Looking back

This being the time of year when people typically review and reminisce, I thought I would post my very first blog entry here. The original date of posting was May 31, 2005. It is in my first blog, PsychPatient, MD which you may read at here.

Who do I think I am?!

I am a psychiatric patient. Never thought I would be broadcasting that over the Internet. I have been diagnosed with depression and adult ADHD. I take medication daily. I go to individual psychotherapy sessions once a week.

I also have a PhD in pharmacology. And I graduated from medical school and completed two of the four years required post-graduate training for a specialty in psychiatry. But I don’t have a license to practice medicine. This blog is not intended to give medical advice. Information supplied here is solely my own personal opinion.

I want to break a stereotype. I am not an uneducated homeless person wandering the streets muttering to myself or screaming at the top of my lungs at inanimate objects. I am an internet marketing consultant, leading a quiet life in a studio apartment in NYC. Although I do not fit the commonly held stereotype, neither am I a rarity among psychiatric patients.

This blog is my forum to express my personal opinions on mental health issues. I am firmly committed to mental health advocacy. I want to lend support and encouragement to fellow psychiatric patients. I hope to supply a unique perspective on mental health care that is colored by my experiences both as a patient and as a clinician. Comments are always welcome.

Again, this blog is not meant to substitute for professional advice from a licensed clinician.

Much has changed since May 2005, but I am still under psychiatric care albeit less intensive. I hope to go back to medicine one day. For now, I am working on the internet trying to regain my bearings, my composure, and my self confidence.