Spread the light with Dr Devika B Devika Bhushan, MD

This month, in honor of the newly named Health Workforce Well-Being Day on March 18th, commemorating the day the President signed the Lorna Breen Act into law in 2022, I’m thrilled to feature conversations with three brilliant national leaders who are transforming health worker well-being:
Corey Feist, JD, MBA, CEO and co-founder of the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes' Foundation, founded in 2020 to address the systemic drivers of health worker ill health and honoring Dr Lorna Breen, a frontline emergency room doctor and Corey’s sister-in-law, who died by suicide. The work of the Foundation was recognized by the US Surgeon General’s Medallion Award in 2023 and I’m proud to serve as an Ambassador.

Mona Masood, DO, the psychiatrist who founded the Physician Support Line, staffed by volunteer psychiatrists to extend free, 1-1, anonymous support to physicians and medical students, starting in 2020.

Janae Sharp, CEO and founder of the Sharp Index in 2018, with a vision to make health care “the healthiest place to work,” and to prevent physician suicides like that of her ex-husband, Dr John Madsen.
Trigger warning: In this episode, we talk about systemic challenges inherent to working within the US medical system and their mental health consequences, including burnout and death by suicide.

Transcript with sources here. Video conversation here.  
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SPREAD THE LIGHT WITH DR DEVIKA B:
Because stigma festers in the dark and scatters in the light.

* Join our well-being newsletter community that examines evidence-based trends in health, innovation, and culture, and destigmatizes mental illness — centering lived experience, equity, justice, and cross-cultural nuances: askdrdevikab.substack.com

You'll also find written versions of this interview and others like it there — and links to relevant sources.

* More video interviews like this one: youtube.com/@drdevikab

* Website: www.devikabhushan.com

* Twitter: www.twitter.com/DrDevikaB
* Instagram: www.instagram.com/drdevikab
* TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@drdevikab
* LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/devika-bhushan-md-faap-183702149

If you or a loved one needs help for a mental health crisis in the US, don’t hesitate to call or text 988 — or reach them online here. Find other resources here, search for a treatment facility here, and find a therapist here. Here are resources specifically for LGBTQ people. If you’re a US-based clinician or health student dealing with “any issue, not just a crisis,” reach out to the Physicians Support ...

I loved this awesome conversation on optimizing well-being with my friend, Dr Jessi Gold. She is now the first Chief Wellness Officer for the University of Tennessee System, though this was recorded before that — and a psychiatrist with expertise in mental health for college students, healthcare workers, and in the entertainment industry. She shares wisdom on what it looks like to optimize well-being at a workplace, how to be prevention-oriented, and some insights on stigma she didn’t realize she carried from her own mental health journey.

Jessi Gold, MD, is the first Chief Wellness Officer for the University of Tennessee System and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. (This conversation was recorded before she started these roles.) Dr Gold is an internationally recognized speaker, media advocate, author, and mental health consultant with a special focus on college students, healthcare workers, and the entertainment industry. She also lives with depression.
 
Dr Gold has been spreading the light for decades with her critical work, and I’m thrilled to be sharing her wisdom about optimizing well-being with all of you.

Trigger warning: We talk about systemic challenges inherent to working within the US medical system and their mental health consequences, mental illness self-disclosures, and living with depression.
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SPREAD THE LIGHT WITH DR DEVIKA B:
Because stigma festers in the dark and scatters in the light.

* Join our well-being newsletter community that examines evidence-based trends in health, innovation, and culture, and destigmatizes mental illness — centering lived experience, equity, justice, and cross-cultural nuances: askdrdevikab.substack.com

You'll also find written versions of this interview and others like it there — and links to relevant sources.

* More video interviews like this one: youtube.com/@drdevikab

* Website: www.devikabhushan.com

* Twitter: www.twitter.com/DrDevikaB
* Instagram: www.instagram.com/drdevikab
* TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@drdevikab
* LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/devika-bhushan-md-faap-183702149

If you or a loved one needs help for a mental health crisis in the US, don’t hesitate to call or text 988 — or reach them online here. Find other resources here, search for a treatment facility here, and find a therapist here. Here are resources specifically for LGBTQ people. If you’re a US-based clinician or health student dealing with “any issue, not just a crisis,” reach out to the Physicians Support ...

