Is your desk cluttered? If it is your mind might feel that way too.

A lot of times we hold on to belonging so we can be prepared or have what we need when we needed. Frequently these external items can become symbolic representations of things that are happening inside of us.when we reform our space physically it can also bring significant mental changes.

American Psychological Science has found that a tidy desk can support generosity and  healthy eating.

“Most of us are operating in a state of chronic stress; we’re always on,” David W. Ballard, Psy.D., the assistant executive director for the American Psychological Association‘s Center for Organizational Excellence previously told HuffPost Healthy Living. Adopting a sense of tidiness is how some people are “able to really stay focused and stay organized do things to manage their stress effectively,” he said.

Here are a few tips to work our way through…

1) Expect that things are likely to feel worse on the short run. When we take on change or face what we have been avoiding we tend to feel feelings associated why we avoided in the first place.

2) Keep focus on both the long term goal (cleaning or getting de-cluttered) and the short-term (working toward making change). If our feet are moving toward our goal we can say we are making progress even if we did not accomplish a complete goal as expected.

3) Look for the positive. Ask yourself “what does this add to my life?… do I need to keep it to feel better?” Keep things that bring joy.

ADHD Experts Re-evaluate Study’s Zeal for Drug

Interesting and relevant article published last year about ADHD. Dr. Davenport is a Licensed Psychologist at Charles R. Davenport, Psy.D., LLC.. He works with adults and children who struggle with symptoms of ADHD and ADD to use their straights to build skills to better work with ADHD.

Many times Gifted students can have symptoms of ADHD that are a normal consequence of a curious and bright mind. Understanding how to use strengths  to work around these characteristics can be helpful to thrive. Many times these gifted students will respond to stimulants but this is not always the best approach.

The *New York Times* includes an article: “A.D.H.D. Experts Re-evaluate Study’s Zeal for Drugs” by Alan Scharz.

Here are some excerpts:

[begin excerpts]

Twenty years ago, more than a dozen leaders in child psychiatry received $11 million from the National Institute of Mental Health to study an important question facing families with children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) : Is the best long-term treatment medication, behavioral therapy or both?

The widely publicized result was not only that medication like Ritalin or Adderall trounced behavioral therapy, but also that combining the two did little beyond what medication could do alone.

The finding has become a pillar of pharmaceutical companies’ campaigns to market A.D.H.D. drugs, and is used by insurance companies and school systems to argue against therapies that are usually more expensive than pills.

But in retrospect, even some authors of the study — widely considered the most influential study ever on A.D.H.D. — worry that the results oversold the benefits of drugs, discouraging important home- and school-focused therapy and ultimately distorting the debate over the most effective (and cost-effective) treatments.

The study was structured to emphasize the reduction of impulsivity and inattention symptoms, for which medication is designed to deliver quick results, several of the researchers said in recent interviews.

Less emphasis was placed on improving children’s longer-term academic and social skills, which behavioral therapy addresses by teaching children, parents and teachers to create less distracting and more organized learning environments.

Recent papers have also cast doubt on whether medication’s benefits last as long as those from therapy.

“There was lost opportunity to give kids the advantage of both and develop more resources in schools to support the child — that value was dismissed,”

said Dr. Gene Arnold, a child psychiatrist and professor at Ohio State University and one of the principal researchers on the study, known as the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children With A.D.H.D.

Another co-author, Dr. Lily Hechtman of McGill University in Montreal, added: “I hope it didn’t do irreparable damage. The people who pay the price in the end is the kids. That’s the biggest tragedy in all of this.”

A.D.H.D. narrowly trails asthma as the most frequent long-term medical diagnosis in children.

More than 1 in 7 children in the United States receive a diagnosis of the disorder by the time they turn 18, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

<snip>

Comprehensive behavioral (also called psychosocial) therapy is used far less often [than meds] to treat children with the disorder largely because it is more time-consuming and expensive.

Cost-conscious schools have few aides to help teachers assist the expanding population of children with the diagnosis, which in some communities reaches 20 percent of students.

Many insurance plans inadequately cover private or group therapy for families, which can cost $1,000 a year or more.

“Medication helps a person be receptive to learning new skills and

behaviors,” said Ruth Hughes, a psychologist and the chief executive of the advocacy group Children and Adults With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. “But those skills and behaviors don’t magically appear. They have to be taught.”

<snip>

In what became a simple horse race, medication was ushered into the winner’s circle.

“Behavioral therapy alone is not as effective as drugs,” ABC’s “World News Now” reported.

One medical publication said, “Psychosocial interventions of no benefit even when used with medication.”

Looking back, some study researchers say several factors in the study’s design and presentation to the public disguised the performance of psychosocial therapy, which has allowed many doctors, drug companies and schools to discourage its use.

First, the fact that many of the 19 categories measured classic symptoms like forgetfulness and fidgeting — over academic achievement and family and peer interactions — hampered therapy’s performance from the start, several of the study’s co-authors said.

