Dr. K Psychiatry

11/23/2025

This might be a Buddhist concept, but it’s also found in Stoicism. Still, you don’t have to be a stoic or Buddhist to understand the truth in this.
Dr. K

Every minute you spend trying to change what’s outside your control —
people’s behavior, their opinions, the past, the weather, the outcome —
is a minute taken away from what actually lies in your power.

And you only get so many minutes in this lifetime.

The Buddha taught this through the principle of right effort and mindfulness:
✨ Focus your energy where it can create change,
not where it will only create suffering. ✨

Most of our stress comes from trying to rearrange the external world.
But peace comes from managing the internal one.

Instead of fighting what you can't control, invest your time in what you can:

🌿 Your reactions
🌿 Your attitude
🌿 Your habits
🌿 Your discipline
🌿 Your mindset
🌿 Your compassion
🌿 Your choices
🌿 Your personal growth

These are the places where transformation begins.

Every minute you stop wasting on the uncontrollable is a minute gained for healing, progress, clarity, and purpose.

Life is short.
Your minutes are limited.

🌼 Fill them with actions that truly make a difference —
within you and around you.

11/23/2025

“Intuitions tend to deliver predictions that are too extreme and you will be inclined to put far too much faith in them.” - Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

11/20/2025

I think this makes sense. We can understand why we became who we are, but we are ourselves still responsible for changing that moving forward.
Dr. K

This message is a reminder that maturity is not just about age... it’s about accountability. Many people keep carrying their childhood wounds and using their past as a shield for their present choices. But as life moves forward, that excuse loses its weight. There comes a moment when your healing, your decisions, and your growth become your personal responsibility.

Your past might have influenced you, but it no longer has the authority to dictate who you must become. Continuing to blame it only slows down your future. Real transformation begins when you stop waiting for someone to fix you, guide you, or rescue you.

Taking ownership of your life is uncomfortable, but it’s also liberating. Because once you accept that no one is coming to save you, you finally tap into the strength needed to build the version of yourself you’ve always wanted to be — even if nobody ever taught you how.

10/30/2025

I keep telling my CBT patients about this video. If a guy can learn how to ride a backwards bicycle, then you can train your mind to do just about any kind of different thinking, with enough practice.

Get your own here ⇒ http://bit.ly/BuyBackwardsBike ⇐ Shirt: https://goo.gl/doOG3GI give talks: http://www.smartereveryday.com/appearances Patreon Support Li...

10/30/2025

Try sitting with the discomfort. Maybe there is something you can learn from it.
- Dr. K

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10/22/2025

Couldn’t have said it better myself! In fact many of you have heard me say this already 😉

We’ve all waited around for motivation, hoping it’ll magically show up before we get started. But neuroscience says we’ve got it backward. Motivation doesn’t spark action. Action sparks motivation.

Here’s how it works: when you put in effort, even a small one like making your bed or writing one sentence, your brain rewards you with a hit of dopamine, the “feel good” chemical. That little boost tells your brain, “Hey, this feels good. Let’s keep going.”

That’s right — your brain is wired to reward effort, not intention. So when you act, even when you don’t feel like it, your brain kicks in and builds momentum. Motivation isn’t the fuel — it’s the result.

This flips everything. It means you don’t need to feel inspired to start. You just need to start, and your brain will catch up. Whether it’s studying, working out, cleaning, or creating — doing the thing creates the desire to keep doing the thing.

So next time you feel stuck, don’t wait for a spark. Create one. Do one small action, then let your biology handle the rest.

Your brain isn’t waiting for motivation. It’s waiting for movement.

10/02/2025

Negative thinking is like a barb on a hook, because it keeps you hooked. Instead, work on filing down the barb by using CBT. Like fishing with a barbless hook, you as a fish will be caught less often and will get off the hook more easily.
- Dr. K

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10/02/2025

Never mind doing better. That requires the kind of judgment we are trying to get past. Instead, just DO.
Dr. K

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08/04/2025

Here are a couple of ideas that came in an email from "Stoic Wisdoms", that bear repeating.

What if the very idea that you need to be "fixed" is the problem?"

The premise that we need constant improvement creates many of the problems we're trying to solve.

The ancient Stoics took a different approach entirely. Rather than asking "How do I fix this?" they asked "What can this teach me?" Rather than demanding that life conform to their preferences, they explored how to live skillfully within whatever conditions they encountered."

Back to my 2 cents: This doesn't mean we should abandon treatment of mental illness. But maybe in addition to trying to find ways to reduce symptoms it's worth asking "What is my brain trying to tell me in making me aware of these symptoms?". Anxiety for example, can often arise out of situations that can improve after you make some kind of change. The most common one I see is unhappiness at work. It's pretty rare to see work conditions improve as a result of expressing your discontent there, or simply taking time off. You may either need to change your thoughts about work, or find new work.

- Dr. K

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