Standing Still and Looking Back

A doctor reflects on his career, psychiatry, medicine and remarkable experiences with faith healing amidst the backdrop of the first year of the coronavirus pandemic. With intellectual honesty and candor, he achieves deep and satisfying self-understanding.

I have been practicing psychiatry for over 40 years.

My interest in panic disorder stems from my experience as an emergency room physician, where I saw a lot of panic attacks that simulated heart attacks and other physical conditions. In the late 90's I started a website called the Panic Disorders Institute where I, and a group of informed patients with panic disorder, shared information. This multiplied my understanding and knowledge of panic disorder. The information in Surviving Panic Disorder is the information that people are seeking when seen for an initial consultation.

My interest in problems with stopping Xanax and my observation of the numerous side effects and withdrawal effects of the SSRI antidepressants prompted me to share my experiences in Xanax Withdrawal and Informed Consent for SSRI Antidepressants. Xanax withdrawal gives good general information about stopping the drug or other short term benzodiazepines such as Ativan and Klonopin. Anyone considering starting or stopping a SSRI should take the time to read the book on informed consent.

Standing Still and Looking Back: a Memoir is a labor of love. All memoir is, to some extent, psychotherapy. With the start of the pandemic I found myself with time on my hands. Initially it started out as a pandemic diary, but as I wrote I began to reflect on my long career, particularly experiences that I had early in my career in faith healing. Unlike my other books it is not a self help book. I hope you find it a good read!