EP 840 Understanding Others' Pain

You typically describe your symptoms to your doctor, but what if your doctor could actually feel your pain?

Neurologist Dr. Joel Salinas has a rare condition called has mirror-touch synesthesia, which affects less than 2% of individuals. This neurological trait causes him to experience other people's emotions and physical sensations as if they were his own.

In his book Mirror Touch, Dr. Salinas explains how his condition motivated him to become a doctor and how it affects his practice. He is able to personally understand his patients' symptoms and truly empathize with their pain.

Tune in to his chat with Dr. Roizen to learn the power of his trait, as well as its complications and sometimes debilitating limitations.

Bonus!
How to Avoid the 10 Deadliest Women’s Health Conditions

Featuring:

Joel Salinas, MD

Joel Salinas, MD, was born in Miami Beach, Florida, in 1983.

After studying the intersection of biology and sociology at Cornell University, he completed his medical degree at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine followed by neurology residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He subsequently completed a combined research and clinical fellowship in Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Dr. Salinas lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is an Instructor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. He specializes in brain health, including neuropsychiatry and cognitive behavioral neurology, and conducts research in social and behavioral epidemiology to understand the complex neurobiological interplay between social relationships and brain health.

He chronicles his experiences as a doctor living with synesthesia in his new book, Mirror Touch: Notes from a Doctor Who Can Feel Your Pain.

Tagged under