Valerie Brooke, MD
The 4 F's - Flight, Fight, Freeze, Fawn
When I first heard someone mention the “4 F’s,” I immediately thought of the swear word...
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Heal, Play, Love
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Valerie Brooke, MD
Mar 278 min
Scam 101
The phone call couldn’t have come at a worse time. It was the day before we left for our move to Alaska and the movers were shuffling...
303 views2 comments
Valerie Brooke, MD
Feb 283 min
Did I fail?
I’ve been going through my home, room by room, organizing for my upcoming move to Anchorage, Alaska for a new inpatient rehabilitation...
281 views8 comments
Valerie Brooke, MD
Dec 26, 20235 min
The Whistling Santa
Yesterday, on Christmas Day, I flew from my home in Reno, NV, to Minneapolis, MN, to start a new traveling physician job at a...
106 views0 comments
Valerie Brooke, MD
Nov 27, 20234 min
The Science of Gratitude
Many years before I studied to become a physician, giving thanks for the blessings in my life was the first part of my morning prayers. ...
85 views3 comments
Valerie Brooke, MD
Oct 18, 20234 min
Change
As the plane descended from the ash-colored clouds over Burlington, Vermont, I looked over the blunted orange and dark green leafed trees...
81 views5 comments
Valerie Brooke, MD
Jul 23, 20234 min
The Big Leap
“When we get quiet enough, for long enough, we can hear the whispers, of what is right, of what is true, and most importantly, which way...
160 views3 comments
Valerie Brooke, MD
May 4, 20233 min
Responding to Suffering
Last year I started attending monthly lectures put on by the Nevada Physician Wellness Coalition (NPWC), an organization in line with my...
98 views0 comments
Valerie Brooke, MD
Apr 24, 20233 min
Restoration
It's been a long time since I've written, too long for sure, but a lot has happened in my personal and professional life in the last...
107 views0 comments
Valerie Brooke, MD
Dec 6, 20226 min
Things that Get in the Way
I recently picked up a dusty book from the overflowing self-help shelf on my bookcase: The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown. I’d had...
88 views1 comment
Valerie Brooke, MD
Aug 28, 20225 min
Perfect Versus Good
It was Voltaire who is attributed with the aphorism “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” I have been contemplating this...
66 views0 comments
Valerie Brooke, MD
Aug 21, 20224 min
Make Friends with Reality
I had been looking forward to going to Yosemite for years. We finally lived in a place that was within easy driving distance. I could...
71 views0 comments
Valerie Brooke, MD
May 9, 20225 min
Love and Money
It took me many drives to work to realize what bothered me about this billboard. At first, I thought it was because I could not for the...
78 views0 comments
Valerie Brooke, MD
Apr 10, 20223 min
Pretzel Twists and Introspection
When I first stepped onto a yoga mat in my late twenties, I had no idea yoga entailed so much more than just moving my body into more and...
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Valerie Brooke, MD
Mar 8, 20223 min
The Health Benefits of Yoga
In one corner of my vision board for 2022 are the words yoga, flexibility, and keep moving forward. Right next to them is a photo of a...
46 views2 comments
Valerie Brooke, MD
Mar 1, 20223 min
I Wish I'd Known
Yesterday I was invited to give a talk to a group of about fifty freshmen undergraduates at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). These...
104 views0 comments
Valerie Brooke, MD
Feb 14, 20223 min
Imposter Syndrome
I will never forget the first medication I ordered as newly practicing physician. It was my first internal medicine rotation of...
89 views0 comments
Valerie Brooke, MD
Feb 7, 20224 min
The Stigma of Mental Health Illness in Medical Professionals
The other day one of my physician colleagues shared a story with me about some seemingly helpful advice he was given during the first...
107 views1 comment
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