Inspiration

A new study has found that Alzheimer’s disease may progress faster in patients with high blood pressure or a type of irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation.

The study’s author Dr. Michelle Mielke, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine sums up the findings this way:

“The main point of these findings is that vascular factors do affect the rate of progression in Alzheimer’s, so treatment of these factors could reduce the rate of decline.”

“There are some dementia medications out there that are effective for some people [with Alzheimer's] but, for some people, they aren’t effective or can’t be tolerated. Perhaps this is another way of reducing [their] decline. Even if you can give people a few more months with a better quality of life and keep them more cognizant than in the past, I think that then it is worth it.”

The study, which is is published in the Nov. 6 issue of Neurology, involved Mielke and her colleagues studying a group of 135 women and men 65 and older from Cache County, Utah. These participants had developed dementia that was characterized as “possible or probable Alzheimer’s Disease” without concurrent vascular dementia.

Those patients at the time of diagnosis who had systolic blood pressure greater than 160 or atrial fibrillation deteriorated more rapidly, based on standard tests of functioning and mental status, than those who didn’t have the conditions, the study found.

Age also played a role in the progression of Alzheimer’s for patients who had certain vascular conditions, the study said. The disease progressed more rapidly in older participants with high blood pressure, angina or a history of a heart attack.

But the researchers also found some unexpected results — a history of diabetes or heart bypass at the time of diagnosis was associated with slower progression of Alzheimer’s. They aren’t sure exactly what the association between diabetes and slower Alzheimer’s progression means. They speculate that patients who’d undergone heart bypass surgery may have benefited from their heart’s increased ability to pump oxygen-rich blood to the brain. Other factors that may have helped bypass patients include better overall health, better diets, and closer monitoring by physicians.

The study did not specifically look at the impact of treating vascular conditions such as high blood pressure on Alzheimer’s patients. But the results did show that patients who had been treated with high blood pressure drugs prior to their Alzheimer’s diagnosis did decline more slowly.

Earlier this year, French researchers reported that Alzheimer’s patients with vascular disease who received standard medications — such as statins, anti-clotting agents, insulin and anti-hypertensive drugs — did better cognitively over a 36-month period than those who didn’t receive such treatment.

Dr. Lon Schneider, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, said the work of Mielke and her colleagues is “confirming and affirming that vascular factors have a significant role to play in Alzheimer’s disease in moderating the onset and the course of the illness. It suggests a large portion of treatment and preventive treatment should be focused on cardiovascular disease.”

Dr. William Thies, vice president for medical and scientific relations for the Alzheimer’s Association, said both the French study and the work of Mielke’s team “certainly do support the idea that aggressive therapy for vascular disease throughout your whole life span is probably a good idea, and that doesn’t change once you have Alzheimer’s disease either.”

The statistics are alarming: An estimated 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, but that number is expected to increase dramatically as the population grows older. Experts believe that about half of people 85 and older may have the disease.

These studies - as well as countless others prove what we should have already realized: To obtain the best overall health (as in physical, mental, and emotional), we should focus on being healthy in every area of our life, in every inch of our bodies! That means eating the things we know we should be eating, exercising as often as we know we should be exercising, and working our minds as often as…well, as often as possible.

1. Make a point to start fresh today - begin experimenting with healthy fruits and vegetables. Replace unhealthy snacks that do you absolutely no good at all with those that do you a world of good. Yesterday, at Subway, I had a bag of apple slices with my sandwich instead of chips and they were actually much better. Crunchy, delicious, and oh so healthy!

2. Start moving more and sitting less. Park further from the store’s doors than usual to “sneak” in a little extra exercise. Once inside the store, take the lonnnnngggg route to what you’re after. If you have the time, lap the store three times before actaully grabbing what you came for. Once it’s in your cart, go for three more. If we play our carts right, we can get our daily exercise while we do our daily shopping.

3. Read more! Grab the newspaper and tackle a story you never would have even glanced twice at before. Learn new things, new names, and new places. In other words, stretch your mind by stretching your boundaries. Work a crossword puzzle every day. It doesn’t matter if you get all the way through, just atttempting it gives your mind an awesome workout. Another great mind stretcher is to memorize scripture or poetry. So grab the Bible or Emily Dickinson and memorize verses at a time. Test yourself at the end of the day to see how well you remembered the verses. Each day, try for longer passages. Remember, it doesn’t matter if you remember it all perfectly - you’re flexing your mental muscles and that’s all that counts.

Basically, start doing everything you know you should be doing already. This also includes a check up with the doctor if you haven’t had one in a while. I can hear you groaning - almost as loudly as I am - but check ups are more than just important to your health. They could very well save your life.