Welcome to Season 2 of Spread the light with Dr Devika B. Here, we know that stigma festers in the dark and it scatters in the light. And this season will take that even further. We’ll dive into the ways that stigma shows up in culture, in norms, in policies, and in institutions — and how we can disrupt and rewrite that.
To kick us off: In this powerful interview with perinatal psychiatrists Dr Nancy Byatt and Dr Crystal Clark, hear about what breastfeeding guidelines miss about the potential mental health risks for new mothers and families. Read more on this pivotal topic in a piece I wrote for Slate.
Nancy Byatt, DO, MS, MBA, is a perinatal psychiatrist with the Women's Mental Health Center at UMass Memorial Medical Center, Executive Director of the Lifeline for Families Center and Lifeline for Moms, an iSPARC research program, Medical Director of Research for the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program (MCPAP), and a tenured professor of psychiatry, ob/gyn, and population & quantitative health sciences at UMass Chan Medical School.

Crystal Clark, MD, MSc, is a perinatal psychiatrist, associate professor at the University of Toronto, and scientist at Women’s College Research Institute. Dr. Clark is internationally recognized for her expertise in the treatment of women’s mental health across the reproductive life span (i.e., menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum, infertility, trauma related to reproduction). Dr. Clark’s research expertise is in optimizing treatment for parental mental health among Black, Indigenous, People of Color and peripartum dosing guidelines for bipolar disorder.
Trigger warning: In this interview, we talk about mental health impacts of breastfeeding, trauma, and gender inequities related to parenting labor.
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SPREAD THE LIGHT WITH DR DEVIKA B:
Because stigma festers in the dark and scatters in the light.

* Join our well-being newsletter community that examines evidence-based trends in health, innovation, and culture, and destigmatizes mental illness — centering lived experience, equity, justice, and cross-cultural nuances: askdrdevikab.substack.com

You'll also find written versions of this interview and others like it there — and links to relevant sources.

* More video interviews like this one: youtube.com/@drdevikab

* Website: www.devikabhushan.com

* Twitter: www.twitter.com/DrDevikaB
* Instagram: www.instagram.com/drdevikab
* TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@drdevikab
* LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/devika-bhushan-md-faap-183702149

If you or a loved one needs help for a mental health crisis in the US, don’t hesitate to call or text 988 — or reach them online here. Find other resources here, search for a treatment facility here, and find a therapist here. Here are resources specifically for LGBTQ people. If you’re a US-based clinician or health student dealing with “any issue, not just a crisis,” reach out to the Physicians Support ...

This episode features Amy Brinkley’s incredible journey — and how she uses her personal experiences with substance use and mental illness recovery to drive national change and support others to sustain recovery, especially after incarceration.

Amy Brinkley is a nationally recognized leader in mental health and substance use recovery. Motivated by personal recovery experience and the suicides of three brothers and her mother’s overdose, Amy is dedicated to driving change through effective peer support and recovery-oriented systems of care.

Amy serves as the Recovery Support Services Coordinator for the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, and also serves (with me) on the national Board of Directors for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). She founded Paul’s Plan Ministries, which supports people exiting the criminal justice system, named in honor of her brother.

Amy lives in recovery with opioid use disorder (14.5 years sober), depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. She is mother to four children, three cats, and a cherished Labradoodle named Ruby.

Trigger warning: In this episode, we talk about substance use, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal ideation and attempts, loss to suicide, and incarceration.

#mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #trauma #depression #suicidality #stigma #mentalillnessstigma #spreadthelight #spreadthelightwithdrdevikab #mentalhealthtreatment #mentalhealthmatters #resilience #healing #psychiatry
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SPREAD THE LIGHT WITH DR DEVIKA B:
Because stigma festers in the dark and scatters in the light.

