| |
Basic InformationLatest NewsAHA News: Black, Hispanic Families Hit Hardest by DementiaWhy Some 'Super Ager' Folks Keep Their Minds Dementia-FreeNew Hope for Better Treatments Against Macular DegenerationToo Little Sleep Could Raise Your Dementia RiskWhy Adding on a Few Pounds as You Age Might Be Good for You1 in 5 Older Americans Lack Space to 'Isolate at Home' If COVID StrikesNo Gym Required: How Seniors Can Exercise During LockdownFrustrations Mount for U.S. Seniors Seeking Access to COVID VaccinesAHA News: Keeping Your Brain Sharp Isn't About Working More PuzzlesAphasia Affects Brain Similar to Alzheimer's, But Without Memory LossWeight Training Benefits Older Women, Men Equally, Study ShowsGet Fit in Middle Age to Boost Your Aging Brain'Stepped' Approach to Exercise Can Help With Arthritic KneesOlder and Getting Surgery? Get Fit BeforehandHow to Talk to Your Doctor About Arthritis PainHigh-Dose Vitamin D Won't Prevent Seniors' Falls: StudyCould Dirty Air Help Speed Alzheimer's?Delirium May Be Only Sign of Severe COVID in Elderly: StudyMost Americans Over 50 Would Get COVID Vaccine: PollSitting Raises Women's Odds for Heart FailureAmid Lockdowns, Online Exercise Classes Help Seniors Feel Less AloneWhen Your Spouse Gripes About Aging, It Might Harm Your HealthUpbeat Outlook Could Shield Your BrainStaying Active as You Age Not a Guarantee Against DementiaFading Sense of Smell Could Signal Higher Death Risk in Older AdultsExercise Boosts Physical, Mental Well-Being of Older Cancer SurvivorsOlder Adults Turning to Pot for Common Health ProblemsStaying Social Can Boost Healthy 'Gray Matter' in Aging BrainsIs Apathy an Early Sign of Dementia?Many Older Americans With Heart Failure Take 10 or More MedsShall You Dance? Study Finds Dancing Helps Seniors Avoid FallsStudy Sheds Light on Why COVID-19 Hits Elderly HardestEarly Results Show Moderna's COVID Vaccine Safe, Effective in Older PeopleLockdown Could Worsen Hearing Woes for U.S. SeniorsOlder Patients at Risk When Dentists Prescribe OpioidsFall Risk Rises Even in Alzheimer's Early StagesMiddle-Aged Americans Report More Pain Than SeniorsPoll Finds Pandemic Surge in Loneliness Among Older AdultsIsolation, Loneliness of Lockdowns Is Tough on America's SeniorsTeens, Seniors Are Often Driving the Least Safe CarsCommon Meds Tied to Faster Mental Decline in SeniorsSeniors With Depression Show Resilience in Face of PandemicAre Opioids Prescribed Too Freely as Patients Are Moved to Nursing Homes?Telehealth Skyrocketing Among Older AdultsWhy Are Dementia Patients Getting Risky Psychiatric Drugs?Education Benefits the Brain Over a LifetimeCould Daily Low-Dose Aspirin Hasten Cancer in Seniors?Can Seniors Handle Results of Alzheimer's Risk Tests?Telemedicine Is Here: Experts Offer Tips for SeniorsAre Baby Boomers Less Sharp Than Previous Generations? Questions and AnswersBlog EntriesBuilding a Caregiving Team Part IIBuilding a Caregiving Team Part IPart II: Time to Turn Over the Car Keys?Part I: Time to Turn Over the Car Keys?Improving the Quality of Life as We AgeDiscovering Your Best Personal-Professional Energy: Reconnecting with Your Spiritual Homeland - Part IIDiscovering Your Best Personal-Professional Energy: In the Context of Health, Aging & Time - Part IThings to Consider When Relocating your Aging Parents10 Ways Elder Caregivers Can Accident-Proof a Home Are You a Caregiver? To Age with Joy, Be True to YourselfEmpowering Your Aging Parent to Be Their Own Healthcare AdvocateEight Tips for Talking to Your Aging Parents About Important IssuesOlder Americans Month: Medication Safety Often OverlookedOlder Americans Month: Ensuring Safety on the RoadOlder Americans Month: A Safe Home is a Happy HomeIs It Normal for Older Adults to Think about Death?Older Americans Month: Preventing Falls to Enhance WellbeingVolunteering in Later Life: Rewarding or Stressful?Honoring Older Americans Month in MayAre You A Caregiver? Read On Before Answering That Question Staying Active Improves Wellbeing for Older Adults, With or Without Memory ProblemsSubstance Abuse and Drug-Induced OsteoporosisExercise and Dementia How Social Ties Affect Disability in Later LifeSome Thoughts About Birthdays and MindfulnessProtecting Against the Widowhood EffectOlder Adults Thrive in Shared CommunityOlder Adults and Owning a DogLive Longer By Believing You Will The Emotional Needs of Older AdultsWhen Loneliness Makes Elders StealAlzheimer's, Memory, Cognitive Performance and YogaCoping With RetirementAging and Video Games: Brain PlasticityPsychotherapy For The ElderlyMay is Older Americans Month: It's Time to "Unleash the Power of Age"Sister Jean is a Picture of Wellness at 93 YearsBe Kind to Yourself: You Just Might Age BetterStress and The Older AdultPrediction: Older Adult Mental Health Needs Will Exceed Available ServicesFrailty is Not a Normal Part of Aging: 3 Ways to Age WellCan Feeling Younger Actually Make You Stronger?The Roots of StigmaNew and Old Friendships Alike Help Us Age SuccessfullyOn Aging and Turning 70Do Brain Games Really Work?Behold the SuperAgers!Can "Nurture" Temper "Nature"? Environment, Genes, and Alzheimer's DiseaseAging and Drug AddictionMore Evidence That Staying Active is Good for the BrainSo You Think You Can Multi Task?To Retire or Not, A Complicated DecisionBreaking Free from LimboElder AbuseIts Never Too LateRetiring ProblemsA Legacy of Two EldersAlzheimer's Disease, Can Brain Stimulation Prevent its Onset?Alzheimer's