Is Your Mother on Drugs? Dementia Drugs?

You need to have knowledge of the meds your loved one is taking.

If your aging parent has dementia or shows signs of it—short term memory loss, inability to balance the check book, confusion over daily tasks—you may become involved with administering or helping with medications.

First have your parent examined by a physician familiar with other conditions that can cause dementia-like behavior: hypothyroidism, vitamin deficiency, or infections are the common ones and therefore thyroid medication, vitamins like B 12 or antibiotics might be prescribed.

If your loved one has the beginning of an irreversible dementia, here’s a quick list of some of the drugs you may encounter:

Donepezil (Aricept), Galatamine (Reminyl) and Ravastigmine (Exelon) are often used to help patients with dementia.  Called cholinesterase inhibitors these drugs were developed for Alzheimer’s patients but are also used for other dementias.  Having few side effects, they sometimes help maintain mental function.  They cannot stop dementia and it is not clear as to how long they will work in a given individual.

Another drug, Menantime (Namenda) has been known to slow the later stages of Alzheimer’s and it may help those with vascular dementia, a disease caused by silent strokes or infarcts in the brain that block brain signals obscuring memory.  A person with vascular dementia might also be on an anticoagulant like Clopidogrel (Plavix) to prevent future blood clots from forming and causing silent strokes in the brain.

The cholinesterase inhibitors are often used at the beginning stages of dementia.  When the dementia progresses, reevaluate the use of these medications with your relative’s provider as they are expensive and may no longer be helping your loved one.

Medications to combat high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels might also be on your parent’s medication list as controlling these conditions helps prevent worsening of vascular dementia.

Mirtazapine (Remeron) is an antidepressant often used in elder patients with dementia.  It stimulates the appetite, helps depression, and induces sleep, preventing dangerous waking and roaming at night.

Many facilities use this drug to insure that their clients are eating well and sleeping through the night.  The latter was of major concern to me as my mother would often try to get out of bed and then fall.  One of these falls caused a hip fracture.

Divalproex (Depakote) is an anticonvulsant and mood stimulator that helps with agitation.  The American Family Physician Journal recommends it as being well tolerated with little side effects.

I was against having my mother use this drug, but when she was interacting negatively with other clients at her facility, I had to agree to it.  These are very tough decisions.

As your loved one’s dementia progresses, either you or a visiting nurse or nurse’s aid in a facility will be dispensing these medications.  People with dementia don’t remember when or if they took a pill.

Keep a list of everything your parent is taking and check frequently with the provider as to what is truly helping the patient and what can be added or discontinued.

Thanks to Gaetan Lee Photostream

 

People: Let’s Be Responsible Models of Cell Phone Use

This is a scene I see all too frequently. This mom is missing opportunities.

Driving slowly into Target’s parking lot, I avoided hitting a 2-year-old child not holding her mother’s hand.  Why was the child free to roam?  The mom was talking on her cell phone.Recently while driving, a car cut right in front of me; I jammed on my brakes to avoid a head-on.  The driver kept right on, never acknowledging me—he was too busy texting.

The National Safety Council’s risk estimate for 2011 utilizing data from the National Traffic Safety Administration was: at least 23 percent of all traffic crashes, (at least 1.3 million crashes) involve cell phone use per year. An estimated 1.2 million crashes involve drivers using cell phones for conversations and at least 100,000 additional crashes can be related to drivers who are texting. 

This information does not begin to include what could have happened in the Target parking lot and probably does.

Another fact for you: firearms kill more than 30,000 people every year in the U.S. In 2007, the latest figure available from the Centers for Disease Control, 31,224 people died from gun injuries.

So are cell phones more lethal than guns?  Maybe.  The cell phone stats are for CRASHES.  We don’t know deaths from that number, but we can assume some deaths and definitely injury, some being severe.  Cell phone use by a train engineer killed 25 people and injured more then 130 near Los Angeles, California. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxq-r3Mzdtg

Cell phones provide convenience and also a means for safety if you break down on the highway while traveling, or though unlikely, feel you may be having a heart attack while behind the wheel—911 is incredibly helpful.

