Melissa Shepard, MD

We have lost a bright light. @CaitMcFarlandMD was a wonderful doctor, an insightful collaborator, and a dear friend. In Memory of Caitlin McFarland gofund.me/3f53fa45

Me: Why doesn’t anyone understand me? Also me: *only communicates using memes*

Abortion is a medical procedure. The decision to have a medical procedure is between the person having the procedure and their doctor. Not their neighbor. Not someone else’s religion. Not a politician. Not a TV personality. I’m disgusted but not surprised.

So if you find yourself struggling to do what you need to do to take care of your mental health, know that you aren’t alone. And that I’m proud of you for doing the hard work.

Therapy is hard. So hard that even us therapists don’t want to go sometimes.

I’m a psychiatrist and therapist. I’ve been in therapy for most of my adult life and I know how important and life-changing it can be. I’m lucky to have a great therapist. And I’m still absolutely dreading going to my therapy session today.

Not me absentmindedly responding to work emails while talking to my therapist about how I use work to avoid feeling my emotions.

@dendroneette I’m so sorry. Sending you lots of love ❤️

Don’t allow their empathy deficit to cause you more suffering. You don’t need their understanding to validate your pain, and you sure as hell don’t need it to live the kind of life you want to live.

If they aren’t able to empathize when you say, “this hurt me”, seeing you suffer, avoid, and withhold good things from your life probably won’t help them get it either. And it certainly doesn’t help you.

Please don’t let yourself suffer to prove how much someone has hurt you.

「 TikTok ⁠⁠⁠」 “#duet with doctorshepard_md: This app is scary sometimes” — May 13, 2022

Me: Why am I’m so anxious all the time? Also me: Using coffee as the sole source of hydration since 2007.

It’s important to remind yourself that your feelings are valid AND don’t necessarily mean your decision was wrong. (4/4)

And sometimes when you miss your ex, you’re actually missing the hope you had for the relationship. Or you’re missing the person your ex could have been. Or you’re missing the positives of being in a relationship in general. (3/4)

It’s normal to miss your partner after ending an abusive or otherwise toxic relationship. That doesn’t mean you’re crazy, or that things weren’t as bad as you thought, or that you made the wrong decision in ending the relationship. (1/4)