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Mind Tapas

Small Plates of Healing and Ideas

Medical Marijuana for Psychiatric Disorders
Psychiatry
Medical Marijuana for Psychiatric Disorders

Jeremy Spiegel M.D. on March 11, 2013

Marijuana as a treatment has not been considered by may doctors due to political factors. Which, ridiculous as it sounds, is like a scientist shunning a particular chemical system in the body for reasons that have nothing to do with science.

Marijuana as a treatment has not been considered by may doctors due to political factors. Which, ridiculous as it sounds, is like a scientist shunning a particular chemical system in the body for reasons that have nothing to do with science.

DSM
Pathology Be Damned!

Jeremy Spiegel M.D. on February 1, 2012

Yesterday's New York Times featured a personal Op-Ed by Benjamin Nugent, a young man inappropriately diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder. Only years later did it become obvious to him that he was misdiagnosed and that the DSM IV criteria for this high functioning autism spectrum disorder are far too broad and overinclusive to be fair to children like him.

Yesterday's New York Times featured a personal Op-Ed by Benjamin Nugent, a young man inappropriately diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder. Only years later did it become obvious to him that he was misdiagnosed and that the DSM IV criteria for this high functioning autism spectrum disorder are far too broad and overinclusive to be fair to children like him.

Trauma
Becoming Art at MoMA

Jeremy Spiegel M.D. on April 3, 2010

Stronger than any pill, art has the power to transmute personal pain into mastery over the past. This idea became intensely clear when I entered a huge cordoned-off square in the second floor atrium at the Museum of Modern Art to join performance artist Marina Abramović. Together, we became a single, living work of art.

Stronger than any pill, art has the power to transmute personal pain into mastery over the past. This idea became intensely clear when I entered a huge cordoned-off square in the second floor atrium at the Museum of Modern Art to join performance artist Marina Abramović. Together, we became a single, living work of art.

Anxiety
Art Healing

Jeremy Spiegel M.D. on March 21, 2010

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" they screamed, three voices as one.

Mildly startled by this collective shriek reverberating up the stairwell, I was not scared by the noise, followed by laughter, from the lower gallery. Only moments earlier I emitted my own eructation, albeit an octave lower and followed by limbic profanity along the lines of "What the f---?!"

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" they screamed, three voices as one.

Mildly startled by this collective shriek reverberating up the stairwell, I was not scared by the noise, followed by laughter, from the lower gallery. Only moments earlier I emitted my own eructation, albeit an octave lower and followed by limbic profanity along the lines of "What the f---?!"

Circadian Rhythm
Post-Vacation Blues

Jeremy Spiegel M.D. on March 15, 2010

Have you ever found yourself regretting a recent vacation because of the inevitable pain you experience with "re-entry" into your usual life?

Have you ever found yourself regretting a recent vacation because of the inevitable pain you experience with "re-entry" into your usual life?