This week's episode is a fantastic discussion with a lovely patient of mine, Ms. Carloss Bauer. She very eloquently describes her experience being a self-described "hardcore smoker" and how she recently managed to quit for the first time ever.
Not being a smoker myself, I learned a lot from our conversation about what it's like to be seen by other people as a smoker. I'm not sure a non-smoker can really understand what it's like to be addicted to cigarettes or how difficult it is to quit. As medical professionals it's drilled into us that we have to counsel people about smoking cessation or we're not doing our jobs. Unfortunately this well-intentioned advice probably comes across as condescending and likely accomplishes nothing except making the patients feel bad about themselves.
The only similar experience I have to compare this to is weight. I have been overweight for my entire life and I have been yelled at by many doctors over the years about it. Lord knows I wish it was as simple as just making up your mind to follow the doctor's directions and lose weight but it's way more difficult/complicated/nuanced than that.
I am so grateful to Ms. Bauer for sharing her experience with me and I hope you enjoy this lovely conversation!
- Jody