But cell phone use, like drinking alcohol or owning a gun, requires being a responsible person and not everyone is!

This issue bothers me a great deal.  So I Tweet:

DRIVE YOUR CAR, NOT YOUR CELL PHONE.

But there is also a slimy underbelly to the entire cell phone addiction issue, something that won’t necessarily result in death or ER trips.  Like the mom at Target, the ER might have been in her child’s future.  SO WHAT DID THAT MOM DO, when she saw my car?  She reached for her daughter’s hand, pulled her back and continued to walk and talk on her cell phone! Really??  She did not get down and hug her daughter because she was safe.  What’s on the cell phone that is more important than that?

Jennifer Bleyer blogs that she needs her cell phone and that doesn’t make her a bad parent.  She admits to cell phone addiction and doesn’t like getting nasty looks from others when talking on her phone, her child in the stroller just staring out.

Jennifer and other moms like her aren’t going to run someone over with the stroller, but as an old mom, let me ask some questions.

How old is your daughter?  Can she tell you how she feels about being ignored?  How were you parented?  I bet your mother paid strict attention to you when walking in the park.  She probably pointed out birds in the trees and offered you leaves to crinkle or flowers to smell.  Or maybe the cell phone is not the problem at all.  Maybe you didn’t have a good parent model.  But if so don’t let yourself off the hook by believing your daughter is happy being ignored.  There’s so much information out there about parenting.  You know she needs and deserves your full attention on just such occasions.

Or why have kids?  That’s what I’d like to know.  If you’re going to avoid their questions, not hold their hands, and not get down in the grass with them why have them?   Staying connected with your girlfriends on a 24-7 basis is what you do in high school.  Now it’s time to grow up and accept your responsibility.  Your daughter will thank you for it and she might even hang around when you are old and unable to text with your arthritic thumbs!

In the end Jennifer decided to make some changes. I try to limit my phone use when I’m with my daughter, especially if we’re out…Not long ago we went to the zoo, and even though I had to reply to a couple emails while there, she knew her alpacas from her baboons by the time we left. We had chatted up a storm together and were both perfectly happy.

That’s a great start.  I wish her the best and I hope that some day she’ll be able to leave the cell phone at home.   After all addiction can be a lifetime battle.

Thanks to Ed Yourdon Photostream

Mirror Mirror on the Wall: Am I Taking Care of My Health?

Sometimes we ignore things about ourselves we should see and attend to.

There’s the well-known line from poet Robert Burns, desiring: to see ourselves as others see us.  Though the phrase can apply to many aspects of our lives, today my focus is singular—health.  Look in the bathroom mirror and study what you see.  Right at the outset the image reflected back at you might reveal things about your health.  The obvious:

• Weight—many health issues are the result of extra pounds—diabetes, arthritis, musculoskeletal aches and pains, joint problems;
• Skin lesions—moles, non-healing sores, new growths—many need to be checked for skin cancers;
• Lumps, bruises, bumps—if they don’t disappear on their own in a reasonable amount of time, they need to be checked.

And certainly a lot of interior things occur in the body that you won’t see when you examine yourself in the mirror—vision, hearing, digestion, breathing, and energy problems to name a few.  The basic message: bodies need more care and attention than cars, bikes, computers, phones and other possessions.  They are your most important possession.  Regular check-ups are essential.  Having a family doc who knows you and can help you maintain your health is essential.

Dr. Stewart Segal is just such a family doc.  He recently blogged about his patients writing: I wish my patients could see what I see.  I see through a lens sharpened over 30 years of experience.  I see the present and often the future.  Yes, I’m a fortuneteller!  Many times, the picture of the future I see is bleak.

Segal writes that because he has a fortune-teller capacity it’s his job to try and change a patient’s future.  So—if he sees a 30-year old diabetic, overweight and out of shape, with high blood pressure and cholesterol, who ignores his health to work hard for his family—Segal works to get him to respect his diabetes, to truly see that he cannot ignore this condition and put off taking care of his health.  Segal sees the future and knows what is coming.  How can this be?

