Many elderly loose weight as they age, however, sudden and unintentional drops in weight may be a cause for concern. This type of change may be signaling bad health or other issues that need to be addressed. Noticing a difference in your loved one’s appearance and becoming proactive is the first step in helping care […]
Recently, I lost my voice. I was left speechless with grief. But the person dying helped me find my voice and gave me courage to face my own mortality and the rest of my life. A good friend was diagnosed with terminal cancer and told she did not have long to live. The world became […]
Are you a caregiver looking for positive movies and TV shows for your loved one with dementia? It can be harder than one may first assume. We are exposed to a massive amount of negative stories and images which can cause emotional distress to someone with dementia. Even the content in commercials or the news […]
“He will always be a part of my story,” I said as we stared out over the city from our mountaintop perch. “He brought my entire world to a halt and completely altered the course of my life. And while I may be able to remember everything from a distance now, I will never forget […]
Study after study demonstrate that our thoughts and emotions affect our body. Our mood very definitely drives our physical state of being. One story in Jon Kabat-Zinn’s book Full Catastrophe Living illustrates this point better than any research study. Although she was functioning quite well, “Mrs. S” had a narrowing of one of the valves […]
“If you truly want to change your life, you first must be willing to change your mind.” – Donald Altman Just picture this: You feeling flow regardless of what you’re doing. Feeling Freedom regardless of the situation you’re in. Just Imagine: You feeling blissed out, happy, passionate and free independent of your surroundings. Yes, your […]
What do you do when you get back home one day, and your dog is not as excited to see you? What do you do when he or she won’t play with you, eat or act healthy? Dealing with a stressed dog is one of the worst feelings because you have no idea what is […]
Headaches can be so debilitating! They suck the life, joy, and peace out of you. It’s even worse when they’re caused by stress. What are Stress Headaches? Stress headaches, also known as tension headaches are the most common type of headache. Stress headaches have a pain that diffuses across the whole head. The pain is […]
I’d like to think I’m a modern father. Responsibilities with my partner are split down the middle; we both bring home the bacon (metaphorically, we’re vegetarian) and we split the childcare and household chores fairly (you wash, I’ll dry). I’m not asking for a medal, I’m just setting the scene. Because it wasn’t always this […]
As the line gets shorter and shorter to hold the Tarantula I panic. I think to myself, “What if she bites me?” “What if she jumps on my face?” “What if she shoots her pokey hairs into my eyes?” I have arachnophobia. Just looking at a picture of a spider gives me anxiety. I don’t […]
We all want to live a meaningful life since after all, we only have one chance at doing this. Happiness and fulfillment is much more attractive than emptiness, which makes living a life with some kind of meaning one of the widest held goals in the world. People measure their success in terms of meaningful […]
Are you looking for a simple, fun and meaningful way to volunteer within your community? What better way to spend your time than giving the gift of laughter to senior citizens? Laughter yoga is a feel good activity chalk full of health benefits for the elderly and for you too. Best of all, everyone can […]
This is a letter I have just written to my adult daughter who is continually treated by the important people in her life as though she doesn’t matter. I was up half the night thinking about you. There are some things you need to know about me… When I was fifteen I fell in love […]
Do you have the urge to start fidgeting anytime you get nervous, anxious or stressed out? Whenever you’re in a tense situation, your hands and feet seem to develop a mind of their own and you just can’t seem to sit still no matter how awkward or uncomfortable you appear. You’re not alone. Millions of […]
Giving a care package is a great way to make elderly loved ones feel special. Even the simplest of gifts can lift spirits and give him or her bragging rights for the day! Working in assisted living community, I had the pleasure of witnessing residents receive gifts both through mail and hand delivered. Without fail, […]
A lot of people turn to photography as a hobby , because aside from providing them with a fun and engaging activity, it also gives them a means of expressing their creativity. But there’s more to it than that. In many ways, photography can also positively influence your mindset and change the way you approach […]
You’ll never be good enough. You can’t do it. Stop wasting your time. That’s the voice inside your head trying to prevent you from success. Think you’re alone? Think again. We often assume that successful, confident people never have any doubts. We believe their decisions come easy and are never accompanied by regrets; however, that […]
Depression is a serious mental health condition that can impact every part of your life. It can also seriously affect your sleep; it can take longer to fall asleep, you might wake much earlier or later than you’d like, and the overall quality of your sleep often suffers. Paradoxically, it can also make you just […]
Think back to a time you had to sleep in a difficult or unusual place. Was it outside in harsh weather conditions? Were you travelling? Was it too noisy, hot, cold or uncomfortable? Were you alone, and did you feel safe? A striking memory for me is of a sailing trip across the English channel […]
How To Survive a Panic Attack When You Can’t Leave Sitting through a panic attack without being able to escape is a thought that can inspire a new anxiety attack. Panic attacks can strike seemingly out of the blue, and anxiety attacks hit in response to escalating stress and worry. They often happen at terrible […]