Disease, Would You Want to Know?Happiness, In The Long TermThe Alzheimer's Project: Upcoming HBO Special10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer's Memory, Something you need to work atAging and Socializing, An Important ConnectionAntipsychotic Medications Show Little Benefit for Individuals with Alzheimer's DiseaseGrowing Older: Don't Lose It, Use ItDocumentary Tonight Spotlights Family Caregiving IssuesOur Geriatric Population and Their Need for PsychotherapyDo You Remember?Aging, Depression and SuicidePreventing Alzheimer's DiseaseThe Health Dangers of LonelinessYou Mean Grandma and Grandpa Abuse Drugs?Aging and the Question of Assisted LivingElder AbuseAging and Mental AgilityLoneliness Increases Risk for Alzheimer's DiseaseUse It or Lose It: The BrainMaintanence medications ward off senior depression relapse VideosLinksBook ReviewsSelf-Help Groups |
| | |
Discovering Your Best Personal-Professional Energy: In the Context of Health, Aging & Time - Part IMark Gorkin, LCSW ("The Stress Doc") Updated: Nov 17th 2014As a Baby Boomer I'm aware of changing energy levels over the course of a lifetime. Hey, just the other day my girlfriend's three year-old granddaughter ran rings around me as we held hands, pulling each other while running and whirling in circles. She's the Energizer Bunny; I was the one who needed to take a break from the dizziness and exhaustion. (And I'm not a slouch or couch potato; nearly every day, I get in at least a mile power walk, trekking with computer backpack to the coffeehouse. FYI, I'm a tea drinker.)
Then there's little Charlotte's mom, working full-time in NYC ("the city that never sleeps"); she's grappling with the time and energy to be a loving spouse and devoted parent (and step-parent). M is also developing a life coaching business, every week or two sharing ideas in her "Loving Your Life" blog…her yoga classes are hardly a mind-body luxury. Perhaps it's time for the Stress Doc ™ to write a cross-generational tract: A Boomers' Guide to the Joys of Power Napping! (Btw, Charlotte still takes a restorative nap; didn't someone say, "And the children shall lead them"?)
Alas, it seems like a lot of folks are jolting their alertness levels by mainlining coffee, sodas, and energy drinks; many go for that quick "sugar high," while others use and abuse amphetamines and other highly questionable stimulants. And it's pretty easy to become dependent if not outright addicted. Maybe folks are mostly trying to keep up with if not survive these "always on," "TNT - Time-Numbers-Technology - Driven- and Distracted, Everything Happens NOW Times."
When the Energy Crisis Hits Close to Health and Home
So why is this Boomer giving undivided attention to the subject of "energy?" As a 60 +, perhaps my generational energy sample is skewed by the number of Baby Boomers I know personally grappling with (or trying to postpone) the aging-energy process. Then there are the TV ads. You think all those Viagra and Cialis commercials, including 60 somethings taking up surfing speak to this point? Let's call this pursuit "the fountain of sexual energy and the fixation of youth." (Of course, healthy sensuality and sexuality need not be constrained by age. Hey, with my partner/girlfriend, I'm ready to co-star in a hit series - "Sex and the Sixties" - that has nothing to do with 20th c. culture or lifestyle.)
However, closer to home and to reality,
a) I myself had a recent "out of the blue" health scare: One morning I woke with double vision. After a series of tests at the ER and a neurologist waving his pencil in my field of vision, (talk about low-tech assessment), the diagnosis was clear: blockage caused by plaque in a cervical (neck area) nerve led to palsy-induced "diplopia" or double vision. The condition lasted three months; recovery was mostly gradual, sometimes sporadic. At times, objects looked like fragmented glass or a Cubistic-style painting. Finally, one morning the ceiling fan above my bed no longer had ten blades. Hallelujah!
Day-to-day, the attack was more frustrating than disorienting or dizzying; I even managed to do a couple of speaking programs during this purgatory. As a speaker, I get pretty focused mentally, even when not sharp visually. (Regarding the purgatory label, the scary part was that no one was quite sure of the recovery timeline or final outcome.) Fortunately, there was no damage done to brain or heart; vision has completely cleared; mostly a sobering wake-up call. Message sent was received: have increased dosage on daily Lipitor and aspirin and am exercising "disciplined moderation" in food consumption, especially salt and sugar intake; oh yes, no more nightly pastry ;-(. I'm now eating avocado regularly and cooking with canola oil. P.S. In a discussion with my cousin, I learned my uncle, at a similar age, had the same condition (more than once, alas), and
b) a friend and training partner, a high energy nurse who just last year got her doctorate at 61, also had to face some hard truths: her mind-body recently told her loud and clear that she no longer can get up at four in the morning and drive 1.5 hours to the clinic and job to which she's been devoted; while not quite working the graveyard shift (which statistically does affect longevity), it's close enough.
Health issues definitely sharpen your focus and perspective, sorting wheat from chaff regarding life's priorities and plans!
Stay tuned for Part II.
|