Segal writes: When I walk into the next room, I see a 60-year old diabetic who started with me 28 years ago.  He has kidney disease and sees a kidney specialist.  He can’t feel his feet (nerve damage from uncontrolled diabetes).  He has an infection in his toe that won’t heal.  He will go for wound management therapy to the local hospital and see a surgeon.  He will lose his toe and maybe, his foot.

The future of the 30-year-old diabetic will be the 60-year-old’s present—if he doesn’t look in the mirror; if he doesn’t realize that working toward a future for his family must include his own health.

This is a great message for all of us as we buzz through life ignoring minor things about our health and banking on the fact that there will always be time to take care of them.

THERE MIGHT NOT BE TIME.  Segal concludes: I see the future.  Sometimes, I see dead people, walking.  I wish my patients could see what I see.

Please make that doctor or nurse practitioner appointment today.

Thanks to Dr. Stewart Segal, a family physician who blogs at Livewellthy.org.

Thanks to Karol Kallnowski Photo stream

Pick from a List of New Year’s Resolutions

The new year is a blank page on which you can write.

Being a champion of good health and fitness, I have to jump in at the NEW YEAR and offer some information for making positive change.  Though from the end of one year to the beginning of the next, we don’t truly transform ourselves, it’s not bad to have a benchmark like January 1^st from which to leap into something new and extremely positive.  It won’t be easy—that’s a given.  Patience and perseverance have to be a part of the mix.  But making positive change has great rewards—and we all have a year to do it!

So here are a few ideas that I have gathered for you.  The information is in categories.

• Check it out.
• Select those areas of endeavor that you want to work on.
• Plot and plan for 2012 and a year of better health!
• And don’t take on too much.

Good luck.  You can do it!

Your Relationships 

1. Be a better friend, spouse, significant-other, grandparent etc by learning to communicate openly.  Share yourself.  Eliminate fear—be honest about your  weaknesses and needs.  It’s called TRUST.
2. Grandparents: don’t buy your grandchildren’s love with THINGS.  Give of yourself with stories, hugs.  Sit and listen to everything they have to say.
3. Give of yourself to someone in need.  After one hour of giving to someone you don’t know—you’ll feel more positive about everything in your own little world. 

Your Mental Health

1. Spend time outside. Walk or bike, read in the sun or sweep a sidewalk, look up at the sky or listen to the birds or the winter wind.  Experience natural environment and work against nature-deficit disorder. http://bethhavey.wordpress.com/2011/11/14/nature-deficit-disorder-why-we-need-to-go-outside-and…/
2. Stimulate your senses: light aromatic candles, cook with spices, bathe with citrus infused soaps.  Listen to music using moderate volume.  Select a tactile blanket to cozy under while you read.
3. Reduce electronic use before sleep.  Read a book. Meditate. Breathe deeply.  Look at the moon or the stars.  Then drift off to sleep.
4. Belong.  Family, church, community, friendships—it might sound old-fashioned and ordinary, but belonging to all or any of these will extend your life and make it meaningful.
5. Know your purpose.  Awake each day knowing your values and beliefs.  Use your talents and passions to achieve goals—whether it’s raising a child, painting a room or writing a book.

Your Physical Health

1. Reverse inflammation in your body by reducing stress: pray, nap, meditate.
2. Use your body—walk, work outdoors, avoid conveniences so you labor and sweat.
3. Have a healthy relationship with alcohol—two glasses of wine at night is good for you.
4. Don’t smoke.
5. Encourage a mind over body connection to lose weight.
6. Eat six small meals a day to lose weight and control blood sugar.
7. Eat protein at every small meal—it stays with you longer so you won’t feel hungry.
8. You need carbs for energy, just reduce the number you eat per small meal.
9. Increase greens and veggies.  Eat fruit 3 times a day.
10. Drink water.  Introduce dairy into your diet with milk, cheese and yogurt.
11. Don’t’ skip meals.  When you do you will overeat and gain weight.
12. Sit while eating
13. Increase these foods in your diet: cruciferous vegetables, green tea, pomegranate, high fiber foods, blueberries.

