July 2023 Newsletter | Transforming fear with tools and socialization
My mission is to be the first woman in 4 generations to not develop Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). On my journey of discovering ways to mitigate my risk, I pass this information on to you in this Brain-Body-Health (BBH) Newsletter.
LESSONS FROM LIFE
Despite feeling my Alzheimer’s Disease susceptibility clock ticking away as I enter my 70th year of life, I am touched, moved, and inspired by the conversations I am witnessing with people around the world, who want to do everything they can to prevent AD. We are the ones who are shifting the curve from fear to knowledge toward power and action. Did you know that public speaking used to be our greatest fear but now it is AD? Circumnavigating the globe, fear of this disease is spreading rapidly, much of it caused by misinformation which keeps us stuck thwarting our forward movement. In past newsletters, I have spoken about the residue of intergenerational AD trauma in my family and the emotional toll it can take: Let’s be real! Fear arises in all of us, driven in part by our survivalist nervous system out to slay all intruders that appear threatening. In our small community of Ukiah, population15,000, stories abound of more friends and family affected by cognitive impairment, 15% of which progress to dementia within 5 years. Honestly, fear surfaces in me too. Is it that (AD) coming for me? This fear can be scary but it also has the potential to grow new possibilities that strengthen the quest of staying on the path (Preventive Actions Towards Health), keeping us focused on SLEDS+S+S. With dis-eases of aging knocking on our door, it’s hard to not feel overwhelmed. We know aging is at the root of dementia however, research supports many ways we can mitigate the effects of aging, reduce, and even reverse dementia, as seen in First Survivors of AD, Dale Bredesen's book. Let’s keep transforming fear by continuing conversations about ways we can prevent dementia.
Photo credit: Michael Eisen
It is summertime, and I hope you are enjoying some time relaxing your nervous system, being with loved ones, or spending time loving yourself bringing more calm and peace into your life. I recently had the opportunity to officiate at my niece, Natalie, and husband Ben’s wedding in Vermont. The stating and witnessing of their vows struck me as a ritual that brings us into an experience of feeling connected to one another. Barriers of separation and difference are temporarily removed as our survivalist nervous system takes a much-needed vacation and levels of oxytocin, our tend and befriend hormone rise.
Current research is noting physiological changes that support socialization as an important factor in brain health and the prevention of dementia. Keep connected. Keep Vitamins levels of J,F, and L ( Joy, Fun and Laughter) high.
LESSONS FROM COACHING
One of the challenges of caring for someone with memory impairment is what to do when they have anxiety or panic. Recently, a client discovered some important tools that worked for her to calm her nervous system. This is someone who despite her cognitive challenges can articulate her emotions well. We established a written plan that was visible for her to remind her of tools she has utilized in the past. These tools included: Breathing, Tapping, Walking, and Talking (ie., asking for help). Working through these tools she guided her own way to a calmer more relaxed state where she could state her needs. Witnessing her thought process become slow and clearer as she called forth the prefrontal lobes where the executive function of the brain resides. She wrote these simple tools down and they will be posted somewhere visible to act as a reminder for her. We have an appointment in 2 weeks to follow up.
There are a plethora of practices that transform fear and anxiety. It's important to know everyone responds differently to these various strategies. It’s not one size fits all. One client is experimenting with music, physical activity and tracking the negative automatic thoughts replacing them with more balanced thoughts. Another is using a gratitude journal. If you are a loved one is experiencing anxiety feel free to reach out for ideas.
One of my mother’s favorite documentary films was: Alive Inside; A story of Music and Memory. She bought several copies for her friends and staff, frequently sharing it. Thank you, Mom!
Another valuable resource for our family when caring for both our parents was the book “The Validation Breakthrough”, by Naomi Feil. I often use the image of the bridge in my artwork to symbolize the idea of validation. At the height of our parent's dementia, we used tools of validation mixed with distraction and creative storytelling to validate their concerns rather than denying them and help shift them to emotionally safe places.
LESSONS FROM SCIENCE
These are a few of the studies discussed at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) in Amsterdam this past week:
New Alzheimer’s scale is similar to how we describe cancer on 1-7 with use of letters a, b, c, and d to denote biological markers. There is no mild breast cancer and no mild Alzheimer’s disease. Stage ‘0’ would be reserved for people with genetically guaranteed to develop the disease.
Another new monoclonal antibody drug called Donanemab is showing promise of slowing effects of AD.
Results from a simple, finger-prick blood test are promising and may help detect Alzheimer’s at home or in the doctor’s office with 80% accuracy, better than doctors who did not have access to the test.
Two new therapeutic approaches for Alzheimer’s based on CRISPR gene editing were reported at AAIC. One aims to reduce the impact of the strongest known Alzheimer’s risk gene, APOE-e4. The other strives to reduce the production of a toxic protein in the brain, beta-amyloid, which is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s and the target of recently-approved treatments. CRISPR technology is making drug target identification faster with the goal of speeding up the drug discovery process, and building platforms for the development of next-generation treatments. I talked about Crisper.
To our optimized health!
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“If you want to go FAST, go alone. If you want to go FAR, go together."
- African proverb
To our optimized health!