Holistic Positive Psychology
for Anti Aging and Wellness:


Archives of the Defy Aging Newsletter
a biweekly e-mail newsletter for helping people grow young and live with purpose

July 30, 2006         Number 148
This issue:
Memory Quicksand

ACTION TO TAKE

Avoid the "memory quicksand" of self-limiting beliefs about your memory.
Reject negative stereotypes and beliefs about aging. Rather see yourself as
nourishing your memory with healthy beliefs, good nutrition, and exercise.

WHY

If you were taking a memory test, would it make a difference if you thought you
were competing against younger people? Against older people? Researchers at
Tulane and the University of Kansas gave 85 men and women between 48 and 62
standard word recall task study 30 words for two minutes and then write down
as many as you can recall.

Researchers told one third of the subjects that they were testing their memory
against adults over 70. They told another third they were testing the memory
against adults in their twenties. Another third just took the test. Those competing
against younger adults and those in the control group scored the same.
Those competing against seniors did not remember as many words. Why?
Apparently the pairing suggested memory deteriorates with age and
compromised their performance.

The effect is a common one. After reading that men do better on math tests,
women did not perform as well as controls who were not exposed to the article.
Likewise men who think they are competing against Asian students on math tests
do not perform at their potential.

I'm not suggesting a Pollyannaish denial that memory doesn't deteriorate some
with age. For many the deterioration comes from the effects of disabilities and medications.
Even with good health there is some decline. If you stay healthy, there is no reason
your memory can't be quite sharp in your hundreds in areas that you use it. I.e.,
Don't expect to easily learn a foreign language at 90 if you only know English.
But if you are a crossword buff, you still can be a crossword maven in your hundreds.
The same holds for skills like play bridge.

Often people don't remember a name because they don't pay attention when they
hear the name, don't rehearse the name, or don't even believe they are capable
of remembering a name. A good memory requires interest, effort (rehearsal and
making it memorable), and belief that you can remember. Our expectations and
actions have far more influence on our memory than most people realize.

QUOTES

I can remember when the air was clean and sex was dirty.
~George Burns

HUMOR

A woman slapped her husband in the back of the head, and yelled,
"I found a piece of paper in your pants with Marylou written on it."
"Calm down honey," he said, "Remember last week when I went to the dog races?
That was the dog I bet on."
The next morning, his wife smacked him again.
"What was that for?" he complained.
"Your dog called last night."

July 16, 2006         Number 147
This issue:
Anti-Aging Research--Part 2

ACTION TO TAKE

The anti-aging cavalry is on the way.
Take care of yourself now so you can
benefit from coming scientific advances.

WHY

Last issue addressed how a family of enzymes called sirtuins
hold promise for slowing aging and helping remediate diseases such as
diabetes and Alzheimer's. Today I would like to discuss another
research endeavor that holds promise of improving health and slowing aging.

Human Growth Hormone prompts our bodies to grow new tissue.
HGH levels decline after puberty and continue to decline with age. Physicians began
using Human Growth Hormones (HGH) in the 1980's to help very short children
grow to a more normal height. That use is still common.

In 1990, Dr. Daniel Rudman gave HGH injections to elderly nursing home residents
and got dramatic results'the residents developed bigger muscles, thicker skin,
denser bones, more energy, lower blood pressure, fewer wrinkles, better
vision, thicker hair, improved mood and memory and improved sexual functioning.
Since then, thousands of athletes, actors, and celebrities have been taking
HGH injections at about $10,000 a year. My take is that if you are already elderly
or have certain unique health issues, it might be worth trying. At younger ages,
however, it is risky because not enough is known about the effects of long-term use.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could get our bodies to naturally produce more HGH?
You can. Exercising, especially strength exercising, helps increase your HGH levels.
On the Internet you can find hundreds of sites selling secretagogues'over-the-counter
supplements that are supposed to prompt your body to increase HGH production.
Do any work? There is no good way to tell. I would expect results in a third of
users just from the placebo effects. That alone can account for the testimonials.
Needless to say it is a buyer beware market. (I, for one, have not purchased any.)

Researchers at the University of Washington and the VA have been testing
capromorelin, an experimental drug from Pfizer. 395 men and women ages 65-84
used the drug for six months. They gained an average of three pounds in lean muscle mass
and were better able to walk a straight line (a test of coordination, balance and strength).
A year later they showed improvement in stair climbing. Merck reportedly is working on
a similar drug.

While the pharmaceutical companies have often had questionable practices
in reporting research and promoting medications, I certainly have more faith
in their products than a secretagogue found on the Internet. The FDA does
not regard aging as a disease and sets higher approval standards for medications
that just improve functioning as opposed to cure or manage diseases. Thus
medications such as capromorelin will receive extra scrutiny for the FDA.

QUOTES

Basic research is what I am doing when I don't know what I'm doing.
~Rocket scientist, Wernher von Braun

RESEARCH HUMOR

Finagle's First Law: If an experiment works, something has gone wrong.

Finagle's Second Law: No matter what the anticipated result, there will always be
someone eager to (a) misinterpret it, (b) fake it, or (c) believe it happened according
to his own pet theory.

Finagle's Third Law: In any collection of data, the figure most obviously correct,
beyond all need of checking, is the mistake.

Finagle's Fourth Law: Once a job is fouled up, anything done to improve it only makes it worse.

Finagle's Creed: Science is true. Don't be misled by facts.

Corollaries on mistakes:
1. Nobody whom you ask for help will see it.
2. The first person who stops by, whose advice you really don't want to hear, will see it immediately.

July 2, 2006         Number 146
This issue:
Anti-Aging Research--Part 1

ACTION TO TAKE

The anti-aging cavalry is on the way.
Take care of yourself now so you can
benefit from coming scientific advances.

WHY

Satchel Paige said, "If I had known I would live so long
I would have taken better care of myself." I don't want
you someday saying, "If I had known how much help science
would offer, I would have taken better care of myself."
Wellness (prevention) and healthcare (treatment) advances
are coming at an exponential pace. The healthier you keep
your body now, the more you can benefit from the advances.

In June, 2006 University of Wisconsin researchers reported on how
sirtuins, a family of enzymes, orchestrate many enzymes involved
in metabolic processes and can play a major role is slowing the
anti-aging process. The report in the June Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences discussed how sirtuins may also
help treat metabolic disorders such as diabetes and neurological disorders
such as Alzheimer's disease. Elevated levels of sirtuins slow degeneration
in damaged nerve cells and impact aspects of metabolism responsible
for insulin secretion. One substance that activates sirtuins is reservatrol,
the anti-oxidant found in red grapes and red wine.

Rare diseases often muster little interest from pharmaceutical companies
as there is not much profit in them. With effects on aging, diabetes, Alzheimer's,
and many other diseases, the pharmaceutical companies are very interested in sirtuins.

Research on sirtuins is just one of many exciting research developments.            

QUOTES

If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?
~Albert Einstein

HUMOR

Enough research will tend to support your theory.
~Murphy's Law of Research

Anyone who makes a significant contribution to any field of endeavor,
and stays in that field long enough, becomes an obstruction to its progress'
in direct proportion to the importance of their original contribution.
~Jones's First Law of Research

June 18, 2006         Number 145
This issue:
Baby Boomers or Age Busters?

ACTION TO TAKE

If you are a Baby Boomer, adopt a new designation for your generation.

WHY

Baby Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. Boomers' claim to fame is that
they are so big we can't be ignored. But Boomers need a new public relations firm.
Is size all the generation stands for? The previous generation knew PR and called
themselves 'The Greatest Generation.' Now that's great marketing.

Baby Boomers need to drop the Baby. Boomers are well out of diapers and
have changed quite a few diapers themselves. Eighteen years is really more than one
generation and earlier and later Boomers had quite different defining events.
What most distinguishes the Boomer generation? They have redefined aging.
Boomers made 50 the new 30, etc. It wasn't rhetoric. Though often overweight,
Boomers tend to look and act twenty years younger than people used to act at their age.
The change has come from their spirit and determination. It effected a paradigm shift in
how people age. To give proper credit, however, they also had a lot of help from medicine,
science, and cosmetics.

So let's give Boomers the credit they deserve for helping all of us to look and feel younger.
Let's change their name from Baby Boomers to Age Busters.

QUOTES

I hope to die young, as late as possible. 
~actors Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy                                                                     

HUMOR

Radio talk show caller: I'm 75, Flo. I used to want to live fast and die young!
Flo: And now?
Caller: Well'now I just want to die young at a very old age. 
~Flo & Friends cartoon by Campbell Bigel

We could certainly slow aging process down if it had to work its
way through Congress. 
~Unknown

June 3, 2006         Number 144
This issue:
There's no place like home

ACTION TO TAKE

When you imagine living well into your hundreds,
imagine living at home or in a home like setting.

WHY

Only a third of Americans say they want to live to a hundred.
Why? They imagine living to a hundred means being disabled
and living in a nursing home with its depersonalization, lack of privacy,
and institutional food. Nursing homes often are a necessary evil
for step down nursing care after hospitalization, but they are a
terrible place to call home.

The marketplace caught on and now offers a cornucopia of
home-based services including housekeeping, nursing care,
and physical therapy. There are often tax breaks, utility subsidies,
and meals of wheels programs to help low income seniors stay at home.
Independent living facilities and assisted living facilities are popping up
everywhere. Some are homelike. Some are very luxurious and like
a resort. (Some are unfortunately look institutional and have a medical
feel with nursing stations and medical carts.) Americans whose
finances give them a choice are increasingly choosing to live at home
or in homelike communities. Baby Boomers in particular are likely
to insist on a homelike or resortlike atmosphere.

Now federal and state governments are doing the math and finding
that housing seniors in nursing homes often wastes money. In Pennsylvania,
for example, nursing homes bill Medicaid $144 a day per resident.
Home based care only costs $56 a day. Certainly a sizeable number
of nursing home residents are bedridden or in fragile health and are better
served in a nursing home. Many, however, are in nursing homes because they
have health problems, only have Social Security income, and can't
afford to live on their own. They need some assistance but don't
need the intensity of a nursing home.

Often indigent and low income seniors with health problems have
to choose between trying to make it in the community vs. giving up
their privacy and independence to share a tiny room in a nursing home.
It is probably just a matter of time before the government catches on
that the middle ground of assisted living is more humane, more
dignified, and more cost effective. Perhaps the fear is that people
who would otherwise live at home will flock to more comfortable
assisted living facilities. I doubt it. In most assisted living facilities
most residents pine for living at home.

To conclude, more and more seniors are living at home or in
homelike facilities. While you may spend a few weeks in a nursing
home for a knee replacement, you are not likely to have to live out
your later years in a nursing home.

QUOTES

Oh, Auntie Em ' there's no place like home!
~Dorothy's last line in the Wizard of Oz

HUMOR

Human beings are the only creatures
that allow their children to come back home.
~Bill Cosby

May 21, 2006         Number 143
This issue:
Needs vs. Wants

ACTION TO TAKE

When thinking and speaking, be accurate
about what you need vs. what you want.

