Dr. Joanna Cheek, MD, FRCPC (she/her), is a Psychiatrist and Clinical Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, and the author of It’s Not You, It’s the World: A Mental Health Survival Guide for Us All
Rather than worsening our society’s health and safety by spewing hate as we grieve Tumbler Ridge, we need to respond compassionately to our national tragedies by caring for everyone and fixing the societal imbalances that will keep harming us all.
We doctors take an oath to honour the health of those we serve, prevent illness whenever we can and first do no harm. These values aren’t a political preference; they’re enduring, evidence-based principles of healthy systems.
Gabor Maté's new book, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture, explores how pushing down our anger and prioritizing the needs of others before our own are leading causes of chronic illness.
Provincial governments cover only half of treatments for mental-health conditions. It’s not that the public system can’t afford to cover such services. It’s that we can’t afford not to.
As the social restrictions of COVID-19 have stalled many sex lives, they’ve also sparked a sexual revolution for others by encouraging conversations about sex and pleasure.
We are not hyper-rational beings who make decisions based on facts. Instead, we too often fall prey to misinformation from innumerable cultural, social and psychological forces that shape the decisions we make.