Your Monthly Dose August 2021 Dose.
September often feels like a new year and it definitely did for our family. Our youngest daughter started daycare and I started taking in-person consultations.
Mental health and transitions: I thought I would link to a useful resource on dealing with transitions. Change and transitions are a part of life so its useful to be reminded of how to deal with them well:) Plus an addition to last months note on mental health and the news - a good article on a news detox + his book.
COVID and Parenting: There was a nice silver lining to the past 6 months Dads were found to closer to their kids! I can attest to that but in the same time period women have lost their jobs at a higher rate than man and are still the primary care giver in most families. In the years to come it will be interesting to see what impact the pandemic has had on family dynamics - will Dads continue to take on more at home or will mom's find it more difficult to get back in the work force.
Babylon Health by Telus: Babylon is an online platform for patients to connect with doctors. I have used Babylon on a few occasions and have always been impressed. It is a great supplement to an in-person physician. They have recently come out with a health check platform. It runs on the same app as Babylon Health and is worth checking out. Its a modern intake form; what I imagine a physician should give to you when you first meet. When reading Better Now the recommendation was for a blended approach between online and in-person physicians. Having experienced this blend I definitely support it:) This also ties in with a recent BC court hearing that sided with the constitutional right of the public health care system . It seems like a simple answer - let people pay for surgeries who have money - it will free up space. Of course it is not that straight forward. Danielle Martin writes on the topic well. Here is an article from 2018 defending the universal system.
A few new blogs posted to my site:
Healing well: blog here.
Ankle sprains: read the blog:)
As always, thanks for reading,
Dave Carter
Current book list
The Smell of Apples - A captivating story written from the perspective of an 11 year old boy growing up in 1970 apartheid South Africa. I know very little about South Africa and this was a good introduction to how systemic racism becomes normalized form a young age.
The Nickel Boys - another novel on race. A 2019 Pulitzer Prize winner and a timely read which exposes the many horrors of our past that we still no little about. It is captivating from the first page. Definitely worth reading!
13 things Mentally Strong people don't do - A good book to skim through and get some ideas - I am only part way through but so far the reminder to stay focused on what you can control has been the most impactful.
American Dirt - an Oprah book Club pick, plus loads of controversy. I really enjoyed the book but feel like I need to read another book on the topic to understand the controversy better. I found a couple articles on the controversy and the migration from south America to El Norte.
I am slowly returning to the VRC. I am doing exercise primarily outside but have access to the office and gym. All COVID precautions are in place (see the plan here). Virtual sessions are still available. Cheers:)
Final days of summer at the beach:) Hard to say goodbye to this.