Blog
Suicide
Viewed psychodynamically, if depression represents anger turned inward, then behind every suicide lies the repressed act of murder. The act of suicide seals the lips of its victim to the betrayal, lack of love and empathy and unbearable humiliation that have led to self-murder. Because both suicide and murder are taboo, humans by nature tend to avoid open discussion of these subjects, even more so when dealing with children and adolescents. Therapists must break through this taboo by directly confronting any past, present or future...
read moreFreud and the Buddha
When asked what is the goal of psychoanalysis, an older and more sanguine Freud replied psychoanalysis aims at turning extraordinary psychological misery into ordinary human suffering. Psychoanalysis accomplishes this by sifting through the patientʼs unconscious oedipal complex to uncover the ages four to seven year old childʼs singular obsession to displace their same-sexed parent from the marital bed. Love, romance, sexual and procreative vanquishment of the hated rival parent is the mythic life and death competition that drives the...
read moreGratitude
It is so easy to focus on our symptoms. Often, we feel frustrated with our real lives annoying little habit of contradicting our fantasies.The problem is that the only real antidote to this dilemma can be a very hard lesson to learn. We must learn to feel gratitude. The most important lessons of our life are always the ones we learn the hard way from our most difficult challenges. I wish I knew of an easier way. For a bit of inspiration, I gratefully share with you what a dear friend shared with...
read moreBeyond New Years Day 2012: So Stuck In Survival Mode
Itʼs not Two Thousand and Twelve. Itʼs Twenty Twelve. For better or worse we are no longer moored to the semantic safety of a ʻnewʼ millenium. Having attained critical velocity, we have escaped the gravitational pull of a thousand years. Beyond New Years Day 2012, time itself has telescoped through a tipping point in the technology of computerization. Life comes at us in a vortex of faster and more furious nanoseconds, which brings me to my New Yearʼs resolution. Get quiet, still and centered. Breathe deeply. Weʼre all ready to...
read moreSeasonal Affective Disorder
The cumulative effect of short, dark winter days often leads to feelings of depression. Our mood is dependent on sunlight. Our biological clocks that make up our wake-sleep circadian rhythms are part of the neuro-endocrine system that biochemically regulate brain functioning including the very feelings we have. Whether we awaken to the sun and spend sufficient time outdoors in full-spectrum natural light, even on cloudy days, helps set levels of our neurotransmitters. The majority of people in CNY have some degree of seasonal affective...
read moreMood Disorders
Mood disorders are marked by an inability to regulate moods, be it anxiety, highs or lows, and irritability or anger. Itʼs like thereʼs a switch in our brain that goes on or off all by itself. We lose our perspective and ʻbecomeʼ our mood. Our lives feel totally out of control. Without feeling centered our identity itself is unstable. Therefore, often others can see our exaggerated and shifting moods much more easily than we can. Our self-esteem also can be all over the map. Whenever we start to feel good again, we tell ourselves...
read moreTreating ADD and ADHD
Attention deficit disorder, with or without hyperactivity, affects more than our ability to concentrate in school. Lacking focus results in decreased motivation, interest, energy and self-esteem. Our lives feel disorganized, without meaning, coherence and contentment. When we ʻspace outʼ and are not fully present, our schoolmates, family, friends and co-workers all experience us as not really caring about them. We care but just canʼt sustain our focus. We then may react by withdrawing, feeling depressed, ashamed, angry or just plain...
read moreAnxiety disorders
Many people simply donʼt know what anxiety is. Our awareness of depression is often better than our understanding of anxiety. Fear to the point of terror is the source of anxiety. The many faces of fear include social anxiety, separation anxiety, generalized anxiety, obsessions and compulsions, phobias, tics, insomnia or nightmares, an endless list of psychosomatic ailments...
read moreAdult, Adolescent and Child Psychiatry Serving Ithaca, Skaneateles, and Syracuse, NY
At the heart of my work with my patients is the knowledge of what has helped or hindered my own emotional pain and growth. I know how hard and long I ran from my inner demons. Literally, I jogged and bicycled around the planet a few times over 35 years until a serious bicycling accident 5 years ago enabled me to slow down and begin the process of settling into my psychological and spiritual path.
read moreBipolar Disorder Reaches Epidemic Proportions
The current bipolar (BP) epidemic differs from earlier forms of manic-depressive illness. BP is extremely common, occurring in as many as 1 in 20 individuals, affecting 15 million Americans both male and female. The most important symptom is moodiness. Mood may shift from high to low, normal to low or normal to high. Moods shift in a manner of minutes, hours, days, weeks or months. It's almost as if a switch flipped in the patient's brain without the patient or anyone else knowing when or why.
read more