Do you ever get nervous before playing in a soccer game?  Do you get the yips before playing golf? Do you become anxious before participating in a basketball tournament or tennis match? If so, then you may well be experiencing sports performance anxiety, a very common problem among athletes. Now, being a little nervous can be good. It shows that we care, and that we have high standards.  It may even motivate us to practice more.  It can also keep us focused, thus allowing us to play better. But sometimes, the worrying gets out of control.  When that happens, we may experien ..read more

As the world gradually emerges from the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic, the return to in-person learning has brought with it a unique set of challenges for students, parents, and educators. The pandemic disrupted the education system in unprecedented ways, and now, as we strive for a sense of normalcy, we must address the back-to-school challenges that have emerged in its wake. Emotional Well-being One of the most significant challenges students face as they return to school is the emotional toll of the pandemic. Many have experienced loss, isolation, and increased stress. The abrupt transitio ..read more

Patients with tics and Tourette syndrome are, in my view, the unsung heroes in my practice. As you may know, I treat patients for whom traditional medicine either doesn’t work or has side effects. The most common patient problems I treat include: Performance anxiety Test anxiety, sports performance anxiety, stage fright, public speaking Headaches Irritable bowel syndrome and abdominal pain. Bedwetting Chronic pain Tics with and without Tourette syndrome When someone has bedwetting, although it’s embarrassing, no one goes to school, raises his hand, and says, “Hey!  I’m still wetting ..read more

For athletes, success is not only about physical skill but also mental strength. Mental preparation is crucial for an athlete’s success, and one way to achieve this is through sports hypnosis. Sports hypnosis is a technique that uses hypnosis to help athletes overcome mental barriers, focus on their goals, and improve their athletic performance. In this blog, we will explore what sports performance hypnosis is, how it works, and its benefits. What is Sports Hypnosis? This technique uses hypnosis to improve an athlete’s performance by helping them overcome mental barriers, such as anxiety, lac ..read more

“I’m a failure because I’m still wetting the bed.  I’ve taken the medicine, and I’ve tried the bedwetting alarm, and nothing helps. Therefore, I’m a failure, and I’ll probably never be dry at night.” As a parent, when our child tells us this, it’s just heart-breaking.  We love our children so much, and want to help them. Many parents might immediately jump to reassure their child and say something like, “No. You’re not a failure!  Remember, your doctor (or primary care clinician) said that it’s a common problem and you’ll outgrow it, eventually. It just hasn’t happened, yet.”&nb ..read more

We have all heard the terms Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, Gen Z, and our current younger generation, Gen Alpha. And I would like to introduce you to the term, Gen Rx, or, more accurately, Generations Rx.  Note the plural use of generations, as it refers to a few of our current generations. What are the differences among these generations? The major differences seem to be related to the technology boom, including computers, cell phones, and the internet. My friend and colleague, Randy Dean, MD, a child psychiatrist, jokingly emailed me about the term, “Gen Rx.”  She feels that so many p ..read more

The short answer is yes. The slightly longer answer is, it is a safe form of treatment for bedwetting (clinically known as nocturnal enuresis) that works faster and better than traditional forms. And, Dr. Aaron Bayne, MD, a pediatric urologist at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, Oregon, recently proved this in a medical study. His patients used my video-streamed home program, Keeping the Bed Dry®, and their success was equal to that of medication and the bedwetting alarm. And now for the much longer answer, which begins with defining the terms. Specifically, let’s define medical hy ..read more

“Rather than take a temporary pill, self-hypnosis provides a life-time skill.” This reminds me of a wonderful article, The Long-Term Follow-Up of Self-Hypnosis Training for Recurrent Headaches: What the Children Say, by Daniel Kohen, MD.* In this article, Dr. Kohen described a series of former patients of his who had seen him 3-4 for treatment of migraine headaches.  Eleven years later, they were sent questionnaires and 52 of them were completed and returned. Eighty-five per cent said that self-hypnosis (SH, also known as visualization or mental imagery) continued to provide relief ..read more

Fluoxetine, an antidepressant (brand name Prozac) was used in a study to treat bedwetting. And the results were, frankly, quite poor. Although there was slight improvement initially in 73% of the medication group, compared to 17% of the placebo group.And this ended up being brief. 1-3 After 12 weeks, only 32% were still improved, compared to 15% of the placebo group!  Furthermore, at the 12-week mark, the effects from the medication were shown to be decreasing further!!! Plus, sadly, some of the patients had side effects while on this medication! So what were the authors’ conclusions? Tha ..read more

Parents often say to me, “My child is 10 years old [or 8 or 9 years old] and is still wetting the bed. Is that normal?” Their concern is understandable, and to be honest, there isn’t a lot of clarity around the answer. Mostly, people rely on their own experience as a measure of what is or is not “normal”, but that isn’t a truly definitive answer either. So, let’s dig into a more complete understanding about when bedwetting—medically known as nocturnal enuresis—is considered a problem. According to the International Children’s Continence Society, bedwetting used to be considered a problem for a ..read more