Psychiatrist Drew Ramsey, MD meets with Jody, a 56-year-old woman who was diagnosed with COVID-19 early in the pandemic and has since been designated as a long hauler. She had a successful career in NYC, lived as a vegan, and didn’t smoke or drink, but COVID still wreaked havoc on her mental and physical health well after a year with the infection.

“I never could have imagined that something like a virus could take me out. And I mean completely out.” In this candid conversation, Jody describes painful pericarditis, insomnia, tremors, and other physical effects of the virus that culminated in anxiety and suicidal ideation. And she reveals the stigma that continues to plague long haulers, not unlike other people living with chronic illness.

Presented by The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry and Dramatic Health.

Drew Ramsey, MD is a psychiatrist, one of psychiatry’s leading proponents of nutritional psychiatry, and author of Eat To Beat Depression and Anxiety He is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Access clinical resources and learn more at COVID Depression.

COVID Depression: Long Hauler Case Report, Ep1

Drew Ramsey, MD, introduces Jody, a 56-year-old woman, with a successful career in NYC, who is vegan and doesn’t drink nor smoke.  She was diagnosed with COVID-19 early in the pandemic and recalls being in denial early on. “I never could have imagined that something like a virus could take me out. And I mean completely out.”

In a 7-episode video series, the psychiatrist and patient will discuss Jody’s COVID case, the suicidal ideation, pericarditis, and other mental health concerns that followed, and how she manages life as a COVID long hauler.

Presented by The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry and Dramatic Health.

Drew Ramsey, MD is a psychiatrist, one of psychiatry’s leading proponents of nutritional psychiatry, and author of Eat To Beat Depression and Anxiety He is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Access clinical resources and learn more at COVID Depression.

COVID Symptoms with Pericarditis

Jody is a 56-year-old woman who lives a vegan, smoke- and alcohol-free lifestyle in NYC who was diagnosed with COVID-19 early in the pandemic. She disregarded the early mild symptoms reported in a telehealth visit: headache, fatigue, body aches. In the second week, with reported heart pain (pericarditis) and sleeplessness, she was advised to visit the ER.

Drew Ramsey, MD discusses Jody’s COVID symptoms and her experience living with the virus in this second episode of the COVID Depression series.

Presented by The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry and Dramatic Health.

Drew Ramsey, MD is a psychiatrist, one of psychiatry’s leading proponents of nutritional psychiatry, and author of Eat To Beat Depression and Anxiety He is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Access clinical resources and learn more at COVID Depression.

COVID Treatment and Drug Side Effects

Dr. Drew Ramsey and Jody continue their conversation about her experience with COVID-19. Months into the disease, she describes her body as “screaming” as she dealt with unresolved pericarditis, insomnia, inflammation, rapid weight loss, and the physical response, including tremors, to the xanax and steroids she was prescribed. Jody also discusses mental health repercussions like loneliness.

Presented by The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry and Dramatic Health.

Drew Ramsey, MD is a psychiatrist, one of psychiatry’s leading proponents of nutritional psychiatry, and author of Eat To Beat Depression and Anxiety He is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Access clinical resources and learn more at COVID Depression.

COVID and Suicidal Ideation

Jody discusses with Drew Ramsey, MD the mental health effects she’s experienced as a COVID-19 long hauler.

“I would wake up and want to die,” she recalls. A year of navigating health effects like tremors, insomnia, repetitive pericarditis and related heart pain, and the drugs to manage it all became too much to bear. A functional medicine doctor helped her taper appropriately and get relief.

Presented by The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry and Dramatic Health.

Drew Ramsey, MD is a psychiatrist, one of psychiatry’s leading proponents of nutritional psychiatry, and author of Eat To Beat Depression and Anxiety He is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Access clinical resources and learn more at COVID Depression.

COVID Long Hauler Mental Health

Jody describes life as a COVID long hauler and the supports that helped manage her mental health, including journaling, therapy, and even dismantling some spiritual beliefs after “looking death in the face.” She even credits long hauler support groups with providing relief, where she was allowed to be vulnerable but also felt validated in her experience.

With Drew Ramsey, MD, Jody shares how she stopped putting pressure on herself to “hurry up and get well” in this journey of the mind, body, and soul.

Presented by The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry and Dramatic Health.

Drew Ramsey, MD is a psychiatrist, one of psychiatry’s leading proponents of nutritional psychiatry, and author of Eat To Beat Depression and Anxiety He is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Access clinical resources and learn more at COVID Depression.

COVID Long Hauler and Chronic Disease Awareness

COVID long hauler Jody discusses with Drew Ramsey, MD how she’s “hungry to move on but has so much grief to process.”

This psychiatrist and patient underscore the need to shine light on the discrepancies that are occurring with long haul patients. Those with long haul COVID are being stigmatized by both providers and the general population similarly to other people living with chronic diseases.

Presented by The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry and Dramatic Health.

Drew Ramsey, MD is a psychiatrist, one of psychiatry’s leading proponents of nutritional psychiatry, and author of Eat To Beat Depression and Anxiety He is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Access clinical resources and learn more at COVID Depression.

COVID Case Report: Summary

Psychiatrist Drew Ramsey, MD reflects on the long haul COVID case report, in which Jody shared about her mental and physical health both during and after her positive COVID infection. He discusses how diet and nutrition are levels that can be pulled to empower patients. “Mental health is something that all of us need to cultivate in ourselves.”

Presented by The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry and Dramatic Health.

Drew Ramsey, MD is a psychiatrist, one of psychiatry’s leading proponents of nutritional psychiatry, and author of Eat To Beat Depression and Anxiety He is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Access clinical resources and learn more at COVID Depression.