Up until two weeks ago many of us were finalizing our travel plans for March break. Then suddenly the news channels began bombarding us with Coronavirus news. The World Health Organization subsequently labeled COVID-19 known as a pandemic. Emotional responses included anxiety states and even panic attacks. With added information that people over 60 and [...]
Kidney disease has become a major illness, given the aging population, the growth in the frequency of diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Kidney disease doesn’t present with any symptoms, and thus may only be diagnosed once it has progressed significantly, to a stage where it is irreversible. The impacts of any disease are not only physical [...]
I walked out of the doctor’s office, in a trance, almost forgetting that my fifteen year old, beside me, had walked through the very same door with me. The doctor had said, “Your son’s kidneys are failing!” During the fifteen-to-twenty minutes of intense conversation, the doctor had talked extensively about chronic kidney disease. Slowly he [...]
The sudden news of kidney disease can come as a shock for some, making it difficult to process the information. There may be instances when you want to know more but seem lost in the whole web of advice and multiple clinicians who are now involved. We wanted to provide you a checklist of questions [...]
Diagnosis of any chronic illness like kidney disease can be a very turbulent time for any patient. The information and diagnosis may feel overwhelming and the patient might feel at a loss in connecting with his family, friends and even healthcare team. What is it like to live with a chronic kidney disease, how does [...]
Janet Wright with Dr. Gavril Hercz As a nephrologist and psychotherapist, I believe it is important to shed more light on the emotional impact of chronic illness, like polycystic kidney disease (PKD), on patients and families. Last year, during the “In Conversation Series”, we shared the 2018 Toronto PKD scientific conference video, in which Ms. [...]
As we approach the year-end, Team Psychonephrology would like to thank you all for your continuous support and encouragement throughout our journey together. We would like to recap some of the topics that received the widest viewership. At the beginning of this year, we started a new blog series, “in conversation series”, where the patients [...]
Any chronic illness, like kidney disease, affects not only the physical wellbeing of an individual but also impacts the psychological and social state. While the physical illness is given its due importance by the healthcare team, as well as caregivers and society at large, the psychosocial aspects sometimes take a backseat, although it is also [...]
Taking your cue from non-verbal communication Last week, during my visit to the dialysis unit, I came across a nurse who was displeased with a patient. On further conversation, she explained that she was disturbed by the manner expressed his dislike of her. This patient always wears T-shirts with strange quotes indirectly aimed at her. [...]
Loneliness does not mean that you don’t have any relationships at all. It indicates that even when you are surrounded by multiple relationships, there is no single intimate connection that you can identify.
