I think we are all familiar with how easy it is to become so engrossed in your environment that it starts to shape how you act. We pick up accents, local customs, and sometimes even the whole culture. Med school is no different. When you are engrossed in an aspect of medicine - you become your work. Unfortunately for me, I'm in psychiatry right now. Yup, I'm a head case. (Ok, stop laughing, yes we all knew I was crazy before, but now it just seems to stand out so much more since its all I do and talk about all day every day!) As we cycle through each category of illnesses in tutorial, I manage to take on aspects of each illness, or at least realize that I have always displayed them!
Here's a lowdown of the categories...
Mood Disorders:
The most prevalent of all disorders. Who hasn't been down after a long day, a rough evaluation or a night of loneliness. Slightly more concerning is the mania. Mania is characterised by reckless behaviour, commonly the 3 S's - speeding, spending and....wait this is a PG blog...let's suffice it to say I have only been participating in 2 of the S's. So this past weekend to work off my manic energy I went on a fantastic roadtrip with another student. We drove down to the states to visit Duluth - stopping along the way at random roadside attractions like a cheese factory and historical markers along the highway. Stayed in a "sketcheriffic" motel (combination of sketchy and terrific). Ate our weight in seafood at Red Lobster, along with a strawberry margarita that was the size of a fishbowl. Spent literally HOURS at the Duluth Pack Company store. Went antiquing and came home with bags of books. Sang in the car. Went to an aquarium and an omnimax movie. Incidentally - did anyone realize that you can buy beer at the movies in the states?! A good time was had by all :)
Anxiety Disorders:
Maps illustrating the road from Thunder Bay to Duluth should have little pictures of deer to illustrate just how many animals are on the roadway. I saw more deer in one weekend than I have seen in my whole life...and I grew up in the country! I am still having Post Traumatic Stress Flashbacks of the one we almost hit. Thank god Aaron was driving...only a boy can steer that well and have the presence of mind to downshift :P
Oh and did I mention that my car got searched at the border?!?! I don't deal well with cops...nearly had a panic attack. I think I flashback to days of being pulled over with Mike for stupid things like smoking the tires and get all freaked out.
Psychosis:
Basically psychosis means that you have lost touch with reality. You often hear about hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that aren't actually there) and delusions (mistaken or unfounded beliefs or ideas). I personally have the delusion that I can live without meat. It has been 8 days...I went through a period of withdrawl...thought I might need some Valium to get me through. I am sick of salads already and ravenously hungry most of the time. I think about it all the time and smell it everywhere I go. If it weren't for my fabulous roommate (who is also vegetarian) I'm pretty sure I would have started talking to myself and hallucinating meals of steaks, roast beef, butter chicken, and pork tenderloin.......mmmmmm meat.
The only saving grace is that none of these episodes last long enough to make me diagnosable. I am far too easily distracted to maintain one mood or behaviour for extended periods of time....hmm...distraction....maybe ADHD is my real problem!
New psych problems to look forward to over the next couple of weeks:
Addictions: How much wine is a med student allowed to drink before it is a problem?
Somatoform Disorders: Is chronic foot pain the way I express the excessive stress in my life, or should stop trying to be fashionable with cute shoes?
Personality Disorders: How many times per day can you go to the gym before it becomes an obsession??
Lots of love
Pamela
Lent Countdown: 8 days without meat, 39 to go
Seafood: once
Organ meats: not that desperate yet
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