Your Roving Psychiatrist – Mexico

By Umesh Jain

Cancun is a wonderful tourist place. Despite the media hype about tourists being targeted for ugly crimes, there was no evidence that there was a wave of worry. People are hospitable and welcoming. I have been to Mexico a number of times usually around Cancun or Tulum but this time I was there and back for a lecture and no beach retreat.

I usually drive my own car when in Mexico, which is always challenging but fun. I am fond of the “shoulder pass” where you go onto the shoulder of the road to let other cars pass. I’ve only seen that happen in Alberta.  And of course, stopping at roadside food places and getting a taste of super hot food. In my mind, it is not hot enough if you haven’t got a change of underwear.  Capsicum, nature’s stimulant and the gut cleanser of Mexicans. It works. Never had a problem with bacterial dysentery when having hot food.

Soooo, what about chili peppers as a natural stimulant for ADHD? Read more

The Comics + ADHD

By Umesh Jain

Back in 1997 I wrote a paper which I presented to the American Orthopsychiatry Association (Jain, U. & Ballon, B. Calvin (Hobbes) on Ritalin and Batman on Prozac: popular cartoon figures and their psychopathology American Orthopsychiatry Association, Toronto, ON.  March 15, 1997) where my Resident, at the time, went through all kinds of comic characters to see which ones seem to have a certain stereotype and it was evident that Calvin has ADHD. How did Bob Watterson know? The image of last minute mentality, daydreams in class, poor organizational skills and the social outcast seem so obvious. Whenever I have used the comic to help a child (or adult) to understand the world of ADHD, Read more

ADHD & Athletics: The Roving Psychiatrist

By Umesh Jain

I was recently in New York defending an athlete who was fighting to get some recognition about the impairments of ADHD. I was going on behalf of the National Hockey League Player’s Association. When ADHD is ignored and/or dismissed, it can have serious consequences on the player and their performance. While the player’s ADHD was well known to the team that had him under contract, it was not handled well, in my opinion. But it addressed for me the presumption that we expect athletes to overcome whatever it is that is hidden behind the highly trained body of theirs. Whether it is psychological or medical the athlete is just a commodity. The general mentality I think is, ”If you can’t do the job and whatever it is that you have ails you, then there are a thousand others who would love to be where you are right now so tough it up.” Suffer in silence is the message. Sure you are sliding into drug/alcohol addictions, Read more

The Power of Mentorship

By Umesh Jain

I’ve always envisioned ADHD children as entering into the world and making it clear to their parents, “So, who died and left you in charge?” There is an intrinsic power battle that goes on. The child constantly needs to be in control and has to challenge authority with three words, “No, why and but.” I call that the “no wide butts” dialogue opener. We often refer to these children with the additional diagnosis of an Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD).

I saw a kid with ODD as I was doing a Telepsychiatry consultation this week. Smart kid but a heck of a problem for the school and the parents. Read more

Favorite/Mantra Words Part 5 – Rules

By Umesh Jain

In my continuing series on scary words to live by for the ADDer, I hand you “Rules”.  Shudder.  You will have already passed out when I made the case for the words “Work”, “Deliver”, “Obey” and “Busy”. But Rules has, by its definition, a connection to someone/something else. In other words, it defines our relationship to a hierarchy (i.e. a parent, a boss, God, society, government, military dictatorship, or Miss Fenner, your teacher).

Someone had to make the “rules” but the moment they were made, there was an ADDer either trying to find the loopholes in the rules or trying to combat them outright none the less. ADDers don’t like rules but they actually, ironically, thrive when the rules are clear. I often think that they want the world to be very black/white with the rules defined in a life/death dichotomy. In other words, there is no grey zone for an ADDer. You live, you die and if there is any doubt, the ADDer has to push the limits. Whether that pushing is a reflection of trying to avoid conflict or failure or whether it is just a natural instinct to determine if the authority figure is worthy of trust or something else, I frankly don’t know. But inherent in the word “rule” is the need to yank someone’s cord.

ADDers need to follow rules most of the time though one might argue that thinking outside the box or looking for loopholes is an inventive task that bucks status quo and that might be a good thing. Read more

Favorite/Mantra Words Part 4 – Busy

By Umesh Jain, aka Dr. J

If you have been following my Mantra words, you will remember we discussed the following: a) WORK, b) DELIVER and c) OBEY. I know they scared the willies out of many of you thinking that these words were simply too hard or that they created an emotional flash to the past. The psychological demons of old teachers and your parents welled up and you realized they were right but so what; you were paralyzed to do these things so you got stuck. Maybe the meds will help.

Today’s Mantra word is BUSY. ADHD people have to stay busy. The word they want to hear is FREEDOM or FREE. Pahooie! (I made up that word- kind of sounds like an old man without teeth might say it). Freedom comes out of good organizational ability. Freedom comes because you use your time wisely. The efficiency of time management allows you to do all of the things you need and want to do. Go and see this video from our Sponsored Series. http://totallyadd.com/sponsored-video-3-holistic-treatment-approach

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