I attended a graduation ceremony today. Some observations from the graduation:
The guest speaker said his psychiatrist friend was asked why he went into psychiatry. His friend responded: "Surgery was not invasive enough." Delving into the mind is more invasive. Why? Because our thought betray our hearts. Such exposure is something people fear. The Bible says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" Jeremiah 17:9

Still, what a strange response from the psychiatrist... there must be more purpose to direction than the sake of being invasive. Is it then ultimately a grasp for power and control? So banal.

When nonmedical* people meet a psychiatrist, they often wonder if the psychiatrist is analyzing them -- as if psychiatrists can read minds (they can't). I'm told the punchline is the psychiatrist responds, "No, I could analyze you for a fee."

There was something uneasy about todays speaker, he seemed bored and nervous from the getgo: leaning on the podium, slouching to one side, unsure of where to place his hands - often placing his fingers together like Mr. Burns of the Simpsons. Perhaps he was jetlagged or came at short notice.


*Concerning the use of the word "nonmedical": In roles of service there is a distinction made between the service provider and others as in [Military/law enforcement vs. civilian], [clergy vs. laity]. However it is not quite encompassing to say medical vs. patient since not all people are patients. Is there a better word for nonmedical?