WHY

My wife asked if there was anything I needed from the grocery store
and I said some beer. Then I thought, I don't need beer, I want beer.
The distinction is subtle, but offers several benefits. Saying I want
rather than need:
~ makes me more consciousness that this isn't something my body needs
~ prompts me to consider whether I am making a healthy choice
~ prompts me to be more likely to make a healthy choice
~ raises my consciousness as to physiological effects
~ prompts gratitude as I realize I have many choices
~ prompts gratitude as I realize I can choose many things beyond my needs

That's a lot of benefits from just being more conscious of one word choice.
Why fuss about semantics? Painlessly making healthier lifestyle choices fosters
living longer, healthier and living with purpose. So does having more gratitude.
I'm always looking for easy ways to foster growing young and living with purpose.

The distinction can have a lot of nuances. I may want a beer to help me relax
and unwind. If the outcome I want is to relax and unwind, being clear that it is
a want and not a need makes me more aware that I have several choices
for how to relax and unwind.

Sometimes wants are complicated by physiological needs. Wanting coffee
in the morning might be to prevent a headache from caffeine withdrawal
and to counter the lack of sleep from coffee the night before.

Physiological need distinctions can be controversial and confusing.
Research indicates that caffeine stimulates estrogen (estradiol) production.
This can increase the risk of cancer, especially for women at risk for
endometriosis and breast cancers. Some research suggests that pregnant
women metabolize caffeine at only a fourth of their normal rate.
The livers of fetuses cannot metabolize caffeine so the caffeine stays
in their systems for days.

Some research indicates caffeine increases menstrual muscle cramps.
Many women, however, report it relieves cramps and is calming
(partially from its diuretic effect). Then there is research indicating
that coffee has health benefits. What to make of the contradictions?
We need to pay attention to how caffeine affects us (and possibly
experiment with reducing or eliminating consumption to see the difference).
At the very least, moderation is needed, and extra moderation is
needed during pregnancy and breast feeding.

I have just been addressing what we eat and drink. Whether we need or just
want a new car and whether it is a Saturn or a luxury car has its nuances as well.

QUOTES

Daddy, I don't need your help.
I've been very intelligent since I was two years old.
~Sharon Brickey (last year when she was 4)

The road to success is a toll road. Pay that small, daily fee,
and you'll be able to go most anywhere you want.
Leave some time for fun, and you'll enjoy the ride.
~Steve Goodier (writer)

A rich person is not one who has the most,
but is one who needs the least.
~(source unknown)

HUMOR

If we are to believe the HBO series, Big Love,
a man needs a mistress just to break the monogamy.
~Michael Brickey

May 7, 2006         Number 142
This issue:
Blood Tests (part 2)

ACTION TO TAKE

When you have your annual physical, include blood testing for fibrinogen,
homocystine, Hemoglobin A1C, and possibly C-reactive protein.

WHY

I normally focus on what I know best'what it takes mentally to grow young
and live with purpose. Sometimes, news about physical health issues is so noteworthy
that I address it as well. The research source that I have grown to trust the most
for health news is the nonprofit organization, the Life Extension Foundation.
It has a history of championing causes ten years before mainstream medicine
and federal agencies acknowledge the problem or remedy.

Everyone agrees that exercise and good nutrition are vital to cardiovascular health.
For the past decade, cardiologists have focused on cholesterol in the battle against
heart disease'initially on total cholesterol and later on keeping HDL high and LDL low.  

The Life Extension Foundation's research indicates several factors foster cardiovascular
problems and cholesterol probably isn't the most important factor'certainly not the
preeminent factor. One factor that causes a lot of problems is homocystine.
Homocystine is an amino acid found primarily in meat. Some people's bodies
are more effective than other's in breaking down homocystine. When homocystine
accumulates, it causes arteriosclerosis, even when cholesterol levels are normal.

A few decades ago homocystine testing was very expensive and could only be
performed in a few dozen research labs. Now it is a routine test but most
physicians haven't added it to annual checkups. As the research on homocystine
damage accumulates, physicians have lowered recommended levels from
less than 11 to less than 7umol/L. When compared with <7, the risk of stoke
increases 26% at 7-9, 31% 9-11, and 74% above 11. Homocystine also
appears to contribute to developing Alzheimer's disease. Fortunately, homocystine
levels usually abate with reduced meat consumption and/or with a combination of
Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, folic acid, and trimethylglycine (TMG or betaine).

Increasingly researchers are finding the two processes that contribute the most
to cardiovascular problems are inflammation and erratic blood sugar levels.
The C-reactive protein test is emerging as an effective marker for early stage
cardiovascular problems in people who have not shown symptoms.
A fasting blood sugar level gives a snapshot of blood sugar levels on a given day.
The A1C test, however, is the best measure of blood sugar level stability over a several
week time period. Thus it is an excellent test for early stages of diabetes.

Testing fibrinogen, homocystine, Hemoglobin A1C, and possibly C-reactive protein
levels in an annual physical may catch a problem early and help prevent serious disability.

QUOTES

The best doctors in the world are Dr. Diet, Dr. Quiet, and Dr. Merryman.
~Swift

HUMOR

After talking with the intern, the woman started screaming hysterically and
ran down the hall. An older doctor stopped and asked her what the problem was.
She explained and he marched down the hall and grilled the young doctor,
"What's the matter with you? Mrs. Terry is 63 years old and you told her she's pregnant?"
The new doctor smiled smugly and said, "Cured her hiccups though, didn't it?"
 

April 23, 2006         Number 141
This issue:
Blood Tests (part 1)

ACTION TO TAKE

When you have your annual physical, include blood testing for fibrinogen,
homocystine, Hemoglobin A1C, and possibly C-reactive protein.

WHY

I normally focus on what I know best'what it takes mentally to grow young
and live with purpose. Sometimes, news about physical health issues is so noteworthy
that I address it as well. The research source that I have grown to trust the most
for health news is the nonprofit organization, the Life Extension Foundation.
It has a history of championing causes ten years before mainstream medicine
and federal agencies acknowledge the problem or remedy.

Everyone agrees that exercise and good nutrition are vital to cardiovascular health.
For the past decade, cardiologists have focused on cholesterol in the battle against
heart disease'initially on total cholesterol and later on keeping HDL high and LDL low.  

The Life Extension Foundation's research indicates several factors foster cardiovascular
problems and cholesterol probably isn't the most important factor'certainly not the
preeminent factor. Fibrinogen is one of those overlooked independent risk factors
that has a substantial body of animal and human research indicating that higher levels
of fibrinogen bring higher risk of heart attacks and stroke. In a 2006 study, for example,
fibrinogen was the only independent risk factor to predict who was most likely to die
within 42 months of a heart attack. It also is a risk factor for cancer.

The liver produces the protein fibrinogen to make fibrin for the 'mesh' that forms
to enable clotting to heal a wound or stop bleeding. Fibrin also helps in gathering platelets.
We need some fibrin. Americans' sedentary lifestyles and fat rich diets, however,
often result in levels that are too high. A simple blood test can check fibrinogen levels.
The optimal range is 200-300 mg/dL. Factors that appear to reduce fibrinogen levels include:
' fish oil (e.g., fish such as salmon or from supplements)
' olive oil
' niacin (vitamin B3)
' Vitamin A
' keeping homocystine levels down (which usually can be reduced with vitamins B6, B12,
  and folic acid and lowering saturated fats)
' foods and supplements that thin the blood, e.g., aspirin, garlic, green tea, Ginkgo, and Vitamin E

If you do nothing else, when you have your annual physical, include blood testing for fibrinogen,
homocystine, Hemoglobin A1C, and possibly C-reactive protein. Elevations of any of these is a
red flag for high risk of cardiovascular disease. I'll discuss homocystine, Hemoglobin A1C, and
C-reactive protein in the next issues.

Postscript to the Senior Report Card and Cancer Milestone issues

In 2003 2,448,288 Americans died. In 2004, only 2,398,343 Americans died. (2005 data have
note been compiled yet.) Note that nearly 50,000 fewer Americans died in 2004 than in 2003,
despite population increases and a greyer census. This is one more indication of life spans increasing.
Fortunately, as reported in the previous issues, despite an obesity epidemic disability rates are also declining.

QUOTES

Every disease is a physician. 
~Irish proverb

HUMOR

A new arrival, about to enter hospital, saw two white coated doctors searching through the flower beds.
"Excuse me," he said, "have you lost something?"
"No," replied one of the doctors. "We're doing a heart transplant for an income-tax inspector
and want to find a suitable stone."
 

April 9, 2006         Number 140
This issue:
Cancer Milestone

ACTION TO TAKE

Enjoy the good news that the incidence rates of cancer are declining
and five year survival rates have passed 50%.

WHY

In the 1940's only one of four cancer patients survived five years.
In the 1960's survival was one in three. Now it has reached 1 in 2.
Meanwhile, incidence rates have been dropped by .5% per year from
1991 to 2001.

Surgeries are often less radical and chemotherapy is often more targeted.
This brings a better quality of life for survivors. A few decades ago,
the public knew little about cancer beyond it being a "death sentence."

In 1979, Norman Cousins' book described how he used humor to
help overcome cancer, alerting people to the role of psychological
factors. Now there are thousands of support groups, hundreds of
books, and lots of media attention. A decade ago it would have
been hard to imagine millions of Today Show viewers watching
Katie Couric's colonoscopy on live television. Inspired by her example,
the number of colonoscopy exams in the US increased 20% the following month.

A recent American Cancer Society report says that half of all cancers
are preventable. Cigarette smoking is the biggest cause of lung cancer, which
comprises about a third of cancers in America. Lung cancer has a very poor
survival rate. US smoking rates are declining and more businesses are now
smoke free. Smoking also contributes to several other types of cancer.
Other priority prevention measures include losing weight and testing for
breast cancer, colon cancer, and prostrate cancer.

Cancer research shows great promise. The future will soon have
genetic testing indicating what medications and treatments are
likely to be the most effective. For those who want alternative approaches
to treating cancer, the Moss Reports and the Life Extension Foundation
offer scientific perspectives on alternative medicine approaches
to cancer treatment.

Our nation's two biggest causes of death are cardiovascular diseases
and cancer. For both, survival rates are showing substantial improvement.

QUOTES

Show me a patient who is able to laugh and play, who enjoys living
and I'll show you someone who is going to live longer. Laughter makes
the unbearable bearable.
~Dr. Bernie Siegel

HUMOR

My apologies to not catching the source.
Interviews with cancer survivors included one
who described how his oncologist told him and
and his parents that he might want to smoke
marijuana to help with the nausea and pain from
the treatments. This was a dream come true'
a doctor telling his parents that he should smoke pot.

March 26, 2006         Number 139
This issue:
Downsizing Skills

ACTION TO TAKE

Include downsizing skills in your repertoire. 