Mental Health, Physical Helath, and Emotional Health - they all hold hands. By making one strong, you strengthen the others. That’s the good news. But the bad news is - if one grows weak, it’ll affect the others. Make a point to start working on strengthening them all, daily.

Make each moment count double,
~ Joi

Have you ever stewed over something so long that you got on your own nerves?

Oh. Yeah, me neither.

How about this, then? Have we (as in you and I who know much better than to stew) ever KNOWN anyone who stewed so long that THEY got on our nerves.

Ah, yes! Of course we have. Annoying, right? Stew pots.

I guess, to a certain extent, it’s ony natural to stew in your own juices from time to time. If you have anything at all cooking in your mind, body, and soul, you will from time to time boil in it. Okay, yes…even you and I.

Something will go so completely opposite from the way we’d tried to steer it that we’ll just have a hard time moving past it. I especially hate it when I some people chase things down to stew over them. You know, things that have been waaay back there on the horizon for years. We’ll They’ll put their life in Reverse just to go back and brood about it a little more. When you think about it in those terms it’d make you want to kick yourself, wouldn’t it? IF you ever did it, that is.

But what about the things that go one direction while our hopes and dreams lie in the other in the present? Don’t we have Squatter’s Rights to stew on those??? I’ll take it upon myself to say, “Yes, in fact, we do have Squatter’s Rights to stew on things that happen in the present.” But I’d also take it upon myself to ask, “Why?!?!”

Stewing in our own juices doesn’t move us forward in any way whatsoever. It just makes us all pink, wrinkly, puckery, and well, ugly. A goal of yours? Mine either.

So how does one avoid the pot altogether or climb out of it if they’re already in it - amongst the bubbles? There are a few suggestions and/or thoughts about the situation below. Read over them and see which might apply to your “friend” the stew pot. My buddy likes the first two.

• Throw your sense of humor into the mix. Life is, actually, a lot funnier than we even realize. The main reason, of course, is that people are a lot funnier than we even realize. Even the ones that actually turn the boiler on beneath our pot(s) are characters worth at least a couple of laughs. The next time you feel a bubble or two bubbling beneath your surface, look for the humor in the situation. Imagine that what’s going on around you is playing out on a screen (large…small, your choice). What will amaze you is that 8 times out of 10, you’ll quickly realize that you’re smack dab in the middle of a comedy, not a drama…and certainly not a tragedy. Try it - I swear on my Starbucks Card AND my good standing at Kohl’s, you’ll soon be living by this one. And when I say living, I mean Living with a capital L.
• Memorize and Utilize the Serenity Prayer:
  God grant me the serenity
  to accept the things I cannot change;
  courage to change the things I can;
  and wisdom to know the difference.

  Living one day at a time;
  Enjoying one moment at a time;
  Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
  Taking, as He did, this sinful world
  as it is, not as I would have it;
  Trusting that He will make all things right
  if I surrender to His Will;
  That I may be reasonably happy in this life
  and supremely happy with Him
  Forever in the next.
  Amen.

  –Reinhold Niebuhr
  

  Let’s face it, sometimes we actually ARE in more of a drama than a comedy. We’d very much like to call for a Rewrite of the script, but we’re stuck with it AS IS. That’s when we have to let those last four words sink in: We’re. Stuck. With. It. Your son marries a girl you KNOW isn’t “good enough” (are they ever?)…you’ve made the whole parental speech, but Romeo is set on marrying Juliet. When we argue at that point, aren’t we kind of like a Baseball Coach arguing AFTER the call. Even if it’s a bad one, it’s been made! The guy behind the plate isn’t going to say, “Man, I’m sorry Mr. LaRussa. You’re right, I wouldn’t know a strike from my… Let me change that call real fast. STRIKE!” Nor is Romeo apt to say, “You’re ever so right, father/mother. Juliet does wear too much eyeliner. What was I thinking? Please…please…please find the perfect girl for me.” Four more words: When. Hell. Freezeth. Over.

• Can’t laugh about it, can’t move past it? Then you’re just going to have to stew. Seem like a mad crazy option? It is. Think it’s weird of me to list it with the others? It’s totally weird. But, what’s weirder still is the fact that it’s the option most will return to again and again. You’ll be able to recognize the people who do - it’s not at all hard. They’ll be the ones walking about all pink and wrinkly without an ounce of Peace of Mind. What’s even sadder is they’re the ones who don’t let those around them have any Peace of Mind either. The women in the office who stew over the tone of voice a co-worker used, the husband who stews because his wife got a speeding ticket (I said I was sorry!), the wife who boils because her husband tracked leaves in, the teenager who acts like his life is over because he was asked to make Fall Out Boy fall out a little more quietly.

The post has already been longer than I intended - I know it’s a pain to get caught in the middle of a post or article you think just might never end. You get the idea.

To stew or not to stew is alot like to live or not to live. Sometimes we just have to MANUALLY pull ourselves up out of the pot - the view it provides isn’t that amazing anyway. Then we have to kick the pot over (We’re all about the drama, right?), turn our back on it and…..

….and….

…and live, that’s what!

Make each pot kick count double,
Joi

Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror. The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness and a quiet, unyielding anger. President George W. Bush

The planes were hijacked, the buildings fell, and thousands of lives were lost nearly a thousand miles from here. But the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were an attack on the heart of America.
And standing here in the heartland of America, we say in one voice – We will not give in to terrorists; We will not rest until they are found and defeated; We will win this struggle – not for glory, nor wealth, nor power, but for justice, for freedom, and for peace; So help us God. -Tom Harkin

You can be sure that the American spirit will prevail over this tragedy. -Colin Powell

A few months ago, and again this week, bin Laden publicly vowed to publicly wage a terrorist war against America, saying, and I quote, “We do not differentiate between those dressed in military uniforms and civilians. They’re all targets.” Their mission is murder, and their history is bloody. -then President Bill Clinton

All of a sudden there were people screaming. I saw people jumping out of the building. Their arms were flailing. I stopped taking pictures and started crying. - Michael Walters, Photo-Journalist

The city is going to survive, we are going to get through it, It’s going to be very, very difficult time. I don’t think we yet know the pain that we’re going to feel when we find out who we lost, but the thing we have to focus on now is getting this city through this, and surviving and being stronger for it. -Rudolph Giuliani

I’ve said it before on this very blog, but I think it’s worth repeating…in fact I know it is. The mind is such a complex and amazing power that we should never underestimate the power its THOUGHTS have over our entire life.

If the brain is the center of us…and it is just that….then, whatever is going on in the control center will manifest itself outwardly.

I’m asking you to think about your thought patterns for a minute. What do you think about more than anything else? Does worry for a loved one or loved ones occupy most of your thoughts? If so, you probably neglect yourself a great deal.

For example, how many young mothers BEFORE their pregnancy and birth look like something that stepped out of a catalog? - With jewelry, hot clothes, painted nails, make-up and their hair done, they take pride in their appearance and it shows. Fast forward a year, sometimes even two or three. The same girl can very often be found…IF you recognize her! The problem isn’t the girl, physically - she’s still as beautiful as ever. It’s just that her appearance (and even herself) has taken a backseat. Her thoughts now center primarily around her child - what he/she drinks, wears, laughs at, gurgles at, etc.

Is there anything wrong with that? Of course not! I did it 3 times over - and if God ever developed a mischievous sense of humor and unmatched randomness, I’d do it a 4th time. I fell into the trap deepeer than anyone. When I was in my teens, my fingernails were never NOT pink, my hair was styled each morning, I spent $$$$ on name brand clothes and had more shoes than any shoe store worth its weight. I even smelled like Charlie perfume when I went to bed - after a 30 minute bubble bath. I was a baby diva unlike any you’d ever find.

Then. Came. Babies. My nailpolish bottles caked up, my curling iron packed its cord and ran away from home….. Charlie? I was afraid of having too much perfume around my babies (????), so I started smelling like Baby Powder - after a 3 minute bath (couldn’t be away from my girls longer than that).

So, uh, yeah, my control center was a baby nursery. I stopped my writing, except for writing in baby books or writing letters to family members. It never even hit me until one day when I was looking at old pictures. Pictures of me from the ages of 12 to 18 were so alarmingly different from recent pictures. Of all things to notice, I looked at the fingernails. In all of the old pics, they were beautiful - all done up in a hot pink or red from Avon. Hair just so… Then I looked at the more recent ones: Naked nails, ponytails, sweat pants, and t-shirts. My jaw dropped and I threw away the sweat pants.

Well, you get the point.

Another example would be the man who becomes so consumed with making money that it’s, literally, all he can think about OR talk about. Another bad deal. Work and money become all he thinks about and he begins to lose any sort of fun streak or personality. How many professionals do you meet and think, “Man, he has NO personality whatsover!” The thing is, he probably did once, before his mind became consumed with money rather than life.

Should an individual love their work - heck yes. Should an individual love their children - hell yes! But nothing….not even family…should take up every square inch of your thoughts.

