If you consider the kinds of things that are said and done regarding cognitive problems, and swapped out the cognitive problem for another issue like race, religion, sexual orientation, or even other disabilities, it wouldn’t be as funny, or tolerable, or even make sense. This article tries to get across why I say cognitive impairments are the last refuge of bigotry in the developed world. Read more →

People with ADD get a day, but brain damage gets the month of March. March seems like a good month for brain damage awareness. However long the winter feels, March is when spring starts to enter our minds. The first warmer breezes are not far off (if you’re in the northern hemisphere and you’re out of the more tropical regions). And indeed, for many of those recovering from brain damage it is a long winter, and the first hints of hope and recovery offer some welcome warmth. Read more →

Earlier this week, I attended the annual general meeting at the Canadian Mental Health Association (Vancouver – Burnaby branch). As always, people who have used the CMHA’s services over the years stood up and told their stories. What remained most with me was one person mentioning that at a certain age, he “experienced symptoms associated with paranoid schizophrenia.” How different that sounded from saying “I am a paranoid schizophrenic.” Read more →

The U.S. Senate declared September 19th to be ADD Awareness Day. To celebrate, I’m going to lose my car keys.

What a Shame About Me

Perhaps the biggest problem with attention deficit disorder (ADD or ADHD or AD/HD or ADD/ADHD), is that superstitious and stereotyped social attitudes keep people from focusing on results and cultivating gifts in order to make a positive difference in people’s lives. Read more →

The conclusion of the WHO’s Global Forum for Community Mental Health in Geneva last month presented a consensus within the organization for the dissemination of a network of community mental health services among its member states. The Forum sought to address a increasing incidence of disorders related to mental health among developing countries in particular.

According to WHO officials, factors such as demographic change, natural disasters, internal and external conflict and socio-economic conditions have afflicted individuals living in the developing world disproportionately in terms of the mental health disorders these elements have engendered. Read more →

In medicine, we often see patients with chronic neck and back pain. I previously posted about patients who present with neuropathic pain and how they can be some of the most difficult patients to treat. Often, the etiology of their pain is unknown and treatment often involves a long trial and error approach.

Health professionals have always been taught that chronic neck and back pain is a phenomenon of industrialized nations. Read more →