So make your lists and jump right in.

And please stay with me on Boomer Highway.  Ask me questions, make comments.  We’ll make 2012 the best and we’ll do it together.

Thanks to Guudmorning! Photostream and Video Eleven Photostream

Holiday Dressing: Dos and Don’ts for Boomer Women

Holidays call for smart dressing choices.

It’s Christmas and Boomer women are either scouring the stores or their closets for the right dress or outfit for many different occasions.

A few tips to remember:

• do start with the right foundation: flattering undergarments are worth the investment;
• do know your strengths and play them up: some women feel more comfortable in “matchy” outfits and others prefer to be creative;
• do organize your choices in color groups, especially if you are traveling and need to conserve space in your luggage; think winter white, silver, taupe, grey, navy, brown or black;
• do accessorize with jewelry, shoes and possibly a scarf or jacket;
• don’t try too hard–know when to stop.  One statement piece is sufficient.
• do gain inspiration from magazines and displays in stores; you can even check with your daughter but…
• don’t dress like your daughter!
• do be open to change.  Try a new boot, scarf or accessory to update that black dress or navy suit;
• don’t be afraid to take some risks.  The older we get the more we know ourselves and can take ourselves lightly.

Many thanks to Robyn Olson for these great ideas.

Thanks to Royal Free Stock Photos and Kirsten.michelle photostream

Your daughter can look like this but you might not be able to!!

How to Handle the Holidays When Mom or Dad Has Dementia

People with dementia live in the present.

Holidays are memory days.  But not for people with dementia.

“Do you remember the year the tree fell over…when the cousins stayed for all eight days…when Santa forgot to eat the cookies and the kids cried…”

Holidays are a tapestry woven with memory.  Now your mom or dad or relative has lost those memories and you are about to spend longer periods of time with them.

Here are some tips to help you, whether you will be with this person for one hour or off and on for several days.

1. Be patient and smile. You will have to draw on the love you have always had for this person to get through the hours.  You will have to repeat yourself.  You will have to clarify things and as you do realize that the clarification might not mean a thing.  But the gentleness of your voice or the kindness of your posture as you lean toward this person explaining, will mean something.

2. Plan ahead, consider what your loved one can tolerate. What you do during the holidays with your loved one who suffers from dementia depends on the extent of the illness.  Last year we took my mother to our favorite Christmas Eve bistro in her wheelchair.  Never again.  She was unhappy, the place was too noisy and she immediately wanted to go back to her senior living facility.  So weigh your options.  Maybe it’s better to keep your loved one in her comfortable place.  Stay with her for a number of hours, and then go out and celebrate on your own.

3. Bring gifts. Gifts should be tactile or arouse the senses.  Holiday foods and sweets are always a good choice, if your loved one can tolerate them.  Lotions with citrus scents, warm and soft shawls, socks or sweaters are other good ideas.  The elderly are almost always cold.  And don’t forget to gift the caregivers who take care of your loved one.

4. Create your own memories.  Even though your mother, father, uncle will not remember that you were there bringing gifts and loving them, hold this memory in your own heart.  The winter holidays, no matter if you are a person of a certain faith or not, are times for introspection and reflection.  Know that your acts of love and kindness toward this person are appreciated IN THE MOMENT.  You are making a difference for that person IN THE MOMENT.  And that’s a memory that you can be proud of–you made a difference for someone with dementia.

Thank you to Nursehome71 photostream

Amahl and the Night Visitors: Offer Yourself to Someone in Need

Woman, you can keep the gold.

I was ten when I stepped into the spotlight one Christmas night and performed various roles in Gian Carlo Minotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors. My older brother John and younger brother Bill also performed.   Our audience consisted of four very proud women—my grandmother, two aunts and my mother, who periodically dabbed at their eyes with tissue as they  laughed and cried during our performance.

