Category Archives: Healthcare

Finding the Right Doctor

Finding a doctor who listens and understands can be highly challenging, especially when you’re already in pain or dealing with complex needs. From an Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) lens, the quality of our relationships, including with our providers, greatly affects our … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Connection in Healthcare is Essential, But Medicine Sabotages It

Connection is vital in medicine, and is often ruptured by institutional demand for rushing and the culture of separation. That’s two strikes against doctors who want to connect, understand the importance, and need to feel connected themselves, and all doctors … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

ChristianaCare Didn’t Care: How a Hospital Harmed Me Over and Over and the State of Delaware Condoned It

When I entered a ChristianaCare facility seven years ago today, I asked for help with severe Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, the particularly persistent kind of PTSD that results from chronic abuse and neglect, particularly during development. I had no idea … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why a Doctor Visit Can Increase Our Pain

For someone with a chronic condition, going to the doctor can increase pain because the body is already in a heightened state of sensitivity. When pain persists over time, the nervous system adapts by becoming more responsive to potential threats, … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

How Repeated Medical Abuse Conditions the Nervous System

Fabrizio Benedetti’s insights into conditioning in his book, “The Patient’s Brain: The neuroscience behind the doctor-patient relationship,” are highly relevant for understanding how repeated medical abuse can shape a person’s nervous system. Conditioning—where the nervous system learns through repeated experiences—plays … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare, PTSD | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Private Equity, Public Harm: The Human Toll of Healthcare Buyouts

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) by health policy experts at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) found that patient care experiences declined following private equity (PE) acquisitions of U.S. hospitals.The research indicated … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Creating Confident Patients: An IPNB Approach to Healthcare Advocacy

From an Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) perspective, understanding and addressing the reluctance of patients to question healthcare providers involves recognizing the complex interplay between the brain, mind, and relationships. Here are some ways to advocate effectively for patients’ needs: Foster a … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Cost of Speaking Out: FGM, Medical Betrayal, and a Culture of Silence

As a survivor of forced, medicalized female genital mutilation (FGM), I’m keenly aware of the structures and systems that protect powerful men at the top of the domination hierarchy. These allow predators, including those in white coats, to harm others … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Kaiser Strike Exposes a Broken Mental Health System Built on Symptom Management, Not Care

As nearly 2,400 Kaiser mental health workers continue their strike, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the mental health industry is not providing the care most people need. While the striking workers are asking for more time to manage their workloads … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare, Mental Health | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Boomers in Decline: the Impact of Dominance and Disconnection

A new study published in the Journal of Gerontology reveals that baby boomers (born in the late 1940s and 1950s) are living longer but experiencing more health problems, such as obesity, disability, and chronic disease, compared to earlier generations. An … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment