Category: Creativity

Six-picture collage with the theme of physical and social activity for a healthier life.

Don’t Underestimate Exercise: Life-Changing Benefits for Body, Brain, and Spirit

Written by Ron Parks, MD on November 25, 2025. Posted in Commentary on Health and Well-being, Concentration, Creativity, Dreamwork, Getting Things Done, holistic mental healthcare, Integrative Therapies, Meditation/Mindfulness, Mental Health, Nutrition, Personal Growth, Recovery, Spirituality & Health.

Active Lifestyle, Healthier Life: Science-Backed Reasons to Keep Moving

Nov 24, 2025

The talk and the article

I had an interesting talk with my son about the benefits of physical activity, as he works with me on many projects that sometimes involve research or editing. He is very skilled with technology and usually gets to the core of things after spending a lot of screen time on the computer. Our conversation focused on the many advantages of being more physically active and exercising. It occurred to me to write a compelling article to support my case, backed by research literature. I also thought this would be a grand strategy since my son often does the final edit on many of my articles. Since he would likely read it, I might get some validation that I am convincing in my advocacy for a healthy lifestyle and exercise.

Collage of pictures about difficulties with brain fog, fatigue, and focus, the understanding and solutions.

Lost in the Fog: The Search for Focus and Energy in an Era of Stimulants

Written by Ron Parks, MD on August 30, 2025. Posted in ADD/ADHD, Brain Fog, Concentration, Creativity, Fatigue, Getting Things Done, Holistic Approaches to Prevention and Recovery, Integrative Therapies, Mental Health.

Brain fog, fatigue, focus, ADHD, and stimulants: Lessons from Life and Medicine

My worst fear, the crush of reality, and holistic medicine

During my childhood in Washington, DC, and nearby rural Montgomery County, I experienced a deeply traumatic yet eye-opening event. It occurred in the early 1950s during the frightening polio epidemic, before the polio vaccine was available.

Collage of pictures and art on theme of loss, grief, art therapy, and journey to healing and the spirit.

Finding the Art of Life and the Spirit – video podcast

Written by Ron Parks, MD on February 29, 2024. Posted in Commentary on Health and Well-being, Creativity, Happiness, holistic mental healthcare, Integrative Therapies, Mental Health, Mood, Personal Growth, Spirituality & Health, Trauma.

An interview with the accomplished and talented Evie Lindemann, author, teacher, and art therapist.

View or listen to a fantastic interview with the illustrious Evie Lindemann, LMFT, ATR-BC, author, writer, and accomplished art therapist. Evie is an art therapist and a marriage and family therapist licensed in North Carolina, Connecticut, and California, specializing in training for mental health professionals and community groups. She’s interactive, a Jungian-oriented trainer, and a holistic therapist. She provides support and practical feedback to help individuals effectively address life challenges. Evie presents a life story to inspire all to meet life’s challenges and surmount significant obstacles to find meaning, purpose, love, and happiness, as well as an exceptional career that has benefited many. Edie also discusses her soon-to-be-published book and her recent book about grief and loss, including some of her most recent published work.

Collage of pictures of dream catchers from the Native American tradition and pictures representing dreams

Dreams and journaling – Part One & Two – for mindfulness, insight, and well-being

Written by Ron Parks, MD on September 1, 2023. Posted in Commentary on Health and Well-being, Creativity, Dreamwork, Happiness, Holistic Approaches to Prevention and Recovery, holistic mental healthcare, Holistic Views on Mental Health Issues, Integrative Therapies, Meditation/Mindfulness, Personal Growth.

Dreams are a valued resource for getting unstuck, aware, inspired, insightful, and more organized and productive.

Welcome to the Mind Wise podcast and newsletter, presenting perspective and information about mental health, holistic health care, wellness, neuroscience, psychiatry, philosophy, and spirituality. I am your host, Ron Parks, M.P.H., M.D., writer, teacher, and consultant.

Today I begin a 2-part series exploring a readily available phenomenon that occurs in your slumber and sleep world—dreaming.

Collage of 13 pictures with theme of writer's block, and return to creative production and flow; one picture reminds to listen to your inner voice.