If a reviewer had been there that night watching three eager children dressed in bathrobes and flowing dishtowels,  imitating the garments of Christ’s time, the best thing he or she would have written is that we knew the music—every note, every pause, every crescendo.  And we sang heartily the amazing, touching beautiful lyrics—yes, every word.

Written in 1951 for television, the opera tells the story of the poor young shepherd boy, Amahl, who in the vernacular of the day is crippled and hobbles around with the aid of a crutch.  He meets the three kings who are following the Christmas star to find Christ and deliver gifts of gold frankincense and myrrh to him.

The kings and their servant briefly stay with Amahl and his widowed mother late one night.  King Kaspar amuses everyone with his bird and various possessions which he keeps in a jeweled box.  Neighboring shepherds bring food to the destitute hovel and dance for the kings.  Later, as they dose, the mother sings of two children—the Christ child, a child of wheat, and her own disabled son, a child of thorn.  Frightened of the future and how she will care for her boy, she reaches out to take some of the kings’ gold, awakening their loyal servant.   He cries out that she is a thief and begins beating her, all the while accusing her of stealing.  Amahl limps to his mother’s defense, lashing out at the servant as best he can as he tries to balance on his weak legs.  Finally he falls into his mother’s arms, weeping.  King Melchoir then sings the most beautiful aria of the opera:

Oh woman, you can keep the gold,

The child we seek, doesn’t need our gold

On love, on love alone, he will build his city

His pierced hand will hold no scepter

His haloed head will wear no crown

His might will not be built on your toil

Swifter than lightning he will soon walk among us

He will bring us new life and receive our death.

And the keys to his city, belong to the poor.

At this point, Amahl slowly rises and offers the kings his crutch, asking them to take it to the new baby as who knows, he might need one.  As Amahl extends his only possession to the kings, a miracle occurs and he finds that he is able to walk!

The opera had been a gift to us three children a few years before, a set of four 45 rpm records that played loudly from our dining room.  Occasionally we stopped the performance to change the record!  But we sang on.  Bill, the youngest, was King Kaspar, proudly sitting beside my mother’s small lingerie chest and opening  each drawer to produce magic stones, beads, and the prized licorice during his aria.  His companion was our canary, Peter Fritz, who playing the role of Kaspar’s bird did his usual thing—scattering droppings and newspaper shreds through the bars of his cage.

During the shepherds’ song the three of us disappeared into the kitchen to return with a basket of bananas and oranges to set before our bemused audience.  We then twirled and danced the shepherds wild and free dance along the living room floor, careful not to knock each other over on our so small stage.

But even though we lacked the accoutrements necessary for a great performance, we did not lack the heart and soul, the love and involvement.  The music of Gian Carlo Minotti spoke to us and changed us even at our very young ages.  As I write this memory today, I have chills hearing Minotti’s haunting melodies in my mind and remembering his beautiful words.  This Christmas and all through the year we should offer ourselves to those in need—because the keys to his city belong to the poor.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and Happy Holidays to everyone!

(this is a repost)

Thanks to Beesonell Photostream

How to Combine Celebration and Sorrow

We need small miracles during the holidays

Most of us are familiar with the downside of the coming holidays: if there is sorrow in life it’s hard to get through these times when wherever you go people are wishing you happy holidays and almost insisting on joy for everyone.

People lose family members all year long—even during the holidays.  And people with chronic illness or those who care for someone who is chronically ill do not experience a sudden cure just because it’s December.  People lose jobs every day as bills pile up and the idea of buying presents creates anxiety and worry.

Our culture’s involvement in twinkling lights, carols, and endless decorations can bring smiles to many faces.  After all, it is December and bitterly cold in many parts of the globe and these traditions date back to bringing warmth and solace to a dark and frozen world.

But the opposite affect can happen when people who are dealing with sorrow or anxiety struggle to put a bright face on things.  Then holidays can exacerbate feelings of loneliness and isolation and life becomes even more difficult.