A subsequent paper by one of those, Keith Conners, a psychologist and professor emeritus at Duke University, showed that using only one all-inclusive measurement — “treating the child as a whole,” he said —  revealed that combination therapy was significantly better than medication alone.

Behavioral therapy emerged as a viable alternative to medication as well.

But his paper has received little attention.

“When you asked families what they really liked, they liked combined treatment,” said Dr. Peter Jensen, who oversaw the study on behalf of the mental health institute.

“They didn’t not like medicine, but they valued skill training. What doctors think are the best outcomes and what families think are the best outcomes aren’t always the same thing.”

Just as new products like Concerta and extended-release Adderall were entering the market, a 2001 paper by several of the study’s researchers gave pharmaceutical companies tailor-made marketing material.

For the first time, the researchers released data showing just how often each approach had moderated A.D.H.D. symptoms: Combination therapy did so in 68 percent of children, followed by medication alone (56 percent) and behavioral therapy alone (34 percent).

Although combination therapy won by 12 percentage points, the paper’s authors described that as “small by conventional standards” and largely driven by medication.

Drug companies ever since have reprinted that scorecard and interpretation in dozens of marketing materials and PowerPoint presentations.

They became the lesson in doctor-education classes worldwide.

“The only thing we heard was the first finding — that medication is the answer,” said Laura Batstra, a psychologist at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.

Using an additional $10 million in government support to follow the children in the study until young adulthood, researchers have seen some of their original conclusions muddied further.

<snip>

Most recently, a paper from the study said flatly that using any treatment “does not predict functioning six to eight years later,” leaving the study’s original question — which treatment does the most good long-term? —  largely unanswered.

“My belief based on the science is that symptom reduction is a good thing,but adding skill-building is a better thing,” said Stephen Hinshaw, a psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, and one of the study researchers.

“If you don’t provide skills-based training, you’re doing the kid a disservice. I wish we had had a fairer test.”

[end excerpts]

Difficulty performing academically?

Dr. Davenport discusses and provides resources to better understand students who have difficulty performing academically. These students may have a learning disorder, difficulty with attention, or intense emotion that interferes with their academic performance. Significant changes in the students life, difficulty regulating emotion, inattention and concentration problems, and giftedness can all result in academic underperformance however, the connection between these is frequently misunderstood.

Charles R. Davenport Psy.D. LLC provides counseling and therapy services for students, their family, and schools to better understand and advocate for the unique needs of students. Having an appropriate diagnosis and understanding of the problems each student faces allows the most accurate diagnosis and plan to address the problem moving forward.

Many times providing stimulants for attention deficit disorder or hyperactivity disorder (ADHD & ADD) increases academic performance, attention, and sense of emotional well-being however there are many risks. These risks include covering up the symptoms rather than understanding the cause of the problem as well as setting up a dynamic to take an external substance to make things better in someone’s life. If the student is struggling with emotional difficulties and are provided a substance to take to regulate this discomfort they may be at risk for substance abuse later in life when they experience emotional difficulty. It can be helpful to aid students and probably most people in identifying resources within them to overcome their own difficulties rather than finding something outside to “fix” a problem. Additionally, stimulants are known to have risks such as weight loss, increase in anxiety, increased irritability, nailbiting, and sleep disruption.

Many times school systems do not notice students who are performing at grade level. However with gifted students performing at grade level may constitute a significant discrepancy from their overall ability. The students frequently are not identified to be assessed or eligible for accommodations in school. for this reason it is frequently helpful for parents to bring to the school’s attention these discrepancies even though the students grades may be passing. Not adequately addressing the needs of gifted students who have discrepancy in their ability can result in negative feelings of self and one’s ability or even interfere with the student thriving to their maximum potential in their areas of strength.

Here is a great resource for parents would like to request an evaluation by the school for unusual learning patterns.

Requesting assistance for learning disorder assessment

An additional post on this topic is available here

Medicating Women’s Feelings

Here is a clip from a great article by The New York Times: …” When we are overmedicated, our emotions become synthetic. For personal growth, for a satisfying marriage and for a more peaceful world, what we need is more empathy, compassion, receptivity, emotionality and vulnerability, not less.

We need to stop labeling our sadness and anxiety as uncomfortable symptoms, and to appreciate them as a healthy, adaptive part of our biology.” [end clip]

I think this information is not so unique to women’s feelings and probably apples to men and children! Medication can be extremely helpful in reducing overwhelming or flooding emotion that lasts for long periods and or interferes with our lives; however, many of these feelings can be very helpful and are natural reactions to often unusual or overwhelming situations. In the course of therapy or counseling understanding and being aware of these emotions can let us find change and relief by addressing the source of the feelings and related thoughts. Dr. Charles R. Davenport is a licensed psychologist who works with women and men of all ages to treat anxiety and depression amongst other difficulties. Many times a combination of medication and ongoing individual therapy is most effective for debilitating symptoms.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/01/opinion/sunday/medicating-womens-feelings.html