The Hidden Burden of Loneliness: A Psychosocial Lens on Chronic Disease and Healing
Loneliness is not simply a social inconvenience. It is a biological stressor that activates the same neural pathways as physical pain.
Violence and Abuse in Dialysis Units: An Urgent but Overlooked Crisis
When we think about dialysis units, we often picture a place of healing — where patients with kidney failure receive life-sustaining treatment several times a week. But behind the scenes, these environments can sometimes be tense, emotionally charged, and even unsafe. Abuse and violence, whether directed at staff or patients, are serious and growing concerns [...]
How Transitional Units Support Kidney Patients During One of Life’s Biggest Changes
Starting dialysis is more than a medical event—it's a deeply emotional, psychological, and life-altering transition. For many patients coping with chronic kidney disease (CKD), beginning dialysis marks a new chapter filled with uncertainty, vulnerability, and fear.
Tools to manage anxiety and worry
Whether you are a patient or a caregiver, dealing with a serious health condition can bring uncertainty, worry & anxiety.
Two-way life: A caregiver’s story
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 [...]
Death and social media
In July of 2013, NPR Weekend Edition host Scott Simon began tweeting from the ICU of a Chicago hospital. For the next week, as he watched his mother’s condition worsen until her eventual passing, he shared everything from interactions with ICU nurses to his mother’s wisecracks and life lessons with his thousands of Twitter followers. [...]
“I Don’t Want Dialysis” – Living with a Mother’s Wish
I still vividly remember her last night here. She wasn’t fully conscious. Just enough to keep pulling down the face mask providing her with oxygen and opening her eyes to stare at me, before she resumed dozing off. I have no idea if she knew I was there. Yet, I still sat at her side, [...]
Can Family caregiving and self-compassion co-exist?
Society’s rules and expectations of behavior by family caregivers can seem quite onerous. A caregiver is anticipated to be a selfless individual who keeps the needs of the patient above everyone else’s, including his or her own needs. He/she looks after physical, medical, emotional, psychological, financial and legal needs. He is thought to be an [...]
15 odd conversations that you should not start when visiting a kidney patient
Sympathy Vs. Empathy As a nephrologist, I have witnessed numerous patient-clinician encounters and heard even more from kidney patients during their clinic or dialysis visits. A recent conversation with one of my patients, who has a kidney disease, brought to light how she felt by the reactions and comments of her friends and relatives. [...]
16 Essential Reads about Death, Loss, and Hope
Though death is an ultimate reality of life, no amount of preparation can help us overcome the void that occurs with the death of our loved ones. The eventual shape that mourning takes is colored by the emotional connection we sustained with that person. […]
Upcoming Book Review: “The Iceberg”
Do you ever consider the unthinkable? What thoughts and emotions would cross your mind if you know that your life partner was terminally ill? How would you imagine the minutes and the hours of the day passing? […]
Caring for the Caregiver
The role of the caregiver can be quite onerous, supporting and advocating for a loved one without pause. These activities can become very tiring, without necessarily receiving the reciprocal support which would refuel an individual. As well, there may be feelings of guilt in being the healthy one, with no room for voiced complaints. This [...]
The Caregiver as The Hidden Patient?
Informal caregivers refer to friends and family who provide support to individuals that are unable to function independently. There are at least 8.1 million Canadians providing care to family and friends with long term health conditions, disabilities or aging needs. These informal caregivers account for over $25 billion in unpaid labor to the health care [...]