We are currently in the midst of the most lethal drug epidemic in our country’s history. One of the shocking things about this crisis is that it has been going on for the past 20 years without showing any signs of letting up. In 2016, overdoses involving opioids killed more than 42,000 people. Of those deaths, 40% were from prescription opioids. (Statistics are still being finalized for 2017.)
Several recent books describe the evolution of this epidemic, each from a slightly different perspective.* I’ll focus on just one of them here.Read the rest of this entry »
For quite some time, I have been thinking about writing a book. I believe I have a unique perspective on health and healing and that this perspective might be interesting and useful to others. After all, I’ve been in practice for more than 30 years. I’ve taught undergrad and graduate level coursework in the history and philosophy of science, as well as complementary and integrative medicine. I’ve worked as a chiropractor in private practice, public health, and occupational (worker compensation) medical settings. My experience has been broad and deep in the field of integrative health. And I definitely have a point of view!
But the more I thought about my book, the more pause I took. My friends have written books. Some are established authors with reputable publishers, and are paid in advance for their work. But most are people who—like me— want to write to express something they have been carrying within themselves; to articulate their unique perspective. Many in the latter group may spend years on the project, self-publish their work, and, at the end of this long process, have 20 or 30 of their friends and relatives buy the book. The rest may go into storage, or be given away. (Of course, there’s always the possibility that the book might become a great bestseller, and one might join the ranks Dr. Oz or Deepak Chopra. But there’s an even better possibility that those books will stay on the shelf.)Read the rest of this entry »
Growing up, I remember my parents sitting in front of the television set in their big faux leather Lazy Boy recliners. They would lean back and the foot supports would rise as they sank into their chairs dreamy soft cushiness. Usually, after about twenty minutes, they would be asleep and when they finally trudged off to bed, it would usually be with aching backs. Another chair related “injury!”Read the rest of this entry »
The first order of business for Donald Trump and the Republican party was to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare.
Obamacare was the signature piece of legislation of President Obama’s eight years in office. In terms of historical significance, it has been compared to Social Security and Medicare. It was a big leap–and a messy one.Read the rest of this entry »
The shock of Donald Trump’s election has left many people disoriented. Assumptions about the nature and order of the world have been upended.
Few, but not all, on the left side of the political spectrum believed Trump could be elected. Yet here we are, six weeks into a Trump presidency. He has moved with lightning speed, issuing executive orders at a dizzying pace, working diligently to undo the work of President Obama.
I described some of the effects of Trump’s election in my last piece “Trump Induced Stress Disorder: A New Diagnosis for a New Era”. In that article, I described the physical and emotional effects on the millions of people who were aghast at his electoral victory.
But the Trump supporters are now displaying their own spectrum of signs and symptoms. I label their syndrome “Trump Excitement Disorder,” or TED.Read the rest of this entry »
“Digital natives” are those young women and men who have been raised from childhood on computers. We see them everywhere: Toddlers in strollers playing with iPhones, pre-teens on iPads in restaurants, strategically distracted to allow their parents to eat in peace; Junior High and High School kids doing schoolwork on laptops in the classroom or at home, sitting or lying in bed.
For the digital native, the computer is an extension of his or her body. By the time they enter pre-school, many can navigate apps. Ten-year olds can program software. Adolescents live their social lives on tiny screens. Most of the digital native’s life runs through this digital medium.