WHY

"I've lost everything," the nursing home patient told me. She had not achieved
the vocational success she had hoped for. Her home was her refuge and full of
treasured antiques. Now in her eighties, she would have to sell her home and possessions
to pay for medical expenses. Eventually she would probably have to go on Medicaid
to support living in a nursing home. Multiple health problems compromised her
physical health but not her mind. Her commitment to Judaism helped foster a
reverence for traditions, antiques, and books. Her dilemma reminded me of one of my
favorite book titles, Women Who Married Houses, (a 1983 book about agoraphobic women).

 By contrast, some nursing home residents are happy people, with an
"any place I hang my hat is home" outlook on life. Spiritual people who think of
world goods as just 'on loan' have an easier time with downsizing.  

While some seniors downsize to condos, independent living, or assisted living facilities,
most seniors love their homes and try to live there until they die. Home based services
and hospice services have greatly helped seniors with health problems continue to live at home.
In some families, children home share. (Unfortunately, non-family home sharing has been slow
to develop.) We all know some people who have prized collections filling many rooms of their homes.  

So should we all adopt that "worldly goods are just on loan philosophy?" After pondering the issue,
I concluded that one size doesn't fit all and if it ain't broke, don't fix it. In some ways
downsizing is like grieving. Some people handle grief well and get on with their lives. Some people
never get over a loss. It is inevitable that people we love will die. Downsizing may or may not be inevitable.
We need to know how to deal with grieving before the need arises. Likewise, being able to shift into
a healthy outlook on downsizing is a good skill to have in our repertoire. You might think of
vacation stays in hotels as motels at downsizing practice.

QUOTES

When all is said and done, you are not taking any of this stuff with you when you leave this world.
...When is last time you ever saw a U-Haul behind the hearse?
~Sue Ronnenkamp

DOWNSIZING HUMOR

News Article
'.In an effort to reduce the NASA budget, a resolution was passed today to downsize the solar system. According to an unnamed congressional staffer, House Republicans felt there has been "too much
redundancy in the solar system" and that streamlining the 4.5 billion year old planetary system is long overdue. Such action would give NASA fewer places to go and this would allow the agency to carry out its space exploration goals within the funding profile that the House proposed earlier this summer.
"Look, we have three terrestrial planets" said Congressman Rip U. Apart (R, Del.), "and only one of them
really works! So why not get rid of the other two and clean up the neighborhood?"
~excerpt from fake news article by Donald Simanek at http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/solarsys.htm

 God announces plan to cut non-essential humans
Citing a burgeoning, unruly populace and dwindling natural resources, God today unveiled a plan to streamline the operations of Planet Earth Inc. by eliminating an estimated 30 million positions. A PR spokesman for the Lord said He is "sick and tired" of humans abusing His bountiful creation and
breaking all Ten Commandments as if they weren't even etched in stone.
~Excerpt from a fake news article by John Breneman at http://www.humorgazette.com/blog/item/224

March 12, 2006         Number 138
This issue:
Report Card for Seniors

ACTION TO TAKE

Keep a healthy perspective on the future. Despite the media's drumbeat
of problems, Americans are becoming healthier.  

WHY

On March 9th the National Institute on Aging released it study,
65+ in the United States: 2005. It found that for Americans over 65:
  ~Disability rates dropped from 26.2% in 1982 to 19.7% in 1999 despite
the group including a higher proportion of seniors over 80. (Note that a
chronic health condition, e.g., arthritis is not considered a disability unless
it causes functional limitations in activities of daily living.)
  ~Poverty rates dropped from 35% in 1959 to 10% in 2003 (much of the
improvement is due to Social Security).
  ~Between 1950 and 2003 high school graduate rates rose from
17% to 67% and college graduate rates rose from 3.4% in 1950 to 17.4%.
(Education enhances adaptability and is correlated with better health.)
  ~Even at ages 85 and older, only 18.1% lived in nursing homes.
  ~Death rates from heart disease declined dramatically.
  ~Cigarette smoking rates declined.

With improving health and a greater emphasis on quality of life, the
World Health Organization has developed a new statistic'
Healthy Life Expectancy (HALE). In the US the HALE for men is
67.2 years and for women 71.3 years.

Yes, obesity rates are increasing. On the whole, however, the data
suggest a healthier, more resourceful senior population'and the trends
are likely to continue. If you would like to see or download the free
254 page study, it is at http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p23-209.pdf .

QUOTES

Many people have an image of aging that may be 20 years out of date.
The very current portrait presented here shows how much has changed
and where trends may be headed in the future.
~Richard M. Suzman, Ph.D., Director of the 65+ in the United States: 2005

HUMOR

The census worker asked an older timer, "How many people live in this town?"
"About 4,000. Been that way for 25 years," he replied.
"Haven't any people move in'any babies been born here?" asked the census worker.
The old timer replied, "Sure we've had babies; but every time one's born someone leaves town." 
 

February 26, 2006         Number 137
This issue:
If you didn't have insurance...

ACTION TO TAKE

Consider what you would do you if you did not have health insurance
or if you had a Health Savings Account.

WHY

I remember when there was no dental insurance. You went to the dentist
and you wrote a check for the bill. Now many people have dental insurance
and have to check whether the dentist is on the plan, what is covered, etc.
The dentist in turn has to enroll in and track dozens of insurance plans.
The result is a bureaucratic morass that adds to the cost of the system overall.
Dental insurance is appealing to employees who receive the coverage
as an employee benefit. To them it seems like a free benefit.

 By its nature, insurance restricts choice, rewarding some providers and penalizing others.
Traditional insurance rewards traditional medicine and traditional pharmaceuticals.
As health savings accounts become more common, consumers will have more choice.
Depending on how HSA plans are written, HSAs may enable consumers to choose
to spend healthcare dollars on alternative medicine treatments such as massage,
acupuncture, and Pilates classes. They may enable reimbursement of supplements
such as herbs, vitamins, and hormone therapies. They may even cover spas, health clubs,
and weight loss programs. Psychotherapy, which is often only covered at 50% and then
only with managed care authorization, would no longer be capped or micromanaged.
Personal coaching might even be covered.

 There is an terrible inequity in the current system in that those who pay cash
(relieving the healthcare practitioners of large, cumbersome billing expenses) end up
paying more as they don't get the discounts insurance companies demand.
As HSAs become more common, consumers will insist on not paying more than doctors
charge insurance companies. They may (and should) even insist on cash discounts.

 HSAs save money by greatly reducing (but not eliminating) the bureaucratic overhead.
They give the consumer more choice. They will ultimately separate employment from healthcare,
making it easier to change jobs. The primary downside is that employees often see HSAs
as an attempt by management to cut costs by reducing benefits (as is sometimes the case).
Paul Zane Pilzer says 90% of people can purchase healthcare insurance for half of what
it cost employers and once  purchased it cannot be cancelled or raised beyond normal
cost increases. This can be a wonderful solution to many individuals, especially
those who currently do not have healthcare insurance. At a macro level, however, it is a shell
game as costs for the 10% with serious health problems are shifted to government funding.

 As you have probably gathered, my libertarian penchant likes HSAs while my ultimate
preference would be insurance for catastrophic events and out of pocket payment for everything else.
The question is: If you had an HSA instead of your current insurance, would you spend
healthcare funds differently? If so, what has been your personal cost of not pursuing the healthcare
choices that you consider optimal? What choices would you make if you had the money your employer
currently spends on insurance and you had to pay for all of your medical expenses out of pocket?  

QUOTES

Most Americans receive health insurance from their employers and lose their health
insurance when they lose their jobs, but that's about to change....Employer sponsored
healthcare will be mostly eliminated in the next twenty years.
~Paul Zane Pilzer, author of The New Healthcare Insurance Solution

 Discussion on a blog: "Government today restricts our medical choices in countless ways,
direct and indirect, which has led many to call for a Canadian style, single-payer system.
Sorta homeopathic, isn't it? A LARGER dose of the poison that's killing us will actually
be the cure." Another reader astutely commented, "Actually that's allopathy."
[Homeopathic medicine uses minute quantities of toxins to produce cures;
allopathy is traditional medicine.]
~from DB's Medical Rants, www.medrants.com

HUMOR

A man awakened after emergency heart bypass surgery to find himself
at a Catholic Hospital. A nun asked him how he was going to pay.
He explained that he did not have any health insurance or savings.
"Do you have any relatives who could help?" asked the nun.
"I only have a spinster sister, who is a nun," He replied.
Angrily, the nun protested, "Nuns are not spinsters! Nuns are married to God."
The patient replied, "Then send the bill to my brother-in-law."
 

February 12, 2006         Number 136
This issue:
Ms Super Centenarian

ACTION TO TAKE

Imagine a beauty and talent pageant with lovely, talented women
sharing their wisdom and philosophy of life'and imagine the
contestants are all over 100 years old.

WHY

In 1954 the Miss America contest was broadcast live on television,
capturing 39% of American viewers (27 million people).
It spawned many imitators, Miss USA, Miss Teen America,
Miss Junior Teen America, Miss Universe, Mrs. America, etc.
I found there also is a Ms Senior America contest that has a
minimum age of 60.

While the contestants are very attractive, judging is 30% talent,
30% interview, 20% philosophy of life, and only 20% evening gown
competition. How appropriate that weight is given to sharing
what one has learned. The contest seeks contestants who have
contributed to their communities. It emphasizes inner beauty as well
as outer beauty.

The contest got me thinking. Can a Ms Centenarian contest be far off?
I for one would love to see it. It will probably have an even stronger
emphasis on wisdom and philosophy of life. In 2000 the US had
72,000 centenarians (Americans 100 years or older). The US
Census Bureau predicts we will have 1.2 million centenarians by 2050.
A contest seems inevitable. Now that centenarians are becoming common,
we are hearing about super centenarians'people 110+ years old.
Perhaps a Ms Super Centenarian Contest will come as well.

Why care? Imagining a Ms Centenarian or Ms Super Centenarian
pageant pushes and stretches your thinking about aging
and how vital people can be at 100+ years. That pushing
and stretching helps you believe it is possible for you to be vital
and doing exciting things in your hundreds. Once you believe
such a pageant is possible, you pay more attention to
what it takes to do it live well into your hundreds
'because it sure beats the alternative. 

QUOTES

Beautiful young people are accidents of nature,
but beautiful old people are works of art.
~Eleanor Roosevelt

Beauty is as beauty does.
~(source unknown)

HUMOR

If I had known I would live so long,
I would have taken better care of myself.
~Mark Twain (and many others)

January 29, 2006         Number 135
This issue:
Meta Optimism

ACTION TO TAKE

Appreciate that optimism is on at least two levels.
Include the recent Human Security Center data in your meta optimism.

WHY

Look a newspaper or the TV news and it is easy to conclude that the world is
becoming more violent and chaotic. A study by the Human Security Center at
the University of British Columbia reported in October, 2005 that the opposite
is the case. Since the end of the Cold War,:

~the number of wars has been declining
~the average number of deaths per conflict has declined from 37,000 in 1950 to 600 in 2002
~the number of conflicts declined by 40% and is at the lowest number since 1976
~the number of democracies in the world has been increasing

Why the favorable trend? The researchers speculate that

~democracies are far less likely to go to war
~there is a strengthening sense of an international community
~interventions and world opinion are constraining many despots
~the Nuremberg trials and cases against Milosevic and Taylor have had an impact
~the UN and the world has learned lessons from failed interventions and are
  now more skilled at interventions

To their reasons I would add that:

~the world is becoming economically interdependent
~the Internet and cell phones are making information more difficult to suppress
~China, with one-fourth of the world's population, is evolving from a world threat
  to a more democratic, less isolated country.

