2/ I must admit that I spend a lot of time on twitter talking about how great my job is (b/c it is) & how happy I am at work (b/c I am) but I have reached this place of relative content through a lot of hard work (yay therapy) & the support of some amazing folks @umichmedicine

3/ When I was a 3rd yr resident I was pulled aside by some incredibly caring folks at our hospital who recognized I was not thriving. I erroneously thought (like many of us do) that my internal struggles were not showing on the outside. But they were & you know what? THAT IS OK

4/ Not doing something about it is the problem. So I found an incredible therapist (yay therapy again) and worked through a lot of the stuff that was causing me internal struggle & feelings of inadequacy. I came out on the other side a happier person & a much better doctor.

5/ I don't really like to think about where I would be now if someone hadn't seen my suffering & helped me through it. So here is my #WeWereWrong : surgery & medicine are hard & you're not weak if you're suffering-I smile a lot on twitter but some days are hard & I cry a lot too

6/ We MUST do better for ourselves & for each other. We all claim to value vulnerability but when it comes down to actually being vulnerable & admitting our struggles I think we are pretty bad at it (me included). So here is my plea--be that person who helped me out.

7/ This #COVID winter is going to be hard for all of us. Provide grace to others, look out for those struggling, & most importantly, allow yourself room to hurt, to be vulnerable, to cry. We may be distanced but you are not alone. The work we do is hard. But it is worth it.

@nganttmd thank you for your positive message via @AmCollSurgeons !!

@sparklyscalpel @UMichSurgery @skgeevarghese @HPB_Txp_Surg @MichiganLiver @WomenSurgeons @GSandhuSurgEd @JocelineVu @seth_waits @MichaelEnglesbe @UM_TREE @amhighet1 @jdimick1 Thank you for this 🙏🏼

@sparklyscalpel @UMichSurgery @skgeevarghese @HPB_Txp_Surg @MichiganLiver @WomenSurgeons @GSandhuSurgEd @JocelineVu @seth_waits @MichaelEnglesbe @UM_TREE @amhighet1 @jdimick1 You have always been a superstar, but your courage to take on your internal struggle and normalize the concept of “being ok with not feeling ok” resulted in such a culture shift at @UMichSurgery . Thank you for helping us all be better.

@sparklyscalpel @UMichSurgery @skgeevarghese @HPB_Txp_Surg @MichiganLiver @WomenSurgeons @GSandhuSurgEd @JocelineVu @seth_waits @MichaelEnglesbe @UM_TREE @amhighet1 @jdimick1 I remember your talk during my intern orientation. I remember how strong and confident you appeared from the view of a scared intern. I rememeber jokes about your love for 90's culture. Today you again have shown me what strength is.

@sparklyscalpel @UMichSurgery @skgeevarghese @HPB_Txp_Surg @MichiganLiver @WomenSurgeons @GSandhuSurgEd @JocelineVu @seth_waits @MichaelEnglesbe @UM_TREE @amhighet1 @jdimick1 Thank you Dr Barrett for sharing and for being brave & helping others with your story!