Make a point of watching your thoughts for a while - see where they run off to when unsupervised. They probably have a favorite spot that you weren’t even aware of. Now, take a look at what, if anything, this retreat is costing you. Make an effort to make your thoughts as well-rounded as possible.

There’s more to it than this, though. Once you make sure you don’t put all of your thought eggs into just one basket - you have to, then, make sure that you don’t entertain negative, self-limiting, harmful thoughts.

Not long ago, I was telling my daughters how I want them to always live out loud - and never in a whisper. I want them to see how big and beautiful life is and not EVER let anything or anyone ever fence them in. In order to live life largely, you have to harness your thoughts. Negative thoughts will do as much damage as positive ones.

If you frequently think, “I’m down…” - you’ll soon be down so far you won’t be able to see up.

If you frequently think, “I’ve got to hurry!” - you’ll soon be living at such a fast pace no one will be able to (or even want to) keep up with you. Your health will also suffer greatly.

If you frequently think, “I’m so worried about…” - you guessed it, you’ll become the biggest worry wart to ever carry the title.

If you frequently think of things your mad about or people who make you angry, you’ll soon be a walking/talking temper tantrum waiting to explode. Ugly? You know it.

Let’s flip that all around now.

What would happen if you frequently thought of reasons to be happy?….

What would happen if you frequently thought of ways to show people how much you love them?…

Instead of thinking about the problems, what if you thought of ways to solve them?….

Someone once said, “You are what you eat.” - But I think Walter Anderson said it best, “You and I are not what we eat; we are what we think.” So, if you do one thing today, vow to start taking your thoughts in a positive direction - your life will follow them. Godspeed!

Make each thought count,
~Joi

This is one of my favorite videos ever. It takes a few minutes to watch it, and at a few points you’d rather gargle glass than keep looking - but TRUST ME, you’ll want to watch it all the way through.

I guess the lessons we can carry away are:

1. Never give up - it’s not over until it’s over. Hang on…hang in…hang tight…just don’t give up or let go.

2. If you can’t handle a situation, find someone who can. Run (don’t walk) for help and DEMAND a happy ending.

3. There’s power in numbers!

Achieve Dreams 3 Poster
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These are really amazing! My favorite one is W - Want it more than anything. That’s a sermon all in itself….and a darned good one!

Do you keep any sort of journal or diary? If not, I highly recommend that you start. It doesn’t have to be any great literary masterpiece. Any given day could be nothing more than, “I felt a little under the weather today but went to work anyway. Had lunch at Applebee’s with Mike. Came home, watched a few hours of tv then went to bed.”

Hopefully, most days will offer up more than Applebee’s with Mike, but you get the idea.

As you may know, my mom died in March of 2006. I’ve enjoyed reading back over my own journals about things we did together - times that my husband, daughters and I took her to a baseball game and she flirted with the third baseman. And the shortstop. And the relief pitcher. And the catcher…..

There were LOTS of trips to Cracker Barrel and endless “girls day out”s - one entry detailed a search she was on for a couple of plum sofa pillows. After we painstakingly hunted through 8 different stores, she returned to store #1 for the first pillows she saw. And, of course they were green. I ended the day’s entry with, “I love that crazy little woman!”

Anyway, looking back over events that have happened isn’t only rewarding emotionally, it also serves as a reminder of how important the little moments in life are. They very often eclipse the bigger, louder moments.

Give it a try. A year from now, you’ll want to hug yourself for doing so.

Make each moment count double (and then write it down!),
~Joi

I’ve gotten pretty good at outsmarting myself - at least in some areas. For example, I know all too well that I’m a speed demon. Especially on highways. If I’m on side roads, I’m pretty reasonable because I don’t want to hit anyone. Dogs, cats, kids, and (sadly) some adults don’t pay attention to traffic or to laws of reason for that matter - they’d just as soon step out in the middle of the road as not. So, I go the speed limit or less. But on the open road - look out!

After getting a speeding ticket, though, I’ve been trying to outsmart myself. Now, I find a slow poke (what I call people who actually go the speed limit) and I ride behind them. This way, when others pass - which they always do - I don’t mind. It’s not my fault, after all…it’s the slowpoke’s. And, yes, I’m one of those people who absolutely hates with a passion to be passed. Maybe that’s partly why I tend to speed - so that I can be the passer rather than the passed.

One of the best ways I’ve found to outsmart the blues is to act as though they don’t exist. We all feel down from time to time - it’s all part of the deal. But that doesn’t mean we have to stay down! When you feel the gray clouds moving in, smile like you’re having the best day of your life….like you haven’t a care in the world. Before you know it, you will have forgotten what was coloring your world blue in the first place.