I am not trying to make any Republican or Democratic political statement or
suggest complacency. I am suggesting that as the Beatles song says,
"I've got to admit it's getting better. It's getting better all the time."

Most people think of optimism in terms of things that immediately impact them,
e.g., Will today be a good day? Will my career improve? I would like to suggest
that we also have a meta level of optimism--a perspective on whether the world
is a friendly place and whether the world is getting better or worse. It is comforting
to learn that there is solid data supporting a meta optimistic view that the world
is getting better--that mankind is succeeding in making the world a better place.

QUOTES

The most fundamental question about the world is, "Is the world a friendly place?"
~Albert Einstein 

War makes ratting good history; but Peace is poor reading.
~Thomas Hardy

The war that will end war will not be fought with guns.
~(source unknown)

HUMOR

Q: What's the most costly war America has been in?
A: The "Civil" War.

I love war and responsibility and excitement. Peace is going to be hell on me.
~General George Patton 
 
P.S. Congratulations to Dr. Albert Hofmann on his 100th birthday. Still vital at 100,
Dr. Hofmann is the inventor of the "problem child" drug LSD. A symposium is being
held in his honor. Details are at http://www.lsd.info/symposium/ah-en

January 15, 2006         Number 134
This issue:
Outgrowing Depression

ACTION TO TAKE

Realize that many people outgrow depression.

WHY

Last November Woody Allen turned seventy and lamented "Getting joy
and having a kind of wisdom in your golden years--it's all tripe."
Years on an analyst's couch never helped him grow up or even resist marrying
his stepdaughter. Woody's remarks don't fit with recent research findings.

Dr. Laura Carstensen at Stanford University had 184 people ages 18 to 94
carry pagers and fill out questionnaires when beeped. Older participants reported
about the same number of positive emotions as younger participants but far fewer
negative emotions. There was a clear trend from young adults to seniors.
Aging brought fewer negative thoughts. You could say people tend to outgrown depression.

The reasons for the change are speculative. Perhaps they have adjusted
expectations and are not so hard on themselves. Perhaps they appreciate
and savor life more. I like to think of it as more maturity. In any case, it's a nice perk that goes with aging.

QUOTES

Concern should drive us into action and not into depression.
~Anonymous

The simple solution for disappointment depression: Get up and get moving.
Physically move. Do. Act. Get going.
~Peter McWilliams 

HUMOR

A psychology professor quizzed his class: "How would you diagnose a someone
who walks back and forth screaming at the top of his lungs one minute, then sits
in a chair weeping uncontrollably the next?"
A young man in the rear raised his hand and answered, "A basketball coach?"
 

January 1, 2006         Number 133
This issue:
Sticky New Year's Resolutions

ACTION TO TAKE

Choose Sticky New Year's resolutions.

WHY

New Year's is the worst time to make New Year's resolutions. Why?

1. Many of us stay up too late, drink too much, eat too much,
    and watch too much TV--not an optimal frame of mind for follow through.

2. We are most likely to make changes when life events create leverage
    (e.g., new health challenges, a job change, divorce). New Year's Day
    is an arbitrary day with no leverage.

3. People typically set goals that are too high, e.g., get physically fit vs.
    a baby step such as adding five minutes of stretching at least five times a week.

4. People typically set rigid goals, e.g., deciding to exercise sixty minutes
    every day and upon missing a day giving up in 'failure.'

This doesn't mean you shouldn't make New Year's resolutions.
Rather make sticky New Year's resolutions. Sticky resolutions are
easy to make and easy to keep. Most of the Anti-Aging ABCs and the
52 baby steps are sticky as they are 'belief tweaks.'

Examples include resolving:
    ~ that no matter how old you are you will be making new friends
       (a great way to feel optimistic about aging).
    ~ to always bring something with you to read in case you find yourself waiting
       (prevents boredom and enhances learning).
    ~ to do your best to make someone smile or laugh each morning
       (post a reminder somewhere to remind you until it becomes a habit).
    ~ to routinely take the stairs at work instead of the elevator
       (takes no time to help you stay fit and loses weight).

Notice these are small, easy to do steps.

New Year's is a lousy time for the usual resolutions
but a great time for sticky resolutions.

QUOTES

New Year's eve is last rites for the year--celebrated with the festivities of a wake.
~Mike Brickey

HUMOR

New Year's is a harmless annual institution, of no particular use to anybody
save as a scapegoat for promiscuous drunks, and friendly calls, and humbug resolutions,

and we wish you to enjoy it with a looseness suited to the greatness of the occasion.
~Mark Twain

What were the earliest New Year's Eve parties like?
Rather than going out to party, Adam and Eve stayed home and raised Cain.

This issue:
Grandparent Stereotypes, Part 2

ACTION TO TAKE

Insist on the grandparent image and name you want.

WHY

The words we choose can make a huge difference. Our names have
a lot of connotations as well. We all have heard some pretty dreadful names.
Jay Leno has great fun with wedding announcements with funny last name
combinations. If you are or become a grandparent, you can choose a name, or someone
will choose one for you. In books, movies, and on television, grandparent stereotypes
are pretty dated. Get out your shawl and cane. Energetic grandparents might even
bake cookies, fish, or garden. (They rarely have jobs.)

If you are comfortable with grandma or grandpa or a variation of them, fine.
But be forewarned that these names tends to have baggage and may result in you
feeling older and/or people treating you like you are older. As one book title put it,
Funny, you don't look like a grandmother.

So what's the alternative? Just using your first name loses the respect and the distinction
that this is a defined relationship and a special relationship. You can choose a name you
like and ask the children and parents to use that name. That keeps the distinction of
the name being unique to your grandparent role. If you never cared for your name
or nickname, this is an opportunity to choose one you like. Some of the options include:
    ~gran or nan (the shorter name connotes more action)
    ~an ethnic term, e.g., Nana, Bubbe, Zede
    ~your middle name
    ~your baptism or bar/bat mitzvah name
    ~any hero or character you have always admired

QUOTES

If you would civilize man, begin with his grandmother.
~Victor Hugo

If you're afraid and shy
She'll brush away your fears,
And if you start to cry
She'll kiss away your tears.
~excerpt from The Grandparents Song

HUMOR

Grandmother started to brag, "Did I tell you about the cutest thing my granddaughter said?"
Her friend cut her short with, "Before you start, I warn you that I insist on equal time--
and I have twelve grandchildren."

Mother to daughter: "Every time you disobey, I get another grey hair."
Her daughter replied, "Gee Mom, so it was you that gave grandma her grey hair."

December 4, 2005         Number 131
This issue:
Grandparent Stereotypes

ACTION TO TAKE

Insist on the grandparent image you want, not popular stereotypes.

WHY

Have you ever wanted to write a book? Here's your chance to write a
children's book about grandparents. First, choose the main characters.
Grandmother is (check all that apply):
___wearing a big straw hat while gardening
___cooking
___offering cookies and milk
___sitting in a rocking chair
___dressed in old world clothes
___cute, chubby, a perfect match for the Pillsbury Doughboy
___dumpy and stooped over
___looks like she is one step away from a nursing home
___has a mustache (just kidding)

You get the idea. Grandparents can be as young as their late thirties
but the stereotypes often portray them as barely able to walk.
While Dr. Ruth would probably be a wonderful grandparent,
Dr. Ruth Talks About Grandparents perpetuates dottering stereotypes.
No wonder so many grandparents think 'I'm too young to be a granny.'
What grandparents want to read ageist books to their grandchildren?

In fairness, there are some books that give grandparents a positive image.
In The Berenstain Bears and the Week at Grandma's, grandma is a little
stereotyped, offering the cubs special honey nut cookies and milk and feeding the birds.
Grandpa, however, picks up both bear cubs and their baggage and carries them
upstairs to their room. He teaches them how to make a ship in a bottle,
takes them fishing, has a fish fry, and teaches them how to use a yoyo.
They all go to grandma and grandpa's weekly Friday night square dance.

To be a youthful grandparent (now or perhaps some day in the future)
be aware of the stereotypes and refuse to subscribe to them.
The next issue will have more suggestions.

QUOTES

The very fact that you don't look or act or feel like the grandparents
of even a generation ago does not mean that you are less, but that
you are more'in effect, an evolved form of grandparents,
primed to do a bigger and more challenging job than any group before you.
~Arthur Kornhaber

HUMOR

"It's impossible for your generation to really understand mine, Grandma Flo.
We grew up in different worlds! Today we have TV, space travel, nuclear
energy, high-speed computers'"
"You're right, Treggie, we didn't have those things when we were young'
So we had to invent most of them."
~Flo & Friends cartoon by Campbell Bigel

November 20, 2005         Number 130
This issue:
What to Count

ACTION TO TAKE

Count your new skills instead of candles.

WHY

For adults, the natural tendency on birthdays is to think in terms of
what we can't do anymore and how there are fewer years left.
With black humor we count the candles and see if we can blow them all out.

Think back ten years ago. What could you do on a computer then?
(Did you even have a computer then?) Chances are your computer skills
and sophistication are light years ahead of where you were then. Ten years
ago you probably just used your computer for word processing and a few
primitive games. Now computers are your primary source of getting information
and organizing information at work and home. Your search skills have become savvy,
you can use dozens of programs, and you know how to avoid spam and viruses.
Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

Ten years ago you probably didn't have a 'mobile' phone. Now you probably
can do all kind of tricks with your cell phone, e.g., managing an address book,
checking phone logs, choosing the ideal dial tone, and possibly using text messaging.
There are so many other skills you have acquired in the last ten years'
or even since your last birthday. Chances are you have become wiser as well'
making better decisions for yourself and helping others to make better decisions.

You can focus on what you can't do or what you can do.
Which makes you feel better?

QUOTES

The ultimate "computer," our own brain, uses only ten watts of power
--one-tenth the energy consumed by a hundred-watt bulb.
~Paul Valery

HUMOR

A father complained, "When I was a youngster, I was disciplined by being sent to my
room without supper. But my son has his own color TV, phone, computer and CD player."
"So what do you do?" asked his friend'
The father replied, "I send him to MY room."

Email from a friend: "CanYouFixTheSpaceBarOnMyKeyboard?"

November 6, 2005         Number 129
This issue:
The Green Revolution

ACTION TO TAKE

Realize that with aging even the worst scenario can be better than you imagined. 

WHY

I did some keynote speeches at the Fall Metropolitan Conference on Aging
in Minneapolis last week. I received a note from Cathy Clairmont that she would
pick me up at the airport. The stationery the note was on said English Rose Suites.
I assumed that was the hotel. I learned, however, that the suites are a group of
homes for seniors that need assistance--part of the smaller is better
"green revolution" in services to seniors.

