Emotional sepsis is a life-threatening condition from unprocessed emotional pain in the body that may lead to death.
Emotional I & D is an incision and draining of the emotions by way of slicing open one’s soul and sharing the suffering with a trusted person, therapist, peer-to-peer support group, or even through journaling.
Emotional exudate is the inadvertent, often unconscious, emotional discharge that seeps out of an person in emotional sepsis through bullying, harassment, or other behaviors harmful to those in proximity.
In October, 2021, I coined the above terms while facilitating a weekly support group for suicidal surgeons. One of the best ways to treat emotional sepsis is through emotional incision & drainage in the safety of a curated and confidential peer-to-peer support group targeted to the specific identity of the individual seeking help. I’ve hosted peer-to-peer support groups for suicidal residents, residency drop-outs, struggling medical students, foreign medical graduates, suicidal surgeons, female anesthesiologists, and more . . . Anyone can host a peer-to-peer support group or feel free to drop in for one of ours. I host several each Sunday.
