https://www.dr-mcb.com/curiosities The questions Dr. Marie Claire Bourque is asking herself, answered in writing — sometimes with the sources shown, sometimes as an essay, and every piece says which. en-ca Thu, 10 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT dr-mcb.com https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/built-to-last https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/built-to-last Sat, 05 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT Essay High-performance organizations · the Routledge book You do not control the storm; you build for weather. The real test of a culture is what is still standing after the person who built it leaves. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/the-people-inside-the-machine https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/the-people-inside-the-machine Sat, 05 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT Essay High-performance organizations · the Routledge book A nineteen-year-old holds up the jersey, and six weeks later he is alone in a city where he knows nobody. High performance runs on people it can also use up. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/leading-under-pressure https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/leading-under-pressure Sat, 05 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT Essay High-performance organizations · the Routledge book Pressure does not stop at the players. It reaches the person calling the timeout, and what survives is the decision you made in advance about how you would decide. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/from-toxic-to-championship-standard https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/from-toxic-to-championship-standard Sat, 05 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT Essay High-performance organizations · the Routledge book An open door changes nothing in a room that has already learned to stay silent. Repairing a culture means treating the soil, not replacing the person standing in it. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/psychological-safety-is-not-softness https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/psychological-safety-is-not-softness Sat, 05 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT Essay High-performance organizations · the Routledge book The player who saw the answer coming said nothing, and the arithmetic that kept her quiet was correct. Safety is not comfort; it is what makes a hard standard survivable. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/culture-is-not-a-vibe https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/culture-is-not-a-vibe Sun, 23 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT Essay High-performance organizations · the Routledge book Everyone credits culture and almost nobody can define it. It is not the feeling in the room — it is the rules nobody wrote down, running whether or not you designed them. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/your-memory-is-not-a-recording https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/your-memory-is-not-a-recording Wed, 19 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT With sources You can see the kitchen. You know what the light was like. And the person who was standing next to you remembers it differently — here is why you can both be honest. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/a-cough-isnt-pneumonia https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/a-cough-isnt-pneumonia Wed, 19 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT With sources Adult ADHD Inattention is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Anxiety, sleep, depression, trauma and ADHD can all produce it — and more than one can be true at once. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/attention-is-not-a-dimmer-switch https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/attention-is-not-a-dimmer-switch Wed, 19 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT With sources Adult ADHD You can hyperfocus for hours and lose a spreadsheet in four minutes. That contradiction makes no sense if attention is one dial — so it isn't one. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/emotional-regulation https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/emotional-regulation Wed, 30 Jul 2025 12:00:00 GMT Essay Four practical tools for creating space between a big feeling and the thing you do next—human-grenade metaphors included. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/emotional-phobia https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/emotional-phobia Fri, 28 Mar 2025 12:00:00 GMT Essay A personal essay on how childhood can teach us to fear certain feelings—and what it takes to welcome them back. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/act-for-chronic-illness https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/act-for-chronic-illness Thu, 13 Mar 2025 12:00:00 GMT Essay Mental health and ACT How Acceptance and Commitment Therapy can help people living with chronic illness make room for what is difficult and keep moving toward what matters. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/surviving-valentines-day-after-divorce https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/surviving-valentines-day-after-divorce Thu, 13 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT Essay Dreading February 14th? Surviving Valentine's Day after divorce is tough. A divorced psychiatrist shares her personal story and actionable tips to help you navigate the day. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/5-life-changing-benefits-of-self-love https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/5-life-changing-benefits-of-self-love Wed, 05 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT Essay A personal essay on radical self-love, resilience, and why treating yourself as someone worth caring for changes everything. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/upgrade-emotional-operating-system https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/upgrade-emotional-operating-system Mon, 27 Jan 2025 12:00:00 GMT Essay A personal framework for noticing the emotional patterns you learned early—and choosing which ones no longer deserve to run the system. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/emotional-archetypes https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/emotional-archetypes Mon, 20 Jan 2025 12:00:00 GMT Essay Fourteen emotional archetypes for recognizing the old protective patterns that may still be running your life. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/what-are-emotional-blueprints https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/what-are-emotional-blueprints Mon, 13 Jan 2025 12:00:00 GMT Essay A practical way to notice the old emotional patterns shaping how you respond, connect, and make decisions. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/stop-people-pleasing https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/stop-people-pleasing Thu, 09 Jan 2025 12:00:00 GMT Essay A direct, practical essay on saying no, setting boundaries, and taking your life back from the need for approval. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/a-psychiatrists-playbook-on-how-to-survive-your-family-during-the-holidays-without-ending-up-in-jail https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/a-psychiatrists-playbook-on-how-to-survive-your-family-during-the-holidays-without-ending-up-in-jail Mon, 16 Dec 2024 12:00:00 GMT Essay A psychiatrist’s seven-step playbook for family gatherings: lower the fantasy, set boundaries, use TIPP skills, and protect your peace. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/supporting-a-loved-one-through-the-shadows https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/supporting-a-loved-one-through-the-shadows Thu, 24 Oct 2024 12:00:00 GMT Essay How to listen, encourage appropriate support, offer practical help, and stay present when someone you love is struggling. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/mental-health-is-your-business-superpower https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/mental-health-is-your-business-superpower Thu, 24 Oct 2024 12:00:00 GMT Essay A blunt case for treating employee mental health as core business infrastructure—not a wellbeing side project. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/doctors-real-hospital-culture https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/doctors-real-hospital-culture Tue, 02 Apr 2024 12:00:00 GMT Essay After being mistaken for a secretary in the doctor’s lounge, a psychiatrist looks at the hierarchy, cliques, and ordinary acts that shape hospital culture. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/facing-our-fear-for-good https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/facing-our-fear-for-good Thu, 01 Apr 2021 12:00:00 GMT Essay Discover how facing our fear can transform your life. Learn to tame fear, turning it into a powerful ally. Facing our fear is key to growth! https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/why-boundaries-are-better-than-prozac https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/why-boundaries-are-better-than-prozac Sun, 02 Feb 2020 12:00:00 GMT Essay A psychiatrist’s personal case for boundaries: why she recommends them so often, and a three-step way to begin setting them. https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/lets-talk-about-sexism-in-medicine https://www.dr-mcb.com/writing/lets-talk-about-sexism-in-medicine Mon, 11 Mar 2019 12:00:00 GMT Essay After being introduced as \"the lady in the red top\" instead of \"Doctor,\" a female physician explores the subtle sexism, microaggressions, and implicit biases that women face in medicine every day.