Surmounting Writer’s Block

Written by Ron Parks, MD on June 10, 2023. Posted in Commentary on Health and Well-being, Creativity, Depression, Dreamwork, Expert Mentor-Guide, Getting Things Done, Happiness, holistic mental healthcare, Meditation/Mindfulness, Neurodiversity, Personal Growth, Spirituality & Health.

The critical steps to reignite inspired creativity, growth, and productivity.

Writer’s Block Strikes

I was returning from a vacation and felt guilty about not working on or beginning a new newsletter article. Every time I would sit down to start, I would find myself distracted and doing other things or just feeling tired or overwhelmed by the immensity of the task with all its components. Some basics of the task even felt too difficult, such as coming up with new material, doing the research, working through the succession of drafts, multiple edits, and the final publishing process.

A group of pictures depicting help from relationships, getting insight, feedback, and perspective.

Relationships for Growth and Perspective

Written by Ron Parks, MD on April 24, 2023. Posted in ADD/ADHD, Asperger Traits, Aspie, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Creativity, Depression, Dyslexia, Getting Things Done, Holistic Approaches to Prevention and Recovery, holistic mental healthcare, Meditation/Mindfulness, Mood, Neurodiversity, Recovery, Relationships, Spirituality & Health, Unique Talent Attributes.

Awareness and receptiveness are essential for wise decisions, perspective, and adaptability.

My valued mentor and the confusing advice

A favorite mentor and advisor, at the end of our final meeting, on my way out from his cozy living room office, with the big glass window looking out on the yard, shaking hands with a big smile, told me, ” Here is my last clinical pearl; never give anyone advice.”

Four colorful pictures representing neurodiversity, creators, and innovative thinkers.

The Brainchild, Unique Talents, and Artificial Intelligence

Written by Ron Parks, MD on March 29, 2023. Posted in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Aspie, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Creativity, Disability, Getting Things Done, Holistic Views on Mental Health Issues, Neurodiversity, neuroscience, Personal Growth, Unique Talent Attributes.

Taking longer to do things is not a crime, laziness, procrastination, or incompetence, but the basis of a brilliant mind and problem solver.

a frame with four colorful pictures suggesting a person having a nightmare with two shots of extremely alarmed people, one hanging from a mountainside, and of a pressure gauge in the red zone

Dreamwork for Insight, Creativity, and Growth

Written by Ron Parks, MD on November 22, 2022. Posted in Anxiety & Panic, Commentary on Health and Well-being, Creativity, Dreamwork, Getting Things Done, holistic mental healthcare, PTSD, Recovery.

The dream is an untapped resource for insight, problem-solving, and self-improvement.

Dreams an Untapped Resource

Dreamwork is a valuable resource and aid in self-help and therapy work. It is a practical and always available tool that supports personal growth, productivity, and mental and emotional health.

Young Barefoot Woman with Headscarf on Beach looking and grieving her losses and hoping for a secure future

Extreme Passion, the Value and Danger—Holocaust Recalled

Written by Ron Parks, MD on November 4, 2022. Posted in Commentary on Health and Well-being, Creativity, Death and Dying, Grief and Loss, Hate Crimes, PTSD, Social Media, Trauma.

Harnessing extremes into creativity, loving concern for others, and actions to avoid societal upheaval, hatred, and destruction.

I recount an early life story that brought me to the realities and risks of the extreme passions and ideas we can get caught up in as individuals or whole societies with positive or devastating outcomes.

My mother’s lost cousin—Iren

When I was a child in the early-to-mid 1940s, my mother took me to a local shoe repair shop on

graphic picture of a human head with a heart shaped, multicolored jigsaw in center of brain as a brain reflecting neurodiversity

The Challenges and Advantages of Dyslexic Traits

Written by Ron Parks, MD on October 25, 2022. Posted in ADD/ADHD, Asperger Traits, Aspie, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Creativity, Dyslexia, Holistic Views on Mental Health Issues, Neurodiversity, Unique Talent Attributes.

Neurodiversity, in a more modern application, describes the unique and multivariate differences in all people. Looking at all individuals, we can see vast differences in the brain and mental functioning with the processing, retrieval, and abstraction of incoming information. Variability appears in ideas and concept formation, adaptability to change, and accomplishing tasks.