Health and Wellness

I just finished Paula Becker’s powerful memoir— “A House on Stilts: Mothering in the age of opioid addiction.” It’s a gripping story of a mom living through her son’s drug addiction. She writes from her heart, with brutal honesty. It’s a beautifully written, but painful story of how hope and fear can turn our souls inside out. Paula is a local author and her husband, Barry Brown, MD, is one of our own, a long-time physician at The Everett Clinic. Chemical dependency is an equal opportunity condition—It doesn't care if your parents are shoemakers, mechanics, engineers, or doctors.

Keeping your summer peace during autumn’s rush

Dr. Paul | August 02, 2019 |

Everyone loves summer in the Northwest—the sun, the warm days, cool nights, —and yes, the long days that stretch into evening. I know, we all like to complain, just a little, when a cloudy, cool, or rainy day shows up. Or when the temperature climbs. But today, the sky is blue, and the sun peaks through my window shades. I love it.

There’s still stuff to do—laundry, shopping, cleaning, kids, and cooking. But in summer, life slows down. The kids are out of school, so parents, who are homework cops during the school year, are on vacation too. There’s less chauffeuring. There’s just... Read More

Nurturing your love to build a strong relationship

Dr. Paul | July 09, 2019 |

I attended a beautiful wedding July 4th weekend. The couple, in their early 30s, wondered in their late 20s—would they ever find love? Leslie, the bride, had attended tens of weddings of her large friendship circle. Now, it was her turn to walk down the aisle.

As in many modern weddings, the couple shared with their community their deep sense of love and respect for each other by writing their own vows and sharing their love story. It was touching. Most of us older folks had tears in our eyes.

Of course, I thought about my own wedding, some 42 years earlier. Married in my in-... Read More

Addressing body image issues

Dr. Paul | June 19, 2019 |

Earlier this month, my wife and I attended a wonderful performance, “Season Encore,” at the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle. It was a retirement celebration for two of their soloists. I hadn’t been to the ballet for a long time and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful leaps, bounds, and spins.

But it was also disturbing.

Most of the women were stick thin and whittled down, while the men had normal, athletic bodies. I get it. There is a classical ballet aesthetic—skinny, long-legged ballerinas. But many of these women looked gaunt, otherworldly, and unhealthy.

I am the... Read More

Setting your mind to deal with setbacks

Dr. Paul | May 07, 2019 |

I recently attended a magnificent modern ballet performance by the Dance Theatre of Harlem. These dancers were amazing. They were able to move their bodies in ways that seemed impossible to me. And of course, like most professionals, they made it look easy. We were spellbound.

While I’m happy to be able to touch my toes, reach for cereal from a high shelf, carry heavy bags of groceries from my car into the house, and walk around Green Lake, I love seeing adults leap into the air. It reminds me of something that many of us don’t fully realize.

We can do pretty much anything we...

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ven"> Managing your time and energy Dr. Paul | May 01, 2019 |

In the 21st century, both time and energy are in short supply. Many of us have plenty of food, maybe even too much. A lot of us have decent shelter, although it’s gotten more expensive. But, we struggle getting everything done, day to day and week to week. And after time with our kids, our partner, work, laundry, the yard, the house, shopping, cooking and cleaning, we are short on time and energy for ourselves. After all of those “to do’s,” we’re out of gas. Each of us only has so much vitality, both physical and mental. Some of this is constitutional. Don’t you just hate your friend who... Read More

dd"> Life is change Dr. Paul | February 27, 2018 |

In this Sunday’s New York Times (2/25/18), Sasha Cohen, the 2006 Figure Skating Olympic Silver medalist, shared the story of her retirement from skating. She spent her childhood and adolescence training for competition. Like all Internationally ranked athletes, her entire life was her sport. But after she stepped off Olympic ice, she was unprepared for her future as an ordinary civilian. She felt lost and uncertain. Michael Phelps, the most decorated swimmer of all time,... Read More

ven"> Post-holiday weight loss club Dr. Paul | January 11, 2017 | t-holiday-weight-loss-club#comments-anchor">2 comments

During the post-holiday season, lots of folks try to lose the weight they gained or didn’t lose, this last year. I’m member of this club too. It’s especially challenging with all of those Seahawks game-day gatherings. Those spicy chicken wings are divine!

Despite all of my many efforts, over my adult life, I’m still overweight. Sigh. The comforting news—I’m not alone.

But when I watch TV, read magazines, or go to the movies, all I see are slim, tall, muscular men and women. At my gym, all I see is the parade of slim looking men and women. Unfortunately, I can’t march in... Read More

Is resentment bad for your health?

Dr. Paul | October 12, 2016 | 1 comment

A couple of weeks ago I met with a group of professionals who were talking about their office. Listening to their discussion, I noted that several of them harbored resentment towards some of their co-workers. “I can’t stand how Joe doesn’t help out, even when it’s obvious that we need him”, Jim quipped. Bill was continually annoyed at a colleague who always had an opinion about everything that Bill did. These feelings just sat in their gut, like a heavy meal they couldn’t digest.

How often do we stuff angry feelings towards co-workers, family members, friends, or relatives? Our... Read More

Being kind to yourself

Dr. Paul | September 07, 2016 |

A friend of mine, Jill, struggles with shame and guilt over several bad choices she made in the last few years. They had major consequences for her career. She’s angry with herself— “How could I have messed things up so badly for myself and my family” she cries. She wakes up every morning feeling bad about herself and it propels her down a rabbit hole of deeper depression and self-reproach. Once she goes there, it’s hard to find her way out.

We all make small mistakes or errors in judgment. Fortunately, most of these choices don’t result in big consequences. But sometimes we make... Read More

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