A Needed Reminder

It is not uncommon for writers or even content creators to get inspired (and/or triggered) by events, experiences, words etc. and come up with great articles, interviews and content they can share with people. Recently I experienced being triggered by a reel posted on https://www.instagram.com/pedsdoctalk/ by Dr. Mona Amin criticizing Erica Komisar, a very well-known psychoanalyst. I rarely comment on social media, but this one hit a nerve for me, so I couldn’t stop myself from commenting despite my heightened emotional state. As a psychotherapist myself- this was a very interesting event for me, as it pushed me to reflect on many things. First, I had to acknowledge those quiet inner voices saying things like, “You’re a psychotherapist—you shouldn’t react when you’re triggered,” and “How can you guide your clients not to react if you do it yourself?” Once I recognized these as societal expectations and not truly my own, I was able to move on to the next step: reflecting on the real reasons I was triggered. I am aware that there might be some biases here because Erica Komisar is my colleague (meaning we are both mental health providers). So maybe, it felt personal in a sense. Although I don’t agree with everything Erica says, I value and respect her knowledge and the insights she brings from her extensive experience working with clients. I also appreciate Dr. Mona as a pediatrician and began following her after becoming a mother myself.

I’ve watched several of Erica’s interviews, and after seeing the reel, I decided to listen to Dr. Mona’s podcast about sleep training—the same topic featured in the reel. The podcast was great and I found myself agreeing with much of what she said. However, I couldn’t help but notice a significant difference between the tone and content of the podcast and the reel; it almost felt like two different people were presenting the information.

Below is a picture of my comment on the reel, to give you an idea.

Why Did I Get Triggered?

·   Maybe because I had higher expectations from Dr. Mona.

·  Maybe I had also fallen into the trap of equating her 1.4 million followers with credibility, as if a large following automatically enhances the value of her content.

·  Maybe my disappointment stemmed from believing she was different from typical social media trends and would avoid using attention-grabbing tactics that don’t match the truth.

I found myself thinking, “If she wants to talk about sleep training, why not just do that? Why make an effort to discredit Erica by misrepresenting her words, taking them out of context, and labeling them as misinformation? It also seemed as though she was presenting herself as a therapist instead of a pediatrician, especially when discussing attachment and trauma in reaction to Erica’s points. This approach can easily create the misleading impression that she has therapeutic credentials.”

Confronting Reality

But then I realized: I got triggered because I confronted something difficult—the reality!

Not being very active on social media, I had lost sight of this sad reality that is happening out there. I can’t judge Dr. Mona for creating such reels. I am not a content creator. I don’t know how this thing works. This reel maybe was her strategy to get people engaged and reactive, to go check out her podcast, even if that is through triggering, even if that is through “misinformation” shared in the name of “DEBUNKING” “FIGHTING MISINFORMATION”.

In contrast, I’ve always appreciated how Dr. Mike stays within his expertise, speaks with humility, and remains open to learning. These bright red “MISINFORMATION” titles do exactly what they’re designed to: grab attention and spark engagement.

Why It Matters: Parents and Vulnerable Audiences

When it comes to complex topics like science, healthcare, and mental health, we must tread carefully because the consequences are big and we must never forget that this specific content is targeting vulnerable populations.

The mother inside of me couldn’t keep silent, because I know how difficult it is to keep up with everything nowadays, especially when you become a parent, thus it is so easy to fall for these short reels, and never go into further search, or listen to a full interview. Who has time for that, right?

  Watching a short video might give the dopamine hit “I am learning,” “I am an informed mother,” “I heard that doctor say this, that’s all I need.”

We mothers have this incredible energy and drive to DO EVERYTHING ourselves, that scrolling through reels to get information about all these different professions is an easy way to fill that part of us that needs to be a doctor, a therapist, a teacher and all we can be for our family (besides keeping up with our careers).

Finding Common Ground & The Value of Process

If you listen to Dr. Mona and Erica, you will realize that a lot of what they say actually are in agreement. I hope you don’t get me wrong: that reel doesn’t make Dr. Mona a bad doctor. I still agree with a lot of what she says. My disappointment isn’t Dr. Mona’s fault—it just was a good reminder for me.

A reminder to catch up with social media because its consequences come to my office. A reminder that even a trained therapist can fall into this trap; can get triggered; can get angry. A reminder that I am a human. A human that just so happens to be close and sensitive towards vulnerable people because it pains me when I see mothers confused, and tired, and guilty, and burnout because they have fallen into this deep trap of information pieces that never fit together, and they lose trust in themselves.

I still stand by the value of the PROCESS rather than just the outcome. It matters to me how people like Dr. Mona that I pick to follow get the information out. We are not perfect of course. Maybe one day I might also fall into this web; but I trust that universe will send me reminders (like this one), I trust that I will be able to catch myself. This is also a reminder to nourish my few trusted friendships that can call me out if needed!

A Final Reminder: Choose Introspection

As I close, I want to offer you this reminder:

·       You always have a choice!

·       Use and nourish your ability for introspection, critical thinking so you can trust yourself.

·       Catch yourself when you’re triggered.

·       Take a break when you need it and enjoy the PROCESS…

And I will continue to ask myself some more difficult questions!