RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 To Feel Again: The Strength of a Support Community
JF The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Medicine
JO J Am Board Fam Med
FD American Board of Family Medicine
SP 172
OP 173
DO 10.3122/jabfm.2024.240117R1
VO 38
IS 1
A1 Rodgers, Angela Renee
YR 2025
UL http://www.jabfm.org/content/38/1/172.abstract
AB Health care professionals are known to prioritize the health of others over themselves. The culture of medicine incentivizes this idea of putting all others first before ourselves. This habit makes physicians with chronic disease less likely to address the psychosocial aspect of how their chronic disease impacts their life. Psychosocial impact of chronic disease can include feelings such as isolation, shame, a false sense of contentment or even depression and anxiety among others. Routinely connecting with those with shared diagnoses offers validation, support, and a sense of freedom. As a woman of color with autoimmune hair loss (alopecia areata), Dr. Angela Rodgers shares her experience attending Baldie Con in 2023, a new national conference for women with various types of hair loss. She reveals how the experience unearthed truths about the relationship between physicians and their diagnoses and provides evidence-based advice on how to stay connected with community.