drkathygraham

I have long been fascinated with theories about personality typing.  Both in nursing school and medical school, we studied the MBTI psychometric assessment and determined our own psychological types.  This test was initially developed for gaining assistance with employment.  There are many free-online tests you can take to determine your own MBTI personality type.

Back 20 years ago, as well as 30, I recall that I fell  under the classification of ENFJ.  I took the test again today and found out that I am now an INFJ.  While there are likely people who have found this type of testing useful, for myself, it did not help me to better understand myself, my own motivations, others, nor the motivations of others.  It also did not help me gain or confirm employment.

Whatever the goal of the personality test, many people enjoy categorizing themselves, be it for body type, diet type, or personality type.  As a society we appear to be obsessed with labeling, analyzing and fitting ourselves into boxes in order to improve our lives or the the lives of others. Read more…

 In general, one of the most profound changes in health that I witness on a weekly basis, happens when a patient consumes a diet that is uniquely best for him/her.  Again, one size does not fit all.

Recently in the news, the vegan diet was purported to be the cure-all for heart disease.  Prior to that, it was the meat and protein loaded Zone diet and Atkins diet that reduced the risk of coronary heart disease.

Diet and nutrition is uniquely individual for each person.  Some people flourish on raw food diets while others become ill.  Some thrive on a vegan diet while others crash and burn.  An entire parade of fads and diets have come and gone, and some have hung around for a select and small group of people that have responded well to them. Read more…

 Ever since I was 12, I was fascinated with medicine.  My dad bought the family a set of 3 medical encyclopedia books back in 1972, well before any symptom, disease or treatment could be easily sought out by the click of a mouse.  My dad said the books were for the family, but I knew he really bought them for me.

For over 3 decades, my healthcare experience has run the gamut:  at 16 I was feeding and toileting the elderly, in my 20s I was participating in life saving hospital crises, in my 30s I was introduced to the world of holistic medicine, in my 40s I leaned heavily on treating patients “naturally”, and in my 50s I have come full circle.  At almost 52, I use a combination of conventional medical therapies and naturopathic medical therapies.  I may prescribe a pharmaceutical drug for a patient, and at the same time test for food allergies, while for another patient, I may prescribe botanical therapy and help the person wean off of a pharmaceutical medication. Read more…

Juniper trees are resilient plants.  The ones that are scattered on the rocky bluff below our home are thought to be hundreds upon hundreds of years old.

At the top of the most scenic view on the bluff, stands a massacred juniper tree with only a tuft left atop its sturdy trunk.  This juniper was once the most magnificent belle of the mountain, full and healthy and massive in its branches, needles and berries.

Many years ago, prior to building our home adjacent to this juniper tree, the area was a well known party hangout for rebellious teenagers that littered the area with beer bottles, condoms and scrap wood for their bonfires.  At times, these disrespectful youngsters would start tearing off the branches of this 400 year old juniper tree when they would run out of wood for their bonfires.  They tore, and they ripped, and they sawed, and they half-sawed the branches, until one day, after many more party bonfires, there was only a tuft left on top of the tree. Read more…