The H in ADHD
This month, I have been writing to you about ADHD and the different ways it shows itself. People affected by ADHD suffer from a dysregulation of the brain’s dopamine system… maybe their brains are not producing enough dopamine, or they are not processing it properly, or it is being wasted. In the end, the effect is very detrimental to executive functioning - focus, time management, and productivity can be difficult for these people. This is the “Attention Deficit” part of ADHD. Today, I want...
The LOVE effect on your ADHD brain
A patient once came to me who was struggling with burnout. She told me she was feeling listless, passionless, and fatigued. She had lost her motivation, and she was feeling generally overwhelmed. Going to work each day was a chore. She was definitely describing burnout! She said she was depressed, and she asked me for medication. Something was clearly off in her life. But I wanted to ask more questions before I gave her a pill. And I am glad I did! By the end of our talk, I could see there was...
Your superpower
Did you know that you have a superpower? No, really! We often underestimate our own ability… we think of our lives as simple, straightforward, and small-scale. But the truth is that each of us has the power to impact other people. And not just in small ways - we can change the course of someone’s life! We hear the word “influencer” and think of big names with lots of followers on social media. But really, everyone is an influencer. We influence our partners, our children, our friends, our team...
Do you need some help?
Recently, a fascinating study was done at UC Berkeley. Post-doctoral fellow Elizabeth Kirby noted an interesting relationship between stress and the brain’s creation of new neurons. Her research showed that the stress response encourages the brain to form new cells related to memory - but only when the stress lasts for a brief time. When prolonged beyond a few moments, stress actually inhibits the brain’s ability to grow new cells. In other words, Kirby’s study confirms what we already know…...
How to “spice up” your mental performance
Today’s world loves low-effort, immediate solutions. We are used to things available at the push of a button. Over the last few years, we have moved from movie rental shops to streaming services… from snail mail to e-mail… and from window-shopping to same-day shipping. We have grown used to the path of least resistance! In a society like this, it makes sense why many people seek medication if they are feeling “off.” Taking a pill seems like a straightforward solution to their ills. But...
Are you in a toxic relationship?
If you would, I want you to take a quick assessment with me. Take a look at these questions and answer them as honestly as you can… When you are done eating, do you feel judgmental of yourself? Is it difficult for you to say no to food when it is offered to you, or when the thought occurs to you to eat? Do you consider food a release or refuge at the end of a hard day? Do your cravings control your grocery shopping? Instead of throwing them away, do you feel obligated to eat unhealthy foods...
My 7 ways to achieve brain peak-functioning
We make many choices each day based on how we are feeling or what we want at the moment. What we eat is a great example of this. Maybe you are particularly conscious of your health. But more likely, you had a lunch that was convenient, or maybe you even went out to buy something that you were especially craving. But choosing these things based on taste is like choosing what to fill your car with based on color! Your brain is a beautiful machine capable of incredible performance… but only if...
How to talk to your stress
Last week, I wrote about stress and anxiety - how they show up in our lives, how they affect us, and how we can manage them. This is a vitally important topic in a world that constantly exerts pressure on us in a number of ways. We have fast-paced work environments that expect us to produce, produce, produce, and a 24-hour news cycle that is constantly reminding us of war and disease to keep us afraid and ratings high. There is more to be said about stress this week. Sometimes, stress is...
Smile – it’s good for you!
It is a sad reality of adult life that many of us are more often stressed than we are not. Think about it: when was the last time you felt you had nothing at all to worry about? It was probably months, if not years ago. That may depend on the kind of life you live and your personality - some people live their lives completely unburdened - but probably, the last time you were totally unconcerned was a very, very long time ago. On the other hand, when was the last time you were totally stressed...
More THIS = better cognition
Do you ever find yourself so busy that you miss out on meeting our basic needs? We all have days where we neglect ourselves. Maybe you skipped your walk today, or missed an hour of sleep to work on an important project. Maybe last week you spent too much time working and not enough time in leisure, unwinding. Life gets in the way of balance - it happens to the best of us. But eventually, everyone feels the effects of neglect. It is okay; we cannot keep complete track of absolutely everything...
How to build your best life
I have a question for you, and it’s a hard one… Why do you do what you do? On the surface it seems like a simple question, but when you dig a little deeper you find it is way more complicated than you thought. We have lots of reasons for doing what we do - maybe we go to the store because “we need to,” but behind that big need is a lot of smaller ones - “We are out of laundry detergent, which we need to keep our clothes clean.” “They just came out with a new issue of the magazine I like, and I...
How you can stay motivated
I hope you’ve had a pleasant and healthy week! In my last article, I told you about the Fork in the Road. It was an exercise to help you look into the future to see what your life could be like if you made healthy decisions every day. Today, I want to walk you through doing an exercise that helps bridge the gap between tomorrow’s results and today’s acts. Sometimes our moment-by-moment moods and thoughts, or impulses, overtake our long-term goals. This is one of the greatest struggles of...
What does your future look like?
Often my goal in writing to you is to explain the importance of certain health habits. A comedian once said that human bodies require so much maintenance that if we were a car, we wouldn’t buy ourselves. But the reality is that we only get one body, so no matter what the cost is to maintain it, we must make it our top priority. Today, I want to offer you some perspective on brain health. Most successful people live their lives “with the end in mind.” They wake up knowing what they want in the...
Make time for this every day!
When the pandemic first started, I thought that people working from home was the one bright spot in all the darkness. It was a scary time. Everything was changing so quickly, people couldn’t leave their homes, and we knew so little about the future. But in the middle of all that, businesses started sending people home to work, if they could. And I thought so many people would discover the freedom of organizing their own schedule and living on their own terms. I saw it as a chance for people...
Your Most Important 3 Pounds
I want to see if you know the answer to this question. Which of your organs carries the most responsibility? Your heart delivers blood to the rest of your body. Your lungs extract oxygen from the air you breathe. Your kidneys clean, your liver detoxifies, and your spleen fights germs to keep you healthy. We call all of these the vital organs… so one of them must have the most important job, right? Actually, the job of your brain has got them each beat. Your brain controls all of these organs...
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