If you need a little more incentive, say a couple of positive affirmations out loud. Tell someone, “I’m in such a good mood today!” When we say positive statements, our brain thinks we mean them. If we say it often enough, we’ll flat out convince ourselves that it’s the truth.

The good thing about saying affirmations to another person is that your good mood will be contagious - it’ll help put them in good spirits. Basically, you’ll feed off of one another and you’ll make yourself dizzy with all the good vibes!

Make each moment count double,
~Joi

Great Quotes From Great Thinkers - Carlos Castaneda Art Print
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I’m sure we all catch ourselves fretting about this or stressing over that from time to time. But if we can train our minds to snap us out of that trap as soon as we enter it, we’ll be a lot better off. We need to realize that the amount of time we spend worring about the ‘this and that’s of life could be much better spent dealing with them.

I know I have to catch myself, sometimes. I’ll find myself sitting and staring at my to do list, while stealing glances at the ever-ticking clock. Thoughts like, “I”ve got all THAT to do, and no more time than THIS to do it in?!” race around in my head. Time spent like this does nothing but weaken us - it cuts us off right at the knees, and we’re defeated before we even get started.

But if we just keep working away on our list, chopping at the great oak with one swing of the ax at a time, we’ll just get stronger and stronger with each swing.

The next time you feel like the weight of the world is on you, fight your way out from under it. Don’t talk about getting out…don’t stress that you aren’t out yet….and certainly don’t look around for anyone to pin blame on.

Just do what you know has to be done, and keep doing it until it is done. In the end, the reward will be two-fold. Not only will you have the weight of the world off of you, you’ll be a much stronger person. So when the world tries to climb on you again (and it will), you’ll be able to hold the weight without your knees buckling.

After awhile, you’ll be so strong you’ll barely even notice when it climbs on.

Make each moment count double,
~Joi

The American Lung Association has published a report listing 52 Proven Stress Reducers. Given the number of people who suffer from stress, this really should be required reading. They’re all amazing and merit our consideration, but there some I liked better than the rest. Below are the ones that stood out to me as being especially good.

1. Get up fifteen minutes earlier in the morning. The inevitable morning mishaps will be less stressful. Getting up earlier is great advice, but ONLY if you’re getting enough sleep. Otherwise, you’ll just do more harm than good.

2. Do nothing you have to lie about later. Deception is more stressful than most realize, whereas a clear conscience makes the softest pillow imaginable!

3. Be prepared to wait. A paperback book can make a wait in a post office line almost pleasant. You end up making the wait more pleasant, which keeps you from losing your cool. PLUS, as an added bonus, you’re practicing excellent time management skills. Double dipping into the time management bowl (also known as multi-tasking) is almost always a brilliant move.

4. Don’t put up with something that doesn’t work right. If your alarm clock wallet, shoe laces, windshield wipers-whatever-are a constant aggravation, get them fixed or get new ones. My husband’s keyboard just trembled a little from across the room. It knows exactly what I had in mind while typing this tip out on my slick…never cause any “AUGGH“s….keyboard. I think a few of our remote controls are lining up on the defensive side, too.

5. Always set up contingency plans, “just in case.” (”If for some reason either of us is delayed, here’s what we’ll do…” Or, “If we get split up in the shopping center, here’s where we’ll meet.”) This one’s brilliance is made even more brilliant when kids are involved.

6. Relax your standards. The world will not end if the grass doesn’t get mowed this weekend. Some people are so uptight and rigid it’s a wonder they can even bend enough to sit down. It’s exhausting just to be around them, can you imagine what it must be like to BE them? They need to adjust the speed dial on their life…..turn it down and enjoy life. Laugh, smile, sing out loud with the radio, watch an old sitcom as if it’s the first time….

7. Ask questions. Taking a few moments to repeat back the directions that someone expects of you, etc., can save hours. (The old “the hurrieder I go, the behinder I get” idea.) I see the ramifications of misunderstandings happen so often, and they’re never pretty. Repeating someone’s instructions or wishes is just a great practice to get into.

8. Do unpleasant tasks early and enjoy the rest of the day. Get it over with and out of the way. This is the only way to make sure it doesn’t hound you for the rest of the day.

9. Make friends with nonworriers. Chronic worrywarts are contagious. I’d rather explain Shakespeare to Kevin Federline than try to reason with a worrywart. Methinks they kind of get off on worrywarting.

10. Stop negative self-talk: “I’m too fat, too old, etc…” It’s as destructive as sipping rat poison through a straw.

Click HERE to read all of them - it’ll be the most important 5 minutes you’ve spent in a while.

Make each moment count double,
~Joi