Gentle acts of brain health

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I've done more than 90 of these brain-health videos, and every one of them ends the same way. In fact, you've probably heard my closing line so many times, you could probably deliver it for me. (In today's video, someone actually does.) But when I exhort you week after week to "be kind to your mind," what does that mean? I've never actually explained that to you, so today, I thought I would.

Here is a partial transcript of today's video:
I've been doing these brain health videos for a while now, and I've produced more 90 of them.

And they all have one thing in common. Every week, I sign off by encouraging you to be kind to your mind.

And after telling you that almost a hundred times now, it occurred to me that I've never really talked about what I mean by that. So I thought I'd do that today.

Stop me if you've heard this one before.

Until then, as always, be kind to your mind.

A guy I know, the first time he heard that, he told me, "Hey, I like that. It's cute. And it rhymes."

Well, I'm glad somebody thinks it cute. And it does rhyme. But that's not why I say it.

To me, it conveys the importance of kindness and gentleness to yourself and to your brain as you cope with mild cognitive impairment.

Because let's face it. It is not a kind condition.

If you have mild cognitive impairment or someone you love does, fate has not been kind to you.

And said as it is to say, if you have MCI, society will not treat you kindly to you, either. People with MCI often don't want to tell other people that they have it, and if they do, they are often surprised and hurt by how insensitive or thoughtless or just plain ignorant people are about it.

Well, you can't control fate and you can't control the behavior of other people.

But the one person who you can get to be kind to you . . . is you.

And yet, people with MCI can really get down on themselves.

It's hard not to be hard on yourself, when you do things that make you feel foolish or frustrated or angry. But this isn't you doings these things. It's the condition you have that's resulting in you doin these things.

Kindness. Gentleness. Compassion. You deserve them from others. But first and foremost, you deserve them from yourself.

I recently read and shared a touching column by Virginia Laken, who writes a blog about living with MCI. In her most recent post, she reflects on the emotional rollercoaster of the past three years and how she has come to experience what she calls her "own internal calming."

I see a beautiful self-compassion in that, and as you are able to be kind to yourself, you become more able to be kind to you mind, because there's a gentleness in that as well.

There's this misperception that brain health is something people have to force themselves to do. Like you need some drill sergeant standing over you, ordering you to be brain healthy.

But really, so much of what's good for cognition can be done gently.

Meditation. Listening to calming music. Having coffee with a friend. Taking a walk in nature. Enjoying a glass of red wine. Dancing. These are good for your brain.

So I want to be here every week, not as your drill sergeant, but as a friend, giving you encouragement and even permission to approach yourself and your brain with compassion and kindness.

So thanks for joining me today. I'll see you again next week.

And just in case you've heard it from me one too many times, I thought I might do something a little different today and let you hear it from someone like you, who watches these videos. So I've invited my friend and colleague Lisa Head, who does her own videos as well, to sign off for me. Lisa, it's all yours."

Thank you, Tony. Hello all you wonderful people. This is Lisa, and welcome to Living Life with Lisa. And Tony is looking forward to seeing all your back next week. Remember, until then, be kind to your mind."

This site is educational, and is not intended as medical advice. It offers information about lifestyle choices that have been proven to help protect cognition. Always consult your doctor before making changes that can impact your health.
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It was an honor, Lisa. The honor was purely mine. Thanks to you.

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