February 2022 Newsletter | NEW ANNOUNCEMENT OFFERING COACHING SESSIONS
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.
“If you want to go fast go alone. If you want to go slow go together.”
- African proverb.
Welcome to BRAIN BODY HEALTH monthly newsletter where you will find understandable ways to foster best practices for your optimized brain health journey. LEARN MORE >>>
I will breakdown the chain of information overload and provide you with current relevant information on brain body health issues including Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), research, literature, and best practices. Together with science-based practices and my own personal journey to prevent Alzheimer’s Disease, this newsletter will help foster your own journey and loved ones towards better brain health. Let’s get better together. LEARN MORE >>>
NEW ANNOUNCEMENT OFFERING COACHING SESSIONS
As a daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter of Alzheimer’s Disease(AD), I have had a long and intimate relationship with AD. Offering sessions to help navigate the world of memory impairment is one way I can pay forward the help and support our family received on our decade long AD journey with both our parents. LEARN MORE >>> It does indeed take a village! After taking a year off of work and grieving the loss of my parents, I have decided to offer coaching sessions to individuals and family members dealing with dementia or concerns about memory impairment. Whether you are wondering about your own memory or the cognitive health of a loved one, Brain-Body-Health is here to help you connect to resources to assist you on the journey.
For more information on Coaching sessions: Contact Dr. Betty for an appointment or call 707 272 3227.
LESSONS FROM THE HEART: You’re Not Alone
“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”
- Joseph Campbell
HEALING involves being released from FEAR. My healing journey with AD began with learning about our family risk and naming the fear that it could also come for me. Caught by fear and hope is how Pema Chodron, author of “When Things Fall Apart”, describes how most of us live.
I lived in this in-between state jumping back and forth, fearing I would develop this terrible disease and hoping I wouldn’t get it. It was like being stuck in a flight pattern, circling but never being able to land.
Like many people, I asked the questions like:
Do I really want to know about my risk of AD?
Why would I want to know if there is nothing I can do about it?
There’s no cure, so why find out more?
In my family, my mother, grandmother, uncle and great-grandmother all died of complications related to AD. This made me wonder, what was happening that caused AD to develop in my maternal lineage? What was causing this terrible disease? In 2015, I received the answer. Our family carried the APOE 4 gene that puts one at risk for Late Onset Alzheimer’s Disease (LOAD). Carrying the APOE4 gene/s does not confirm certainty you will acquire AD, but it does mean you are at higher risk. After learning about our genetic predisposition, we navigated to our central goal of learning strategies that could lower this risk. Researching the various genetic and epigenetic causes of AD, I discovered women are nearly twice as likely to get AD than men with aging being the strongest risk factor. What became clear is there are practices that can reduce AD risk and possibly prevent it. That is when I closed my psychiatry practice and redirected my energy to the BRAIN-BODY-HEALTH PROGRAM
Healing happens when we are released from the clutches of fear. These intense emotions are harbingers of a place waiting for us to explore and expand into. Fear led me to this place of greater understanding of the roots of this complicated disease. With clear focus of reducing AD risk, the road was paved for connections to resources with functional medicine health care practitioners, podcasts, and online groups such as APOE4.info. I see now fear was the cave I had to enter to find the treasure. Now, I look at fear as an old teacher asking, “Are you doing what is needed to reduce the risk of this dis-ease?”, and I smile. Thich Nhat Hahn, a Buddhist teacher who recently passed, taught many of us to take fear in our arms like a baby and rock it, while talking gently and smiling. My fear of AD has been transformed from a monster to this gentle baby. I choose to sing and rock it in my arms. AD is no longer a feared enemy but my teacher on this life journey.
For more inspiration from Pema Chodren I enjoyed this podcast from OnBeing with discussion of excerpts from her book.
SCIENCE AND HOPE
Despite the pandemic of AD being eclipsed by COVID, there is good news! After years of being disappointed with the lack of studies and momentum, current research has infused me with a new sense of optimism. Why I have more hope than ever at this time: There are LEARN MORE>>>
FAVORITE TED TALK
This is especially going out to generations after the baby boomers, of which I belong. So, to all Generation X’s (1965-1980), Millennials (1981-1996), Generation X’s (1997-2012), and Generation Alpha’s(2010-2020’s). Max Lugavere challenges us to view AD through the different lenses giving us cause to start caring for our brains when we are younger. Fellow baby boomers send this on to your Millennials. Max Lugavere reminds us that we are never too old or young to make changes in our brain health.
QUESTION OF THE MONTH
My friend may be having memory impairment. Is there a test I can direct her family to that may confirm this? LEARN MORE>>>>
When there is a question of memory impairment it is best to consult with your primary care health care provider who may recommend a short test called the Mini-Mental-Status-Exam or MMSE. There is a newer test called the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test (MoCa). Both tests are short (10 minutes) and can be helpful in beginning to assess the level memory impairment. An online questionnaire that won’t give you a diagnosis but can help if a person should consider seeing a doctor is found at My Brain Guide.
Don’t stop there with the testing. Keep on discovering ways you can help your loved one stay on track with strategies to improve memory and cognition. LEARN MORE >>>
Make sure you find a health care practitioner who is focused on brain health and invested in science-based strategies. LEARN MORE LINK>>>
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