I’VE treated at least a few hundred people with at tention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The symp toms included lack of attention to detail, trouble listening, difficulty organizing tasks, a tendency to lose things, fidgeting and interrupting others. But each of these people had lived through painful or confusing life events …

OVER the course of my work, I end up treating many patients for alcohol abuse. But in the beginning, very few of them actually come to me worried about whether they might be alcoholics. Most of them come for help with depression, marital discord, stress at work or anxiety. Many …

PLAY YOUR GAME! (Or How to Keep Your Self-Esteem High, when the Rewards Only Come Later) One of my favorite scenes in a movie is the scene in Miracle, when Kurt Russell, playing U.S. Olympic hockey team coach Herb Brooks, yells at his players, “Play your game!” The last minutes …

So much has been written about the mind-body connection—and rightfully so.  It now seems obvious that our psychological state affects the function not only of the central nervous system, but the heart and every organ in the body.  Diseases from cancer to multiple sclerosis to hypertension, and everything in between, …

HERE’S HOW So many of my counseling clients (The Ablow Center) and creative consulting clients (Keith Ablow Creative) can envision the next chapter of their life stories, but need some help actualizing the next chapter. Why? Sometimes it’s about resources, but very often it is about the resolve to let …

I recently was fortunate to have my book To Wrestle with Demons: A Psychiatrist Struggles to Understand His Patients and Himself published in a leather-bound collector’s edition by Gryphon Editions’ Classics of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Library Holding the book in my hands made me think a little bit about …

Boston, MA For Immediate Release According to a recent Veteran’s Department study, more than 20 veterans and active duty personnel commit suicide each day. A prior VA study put that number closer to 22. The toll of military service could not be starker than the way it manifests in those …

The great novelist J.D. Salinger got a lot of things right. Among them, he wrote that one of the only questions that will be asked of us when we die is this: Were most of your stars out? Now, obviously, no one can know God’s plans for us. And I …

None of us has time or words to spare, when you really think about it. Our lives on the planet are brief, and our opportunities to impact others are not infinite. Given this, I want to share three ways I believe you can truly move people when you interact with …

There are plenty of resources that provide advice on delivering a speech and which focus on organizing the material, providing visuals, selecting a topic and being a commanding presence. My advice is more ambitious: What keys make a speech something that changes people, in meaningful ways, within the scope of …

There’s plenty of good advice there for fiction writers. Some of it, by the way, is contained in the work of the late Gary Provost (www.garyprovost.com), who created the Video Novel Workshop. The workshop is now available as a free download, but I bought that series of DVDs from Gary …

I still remember about 12 years ago, sitting with my television agent Greg Lipstone at a sandwich shop in Los Angeles. Greg was one of the heads of television for the mega-entertainment agency William Morris. We had a few meetings scheduled with television show runners to talk about a drama …

A crisis is a disruption in one’s life story, whether the particular disruption is personal, professional or political. That’s why every crisis requires creative vision, in order to emerge with as little damage as possible—or, preferably, stronger than ever. In the midst of the crisis, it can be difficult to …

Starting a business has an inevitable element of storytelling to it. First of all, it all starts with an idea, just like a novel does. The idea is an answer to this question: “What if?” Here are three examples: • What if people could . . . ? • What …

For executives, authors, attorneys or anyone who is not a veteran of on-camera work, it can be daunting when a news event or a publicity tour means going in front of the camera. Sitting in a small room for a satellite interview, with an earpiece in your ear and a …

Mushrooms are just beginning to get their due attention from Americans, who are finally shedding their fear of the f-word: fungus. While we have long prized blueberries and kale, and even dark chocolate and coffee, as “superfoods,” we’ve failed to give mushrooms the credit they deserve. When we do eat …

This time of year, many dance students have returned to their studios after having the summer, or at least part of August, off. Some have moved up a level. Others are auditioning for dance pieces or a spot in a company. Everyone is looking forward to the new repertory they’ll …

As more people admit they need help, they learn they are not alone

Question: Is there really a genetic condition that can make someone get skin cancer during childhood?Answer: I am not sure if you are referring to xeroderma pigmentosum — XP, although there are other possibilities — but since that condition fits your question it will be the topic of today’s column.Normally, …