Category Archives: Health / Fitness

My dear friend and loyal reader Massimo from Switzerland asks:

In the local paper today there was an article about the abuse of pharmaceuticals for the purpose of performance improvement in exams and the learning period (especially to improve the short term memory).

They claim that 25% (!) of the college students in the US take "stimulating drugs"  or cognitive enhancers such as Ritalin or Modasomil.

Is the use of those brain boosters a topic among students and in the media? Will we have to undergo an anti-doping test after our exams in the future? What are your thoughts about it?

I believe that the use of cognitive enhancing drugs in schools is one of the most underreported stories. From talking to friends and from my own observations, virtually every competitive college campus in America has a lively black market for Ritalin and Adderall and other drugs which help you focus and memorize. As someone who has never used such drugs, I’m annoyed there isn’t more policing. Or at least more exploration of the ethics. There has been some chatter about the astonishing increases of high schoolers conveniently diagnosed with a learning disability right before taking the SAT — so as to secure extra time — but less about taking performance enhancing drugs when you don’t have a clinical need.

But it’s more complicated than it seems, this use of technology to gain an edge. For example, should students be able to use a laptop during a test to type out an essay? If so, does this give an unfair advantage to those who can type fast?

Anyway, the use of drugs to get an edge isn’t limited to the classroom. According to this L.A. Times article and others, it appears executives and other high stressed people are catching on the wonders of cog-boosting pharma. I feel more OK about adults doing this. Maybe it’s because the real world doesn’t claim to create a "level playing field" of competition, as schools do.

The bottom line for me is that as mental drugs become cheaper and more effective, and as certain neuroscience technology like fMRI trickle down to the rich and eventually the masses, we’re going to have a host of important ethics questions on our hands. To me, far more interesting questions than whether professional baseball or football players are taking steroids.

Ah, if only I were a Vassar College student, I could have access to their wonderful mental health clinic, where I would discover self-esteem improving tips such as:

– Identify the people you feel intimidated by. Learn to be assertive with them.

– When you fail at something, say: "That’s okay. I’ll do better next time."

– When you’re feeling blue, say: "It’s okay. I will be alright."

– If your day was rough, relax in the evening or as soon as you can.

– When you try something new and don’t catch on right away, give yourself credit for trying.

How sweet! How original! How helpful!

If you want real tips for how to improve self-esteem, check out these useful thoughts.

A friend emailed me and told me she was really stressed but that she’d gotten some great advice from another friend, which she forwarded to me. It’s below and it’s great advice.

My point to her was, “Stop telling yourself you’re stressed.” Self-talk is really important. The more you tell yourself and others how stressed you are, the more stressed you become. I extend this theory to the common cold — when you tell people have a cold, the cold only persists.

Her friend’s full email:

We all have those days Mary. You need a day of rest or a half-day of rest and a lot of sleep. Take a deep breath.

Remember, when things start falling apart, don’t look at the big picture–pay attention to minute details. Get out of your head and into the world.

Look at your hands, are your nails trimmed, are your teeth brushed? What is the weather like today? What can you see new on your way to work? What is the person across from you on the train doing? When we are so caught up in our problems that we forget the rest of the world, then things really go bad. It’s the details that save you.

Breathe deep, feel the quality of that breath. Taste your food. Slow down.

When you have a minute, draw up a list of the three things you have to do today and the three things that you can accomplish the most quickly.Try and knock out the three must dos and if you you have time, the three easy and quick things. Don’t try to do more. You’ll catch up.