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My adolescence was fraught with escapisms: there were some healthy ones, like skiing even at -20 C, drawing, reading, swimming. But there were some potentially damaging ones because instead of making me more in the moment like the healthy ones, they were in fact meant to numb my painful feelings:  rides at amusement parks, emotional eating, watching videoclips or movies, and yes, like many, spending too much time playing video games (we didn't have social media when I was a teenager). They are not only magnets for boredom but for insecurity, nervousness, sadness, or feeling empty. These time sinks attract all forms of suffering if we don't watch out. I look back at my younger self and have a lot of compassion for her, as she was trying to cope with her parents' divorce, their relative emotional unavailability, and all the difficult experiences associated with the various changes in my daily life. If you are in a similar situation, like being glued to your phone or computer ...

I have been through several phases in my life when I thought my world had just stopped, and I was sure I would never be able to laugh again. Whether after a loss, a betrayal, thwarted belongingness, burnout, or being forced to follow a sign that reads ''Unknown'' as our next destination, none of us is immune to experiencing a state of low mood and motivation, sometimes with hopelessness and lack of aliveness. Some call it depression, but I sometimes hesitate to use the word depression; as a psychiatrist, I know too well that this existential phase has been overly pathologized and medicalized, and many have mislabeled as such the very normal experience of people mourning for instance. To a certain extent, it can be a good sign to go through this at least once (it means you are human, and you have sensitivity, unlike a robot). Yet, it still carries some level of stigma, and I don't think the word fully captures the very unique expression of this experience that depend...

  At the beginning of the pandemic, I got into the habit of writing a gratitude journal. Everyday, for many months I carefully wrote what I was thankful for. And I invited my sons and their dad to do so at the dinner table. It moved me to hear my sons often say, ''I am grateful for my family''. During adolescence, there might be times when we want to throw some of our siblings, or even parents, out of the window, metaphorically speaking. It has certainly been my case on many occasions, growing with two loud, rambunctious, at times obnoxious and accident-prone younger siblings, and navigating my parents' divorce and their new partners. But nourishing family bonds by focusing on the qualities of each person can help us grow. I was so thankful to be able to spend some vacation days with my dad, his girlfriend and my young brother during a trip recently. My brother remembered that we told him he had a Playmobil face when he was little. He said that his kids now have the...

My dream or project notebook, offered by my friend Annie for my birthday almost a decade ago. Where is your mind wandering right this second? What is your heart whispering? Maybe it is hard to pay attention because there are too many conflictual demands or expectations coming from all directions: your parents, your coach, your teachers, your friends... It must be dizzying. Maybe you have yearnings (like wanting a brand of clothing, or a sports equipment, or go to a concert) but you are starting to wonder if they are your own. Are they coming from outside influence like brainwashing from advertisement or peer pressure? Or is it coming from inside, from your essence? I might not fully grasp all the details cluttering your life at this moment, but I can tell you how I felt at times during this fog that was most of my adolescence. And when I write fog, I mean it both literally and metaphorically. I grew up as a teen in the 1980s and many relatives, especially on my dad side of the family, ...

I remember a special weekend day in high school. I must have been 14 or 15. I was using my blue, 10-speed bike (with twisted handles that made the thing look like a ram) to attend a science fair. I was not a participant which allowed me to be totally in awe of not only the projects students were presenting but the whole atmosphere. I was a spectator, yet fully immersed in their experiences, mostly in this experience called the present moment. This was a time of my life that was challenging in my own body (hello, puberty) and at home: adjusting to going to my father's place on the weekends, and spending most of my time at our new home with my mother, a single parent trying to raise me and my two younger, very active siblings while working as a teacher. So, anything that could get me out of my daily reality, help me forget my acne and expand my horizons was pure bliss. Even though I didn't do a demo or didn't share a project that day, I really appreciated being included as a ...

In the context of the upcoming International Women`s Day on March 8th, the Medical Society where I have been a member for over 8 years surveyed women physicians. Here is a summary of my journey towards that calling which became clearer during my years in high school. 1. Did a woman inspire you to pursue medicine? Why medicine? Although she was a physicist, not a physician, Marie Curie had a profound impact on me by kindling my thirst for knowledge. When I was about 8, I received a kids' book about the story of her life which I found so inspiring. Nobody else in my family is a physician, but my aunt Marie, who has been very dear and special to me ever since she saw me land into this world, was a nurse. Later on, in high school, as I was discovering an interest in science, a doctor named Marie Bonner gave a presentation about her experience practicing medicine in Africa. That encounter ignited my desire to be a healer and consolidated my calling to care for others and empower them. I...

The lunchbox I have had since kindergarten. It is at least 45 years old. I still fondly remember my parents getting it for me after I chose it in a store in Florida. Among the many things I didn't give much thought about during the first half of my adolescence, in addition to my clothing or hairstyle, but wish I had, was what I (or my brave mother) put in my lunchbox. Like others in my household and many people in the 70s and 80s, I had this very primitive binary view of food: it either had a pleasant taste or it was repulsive. The choice would therefore be guided by this sometimes risky approach: ingesting the former as much as possible and avoid the latter. It didn't matter if the tasty was highly artificial, processed food. I had a phase in elementary school when I would spurt ketchup on every meal. I also loved the mac and cheese with super surreal orange powder. Soft drinks were ubiquitous (I can still remember the smell of the basement at my maternal grandparents when we ...