survivor and the Founder and CEO of the Sharp Index, a nonprofit dedicated to better physician mental health—Janae shares her story of loss, grief, and her call to action to start her non-profit.She discusses how suicide loss is different from other losses, in part because it is a "messy topic," but also how grief itself is imperfect. She details the experience of telling her 3 children and why she feels [...]

Abuse, Attachment, and Resilience: Genes and the Environment (with Dr. Nemeroff, part 2 of 2)

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