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By Dr EK Wills So it seems the health department have evolving recommendations and everyone has different advice to help flatten the curve and make it manageable for the health service. But what does this mean for everyone every day? No one has come out with a simple list of what we need to do to stay safe and generally do our bit for the community. Based on what I have seen so far and what appears to be working across the board, I have generated a simple checklist to make i

By EK Wills © Coco Reid Why do women not get to say what happens with their bodies? And why are we still talking about this in this day and age? Abortion is a criminal offense in NSW which is different to other states in Australia. It can be confusing to work out what is actually going on so a summary can help put it in perspective. A recent article by the ABC covers it in depth but I have simplified it below: Queensland decriminalised abortion in late 2018 - for any reason u

By EK Wills Everyone touts the importance and need to focus on our mental health, yet precious little seems to be done about it. From diet and meditation to Employee Assist Programs, these patchwork approaches all target aspects of our mental health that are like Band-Aid strips on wounds already created. What if we actually took an holistic approach and looked at prevention? This week there was a landmark decision in WA around domestic violence. The government there has reco

By EK Wills 4 Dads In perfect timing for Father’s Day, an article in the SMH inspired me to expand on the theory that father’s have their own language. If you haven’t heard already, Men Are From Mars and Women Are From Venus. What this refers to is John Gray’s premise that the fundamental issues in relationships stem from psychological differences between the sexes. Even decades after this book was first a best seller, it is still valid. If you take this a step further, it st

by EK Wills This holiday period has been a mixture of good times and learning experiences. Our friends visited from overseas after not having seen them for many years and all of our kids got along famously plus Sydney did not disappoint with scorching temperatures set to sizzle a tourist and Aussie alike. But both of these occurrences provided opportunity to learn about the often taboo topic of mortality. Firstly, our visitors openly discussed the recent treatment for breast

By EK Wills A friend lost her kindred sister to the horror of violence this week. The attacker was someone she had previously trusted and shockingly this is still not unusual in society generally. In the week of International Women’s Day it is important to reflect on the situation for women because the struggle has not eased. In India in 2012 there was an horrific attack on a woman on a bus where she was beaten, raped repeatedly by a gang in Delhi, and left for dead. There wa

By EK Wills on the way to ED on call There are many systemic issues in our current public health system but from my perspective within that structure, the heart of it is seems to be related to an ‘old boys club’ that perpetuates the notion of ‘if we did it, then you have to do it too’. Recently, the media has been reporting incidents relating to workplace issues for doctors and more specifically for surgeons. This came to light again with the latest junior doctor revelation a

By EK Wills What better way to spend time with friends and family than to get together for an activity? It could be to socialize over drinks, bake with the kids or make Christmas decorations. This time of year is the opportunity to reconnect with community and we’ve been squeezing as much of it in as we can. Christmas Cookies Baking is a great way to get kids off screens and teach them kitchen skills. Plus you get to spend time together with the objective of creating somethin

By EK Wills canoes in Sydney harbour Last weekend we attended our son’s scout Christmas party at the beach. Unusual you might say, but this was the sea scouts and it is water based. We recently moved close to the water but hadn’t had the opportunity to engage in water activities till that day: life has a way of distracting you with work, setting up house and preparing for Christmas. This was the first chance we had to force ourselves to stop and enjoy what we had moved there

by EK Wills I recently had a patient lament that the system makes it so difficult to access services to mental health. That comment rings true for many people because there are so many options and so it can be difficult to navigate them. There is also a misconception that there is one place that fits all because it is ‘mental health’ and that is one ailment. In fact there are many types of mental health issues such as depression, domestic violence, trauma, psychosis: the list

by EK Wills Do you doubt yourself even when you have achieved goals you set for yourself? Or feel unloved even when surrounded by family and friends? Maybe you think there is something wrong with you because everyone else seems to have to it all together more than you do? These thoughts can form core beliefs that we operate with on a daily basis. In the psychological world, they are called schemas and can be seen as cognitive distortions that effect the way we function and c

By EK Wills © artwork by Coco for Goretober Ever gone on a diet? Or looked at your reflection and wanted to change something? Well, who hasn’t, right? Lately, I’ve been seeing people at work who come in to the Eating Disorders Clinic or present to the Emergency Department who have taken those thoughts to a whole added level of serious. These people have become obsessed with weight, in a clinical sense of the word. It could be that they are depressed and feeling that they have

By EK Wills Driving home with my son yesterday, we were listening to the radio and I was struck by how specifically directed it was to my generation. We started talking about how there used to be popular songs, bands and types of music mainly dictated by what we were exposed to as kids. We wondered then what he would listen to as an adult because he also plays in a band. This led to thinking how different it is now because everyone has access to so many forms of media at thei

By EK Wills Being a talker, my ears always prick up when I learn of ways we connect that help us in life. I read that a… ‘study of people living in Alameda County, California, for example, showed that people who had close friendships and marriages lived longer than those who didn’t. This was true independent of such factors as diet, smoking, and exercise.’ (The Relationship Cure) And this week I learned, that for many years, a hospital in Finland has almost radically treated

by EK Wills This week was one to test anyone’s patience. And so I was glad to learn about a specific type of therapy that includes skills training on aspects such as distress tolerance and emotion regulation. These are part of a type of therapy called dialectical behavioural therapy or DBT. It was initially developed by Marsha Linehan for people suffering what is labeled borderline personality disorder and, interestingly, she was a sufferer herself. But DBT has now been advoc

By E K Wills Why do we get up every day, go to work/school, suffer the setbacks and strive for goals? Usually it’s because we want to, we are driven to do this and we are motivated by a biological sense of need. But what happens when the chemicals in the brain don’t function this way? And medication doesn't seem to help? What if you can be surrounded by positivity, opportunity and even success but not feel it? This is what happened in the maternal side of my family last week.

By EK Wills I’ve always had heavy periods but they seemed to get even more troublesome over the years and I ended up iron deficient and anaemic. That isn’t so unusual as many women of child-bearing age are at risk for iron deficiency anaemia due to what is termed menorrhagia or heavy bleeding from periods. But there are several causes of this, which tend to show up in different age groups. I happened to score the fibroids category. The positive side of this diagnosis is that

by EK Wills This week I managed to get a viral infection. It’s a seemingly small thing but enough to throw a spanner in the otherwise well-oiled machine of daily life. When juggling full time work, study and family and all their requirements, a small thing that upsets the balance means life get chaotic and you can start to question what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. All the things that you usually deal with in your stride become hard. Little annoyances become hurdles

by EK Wills Have you ever really asked yourself what you live for? Or why are you living the way you do, right now? And, even more importantly, are you content with what you find out? Some of us do this on a daily basis: some people even call it navel gazing. While others don't take the opportunity and happily or not seem to drift through life. Last year I stepped out of my usual routine and took on a temporary position in another state. My goal was to help finance a trip for

by EK Wills This week a colleague said something that made me stop and think. When I heard “You really need to let that go”, I flippantly retorted something to keep the moment light. But overnight I reflected on this because it related to several things, not just that occasion. If you follow me on Instagram, you will recall the inciting event, when another woman assumed I was a nurse presumably because I am female and more mature and because doctors are traditionally male. T