My mission is to help people live with purpose and live well into their hundreds.
My role model is the Energizer Bunny, with alkaline batteries. He just keeps going
and going. Alkaline batteries not only last longer, they maintain a constant energy
level and then die quickly.

But I know that bad things happen to good people and some people develop diseases
or disabilities that impair aging well. The prospect of spending years in a nursing home
is very depressing.

In the 1970s I was busy with the "normalization" movement, getting people with
mental retardation out of the institutions and living and working in the community.
It was a wonderful, heady time seeing people with IQs of 50 set free from the
institutions and living in group homes or supervised apartments and working in a
wide variety of jobs. In the same era, similar good things were happening with
institutionalized psychiatric patients.

Today there is a comparable revolution brewing for elderly people who have disabilities.
The green revolution or Green House' projects provide an alternative to sterile
nursing homes with their double occupancy rooms, bureaucracy, and unpalatable food.
The vision comes from Dr. William Thomas and has start up funding from the
Robert Woodcock Johnson Foundation. Dr. Thomas envisioned homes for 6-10
people with plants, pets, sunshine and even children. The staff, and when
possible the residents, prepare the meals and all eat together. The movement isn't limited
to Dr. Thomas' model. Home grown variations are popping up around the country.
Online information includes: http://www.thegreenhouseproject.com. 

Despite our population getting older and managed care sending many stroke
and surgery patients to nursing homes for rehabilitation, the number of nursing
home beds in the U.S. has not been growing nearly as fast as the aging population.
Reasons include more people being healthier at older ages, assisted living and
independent living alternatives, and in the future, the green revolution. The costs are roughly
comparable to nursing home care. Besides helping seniors, the homes improve
the morale of the staff. The movement received publicity from NPR,
the October AARP Bulletin, and Congressional hearings.

My hope is that we all live very long, healthy, rewarding lives, and when we die
we take a cue from the alkaline batteries. But if things don't work out that way,
it's good to know there is an option of a good quality of life even with disabilities.

QUOTES

Creating a new old age will be the baby boomers' last act on the public stage.
~Green House visionary, Dr. William Thomas

Seniors who were in wheel chairs are walking, seniors who were not talking are talking,
seniors who were not eating are eating....through something as simple as enabling
Green House residents to smell the bacon cooking, the small pleasures of life are restored.
~Steve McAlilly, Director of the first Green House that was started in Tupelo, Kansas in 2003.

There's no place like home, There's no place like home, There's no place like home.
~Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz

HUMOR

A 99-year-old man went for his annual physical. A few days later his doctor
saw him walking down the street with a gorgeous woman by his side.
"You look like you're doing well," said the doctor.
"I just followed your advice, "get a red hot mamma and be cheerful," said the gentleman.
After a moment of silence the doctor said, "I said you have a heart murmur, be careful."

A man's home is his castle.
(In a manor of speaking.)
 

October 23, 2005         Number 128
This issue:
Mourning Rituals

ACTION TO TAKE

When grieving, consider King David's example and when to mourn,
and when to end mourning.

WHY

If you are going to live a long time, one of the challenges is dealing with
loved ones dying. King David was one of God's all time favorites--a poet,
a warrior, and King. But he had one big sin--he lusted after Bathsheba.
He arranged for her husband to be sent to the heat to battle in hopes he
would be killed. He was. David married Bathsheba and she became pregnant.
The prophet Nathan confronted David with his sin. Even with his
repenting, Nathan told David his child to be would die.

David prayed, fasted, and wept for days. But the child died anyway.
He then took a bath, got dressed, prayed, and had dinner. His friends
asked why he no longer mourned. David said that when his child was
ill he hoped God would have pity on them. But now he is dead there is
nothing he can do for him. (So he went on with his life.) David comforted
Bathsheba and they had another son, Solomon. Solomon did quite well.
Thus God apparently was pleased with how David handled mourning for
his son.

When has one mourned enough? I see a lot of people feel guilty if they
don't continue mourning indefinitely. Religious traditions can be very helpful
in prompting us to do intensive mourning and giving us mutually agreed upon
criteria for when we have mourned enough. Jewish traditions in particular are
very precise about mourning requirements and are a good example of
very helpful mourning traditions.

Jewish law provides for very loving care of the body before burial but no make up,
embalming, or attempts to make the person look lifelike. The burial follows soon
with a plain wooden coffin (so there is no distinction between rich and poor and there
is no attempt to attempt to prevent nature from decomposing the body).

Congregants and friends then prepare a meal of recuperation that starts seven
days of intense mourning at home. Friends visit frequently and provide support
and prepare meals. After the seven days of "sitting Shiva," family members can
return to work or school but not engage in entertainment for thirty days after the burial.
They pray daily with at least ten other Jews to have community support in their loss.
When mourning your own parents the mourning lasts for eleven months. After that,
there are special prayers on the anniversary and four holidays a year. 

In David's time many babies died in childbirth or shortly after childbirth. To prevent parents
from frequently being in mourning, Jewish law determined that a baby was not a person until
he or she was 30 days old. Hence while David must have been very grief stricken,
there were not mourning traditions for his son. Today with children rarely dying in childbirth,
Jewish laws have begun to recognize and provide for grieving for these deaths as well.

Whatever your religious or cultural traditions, mourning traditions can be very helpful
in knowing how to mourn, and in knowing when you have mourned enough.

QUOTES

He that lacks time to mourn, lacks time to mend.
~Sir Henry Taylor

HUMOR

How wholesome is Disney for our children?
101 Dalmatians and Peter Pan are the only two Disney cartoon features
in which both parents that are present and don't die throughout the movie.

A middle aged woman had a near death experience and asked God if she
would die. He said he plans to have her live another thirty years. So she extended
her stay at the hospital and had a face lift, breast augmentation, and tummy tuck and
even died her hair blonde. Walking out of the hospital she is killed by a speeding car.
In heaven she asked God, "I thought you said I had another 30 years?"
God replied, "Sorry, I didn't recognize you."

October 9, 2005         Number 127
This issue:
Smile Lines

ACTION TO TAKE

Imagine the face you want to have thirty years from now.

WHY

Planning experts advise visualizing the result you want.
Focusing on the end result helps with motivation and holds up
a picture to your brain saying, "this is what I want."

Remember the times when you study faces? There are some great 
wonderful old faces that sparkle. No matter how many wrinkles they
have they glow with warmth, energy, enthusiasm, and kindness.
Then there are faces that look sour or wrinkle up like prunes.

Certainly some people's heredity and facial structure put them at
a disadvantage in having an engaging, loveable face. That's all
the more reason they need to to make sure they have smile lines
rather than frown lines.

Research finds that in presidential and other political races the
more optimistic candidate is more likely to win. I think research
would also find the best face and best smile wins. Hence,
regardless of the soundness of their thinking and plans,
Ronald Reagan is more appealing than dour Bob Dole and
Bill Clinton is more appealing than fretful Joe Lieberman.
Perhaps the tipping point on George Bush vs. Al Gore or
John Kerry was Bush's more relaxed, engaging smile.

When I watch videos of myself speaking, I am struck with the
opportunities to smile more often. Who would you rather hear,
someone who smiles a lot or someone who is very serious?

I'm not advocating that you permanently have a just saved smile
glued on your face. The goal is to be expressive and smile much
of the time. The ideal is to have the expressiveness Norman
Rockwell described in President Eisenhower's face (see quote
below). By the way Ike's campaign slogan was "I like Ike."

This is a long way of saying, the more you smile now, the more
likely you are to have a face with great smile lines thirty years from now.
Start with the end in mind and you are likely to end up with
one of those sparkling, warm faces thirty years from now. 

QUOTES

Eisenhower had about the most expressive face I ever painted,
I guess. Just like an actor's. Very mobile. When he talked,
he used all the facial muscles. And he had a great, wide mouth
that I liked. When he smiled, it was just like the sun came out.
~Norman Rockwell

Nature give you the face you have at twenty;
it is up to you to merit the face you have at fifty.
~Coco Chanel

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.
~Mark Twain

The face is the soul of the body.
~Ludwig Wittgenstein

At 50, everyone has the face he deserves.
~George Orwell

HUMOR

My face, shall we say, looks lived in.
~Ava Gardner

Did you ever wonder what is on the other side of one of those yellow smiley faces?
Warning: They aren't wearing clothes an you might get mooned.

September 15, 2005         Number 126
This issue:
Compassion Fatigue

ACTION TO TAKE

Know and follow you limit for bad news on TV.

WHY

Why do some people rally to help out with disasters like the Tsunami, Florida hurricanes,
Katrina, and Rita, and some feel overwhelmed just hearing about 'so many disasters'
and try to numb themselves and not feel?

Part of the problem is that TV fosters compassion fatigue. The first objective of TV news is
to gather as big an audience as possible so they can charge more for advertising. They need
to get us to care about news items so we will stay tuned. Thus a child can fall in a well half way
across the country or even the world, and TV news tries to make it an event that merits frequent bulletins.
Being bombarded with bad news that we can do little about tends to leave people feeling
depressed, vulnerable, and powerless.

When the World Trade Center crumbles on our TV screens, many viewers make a mental 'movie'
that their mind plays over and over, 'vicariously traumatizing' them. Such people are also particularly
vulnerable to PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) should they experience trauma personally.

There needs to be a balance between our curiosity and need to know
vs. how upsetting seeing or hearing the details are. Just as we need to know our limit with alcohol
(and for some people that limit is zero), we need to know our limit for absorbing bad news,
especially videos of bad news (as opposed to still pictures, print media, or radio).

Compassion fatigue is burnout at being overwhelmed by imagining others' pain and possibly feeling
we are not doing enough to help. Setting limits for what we see on TV can be very helpful in
preventing us from being overwhelmed and burning out. By remaining resilient, we can keep
perspective on what we can do to help and be OK with not individually being able to solve
all of the world's problems.

So what's your limit for TV news?

QUOTES

Compassion is the basis of morality.
~Arnold Schopenhauer

Love and knowledge led upwards to the heavens,
But always pity brought me back to earth;
Cries of pain reverberated in my heart
Of children in famine, of victims tortured
And of old people left helpless.
I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot,
And I too suffer.
This has been my life; I found it worth living.
~Bertrand Russell

When there are disasters, the rich write the history,
the poor write the songs.
~(source unknown)

HUMOR

I used to watch golf on TV but my doctor told me that
I need more exercise. So now I watch tennis.

FEEDBACK

I received two comments on my last newsletter on pharmacy consultants.
One was a that it is a great idea that she will recommend the service to her mother.
The other was that $145 is a huge amount of money for someone on a fixed income.
I certainly advocate that it would be cost effective to have insurance,
Medicare, and Medicaid cover the cost of the consult as the consults are
likely to result in more effective use of medications, fewer side effects and
health problems, and in some cases fewer medications.
Comments are always welcome. E-mail the to newsletter@DrBrickey.com

September 11, 2005         Number 125
This issue:
Rx for Rxs: Consulting Pharmacists

ACTION TO TAKE

If you are taking a lot of medications, consider consulting with a pharmacist.

