Meditation

Do You Mind? A Stress-buster That’ll Make You Think

Posted on 07/5/2012 by | Caregiving | Comments

Caregiving | Personal HealthFor dementia caregivers, it seems that daily meditation can lower depression, improve cognitive functioning—yes, we’re talking about the caregiver here—and even reduce cellular aging caused by stress. According to a recent UCLA study reported in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, meditation did a better job of keeping the blues at bay than a relaxation CD given to caregivers. This study may be small, but compelling because: 5.4 million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer’s More than 15 million Americans …

Caregiver Respite: 5 Ways to Make It Last

Posted on 05/1/2012 by | Multigenerational & Family Issues | Comments

Caregiving | Home & Family | Relationships | Your LifeThe magic number for the trip was “5.” Five days of the sound of ocean. Five days of reading magazines. Five days of eating scrumptious seafood in lovely beachside restaurants. Five days of chatting non-stop with my dear friend of 45 years, Laurette. It took me five days of this nirvana to finally wake up in the morning without a panicky feeling, “What didn’t I do? What do I need to get done today? What have I forgotten? What ends …

How Our Brain Works: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Inner World

Posted on 04/19/2012 by | Fat to Fit | Comments

Personal HealthOur brains may be one of the last frontiers for explorers of human physiology. The past few years have seen remarkable breakthroughs in understanding how the brain works. New discoveries in the field of neuroscience are helping us understand how and what we perceive and feel, how we learn and store memories and how reasoning and decision making are processed. Here are four new insights: Concrete Thinking Treats Depression: Concrete thinking, or concreteness training (CNT), is a technique that replaces …

Mindfulness: A Caregiver’s New Year’s Goal

Posted on 01/1/2012 by | Multigenerational & Family Issues | Comments

Caregiving | Relationships | Your LifeIt’s that time of year when we all stop to reflect on the past year and think about those pressure-filled “New Year’s Resolutions.” But you know what? I already have plenty of pressure when it comes to caregiving for both of my parents. So this year, as I began to make the usual laundry list of personal “resolutions” such as losing weight, exercising every day, eating more healthily, keeping up with paperwork, addressing a whole list of health issues my parents are facing, simplifying …