I am sharing a voice note that I recorded one day while feeling discouraged. It is unedited and raw... but a glimpse into how I feel and why I am making myself seen on social media and spending time on a webpage.

Why I'm a family doctor showing up on Instagram. Why I care to host a panel on a Saturday morning that I have to take a ferry to. And why, as a mom and a wife and a doctor who's always behind, am I adding more to my plate?

And it's really because I see trends. I feel like I get a knowledge that not a lot of other people get to put together. And when I see over the last 10 years, mothers, women in different stages of their life and follow them along, I see the challenges. I get to see behind the walls of social norms and social interactions.

I don't know everything about my patients. I'm sure there's things they don't tell me, and there's pieces of information that are left out and holes. But what I do see are the struggles, the things they can't tell other people. And honestly, it's all so similar. And so when I went through it myself, and as I continue to go through the challenges of motherhood, I want to be able to reach out and offer that support and normalize things for not just my patients.

I feel handcuffed that I can have a certain size of panel that I can care for. And I try to do my best to be present and supportive of them in my clinic, but it's busy and it's 10-minute appointments and it's paperwork. And sometimes I'm having a good day and sometimes I'm not. And a lot of times I just really wish I could have more time to explain that what they're going through is what other people go through, and this is normal. And if you could lift the veil into everyone's lives, that everyone's struggling in their own ways, and there's tools and connections that you can use to support yourself through this. And I feel like I get that little bit of a knowledge and normalcy that helps me get through my struggles. Anyways, I don't feel like there's room for that in the medical system.

So by showing up on Instagram, hoping to offer rooms where people can talk about these things, we can share the struggles, or you can just come and hear about it.

And then in the last few years, as information has continued to be shared on Instagram and social media, there's so much information. There's good information. I have really great examples of patients coming to me and figuring things out and connecting with other people, and I love that. I love seeing health things on social media. But I also want to be a source of reliable information. Where do we draw the line for evidence-based things? Where does an MD's opinion fall?

And I'm not perfect. I'm not totally up to date on my education on all parts of everything. But again, I've been trained to have that critical mind to look for evidence, to look for necessity, risks, benefits of anything that we're putting in our body. And honestly, the more I go through medicine, the more it comes down to those solid foundations of health. And they're boring and they don't sell. But it really does come down to that, and I want people to know that. I want it to be more than just a 10-minute appointment where I didn't get to ask you about what supplements you're taking.

And I want to offer that other piece of connection. Not just medical education, not just medical advice, but connection with other people. To be in a room, to feel safe and fun and community. I know I love that when I go to a good space. I just come out on such a high and have made some really good friendships by going out and being in rooms with other people. So I want more of that. I think we need more of that.

And that's my why. That's why I'm doing this. So hopefully, if you think that's helpful or great, or you know that that's something that could help other people, then follow along at @md.for.her. Thank you.