WHY

Every time a physician sees my mother, she seems to get another medication.
Even she thinks she is taking "too many pills." Fortunately I discovered an innovative
service that I hope will become commonplace.

An experienced pharmacist reviewed her health problems, lab tests, and medications
and visited her at her home. The pharmacist discussed her medications, made
suggestions, and followed up with a written report. Results including changing the
time of day for taking some of the medications and suggesting an alternative
medication with fewer side effects.

I do not receive any consideration from the organization, Medicine Cabinet Consultants.
I just was so impressed I wanted to spread the word. Their focus is on serving seniors in the
Columbus Ohio area. Lauri Wolf, RPh, the Director of Operations told me she knows
pharmacists around the country to whom she could refer for comparable services.

The consulting pharmacists typically have regular jobs and do the consults because
it is an opportunity to fulfill the kind of purpose they imagined in graduate school.
This also explains how they could afford to charge a modest fee, $145,
for several hours work. Currently, Medicare does not cover such services.
It would probably be cost effective for Medicare to cover the service.

Most of us wouldn't consider surgery without of second opinion. Those who take
several medications would be wise to get a second opinion on medications.

QUOTES

People who enjoy good health should think of the doctor's bill as an amusement tax.
~(source unknown)

Only a fool would make his doctor his heir.
~(source unknown)

HUMOR

A woman told the pharmacist she wanted some arsenic to kill her husband because he's having an affair."
The pharmacist told her, "Even if he is cheating, I can't sell you arsenic."
She  pulled out a photograph of her husband with the other woman--the pharmacist's wife.
"I'm very sorry," the pharmacist said, "I didn't realize you had a prescription."

A girl finally agreed to have sex with her boyfriend, saying "Come to my house for dinner tonight. After dinner my parents are going out." The boy went to the drug store to buy condoms and asked the pharmacist for help, explaining that it was his first time. At dinner that night he kept his head down the whole time.
His girlfriend asked, "What's wrong with you?"
He replied, "You didn't tell me your dad is a pharmacist." 

You know you have a cheap HMO when your pills all have thin candy shells
with a little m on the outside. 

A Buddhist monk refused his dentist's Novocain during root canal work.
He wanted to transcend dental medication.

August 28, 2005         Number 124
This issue:
Red Hat Salute

ACTION TO TAKE

Adopt the Red Hat Society's philosophy.

WHY

When I turned fifty, I received my invitation to join AARP.
Unlike turning 18 or 21, it wasn't very exciting. For most people
AARP perks are the magazine and newspaper and some discounts.
When women turn 50, however, they become eligible for a sisterhood
of fun, frivolity, and fellowship--The Red Hat Society.
I'm an unabashed fan and admirer.

The members refuse to have "middle age" be a cue to go gently into the night.
Rather, they insist on being outrageous, audacious, and even silly. Their red hats
and purple clothes say they want to dress up, have fun, and don't care if others think
they look odd. Men aren't invited. It's a "girl thing." The organization only began
about six years ago and already has more than 35,000 chapters. What distinguishes
the Red Hat Society is their attitude that getting older just means more freedom to be
yourself, to have fun, and to bond with other women who want to live life fully.
The closest male counterpart is golfers over fifty wearing those lime green pants with
little ducks or perhaps a Shriner's meeting. 

Founder Sue Ellen Cooper's first book was titled, The Red Hat Society:
Fun and Friendship after Fifty. Well said. So what do you get a woman for her
50th birthday? Why a red hat, of course. The group has several keys to growing young--
developing friendships, pursuing humor, not worrying about what others think, and seeing
"middle age" as a time of renewal. Whether male or female, their hattitude is a great one
for staying youthful at every age.
 

QUOTES

The world is your playground. Why aren't you playing?
~Ellie Katz

HUMOR

You can't appreciate home till you've left it,
the money till its spent,
your wife till she's joined a woman's club.
~O. Henry

You can only be young once, but you can always be immature.
~Dave Berry
 

August 14, 2005         Number 123
This issue:
Being Hopeful

ACTION TO TAKE

Periodically take your mental health temperature by asking yourself
if you feeling hopeful about aging well and hopeful about your future.

WHY

I was at a seminar for professional speakers and was marveling at the
speaker's skill. Afterwards I asked him if he consciously crafted his
speaking persona or if it just evolved. The more I thought about  it,
the more I thought about the relationships speakers have with their
audiences.

Dull ones lecture or teach or inform. More interesting speakers
entertain, play, have fun, inspire, or motivate their audiences.
Then I asked myself what do I do? What came to me is that whether
I am speaking, coaching, or doing therapy, I am helping people feel hopeful.

I see in my mind what people can be, what they can do, what they can achieve.
I use whatever approaches connect for them to move them that direction.
In the case of aging, it is believing that your life can get better as you age and that
a big part of making it better is easy--little mind shifts in how you think about
yourself and aging.

For example, you can choose to think of yourself as really younger than
your chronological age. It is an easy belief to adopt and doesn't cost anything.
Having that self-image prompts you, consciously and unconsciously,
to seek ways to make it happen. After all you don't want to make a liar out of
yourself (psychologists call this avoiding cognitive dissonance).

Overture says that in July 2005, 56,693 people searched for "hope" on the Internet.
Also in July, 654,592 searched for "love" and 8,334,440 searched for "sex." 
We often overlook hope but it is vital to our well being--and even to wanting
to get out of bed in the morning. Asking yourself if you feel hopeful is a
good way of taking your mental health temperature.

QUOTES

To be seventy years young is sometimes far more hopeful than to be forty years old.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes

At first we hope too much; later on, not enough.
~Joseph Roux

A person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world.
Someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.
~Tom Bodett

HUMOR

I did an Internet search for "hope springs eternal."
There sure are a lot of sports fans out there.
~Mike Brickey

July 31, 2005         Number 122
This issue:
Holistic Health

ACTION TO TAKE

 Keep a holistic perspective if you become ill.

WHY

If you are like most people, you have probably taken an antibiotic
a number of times in your life. Antibiotics often kills "good" bacteria
in your gastrointestinal system as well as bacteria that make you ill.
Acidophilus, the best known of the "good" digestive bacteria,
helps break down complex food molecules, inhibits the growth of
harmful bacteria, and helps produce some of the B-vitamins.
It also makes lactase to digest dairy products, may lower cholesterol levels,
and some strains kill Candida yeast. Eli Metchnikoff won the Nobel Prize
in 1908 for identifying the connection between acidophilus and health and
developing probiotics as a field of study.

Their potential benefit was vividly driven home to me this week.
Several weeks ago I saw "Sally" in nursing home. She had lots of
gastrointestinal problems and her health was rapidly declining.
She was becoming very discouraged and figuring that she only had
a few months to live. I didn't see her the next week as she went from
the nursing home to a hospital. Back at the nursing home the following week,

I saw a new woman who was looking good, feeling good, and getting
healthier by the day. What happened? At the hospital her doctor decided to try a acidophilus.
Ironically, it wasn't even in the hospital's formulary and they had to go
to a nonhospital pharmacy to get it. Thank goodness she had a holistic doctor.
Ideally, antibiotics should have a warning that they may deplete naturally occurring
digestive bacteria and that these can be replaced by eating yogurt, acidophilus milk,
soy tempeh, or taking an acidophilus supplement.

It's amazing how often when we are ill we just focus on medications to defeat
the disease and forget to consider our body's overall needs and balances.
Thinking holistically can be very helpful. In this case, it probably saved Sally's life.

QUOTES

The world's "wealthiest nation" can never be satisfied until we are the world's healthiest.
~President Lyndon Johnson (1966)

HUMOR

July 17, 2005         Number 121
Attitudes are Improving

ACTION TO TAKE

Be encouraged that Americans' attitudes toward aging are improving.

WHY

TV, radio and print media have story after story about how we can't afford
to support the swelling ranks of seniors. Some stories suggest young people
will be stuck with supporting a legion of seniors who got in on the Social Security
"multi-level marketing scheme" but Social Security won't be there for them.
The stories could easily create a battle of the ages that would dwarf the battle of the sexes. 

Americans aren't buying it. In a December 2004 nationwide survey of 2,092 adults,
a Harris Interactive Survey conducted in Dec. 2004 found:

Only 9% agreed that:   "With Medicare and Social Security, older people receive
                                    more that their fair share of benefits."

Only 4% agreed that:    "Older people are a burden to society."

Only 4% agreed that:    "Older people don't contribute much to society."

83% agreed that:          "Older workers work as hard as young and middle-aged workers."

92% agreed that           "Older people are just as interesting as younger people and
                                     middle-aged people."

Why? Perhaps because we see more employed seniors from the greeter at Wal-Mart
to Supreme Court justices. Perhaps it is the sheer number of seniors out and about
that results in just about everyone having contact with seniors. Perhaps it is experiencing
seeing how seniors are often more knowledgeable, conscientious, and polite than younger workers.
Perhaps it is the political weight of Baby Boomers who are redefining age as mostly a state of mind.
It is possible that some of the people gave politically correct answers. Even if that is the case,
it is still progress.

It is heartening to know that at the very time we are aging, attitudes toward seniors
are becoming more favorable--again. I say again because in most of history, seniors
were valued and revered. It was only in the twentieth century that we became obsessed
with youth culture and tried to marginalize seniors. 

QUOTES

We'll order now what they ordered then
because everything old is new again.

No need to remember when
because everything old is new again

 Dreams can come true again
When everything old is new again.

~all quotes were lyrics to the song, Everything Old is New Again
   by Peter Allen and Carole Bayer Sager (1974)
   (popularized in the Broadway musical and 1979 film All That Jazz)

HUMOR

A man comments to a 100 year old man, "Life's Tough"
The centenarian retorts, "Cheer up Jack...the first 100 years are the hardest!"
~Flo & Friends cartoon strip

Radio talk show caller: I'm 75, Flo. I used to want to live fast and die young!
Flo: And now?
Caller: Well'now I just want to die young at a very old age. 
~Flo & Friends cartoon strip

My grandmother has a bumper sticker on her car that says,
"Sexy Senior Citizen."  You don't want to think of your grandmother
that way, do you? Out entering wet shawl contests. Makes you
wonder where she got that dollar she gave you for your birthday.
~Andy Rooney

 

June 26, 2005         Number 120
Insomnia Cures

ACTION TO TAKE

Have a collection of insomnia cures ready in case you should need them.

WHY

Most people experience insomnia at least occasionally.
There are effective alternatives to pills, alcohol, and supplements.
First, rule out caffeine, alcohol, or medications contributing to the problem
and try to have a regular bedtime and bedtime habits.

Suggestion #1:

Our body's rhythms cycle between alert and drowsy every 90 to 100 minutes.
During the day most people most people bear up during the drowsy phase.
Some indulge in a nap. At bedtime, the idea is to catch the wave.
Have you ever had been watching a movie on TV around bedtime
and you are feeling very sleepy but you keep yourself awake to see how it end?
Did you find yourself wide awake when it did end? If so you missed the wave.

