Dr. Payton

There has been controversy whether adults can have ADHD/ADD.  There is also some support for children outgrowing their ADHD/ADD and therefore not having the diagnosis as adults.  There is also a question raised about the possibility of the onset of ADHD/ADD as an adult.   I have assessed a number of adults who were not…

An article in the June, 2016 Clinical Psychiatry News by Howard S. Sudak, M.D. [Commentary New suicide data: Reason to panic or ponder?] discusses new suicide data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics indicating a 63% increase in U.S. deaths by suicide for females and a 43% increase for males equaling a national…

I just finished listening to a TED talk by Suzanne Simard on “How trees talk to each other.” My conclusion from listening to her is that trees form communities and in a number of ways look out for each other, sharing carbon and other nutrients. Apparently, some older trees are like hubs that send out…

From the Harvard Public Health magazine of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health report on “Guns and Suicide…the hidden toll” by Madeline Drexler, Editor of Harvard Public Health magazine. Ms. Drexler summarizes data on the association of suicide and gun ownership.  She reports that many more people kill themselves with guns [19,392 in…

Recently one of my patients came in and announced that “I don’t care and I don’t care that I don’t care.”  She said that she realized this just the day before.  She reflected on this and indicated that it was a relief not to care.  She feels less stressed and yet still feels responsible for…

There is research evidence [Kelleher et.al; American Journal of Psychiatry Vol 70: Issue 7: Pages. 734-741]that adolescents who are assaulted or bullied are significantly more likely to experience psychotic symptoms. They also noted that adolescents with psychotic symptoms were significantly more likely to be assaulted and more likely to be bullied.  So, they found a…

Many of us [all of us?] have experienced a time when we want to change what we are doing but don’t seem to be able to change our behaviors or thoughts. It can feel like our brain’s are working against us…therefore the question of “whose side our brain’s are on.”  So what is up with…

I think that the joke ends with “just one, but the lightbulb really has to want to change.”  Get it?  I actually do not recall what the joke was supposed to be.  I recall it now because I believe that it contains an important truth.  When we are offering our medical skills to help another…

So where does the saying “ignorance is bliss” come from? The internet tells me that it comes from Thomas Gray’s poem “On A Distant Prospect on Eton College” with the line stating: “Where ignorance is bliss / tis folly to be wise.”  Now, ignorance means a lack of knowledge, eduction or awareness. [Merriam-Webster]. One implication…

So what is wrong with enabling others? What is enabling others? In my experience with my patients, enabling seems to be when someone takes on responsibility for others and this then makes it easier for [enables] them to avoid being responsible for themselves. The contexts for what is considered enabling is important as I have…