Vote No on MA question no. 1Sep 26, 2018So, you are wondering why I'm writing a blog post about a ballot question. Fair enough. Here's why: As an advocate for mental health care and affordable healthcare and medication, this ballot question is extreme important. I would ask that you please read this and consider my points. First, I come by this information because of my involvement in the Mass General Hospital Patient and Family Advisory Council. I would not have know enough about this question and now that I do, I'm desperate to spread the word. I will attempt to be concise but thorough. What the deal with Question No. 1? This is a piece of legislation that the MA Nurses Association has been trying to push through the legislature for 20 years. But has had so little support that it has never even gotten out of committee or been sponsored as a bill. So the went the ballot question route. Who are the MA Nurses Association? The are the nurses union in MA. Unfortunately the represent less than 1/3 of all nurses. And many of their members are against the ballot question anyway. Why is this an issue? There are some hospitals, mostly rural hospitals, that are asking their nurses to to too much. In a small number of locations, there is a problem with understaffing of nurses. However, this is not a pervasive problem in MA. What are some of the details of this bill that make it a problem?
Do any other states have this law? Only California has this law. They took 5 years to implement the law. There is no fine. And, the California rank of outcomes is considerably lower than MA, which happens to be ranked 2nd in the nation in terms of medical outcomes. Clearly not a broken system. How much will this cost ME as a consumer? Well, the estimated start up cost to the MA medical system is close to $2 Billion Dollars with an annual expense of an additional $1.3 Billion dollars annually. THIS IS TOTALLY UNFUNDED. It will not take long for that cost to be passed on to you and me in terms of higher insurance rates, copays, and deductibles. I'm generally a liberal guy. I don't have a problem with government regulation. But, in my opinion, this law totally goes above the reasonable function of government. I think the state has a right to demand that its citizens have access to quality medical care. But telling hospitals how to provide that care in such detail is inherently inappropriate. Please join me in voting No. on Question 1 this Nov. And, please spread the word about how damaging this law could be to our state, its medical infrastructure, and ultimately you and I. By the way, the pic is of a bumper sticker that I saw in the parking lot at Milton Hospital this month when I was there for the Adult ADHD support group that I run. Standard Disclaimer: In an effort to foil my own perfectionist tendencies, I do not edit my posts much… if at all. Please and typos, mistakes, grammatical errors, or awkward phrasing. I focus on getting my content down. An imperfect post completed is better than a perfect post that goes unposted.
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What should I tell my boss?Sep 21, 2018
Most of us work in results based professions. Nobody wants to hear excuses about why we can't do the work, get there on time, produce a mistake free product, or deliver on expectations. That said, I think most of us may deliver in a non-traditional way. I would never excuse lack of results by referring to ones ADHD. But I'm more than happy to explain my methods, needs, and quicks in that same framework. It is important to be in an organization that isn't so rigid that there is no room for individuality. As ADHDers we may need to approach our work day differently. We may need to come in early or stay late. We may need to borrow a conference room when the main office area gets to distracting. We may need to stand up in longer meeting to stay focused. We may need to utilize any number of strategies to produce the expected product. A good boss will recognize that we are all individuals and let us get there however is best as long as we get there. Standard Disclaimer: In an effort to foil my own perfectionist tendencies, I do not edit my posts much… if at all. Please and typos, mistakes, grammatical errors, or awkward phrasing. I focus on getting my content down. An imperfect post completed is better than a perfect post that goes unposted.
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Do your own thing!Sep 13, 2018My wife is a total rule follower. She is very uncomfortable "coloring outside the lines." I firmly believe that the rules are, at best, suggestions. I have always felt like a square peg in round hole. Or more accurately, a square peg standing angrily next to a round hole that looks so easy and enticing that I know I will never fit into. Well, I guess I should say that I was at one time angry. Then I decided that I was going to have to buy some tools and make some square holes. (How's that for taking an analogy too far?) My point is that as ADHDers we don't fit the mold. But THAT'S OKAY. Give yourself the freedom to experiment, try new things, question assumptions, challenge the conventional wisdom, and break the mold. Not only is that how many of the great innovations of our time have been achieved, but it's the only way for us to tap into our true potential. Don't get me wrong. I'm not encouraging anarchy. But when your environment doesn't fit you, think about changing your environment. As a small, crazy, and totally irrelevant example... I have been much happier since I decided to own the fact that I don't like breakfast foods (at least not for breakfast.) I ate this delicious salad for breakfast. Works for me. My biggest challenge is that my son got my ADHD and his mother's rule following anxiety. I'm trying to teach him how to not follow all the rules... without saying that exact phrase out loud. Parenting is hard. Standard Disclaimer: In an effort to foil my own perfectionist tendencies, I do not edit my posts much… if at all. Please and typos, mistakes, grammatical errors, or awkward phrasing. I focus on getting my content down. An imperfect post completed is better than a perfect post that goes unposted.
