Blog
How to Grow through Life’s Transitions
When my first child was born and I stepped over the mighty threshold to “parent,” I felt elated, awed, and grateful—and at the same time as if my life had completely fallen apart. Meditation had been a daily sanity-saving practice for me. Have you ever tried to...
Images I Can’t Unsee
Sure, there are happy images from my clinical days—before I left primary care for a writing career—like the sheer joy of birth when suddenly another live being entered the room; the relief on a patient’s face at being heard and helped; the grateful smiles from...
Why We Need Rituals, Now More than Ever
A few weeks ago I started a ritual that I’ve only done once before, and come August, won’t do again. I began creating a “movie” for my 18-year-old son to mark his leaving home. Three years ago, I spent several months before my daughter left for college creating a...
We kept arguing at home about COVID-19 safety. This simple exercise helped.
Last week my husband Sam and I started arguing. Frequent episodes of bickering about what used to be regular household decisions like whether we need to go to the grocery store. After several days of really resenting his take on almost everything, I realized we were...
Why You Need to Rethink Your To-Do List for Life in the Pandemic
Crises make you reevaluate your life. One thing I’ve learned from the Covid-19 pandemic is how out of whack my expectations of myself tend to be. In the first weeks of the pandemic, I pushed hard to get things done. My paid work had slowed down to a trickle, but I...
Why are women physicians burned out? The answer will help us all.
Burnout prevalence is 20 to 60 percent higher among women physicians than their male colleagues. Understanding why women physicians are burning out is important for identifying effective ways to address the problem. Here’s my take on the underlying causes: 1. Women...
Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH, ACC
diane@dianeshannon.com | Connect on LinkedIn
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