* Join our well-being newsletter community that examines evidence-based trends in health, innovation, and culture, and destigmatizes mental illness — centering lived experience, equity, justice, and cross-cultural nuances: askdrdevikab.substack.com

You'll also find written versions of this interview and others like it there — and links to relevant sources.

* More video interviews like this one: youtube.com/@drdevikab

* Website: www.devikabhushan.com

* Twitter: www.twitter.com/DrDevikaB
* Instagram: www.instagram.com/drdevikab
* TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@drdevikab
* LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/devika-bhushan-md-faap-183702149

If you or a loved one needs help for a mental health crisis in the US, don’t hesitate to call or text 988 — or reach them online here. Find other resources here, search for a treatment facility here, and find a therapist here. Here are resources specifically for LGBTQ people. If you’re a US-based clinician or health student dealing with “any issue, not just a crisis,” reach out to the Physicians Support ...

Lara Burmeister, MBA, is a first-generation German-American who has spent most of her career working in roles to combat climate change. She lives with depression.

Hear about what Lara challenged herself to do to get through her darkest moments, her well-time and red flag toolkits, how depression changed her, and how she rebuilt her identity in its wake.

Trigger warning: In this interview, we talk about passive suicidal ideation and depression.
—
SPREAD THE LIGHT WITH DR DEVIKA B:
Because stigma festers in the dark and scatters in the light.

* Join our well-being newsletter community that examines evidence-based trends in health, innovation, and culture, and destigmatizes mental illness — centering lived experience, equity, justice, and cross-cultural nuances: askdrdevikab.substack.com

You'll also find written versions of this interview and others like it there — and links to relevant sources.

* More video interviews like this one: youtube.com/@drdevikab

* Website: www.devikabhushan.com

* Twitter: www.twitter.com/DrDevikaB
* Instagram: www.instagram.com/drdevikab
* TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@drdevikab
* LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/devika-bhushan-md-faap-183702149

If you or a loved one needs help for a mental health crisis in the US, don’t hesitate to call or text 988 — or reach them online here. Find other resources here, search for a treatment facility here, and find a therapist here. Here are resources specifically for LGBTQ people. If you’re a US-based clinician or health student dealing with “any issue, not just a crisis,” reach out to the Physicians Support ...

Dr Ade Osinubi is a resident physician in emergency medicine, a documentary filmmaker, and photographer whose work focuses on telling the untold stories of minority populations. She recently created the documentary Black Motherhood Through the Lens, about four Black women's experiences with reproductive health in the US, recognized in Forbes and PBS. She has written for the Washington Post, Teen Vogue, and Glamour magazine on topics related to health equity. She received the 2022 National Minority Equality Forum 40 Under 40 Leader in Health Award and the 2023 Black Health Connect 40 Under 40 Award.

This conversation with Dr Osinubi touched on her decision to go public with her mental health journey; navigating and relearning her relationship with her faith; her experiences as a Black woman in medicine; and her mission and convictions as a storyteller. 

Trigger warning: In this episode, we talk about misogynoir, death by suicide, death by suicide, the toxic conditions in medical training, depression, and anxiety.


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SPREAD THE LIGHT WITH DR DEVIKA B:
Because stigma festers in the dark and scatters in the light.

* Join our well-being newsletter community that examines evidence-based trends in health, innovation, and culture, and destigmatizes mental illness — centering lived experience, equity, justice, and cross-cultural nuances: askdrdevikab.substack.com

You'll also find written versions of this interview and others like it there — and links to relevant sources.

* More video interviews like this one: youtube.com/@drdevikab

* Website: www.devikabhushan.com

* Twitter: www.twitter.com/DrDevikaB
* Instagram: www.instagram.com/drdevikab
* TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@drdevikab
* LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/devika-bhushan-md-faap-183702149

If you or a loved one needs help for a mental health crisis in the US, don’t hesitate to call or text 988 — or reach them online here. Find other resources here, search for a treatment facility here, and find a therapist here. Here are resources specifically for LGBTQ people. If you’re a US-based clinician or health student dealing with “any issue, not just a crisis,” reach out to the Physicians Support ...