Dr. Payton

Recently I received a call from one of my patients who told me that he was running out of his aripiprazole [Abilify] medication.  I had recently increased his dose fom 7.5 mg to 15 mg and I remembered feeling surprised that he was requiring a dose above 7.5 mg.  He told me that he was…

I recently saw a Michael Jordan poster that pointed out all the shots that he had missed [thousands] including game winning shots that he missed.  It ends by saying that he failed repeatedly and that was why he succeeded. Do you believe that?  Does failure lead to success? Right after seeing the poster, I met…

David Brooks had an opinion piece in the New York Times on January 21, 2014 that he entitled “The Art of Presence.” He describes how a victim of trauma have times when they feel overwelming despair and paralyzed by fear. These victims have experienced what is helpful from other people who interact with them. One…

I’ve been helped by my patients to see patterns of brain functioning in people who have difficulty concentrating and focusing.  They seem to rely on stress and deadlines to help them focus.  They also seem to be able to focus if they are excited about something and find it novel and stimulating.  So, concentration and…

I’ve had several requests to write another blog about grief.  A number of my patients have lost pets, mostly dogs.  Some have had to make the decision to euthanize their pets.  We have had discussions about how to prepare for the death of a pet.  This includes whether to create a shrine to their pet.…

Empathy is good and shame is bad.  So why is this a big deal?  It may be because shame is so destructive and empathy is so helpful. What makes shame so destructive? If you have ever experienced shame [and it is possible that everyone has experienced shame] then you know how bad it feels.  Shame…

Recently, someone who I have treated for several years was in my office and as he described some stress that he had experienced when he was training a new employee and it seemed to me that his level of stress was much higher than it needed to be considering his coping skills and ability to…

An opinion piece in the New York Times [January 22, 2016] by Richard A. Friedman discussed recent brain research regarding memories and a medication that can help the brain let go of fears, with the example of being fearful of spiders, by blocking the activation of a fear conditioned response.  Merel Kindt and her colleagues…

I have recently been reacquainted with the long term impact of bullying by someone who sees me who had experienced severe depressions, some anxiety and negative views of herself.  Her mood improved considerably with medication and interpersonal therapy and yet there was a residual anxiety that responded to lorazepam [ativan] taken every few days and yet…

So, what is good about grief? Grieving is considered something that we need to do if we want to be able to cope with losses. Bereavement is another word used for grieving. WebMD defines grief as an emotional reaction to a loss. Grief type feelings can occur after a number of different types of loss,…