But you knew this.  What you might not have is solutions: how to help someone in your family, or a close friend, or even yourself approach the holidays when there is struggle in your life.        

Practicing inclusion.  This is a wonderful path to follow: opening yourself up to others during this time of year can make your empty and sad heart feel full.  If finances are your problem, going to a shelter and helping others can make your inability to buy a sleigh-full of presents insignificant.  Again: if you are feeling bad about yourself—go help someone else.

Looking at reality.  Toni Bernhard’s advice for people with a chronic illness may be difficult, but it’s factual.  Because they fear others won’t understand about their illness, people in this situation often let family and friends drift away.  At the holidays “…the increase in activity exacerbates physical symptoms, while coping with sadness, frustration, and maybe even guilt about physical limitations gives rise to emotional pain.”

Bernard says if you don’t look sick, your family might need an email or a letter ahead of time making your condition visible.  You are not complaining, but giving a quick outline of your disease to insure when you arrive at a gathering, you’re not asked to frost 30 cookies or hand out drinks.

Why is this necessary?  Often people who love you want to be in denial.  If you appear to feel fine, they will go with that—it’s so much easier.  But your family needs to honor your situation and make allowances for the rest and quiet that you may need.

Finding comfort.  Though the holidays are the time of year when presents signify gifts of love and salvation, you may have to gift yourself during a particular time of your life.  Instead of buying gifts for others, you might have to gather to yourself the gift of comfort, the simple joy of another day of life.  Or you may have to pull away from past patterns, creating and enjoying a new celebration, one that offers you solace in your struggle—whatever that struggle is.  If a loved one dies, the traditions of past holidays will fall away.  Illness might limit or rework the holiday experience. Though it may be hard, go with the changes.  Life is a change artist.  Financial problems will certainly recreate the holiday experience.  You don’t want to go into debt trying to do what you have done in the past.

Making your own miracles. A recently divorced friend didn’t plan any experience with others on Christmas Day.  She suffered greatly from this decision and now will gather friends in similar situations to celebrate and be together.  She is recreating her holiday and making her own small miracle.  In a time of year when many long for warm sunshine and know that snowfall will after a time lose it luster, it’s important to bring something warm and cheerful into your life in a way that suits you.  Theologian Karl Rahner was once asked if he believed in miracles.  “I don’t believe in them, “he answered, “I rely on them to get through each day!”

Thank you to Rev. Ron Rolheiser and to Toni Bernhard, How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers

 Thank you to Ollie T Photostream

Why Generativity Is Good for You

Generativity resides in teaching a child.

This time of year we remember things we are grateful for and families often top the list.  However, our children, if we are fortunate to have some, are certainly most important.  Looking at them seated at the Thanksgiving table or hearing their voices on the phone, consciously or unconsciously reminds us: children are our legacy.  They satisfy at some level our desire for generativity: generating good things and people.

Psychoanalyst Erik Erikson wrote that in the middle years of adult life we come to realize: “I am what survives me.”  Though giving birth is the ultimate act of generativity it’s a parent’s follow through, his and her commitment to nurturing and growing this person, that truly counts.  And we all can experience generativity by giving birth or creating: a business, a song, a piece of sculpture, a resolution of a problem, a scientific theory, a recipe, an article, a novel, a hybrid rose.  Generativity also means creating the very future itself through teaching, nursing, volunteering, voting, forming and helping social institutions like community centers, churches, schools and health centers.  In each of these created things resides a part of us and the good in us.  Bottom line: what we generate moves into the future and provides for those coming after us.  I am what survives me.

Psychologists confirm, that people who want to generate and create, experience feelings of well-being and low levels of depression.  Once again if you are feeling sad or lonely, the best cure is reaching out to help someone else.  Though there might be some ego or need for power in our acts of creation, when we generate for future generations we cover over the power with love.  Dan P. McAdams in his article about generativity, quotes an African Proverb to underline the positive aspects of our desires to leave something behind:

The world was not left to us by our parents.  It was lent to us by our children.