When we are having difficulty getting to sleep, our brains are usually abuzz with thoughts
and self-chatter. The trick is to distract your mind until the next wave comes.
Meditation might clear your mind but you are probably feeling too tired to focus.
A neat trick is to put on one of your favorite videotapes or DVDs'not an action
shoot-em-up, but a slow moving one, like Casablanca. Because you love the move,
it engages you. Because you know exactly what is going to happen, when you do
get drowsy, you nod off. My personal favorite is Groundhog Day, both because
I love the move and because it has so many time loops it is easy to get lost in the movie.

Suggestion #2:

If you have developed a pattern of insomnia, you walk into the bedroom
and your brain is thinking, 'Oh no, another wrestling match with the bed.' 
Many people have told me that if they give up and lie down on the sofa, they fall asleep quickly.
Their bed became a conditioned stimulus of insomnia. The sofa was neutral.
If you don't fall asleep within a reasonable time after going to bed, get out.

Do not let bed become associated with insomnia. When you are really sleepy,
use your bed again, and build up a positive conditioning between bed and sleep.

 Suggestion #3: The easiest solution, however, is a hypnosis CD that leads you into
an increasingly relaxed state and suggests you can just drift off to sleep.

Hypnotic Journeys to Ageless Lifestyles not only does that, it gives you
hypnotic suggestions that help you live longer, healthier and happier.
The CDs have my hypnotic suggestions and original keyboard music by John David Jones.

QUOTES

Only when one cannot sleep does one know how long the night is.
~Chinese proverb

O sleep! O gentle sleep!
Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted thee,
That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down,
And steep my senses in forgetfulness?
~Shakespeare

HUMOR

A man asked his financial advisor how he handled the nail-biting
ups and downs of the stock market.
The advisor told him he slept like a baby.
"Really? Even with all the fluctuations?"
The broker replied, "Yes. I sleep for a couple of hours,
then wake up and cry for a couple of hours."

The Bible says, 'The lion and the lamb shall lie down together.'
But the lamb won't get much sleep.
~Woody Allen

June 12, 2005         Number 119
Curious Cats

ACTION TO TAKE

See one of your essential traits as insatiable curiosity.

WHY

Urban Myth: Curiosity killed the cat.
To the contrary, it was curiosity that gave the cat nine lives.

 A client recently told me he had no reason to get out of bed in the morning
--every day was the same. How sad I thought. There are so many distinctions
I would love to learn it would take many, many lifetimes.

For example, I recently had an 'image consultant' teach me about color.
For almost sixty years I have been oblivious to skin undertones,
complimenting hair and eye color, etc. Now when I see someone,
or even a picture of someone who looks fabulous, I try to figure out
what about their wardrobe is working so well.

I know physical therapists who can tell you a great deal about a
person's health, just by watching them walk. I know shoe sales people
who can tell what's wrong with how you walk by looking at your shoes.
When I hear a speaker or comedian, I'm not just interested in the content,
I'm trying to figure out what is working well and what would make it better.

 I would love to have the perceptive skills of Sherlock Holmes or
Adrian Monk. Merely having the belief that you haven't scratched the surface
of fascinating distinctions to learn and striving to learn life's nuances
help you live longer, healthier, and happier. As for that client, I suggested
some little things he could do to have a reason to get out of bed.
Perhaps I'll eventually get him to insatiably curious.

QUOTES

Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.
It is a seeking that he who wishes may know the cosmic secrets of the world
and that they dwell therein.
~Zora Neale Hurston  

First love is only a little foolishness and a lot of curiosity.
~George Bernard Shaw

Children whose curiosity survives parental discipline and who manage to grow up
before they blow up are invited to join the Yale faculty. Within the university
they go on asking their questions and trying to find the answers ' it is a place
where the world's hostility to curiosity can be defied.
~Yale Professor Edmund S Morgan

HUMOR

Label on a Japanese food processor:
Not to be used for the other use.
(Now I'm curious'.)

"His men would follow him anywhere, ... but only out of morbid curiosity."
--reported taken from an actual employee job performance review
 

May 29, 2005         Number 118
Seeing the Adventure

ACTION TO TAKE

When you confront an obstacle, ask yourself  what about the adversity
is an adventure.

WHY

At the District Toastmasters conference John Rich gave an inspiring talk
in which he asked how many of us have experienced obstacles in our lives.
Everyone raised their hands. He said he has not'he has only experienced
adventures. At some levels his advice is sophistry. If you break your leg,
it may be a learning experience and cause you to appreciate your leg more,
but it still hurts and it still slows you down. If you can believe that life
is an adventure, you will be a happier, more resilient person.

For most of us, however, it is too big of a leap. Also, seeing every obstacle
as an adventure may lead to foolhardiness. Indeed Mr. Rich described a
coast to coast bicycle trip in which trips to the hospital for a broken foot
and for kidney stones did not stop him.

What if you ask yourself, "What about that broken leg is an adventure? 
a learning experience? a challenge? increases my appreciation of what I have?"
Your mind is question driven. Ask it a question and your brain does it best to
come up with an answer. The result? Your are more inclined to see the adventure.
Not only does it prompt you to be happier and more resilient. It makes life more fun.

QUOTES

A life without adventure is likely to be unsatisfying, but a life in which adventure
is allowed to take whatever form it will is sure to be short.
~Bertrand Russell

 An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered.
An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.
~Gilbert Chesterton

Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve.
He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind.
~Leonardo da Vinci

HUMOR

I've got to give U-Hall credit for truth in advertising.
Their slogan is "Adventures in Moving." ~Mike Brickey

 [Being taken hostage is] an adventure for the tourist, because the tourist
will end up learning about the customs of the tribes as well as their good hospitality.
~Abdullah Ahmar, speaker of the Yemeni Parliament

 

May 15, 2005         Number 117
Happiness Insurance

ACTION TO TAKE

Be comforted that you have happiness insurance and there is
no premium to pay.

WHY

The patient is in a nursing home, no longer able to walk, in a lot of pain,
and has multiple health problems. I'm thinking that she is going to be
terribly depressed. Instead, she tells me how blessed she is and she seems
to be truly happy. I've experienced this so many times I am no longer surprised.

When a people experience a loss, they us usually experience some grieving
or depression--which may last for hours or months. Then they typically
revert to their previous level of happiness. In nursing homes, for a few months most
are "grieving" over their loss of health, independence, privacy, and palatable food.
Then they start reverting to their baseline or normal level of happiness (or unhappiness).
The extreme optimists don't even experience the grieving, they are grateful to still be alive
and appreciate how wonderful the staff are (which in turn makes them the staff's
favorite patients).

Consider Christopher Reeves. After his accident, he went through a period of depression.
Logically, we might expect him to be miserable the rest of his life. Though, initially
not even able to breathe without mechanical help, his upbeat personality reemerged and
he adopted a determination to talk and walk. He also took a leadership position in fund raising.

The phenomenon isn't limited to loss and health problems. Lottery winners are on a high for
several months and then revert to their previous level of happiness or unhappiness.
Boston Red Socks fans thought heaven had arrived when they broke the Curse
of the Bambino and won the World Series. After a few weeks, life returned to
normal. Graduation bliss lasts a few weeks. Marital bliss typically lasts for several months.

So the good news is that even if bad things happen to you, after awhile, you will be
happy again. You have happiness insurance and the premiums were free.
How can you up your baseline for happiness? That's the topic of the next issue.

Note: My thanks to Dr. Chris Peterson and Dr. Ben Dean for several of these ideas.

QUOTES

Americans have an abiding belief in their ability to control reality by purely material means
...airline insurance replaces the fear of death with the comforting prospect of cash.
~Cecil Beaton

HUMOR

Sergeant Jones advised new recruits about their government benefits, especially their GI insurance.
Jones had almost a 100% record for insurance sales, which had never happened before. Why?
Jones explained that "If you have GI Insurance and go into battle and are killed, the government 
has to pay $200,000 to your beneficiaries. If you don't have GI insurance, and you go into battle
and get killed, the government has to pay only a maximum of $6,000."
"Now," he concluded, "which bunch do you think they're going to send into battle first?"

May 1, 2005         Number 116
Helpful Delusions

ACTION TO TAKE

For one day, try having a "delusion" that you are decades younger
than your chronological age. Note how it affects you.
Consider whether you want to permanently adopt the "delusion."

WHY

In a recent psych consult a rather fit gentleman told me he was 63.
I asked when he was born and  he said 1911. I asked if he remembered
World War II and he said he was in school then. I wrote
   2005
 -1911
and asked him to do the subtraction. He accurately computed 94.
"Something's wrong." he said. "I'm only 63."
Despite further questions, his belief was unshakeable.

We have many beliefs that are difficult to prove but help us be more successful.
One is our religious beliefs. Others include believing that you make a difference and
Einstein's belief that "the world is a friendly place." There is a great deal of research
that optimists are are healthier and more successful than pessimists. Many successful
people attribute their success to first believing they were successful (even though
others and external trappings suggested they were not).

I once had an young anorexic client tell me she was fat. I asked her go to the
bathroom, look in the mirror, and draw what she saw in the mirror. As it happens,
the mirror was only above the sink. The top half of her drawing looked like a normal
person. The bottom half ballooned into obesity. Another interesting delusion is men
who are convinced they are really women trapped in a man's body.

Yes, that rather fit 94 year old gentleman had some dementia. Yet his belief about his age
helped keep him looking and feeling much younger. Perhaps we could learn something
from him. Fortunately, you don't have to be demented to choose to believe in a "delusion."

QUOTES

We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.~Kurt Vonnegut

The greatest discovery of my generation is that man can alter his life
simply by altering his attitude of mind.
~William James

HUMOR

A haggard man enters the psychologist's office and stuffs a cigarette up his nose.
"I see you really need me," said the psychologist.
"I sure do." the man said, "Do you have a light?"

An avid duck hunter had a new retriever that could walk on water.
He invited his pessimistic friend to join him on a duck hunt.
A flock of ducks flew by and he shot one. The dog skipped
across the water and retried the bird, getting little more than his paws wet. 
"Did you notice anything unusual about my new dog?" he said.
His pessimistic friend replied, "I sure did. He can't swim."

April 17, 2005         Number 115
Senior Moments Cop Out Ages Baby Boomers

ACTION TO TAKE

Trash the idea of senior moments. If friends suggest they are having a
senior moment, do them a favor and explain why it is highly unlikely.

WHY

Baby Boomers want everything instantly'including their memory.
When their memory isn't instant, they give up and lament, 'I'm having
a senior moment.' Few beliefs age Boomers faster than not trusting
their memory and copping out by claiming a senior moment.

