Seniors, Stop the Negative Self-Talk or Your Brain (and Body) Will Believe It!

My study of traditional Chinese medicine taught me that you can become sick from extreme happiness as easily as from extreme sadness. REALLY? That's something I've never heard before. Maybe you're more knowledgeable with traditional Chinese medicine than I am. Something new for me to investigate. :) I don't agree that winning the lottery or making it big on Wall Street is a time of extreme happiness. (Except for maybe the first 10 minutes) I don't think $ and happiness go hand in hand.
 

My biggest fear (getting older) is forgetting how o recite the alphabet, my times tables + other things of that nature.

I'm just glad that I can spell write and know that 3X9= 38.
 
I agree with your OP Seabreeze and have enjoyed reading everyone's comments. I think positive self talk helps all of us. I have a few affirmations written down that I repeat a few times to myself when I remember to or feel the need. I even have one for Alzheimer's but its for my husband not me. I think focusing on negative things makes them worse too. That's why I try not to talk too much about my bad knee. I know a lady who says every January is a bad month and can talk for 30 minutes straight about all the bad things that have happened to her and her family in January. I think she would feel better if she focused on the GOOD things that have happened to her family in January.

As for Alzheimer's, several in my husband's family have had it but he has always said he wouldn't ever get it and I think his positive attitude has helped him some. He's forgotten some pretty obvious things as far as I'm concerned but maybe no more than most people his age. I also notice he repeats himself a lot and I'm thinking that can go along with dementia too. Right now if he were tested for dementia I'm sure they would say he doesn't have it so that's good. I have done a lot of things to just make our life easier for remembering. I'm trying to keep everything in it's place and I'm getting a lot of the extra things out of our house (I have several plastic bins stored in my shed or his shop) as I have heard that makes it easier. Not being able to find something can be pretty frustrating. He loses his shoes or belt or whatever several times a week. I have, what I think is sort of a gift, of being able to find things so I'm often called on to find what he's lost. At lest once a week I walk through his shop and find something he can't locate. He was getting frustrated with "heavy" forks and spoons that he said kept falling off his plate and onto the floor. I thought that was pretty far out but I went through all our spoons and forks and took out a few that he thinks are light weight and won't fall and I put them on the front of a utensil holder on the counter top. Now he doesn't have to even open the drawer, he can just reach his light weight eating forks right from the counter.

OK, I'm getting off subject here. I better move on. :)
 
Every now and then I'll slip up if I forget to do something and say something negative about old age memory. But very rarely, we've both been good not to dwell on the dementia aspect even in a joking way. I think it's better overall to live like that, not putting yourself down for maybe forgetting something that you would have forgotten in your thirties.
 
Seems to me that our emotions rule our thoughts. At least mine do. Chicken and the egg. Which causes which: bad feelings, then thoughts, or thoughts then bad feelings. It is easier to tell yourself to be positive than erase the bad feelings with it. The bad feelings may be deeply rooted
as you know. Personally, I don't forget many things, I have a good mind for details. But of course you can forget things and not even know that you forgot them in the first place.
 
My biggest fear is forgetting where I hid the money!!!

I don't worry about my little flubs and based on family history I think some other disease will find me before my mind goes.

If I'm wrong and my mind goes first I actually think it will be harder on those people around me than it will be on me, we'll see!!!
 
Thinking along these lines, I probably should not have watched the "60 Minutes" program about Alzheimer's because it stated that almost 40% of the people my age (84) have it to some degree. Did it scare me $hitless? No. Did it plant a seed of worry? No. I viewed it as it was intended. Education, simply a fact.

Good genes and an inquisitive nature have kept my mind reasonably sharp but a little normal forgetfulness trips me up occasionally. It doesn't concern me. I just know it's time to give my brain a little workout. Fortunately I have several hobbies that do just that. I look at them as grease for the engine.

I believe that accepting what is is living in the here and now and that's were I like to be.
 
More proof that having a negative outlook on aging can bring on things like dementia. Story HERE.

One of the strongest risk factors for dementia is the ε4 variant of the APOE gene. Yet, many who carry it never develop dementia. The current study examined for the first time whether positive age beliefs that are acquired from the culture may reduce the risk of developing dementia among older individuals, including those who are APOE ε4 carriers.

The cohort consisted of 4,765 Health and Retirement Study participants who were aged 60 or older and dementia-free at baseline. As predicted, in the total sample those with positive age beliefs at baseline were significantly less likely to develop dementia, after adjusting for relevant covariates.

Among those with APOE ε4, those with positive age beliefs were 49.8% less likely to develop dementia than those with negative age beliefs. The results of this study suggest that positive age beliefs, which are modifiable and have been found to reduce stress, can act as a protective factor, even for older individuals at high risk of dementia.
Click to expand...
 
I don't watch SNL...never liked it. But come-on have we lost all sense of humor ?.....besides there is some truth mixed in with the comedy.
 
Just watched half of this video so far, and thought it was a good fit for this thread.

 
I think I was in my late fifties when, while sitting relaxing in an armchair, I first thought about my aging when I glanced down at the skin on my arm and was actually fascinated when I saw how aging was causing it to lose its elasticity. Not enjoyable, but I did not get all shook up. I don't go around thinking I'm getting "old", except when I find I'm unable to do something I once could. I sure don't like my old appearance though. :( When I am more likely to think about it is when I have an unusual ache here or there. I visit mostly people much younger than I, which might have something to do with my not thinking "old". I've had an ectopic pregnancy (almost too late to save my life. A left breast lumpectomy (age 72). A right knee replacement (age 73). But with each of these, possible death never even came to my mind. (Just ignorant I guess. :) )
 
Smiling Jane said:
Shame on Saturday Night Live for this.

Click to expand...


I saw that when it first aired on SNL, loved it then, love it now, I'm one who has learned to laugh at my faults aging or other issues. To me this is hilarious and I just roared out loud watching it again. Glad you posted it, sorry some if some can't find the humor in it. We laugh at all kinds of faulty things in life, why not our own, much better than crying about them. :)

Think I'll visit this video again when I need a good laugh around here. :D
 
AprilT said:
I saw that when it first aired on SNL, loved it then, love it now, I'm one who has learned to laugh at my faults aging or other issues. To me this is hilarious and I just roared out loud watching it again. Glad you posted it, sorry some if some can't find the humor in it. We laugh at all kinds of faulty things in life, why not our own, much better than crying about them. :)

Think I'll visit this video again when I need a good laugh around here. :D
Click to expand...

I think it's funny too April, I don't think I saw it on SNL, but I saw it online awhile ago, may have even posted it here somewhere. :D
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top