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I wonder if, sometimes, the worst thing is the loneliness of no-one understanding what it feels like to be inside your skin....
If so, then this author's willingness and ability to draw the curtain aside and invite us into his experience is a particularly valuable gift.
Kudos to Dr. Moorehead for this intimately drawn portrait of a state of suffering that many endure but few are able to articulate so clearly. As a psychiatrist, I thank him for providing me a more vivid appreciation of the inner pain that afflicts many of my patients. As a colleague, I thank him for the reminder that we doctors, too, are human: wrestling with our own hardships and illnesses, and deserving of compassion from one another and from ourselves.
I first encountered Dr. Moorehead's writing years ago when I read his moving story, "Better off in a bubble" (CMAJ June 07, 2005 172 (12) 1587; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.05056) - a concise, evocative piece which showed Dr. Moorehead to be both a skilled writer and a sensitive clinician. I wish him well with his healing and recovery, and look forward to his future articles.
Sincerely,
Beverly J. Goodwin
Consulting Psychiatrist
Lanark County Mental Health
Smiths Falls, OntarioCompeting Interests: None declared.