Erik Erikson further states that in order to create and have children and build societies, we indicate a “belief in the species.”  We daily know the horrific things that can happen on our planet, but we forge ahead believing in our own generative powers and the goodness that can still exist on our earth for the generations to come.

In McAdams’ article he includes a Self-Test.  The items below are from the Loyola Generativity Scale (LGS).

Read the following six items and mark:

O if the statement never applies to you;

1 if the statement sometimes applies to you;

2 if the statement often applies to you;

3 if the statement always applies to you;

Then add up your score.  Men, women in their 30s, 40s and 50s usually score 11.  Younger adults and adults in their 60s and older usually score slightly lower.

___ I try to pass along knowledge I have gained through my experience.

____I have made and created things that have had an impact on other people.

____I have important skills that I try to teach others.

____If I were unable to have children of my own, I would adopt children.

____I have a responsibility to improve the neighborhood in which I live.

____I feel that my contribution will exist after I die.

Thanks to Dan P. McAdams for the inspiration from his article GENERATIVITY:The New Definition of Success

And to Sean Drellinger Photostream

Nature-Deficit Disorder: Why We Need to Go Outside and…

go outside and be part of nature

Nature-deficit disorder is a phrase once used only to describe the behavior problems of children who did not spend enough time outdoors.  Coined by Richard Louv, nature-deficit disorder is now referring to people of all ages who are disconnected from nature, spending inordinate amounts of time indoors; people deluged with information from computers, voicemail and multimedia.

Because we possess strong hunter-gatherer roots that still affect our brains and bodies, there is a serious clash going on within us between the modern world we exist in and the ancient tendencies we carry.  This mismatch underlines the fact that our brains are not suited for the modern world, are not prepared to deal with information and stimulation that does not have a direct relationship with the physical reality we inhabit.

Andrew Weil tackles this struggle in his latest book, Spontaneous Happiness.  He offers us some guidelines to mediate the problem, to help our “ancient brains and bodies” adapt and thus bring more happiness into our lives.

1. Though we can’t always control what happens to us, we can learn to control how we interpret events; this can help us learn to be more optimistic, feel better about ourselves.

2. To distract the mind from thought, mantra is the practice of silently repeating (in the “mind’s ear”) syllables or phrases. Mantra though often connected to religious practice, can serve as a purely secular method of diverting attention from the negative so as to reduce anxiety, anger, and stress. To create this tool, select a positive word or phrase and try repeating it to interrupt negative thinking.

3. Visualization can also help, determining the set point of our emotions like patterns of thought.  Two experiments in visualization: first, practice shifting attention from negative thoughts to mental pictures that evoke positive feelings; second, select an image of an actual place that made you feel content, happy, and serene; focus on that place when you feel sad, anxious, stressed, or gripped by negative thinking.

4. Neutralize or block out (with noise-cancelling headphones) disturbing sounds.  Listen to music or sounds that positively affect your moods like sounds of nature—rushing streams, bird songs, rain.  Or try to settle into silence.

5. When going to bed, sleep in complete darkness.  During the day go outside and be in bright sunlight as often as possible or while at work, sit by a window full of light.  This will help you balance the circadian rhythms that control sleeping and waking.

6. Develop your powers of attention and concentration by being more present to the moment.  Mindfulness training is an excellent way to develop this skill.

7. Take a break from the news, violent television and video games, encounters with toxic people.  Utilize a conscious control over what enters your mind, especially from media.

8. Information overload works against focused attention. Get away from the computer and the internet for a while.  Set limits on email and phone use too.

9. Humans need to be with other humans.  Reaching out to people whether friends or a stranger checking out your groceries increases social interaction and safeguards your emotional health.

10. No mater how your days shape up—busy or rather normal—try to get outside and walk or bike, read in the sun or sweep a sidewalk, look up at the sky or listen to the birds or the winter wind.  We all need to experience our natural environment and work against nature-deficit disorder.

Thanks to Chris and Alison’s Photostream

Dr. Andrew Weil