Too many Boomers attribute 'insufficient memory at this time' to
inevitable neural deterioration that 'goes with aging.' Rarely is the problem
due to aging. When stressed, tired, sleep deprived, ill, or taking certain
medications, memory suffers. As you age, your 'processing speed' slows
a little and you can't concentrate on quite as many things at once.
There also is a lot more information to search. The solution is to trust
your memory and tell yourself, 'It will come to me.' It's amazing how
a few minutes later, it pops into you mind.

Sensing a gullible market, a supplement company marketed 'Senior Moment,'
which the FTC ruled (8-12-04) provided unsubstantiated claims that it could
prevent memory loss or restore memory function. Certainly some Boomers
impair their memory with alcohol abuse, extreme dieting or poor nutrition.
In these cases the problem will likely clear up with drinking less, eating better, and taking
a daily multiple vitamin in case the diet isn't meeting vitamin and mineral needs.
Also exploiting the concept is a board game titled Senior Moments.

Boomers may fear memory lapses are Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's is rare before
age 65. Even at 65, only 7 in 1000 Americans have it. Symptoms that that tend to
differentiate Alzheimer's and other dementias from stress can include: becoming lost
or disoriented on familiar trips, forgetting names of relatives and close friends,
forgetting how to perform familiar tasks, losing initiative, and friends commenting on
personality changes. Alzheimer's and other dementias are diseases caused by damage
to the brain and are not the normal course of aging.

QUOTES

God gave us memory that we might have roses in December.
~Sir James Barrie, author of Peter Pan

HUMOR

Wife: How could you forget my birthday?
Quick thinking husband: How do you expect me to remember your birthday
   when you never look any older?

I sometimes worry about my short attention span, but not for very long.
~Herb Caen

April 3, 2005         Number 114
Optimism: The Mental Placebo

ACTION TO TAKE

Take the leap of faith and be an optimist.

WHY

It's amazing how thousands of drug studies find a sizable portion
of the benefits of a drug come from the power of suggestion.
For example, in a classic study, half of the medical students were given red pills they
were told were amphetamines (that really were sedatives). Half of these students
reported feeling a burst of energy. The other medical students were given 
blue pills they were told were sedatives (that were really amphetamines).
Half of them reported feeling calmer.

Because of the power of suggestion, credible drug studies must include a placebo
comparison group. On the average, placebo effects account for a third of the
benefits of treatments--whether the treatment is a medication or psychotherapy.

Research on optimism finds that optimisms are more successful and have better health.
For example, a study of men who had a heart attack found that eight years later 24%
of the optimists had died and 84% of the pessimists had died. Similar findings apply
to women with breast cancer. Martin Seligman rated essays by class of 1945-46
Harvard freshman found that at age 45 the optimisms were in good health but many
of the pessimists were developing health problems. By age 60 the difference was
even more pronounced.

I'm struck with how similar the power of expectations are with placebos and with
optimism. Similar forces are at work. With placebos, we have to be fooled.
With optimism, we only need to take a leap of faith.

QUOTES

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity;
an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
~Sir Winston Churchill

Results? Why, man, I have gotten lot of results! If I find 10,000 ways
something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged, because
every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward. Just because
something doesn't do what you planned it to do doesn't mean it's useless.
~Thomas Edison

HUMOR

If you liked Placebo, be sure to try Placebo Plus--with 33% more
inert ingredients.

The difference between an optimist and a pessimist--
The optimist invented the airplane. The pessimist, the parachute.

March 20, 2005         Number 113
Future Health Resources

ACTION TO TAKE  

Have faith that the future will bring awesome medical resources to  
help you meet health challenges and enhance your health.

WHY

I love the Statue of Liberty. I know she will get some wear and tear.
It's comforting to know that in a few decades when she needs
major maintenance again, the technology for helping her be her best
will be even better than we have today. The trick is keeping her
in reasonably good shape until the next major maintenance.

We too can have faith that if we take reasonably good care of ourselves,
technology will give us some awesome help. Consider a few examples:

~In 1991 I had a groin hernia repair. It was several days before I could
walk normally. Today the surgery is far les invasive.

~Last year my then 83 year old father had a similar hernia repair. After the surgery
he drove himself home and even stopped on the way for breakfast at a restaurant.

 ~Different people metabolize medications differently resulting in only an
estimated 25-60% of medications not being dosed effectively. In June an
FDA approved matchbox sized computer chip will be marketed for analyzing
your blood sample and determining how you would metabolize a wide variety
of hypertensive, antidepressant, seizure, cancer, and heartburn medications.

~Physicians have attached a miniature video camera on glasses. The camera
relays the signal to an implant in the retina, which passes the input to the optic nerve.
This enables people with conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa and macular
degeneration to see again. (The current version is crude until the number of pixels
increases.) The technology is expected to be commercially available in 2-3 years.

~Stem cells are being implanted to heart muscles to grow new heart muscle.
Research is showing progress in using stem cells to even replace brain cells.

Will your body show wear and tear over the years? Of course. Will the resources
for enhancing your health be greatly improved by then? You bet!

QUOTES

We need not be afraid of the future, for the future will be in our own hands.
~Thomas Dewey

The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.
Let us move forward with strong and active faith.
~Franklin Delano Roosevelt

After all, tomorrow is another day.
~Scarlett O'Hara, Gone with the Wind

HUMOR

On his 82^nd birthday a young photographer said to Sir Winston Churchill,
'I hope I may have the privilege of taking your picture when you are 100.
Churchill replied, 'No reason you shouldn't if you continue to look after your health. 

March 6, 2005         Number 112
Money and Happiness

ACTION TO TAKE

Pursue a career you love.

WHY

David Myers' classic study of happiness found that
between 1960 and 1990 Americans' income,
adjusted for inflation, doubled but the percentage
rating themselves very happy remained constant at 30%.

Does the relationship hold? Any study is merely
a photograph in time, from one perspective.
The more photos, the better we understand the picture.

Last year Science magazine (pp. 1829-37) reported on
a survey of 42,000 US scientists and their career satisfaction.
The scientists included professionals and postdocs in universities,
research facilities, medical facilities, and self-employment
settings. For all categories between 60% and 75% rated
themselves as 'very satisfied.'

Average salaries ranged from 51K to 99K and there was
no relationship between income and satisfaction.
The exception was professionals in the highest paid group
(99K)--Pharmaceuticals. Only 22% were satisfied.
Overall those in academic and self-employed settings
were happier than those in industry (though industry had
higher salaries). As one respondent put it, 'I can't believe
they pay me to do what otherwise would be my hobby.'

Retirement ages are getting later and later. Among academics
almost 30% anticipated not retiring until 70 or older.

Would they choose a science career again? 70% said yes.
Why? To quote the article:
"A clear message from the respondents is 'love conquers all''
following your bliss is the only sure way to be happy in the job, say
many of those surveyed."

QUOTES

Follow your bliss.
~Joseph Campbell

The mind is the source of all happiness and all misery
of both poverty and riches.
~Napoleon Hill

Adopting a child can bring you more happiness
than adopting a Cadillac.
~Melvin Durai

HUMOR

So you want to be happy, deliriously happy? Consider moving
to Nigeria. Nigerians are the happiest people in the world,
according to the World Values Survey. That doesn't surprise
me at all, because I keep receiving emails from Nigerians
eager to share their wealth with me. 
~Melvin Durai

February 20, 2005         Number 111
Love and Sex after 60:
It can be better than ever

ACTION TO TAKE

Look forward to continuing to have a fulfilling sex life after 60
that might be even better than your current sex life.

WHY

How can sex be better after sixty? Let me cite the ways:
1. no fear of pregnancy
2. no need for birth control (if in a monogamous relationship and no venereal diseases)
3. no worry about the kids overhearing
4. more time as child rearing is voluntary (grand parenting)
5. even more time if you are retired (think of how many times couples say, "not tonight honey, I'm too tired")
6. while men take longer to get an erection and it isn't as firm, many men have more control and last longer
7. it's the difference between guzzling beer and savoring a fine wine
8. it's real cooking instead of microwave cooking

Microwave cooking? In our youth, we can become sexually aroused quickly, and
passionately dive into sex with a can't wait to get to dessert mentality. Young men only need a modicum
of visual stimulation to be aroused. The whole tryst can happen as quickly as you could
microwave some popcorn. Older men need considerable, ongoing physical stimulation
to get a maintain an erection. Thus like real cooking, it's boil the water, stir in the ingredients,
and put a lot of love in it. Many men find themselves becoming more emotionally involved
in sex. Their partners notice and appreciate the difference.

Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis and its siblings have give many men the ability to continue
functioning when the desire is there but not enough blood is getting to and staying in the penis.
It also gives a security blanket for men who are not having problems currently, but fear
they might when they get older.

For women, the Women's Health Initiative study found that the risks outweigh the benefits
for most women for  conventional estrogen + Premarin hormone replacement for menopause.
Hopefully, this opens the door for more study of the risks and benefits for bioidentical hormone
replacement tailored to a woman's unique hormonal profile based on testing the levels of all of
the hormones and unique risk factors.

This is not to say that all seniors are interested in sex. A sizeable number of women, in particular,
never enjoyed sex much anyway and are just as happy "not to have to deal with it anymore."
And with women outliving men and more men dating younger women than older women,
many older women find they can't find an appropriate partner. (That's an issue I can address in
another issue of the newsletter.)

For those who because of disability, disease, or other problems cannot engage in intercourse,
hugging, cuddling, caressing, kissing, snuggling, massaging, and possibly oral sex can still make
for a fulfilling sexual life. With slow cooking, cake is good, even without the icing.

QUOTES

Money and sex have a lot in common.
Both become an issue when you don't have enough.

HUMOR

I can remember when the air was clean and sex was dirty.
~George Burns

February 6, 2005         Number 110
Perks of Being Over 60: Sex and Relationships

ACTION TO TAKE

When you think about growing older, realize that it has its perks.
One perk is that sex doesn't complicate relationships as much as in younger years.

WHY

Many seniors have a rich sex life and sexuality is important in their lives.
Sexuality, however, becomes less about proving manhood
or validating being desirable and loved, and more about warmth, caring,
and sharing. It is easier to see a man or a woman as an interesting person first
rather than fantasizing about sex or staring at the curves or muscles.

When meeting a new person of any age, you don't have to worry as much
about being politically correct and making sure you don't say something that
would be considered a pass or sexual harassment. And if you do say something
that isn't politically correct, people are more forgiving than they are
with younger people.

One of the saddest causalities of being politically correct is that many people became
afraid to hug or put their arm around someone. Few people take offense when
older people hug them. And we all need more hugs.

QUOTES

Sex stops when you pull up your pants. Love never lets you go.
~ Kingsley Amis

Sex appeal is 50% of what you've got and 50% of what people think you've got.
~Sophia Loren

The enjoyment of sex, although great
Is in later years said to abate.
This may well be so,
But how would I know?
I'm now only seventy-eight.
~Anonymous

HUMOR

Humans and dolphins are reportedly the only animals that have sex for fun.
Is that why dolphins are always smiling?

 

 

 Ageless Lifestyles Institute
 865 College Ave., Columbus, OH 43209
 DrBrickey@DrBrickey.com