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Snooze your pill alarmSep 7, 2018Quick tip today:
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Detailed work out logging?Sep 2, 2018So, I've always seen folks at the gym with their notebooks and pens taking what look like painstakingly detailed notes about their reps and the weight, and God knows what else. I had an complimentary intro session with a trainer at a gym a long, long time ago and he gave me some sort of chart to keep when working out. I hated it. Recently, a client of mine (who's a former trainer) expressed to me that she's really challenged by working out theses days because she doesn't feel like she has enough of a plan and because it seems overwhelming to create one and stick with it. Thus, she's been avoiding working out. Total ADHD (& anxiety) response. I'm sure I do not represent the thoughts and feelings of every ADHDer who works out. I am not a fan of the detailed workout log and hers's why:
I do track my workouts but only in the sense that I did it. For example, yesterday I noted on my calendar: 72m St/CR/PT/3xA+/250xC+ Meaning that I did 72 minutes, stretched, did my core, did my PT for my shoulder, did 3 sets of bi's and tri's, and 250 total reps for my chest. The +'s just mean that I feel like those were particularly strong workouts... All without being on the super micro level. Happy lifting! Standard Disclaimer: In an effort to foil my own perfectionist tendencies, I do not edit my posts much… if at all. Please and typos, mistakes, grammatical errors, or awkward phrasing. I focus on getting my content down. An imperfect post completed is better than a perfect post that goes unposted.
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Keeping your child's weight up on stumlantsAug 23, 2018One of the major side effects of stimulant therapy is loss of appetite. As an almost 40-year-old, I wish my meds still took away my appetite the way they did when I was a kid. No such luck. But now I’m dealing with the same issue with my nine-year-old. Well, not the exact same issue. He actually eats a lot more than I did at his age. I had to supplement with old-school Ensure protein shakes. The graphic on the bottle makes it look fantastic. I can assure you that in the late eighties it was not. Super disgusting! My guy eats a good breakfast, claims to eat a decent lunch, and eats an enormous dinner. But he’s holding steady in the third percentile of height and weight. So it’s more of a concern with his overall growth. As background, both my wife, my brother-in-law, and myself all grew super late. In my case, I appear to have gotten the short genes in the family. My point is that the pediatrician had us go see the nutritionist about my son’s eating. She was great and gave up lots of options based on our food values. In other words, as a former chef I know a lot about food and we are pretty serious about eating low sugar, healthy, non-processed diets. So the nutritionist gave us lots of options to give him high impact, high energy foods that are also healthy. We’ve added in a cup of 2% milk with dinner and are experimenting with different nut butters and dried fruits so he doesn’t get sick of PB and craisins (which are usually pretty high in refined sugar anyway.) My biggest area of emphasis is his breakfast. He is very much all about white flour and sugar for breakfast. I can sneak in some sausage. But eggs are a challenge, and he won’t eat more healthy and interesting cereals. And breakfast is the meal that we need to make and eat quick. I’m not so happy with frozen waffles and syrup as a regular part of the rotation unless it is accompanied by a banana and sausage. He’s only ever had scrambled eggs and often complains about them… even with ketchup when I give them to him, even though it’s only about once every three weeks. So, I wanted to expose him to other styles of eggs. Because eggs are a great breakfast that is actually really quick to make. So, I gave him an egg sampler today. If you’re not a former professional chef, you may not want to try this on a Tuesday. But we found out that he likes a fried egg/ over hard. And, we came to the conclusion that he thinks he could eat eggs once a week alternating scrambled and over hard. Victory! Standard Disclaimer: In an effort to foil my own perfectionist tendencies, I do not edit my posts much… if at all. Please and typos, mistakes, grammatical errors, or awkward phrasing. I focus on getting my content down. An imperfect post completed is better than a perfect post that goes unposted.
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