As in much of the country, October in New Orleans is a transitional weather month. There are still some rather warm days though when swimming is still possible. On one such day last week as I was sitting poolside in the courtyard of my building, I observed a number of swimmers testing the waters. Some of them dived right in while others dipped in a toe and adjusted to the water temperature more slowly. At least half of the "plungers" [...]
It is all but impossible to conduct results-oriented psychotherapy with a bipolar patient who is not adequately medication managed. Manic symptoms breed poor insight and judgment, and the inability to accommodate and assimilate even the most basic tenets of psychotherapy in a meaningful way. Combine these factors with the DIG FAST symptoms that define the manic spectrum and there’s virtually nothing to be gained. […]
If you’re seeing patients taking psychotropic medications, or if you’re taking psychotropics yourself, it’s worth having a working knowledge of what happens when drugs enter the system and what their effects are on other drugs and even foodstuffs that are also consumed. Interactions occur when the actions of one drug (the precipitant drug) affects the activity of another (the object drug) when both are administered together. Actions can be synergistic (when the object drug’s activity is increased) or antagonistic (when [...]
Maintaining personal worth and feeling fulfilled is a daily pursuit. And since it's pretty normal to question from time to time whether we really make a difference, here's an exercise to help you recognize and appreciate your value: Once a day, ask yourself how another person, a cause, an initiative, an issue was improved by your actions. Did you give someone directions? Did you retrieve and return an item that someone walking in front of you dropped? Did you squelch [...]
I know a fellow who speaks to various groups across the country in a way similar to what I do. We hooked up for a conversation recently and he told me something that I was unaware of regarding how he approaches each upcoming engagement. A week before he is to speak to another group, he begins bracing for what could be wrong with the room set-up, whether the microphone will work properly, whether the background color scheme he has chosen [...]
It is obvious that in multiple milieu (school, play, home) it appears impossible for your child to sit and focus without becoming easily distracted and inattentive within even just a few minutes The child has much difficulty following directions, and playing by the rules – for example, when “quiet play” is required The child is shunned and possibly is being treated like a pariah by teachers, peers and even family members because he or she is so difficult to be [...]
It robs those affected by it of their capacity to place their value and talents on display. Much like the stock market, for example, and the rhythm of life in general, depression is cyclical for most people who have it – bouts of short term duration for some, extended for others. And then there are those who remain mired in its depths very long term – folks on a path of steady deterioration sadly displaying a life not well lived [...]
I lost my sister – my only sibling – to cancer a few years ago. She was an elementary school teacher and every now and then I recall some of her excellent teaching qualities. On one occasion in particular, she was swimming in her pool accompanied by her two young daughters. The two girls were attempting to abandon their swim floaties while venturing into the deeper end of the pool. As they struggled a bit, she told them “if you [...]
In the Diehard series of films, I was always wondering throughout if there was any building, street, bridge, car or aircraft that would survive the movie intact. There usually wasn’t and frankly that never disappointed me because the series star John McClane got the bad guys and was not likely to pass those same ways again. The same cannot be said for us in our everyday lives. We’re not action heroes so every person, relationship or organization that we push [...]
The DSM-5 was in development for more than 10 years. Its official release was announced in May, 2013 at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting in San Francisco, California. New diagnoses have been added and others have been amended or combined. Some proposed criteria considered for inclusion stirred up so much public and professional ire they were eventually eliminated from the final draft. […]