Several years ago, I got into a car accident. It was jarring and scary, but amazingly I wasn’t injured, with the exception of some residual back pain. I thought it’d be an easy fix, and started seeing an acupuncturist. The acupuncturist led me to my future mentor, Dr. Coletta Long, a pioneer in the field […]
Unless you’re blessed with eternal youth, you might relate to the following experience: you wake up after a bad night’s sleep and stumble into the bathroom. You catch a glimpse of your face in the mirror. It’s a dispiriting sight; the skin around your eyes has turned a few shades darker, maybe even bloated and […]
Many older adults feel that a good night’s sleep is more elusive than it once was. You may feel tired earlier in the evening, but then sleep for less total hours than you used to. Perhaps you wake frequently during the night, or wake early in the morning and struggle to fall asleep again. People […]
One of the hottest trends in fitness right now is a Japanese practice known as Shinrin-yoku , or forest bathing. Touting benefits such as stress relief, reducing blood pressure and much more, it’s not hard to understand why so many people are heading to the nearest forest to give Shinrin-yoku a try. What is Forest […]
“The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.” – Theodore Rubin “Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” – M. Kathleen Casey How would you like to be free from suffering? That sounds incredible, doesn’t it? Well, it is absolutely possible if you […]
Tracking your mood, medicines, and symptoms is a critical piece of managing depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder. You can go out and buy a paper journal every three months like I do, but there’s a much more efficient way. A fantastic selection of mood apps designed for the smartphone exist on the market today. Their […]
You determine your future Sometimes you encounter situations that make you question your luck. You could be the desperate single lady, or the sterile man with no kids, or the college graduate with a shitty job and less pay. You could have an ill mannered housemate or a wife who isn’t fully committed to your […]
I don’t like to think about how all the clutter in my home is affecting my psyche, but according to several studies, it most definitely does. For example, researchers at the Princeton University Neuroscience Institute conducted a study published in the January 2011 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience that found when your environment is […]
So, you want to know about one of my favorite guilty pleasures? You might have a similar one. I love watching House Hunters on HGTV! There’s nothing better to do on a lazy Sunday morning, coffee in hand (or let’s be honest…a homemade mimosa) than curled up on my couch watching TV, and shouting at […]
Whether we’re aware of it or not, we’re often being pulled by something – either a feeling of general anxiety, flashes from the past, or hopes for the future. Most of us have become so used to this state of being, that we’ve forgotten what it’s like to live without this underlying sense of worry. […]
Are you overrun by worries? Do negative thoughts grow in the garden of your mind? Do they strangle your positivity, overshadow your peace, and stifle your happiness? Worry is like a voracious weed; once one appears, a dozen quickly sprout from it. And if you try to eradicate them, beware! Fail to uproot all of […]
With a little planning, personalizing your parents assisted living home can be enjoyable and even fun! We all know that moving can be stressful for both parties; however, allow yourself to feel good by creating a space that mom or dad will feel comfortable in. Adding a combination of old and new can make their […]
“ Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart so that fresh green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots so that new roots hidden […]
Living life on the surface is an easy way of living. You would wake up, go to school, get a nine to five, get married, have two kids, get divorced, retire and die. Isn’t this how most people live? And what if anything is wrong with choosing to this way of life? I lived like […]
Social scientists have long studied the effects of body language on the perception of others. For example, a 2009 study published in the journal Language and Cognitive Processes investigated the role of hand gestures in persuasive speech and found that people assess public presenters to be more effective and competent when they use their hands. […]
You’ve heard the story a thousand times. Two roads diverged in the woods, and the wanderer is forced to choose. One road has a bit more wear than the other, but aside from that, both paths look pretty good. What to do? Since you’ve heard the story, you probably know the ending. After some deliberation, […]
Think back to a time you had to sleep in a difficult or unusual place. Was it outside in harsh weather conditions? Were you travelling? Was it too noisy, hot, cold or uncomfortable? Were you alone, and did you feel safe? A striking memory for me is of a sailing trip across the English channel […]
If your parent or grandparent developed Alzheimer’s disease, you may be wondering if it could be passed down to you or another family member. This is a natural fear, especially for adult children who worry that every lapse in memory could be a sign of dementia. Although the cause of Alzheimer’s continues to be unknown, […]
Just as a storm in the atmosphere of the earth is born of conflicting fronts of different temperatures colliding with one another, so too must there be conflicting forces within us in order to form a mental or emotional storm. Our task is to become conscious of these unseen forces that dwell in the unenlightened […]
I used to be certain that nothing–not even mindfulness–would quiet my anxiety. I found it difficult to be still because of anxiety’s constant stream of racing thoughts, tumultuous emotions, and halting actions. Not only could I not be present in each moment, I didn’t want to be present in each moment. I worried that if […]
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