On my duty to educate

I used to be an academic researcher, working at several universities and collaborating with scientists all over the world on published, peer-reviewed papers. Then I turned my back on that for a while, not intending to return (more on that, possibly, in another essay). I had other issues on my mind, and my hands, quite literally, full for over three years. Enter 2024. I started sharing some psychology and neuroscience content on my Instagram page dedicated to horses, started engaging with psychological and neuro-science again, and realised that my passion for these topics had far from disappeared. And then the algorithms got involved.

Because of the funky horse/psychology bubble I had put myself in, I got a lot of suggested content that shocked me. The wellness bubble. Vagus nerve stimulators. “Neuroscience Coach” qualifications. “Brain Health” supplements. It really stopped me in my tracks. And eventually it made me so angry, I started debunking some of that misinformation. And I enjoyed it. While previously I had been a bit lost in terms of my next career steps, I suddenly felt I had a purpose. That I had the knowledge and the tools to do something useful. And the deeper I got into the “Debunking bubble”, the more I realised the vastness of the misinformation out there, the more I felt it my duty to play a part in fighting it.

I had struggled previously with the fact that I had put so much time, effort, money into my academic education and yet, I couldn’t quite see myself furthering my career in that field. I felt guilty for not using that knowledge, and also quite sad about it. But here was a way to use my knowledge and experience, even further it. So I have decided that now is the time to be brave, put myself out there, and do my part to educate about the brain, about emotions, about social relationships, and lifespan development. All the topics I used to write peer-reviewed papers on, all topics that seem more important than ever. So here we are. I’m getting set up to educate and do my part to make a difference.

Here on substack I will be sharing about the science of emotions and social relationships, I will make the occasional basic psychology post, and probably debunk the odd pseudo-scientific claim once in a while. Subscribe to be the first to find out about my essays! You can also find me on Instagram @dr.birthe.macdonald and check out my website soon (I will share that with you once it’s live).