Dr. Payton
MAID [MEDICAL ASSISTANCE IN DYING] IS A CANADIAN PROGRAM THAT OFFERS EUTHANASIA SERVICES FOR CANADIANS
THE MAID Program provides euthanasia services for Canadians who are: eligible for publicly funded health services; 18 years of age; able to make their own health decisions; have an untreatable [serious and incurable] illness; be in an advanced state of irreversible decline in capability; experiencde intolerable physical or psychological suffering that can not be relieved…
Read MoreWHAT LEADS TO LONELINESS
A similar question would be what separates us from each other? Or, are we really social animals? Or , do we really need each other? Or, are we really all connected? Or, is anything that separates us bad? I believe that being (or even feeling) separated from each other leads to loneliness. Also, referring to…
Read MoreYOU ARE NATURE’S BEST HOPE
I have been inspired by Douglas Tallamay’s book entitled “Nature’s Best Hope.” In his book Mr. Tallamay convincingly and at times poetically makes the case for each of us to turn half of our lawns into pollinator gardens as this can help reverse the impact of climate change. Mr. Tallamay makes it very clear how…
Read More“US AGAINST THEM” IS KILLING OUR COUNTRY
Our country has become more and more divided over the last year and it is hurting all of us. When we demonize people it keeps us from working with them to solve problems. This separates us from those we criticize and actually separates us from even people that we agree with as our being critical…
Read MoreTHE VALUE OF SEEING WHAT HAPPENS
I have been encouraging my patients to trust themselves and choose to “see what happens” in their lives instead of worrying about what might happen. It was last week when I was meeting with one of my patients that this simple understanding came to me…see what happens instead of worrying about what might happen. Frequently,…
Read MoreDo medications for ADHD work and are they safe?
My review of research about the effectiveness and safety of stimulant type medication for ADHD led me to conclude that these medications are very effective and very safe. However, concerns continued to be expressed regarding possible cardiac side-effects, addiction risk and reduced appetite. Recent studies have repeatedly shown that people taking stimulant medication to help…
Read MoreHONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY…OR IS IT THE ONLY POLICY?
My patients have helped me to see the importance of being self-aware and self-accepting. Being self-aware requires that we are honest with ourselves and take responsibility for what we say and do. This means no blaming others, or judging others. When we blame or judge others we are separating ourselves from others, and from ourselves.…
Read MoreBULLYING AND OUR CHILDREN
A 2022 estimate from the National Bullying Prevention Center indicates that one out of five [19.2%] of children experience bullying at school [from the National Center for Education Statistics, 2022]. A study that includes data from 83 countries showed that 30.5% of adolescents reporting being bullied. A national survey conducted by the US Department of…
Read MoreTHE VALUE OF LISTENING…REALLY LISTENING
I have very frequently seen that choosing to listen to others without our personal reactions to what we are hearing is a very good way to be with someone and feel a connection to them. It often is confusing at first as we have been influenced by a commonly held belief that we should react…
Read MoreWe Really Do Need Each Other
The recent Beta Theta Pi magazine has an article about preventing suicide and refers to a Harvard study [The Harvard Study of Adult Development] and comments from the study’s fourth director Robert Waldinger, M.D. [who is a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School] who concludes that friendships and relationships in general are highly correlated…
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