Ageless Lifestyles Radio

Host: Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey

Expert Guest: Dr. Jack D. Thrasher and NTEF President Angel De Fazio

Broadcast and podcast:
6-16-08 on webtalkradio.net
after 6-23-08 podcast availabe at: toxic chemicals  

What if you had a guardian angel to help protect you from chemicals that can cause health problems like asthma, seizures, tremors, dementia, and cancer. You do. The National Toxic Encephalopathy Foundation, a nonprofit organization, helps inform you and business about chemicals that can harm you and healthier alternatives to toxic chemicals. Encephalopathy of course refers to diseases affecting the brain. Toxicologist Dr. Jack Thrasher and NTEF President Angel De Fazio will probably scare you. Our intention, however, is not to freak you out but to alert you to dangers and provide healthier alternatives to products you use.  

The NTEF website is www.NTEFUSA.org Dr. Brickey’s website is www.DrBrickey.com 

Host: Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey

Expert Guest: Dr. Stephen Post

Broadcast and podcast:
5-19-08 on webtalkradio.net
after 5-27-08 podcast availabe at: altruism

I remember one of the songs my twins listened to just a few years ago said, when you help someone smaller, you make you feel taller. Clergy urge us to be generous and do good deeds. But what does science say about altruism and helping others? Dr. Stephen Post has done extensive research on love and doing good. Dr. Post is a bioethics professor at Case Western Reserve University, President of the Institute for Research on Unlimited Love, and author of Why Good Things Happen to Good People. He has shown that the Fountain of Youth has been inside us all the time. And while becoming a more loving, giving person won’t make you live forever, his research shows that it will help you live a longer, healthier, happier life. In the first part of the show we will look at love, happiness, and what makes a good life. In the second part of the show we will get specific about how to live a more loving live.

 

 

In the first part of the show, we will focus on how to know what colors enhance your appearance. In the second part of the show we will look at how our ideal colors shift with age and how to stay in style. We’ll also look at issues like fit, texture, patterns, and accessories. Her website is www.whygoodthingshappen.com

http://www.agelesslifestyles.com/interviews/altruism.mp3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Host: Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey

Expert Guest: Chef Alexander Bernard

Broadcast: 4-28-08 on webtalkradio.net

after 5-8-08 availabe at: Healthy Food at Restaurants

At home you know how fresh your food is and how it’s cooked. While one of life’s great pleasures is eating at a restaurant, how do you know whether you are getting fresh, healthy, nutritious food? What happens behind the scenes? How do you know if the Chef’s Special is the chef’s best, or yesterday’s leftovers. Is the chef loading the food with lard to make it tastier? Today’s guest, Chef Alexander Bernard knows the ins and outs of the restaurant business and will be our guide. Chef Alexander is head chef and owner of the renowned Alexander’s Restaurant in Naples Florida and is the author of the about to be released cookbook, Alexander’s Restaurant. In the first part of the show we’ll take a look at what goes on behind the scenes of a restaurant. In the second half of the show we’ll focus on practical advice on how to get nutritious, delicious foods that won’t clog your arteries or add the pounds.

Host: Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey

Expert Guest: Dr. Sharon Moalem

Broadcast: 4-21-08 on webtalkradio.net

after 5-1-08 availabe at: What’s Good about Disease

Most of us view disease as bad. We get sick and protest how unfair it is or see the disease as an enemy we need to nuke with pills, lasers, or a surgical strike. Dr. Sharon Moalem views disease as history lesson in how our ancestors adapted to survive plagues and climate changes. He believes these history lessons can help us be healthier. Dr. Moalem has a doctorate in physiology and the emerging fields of neurogenetics and evolutionary medicine. He is also completing his medical school training at Mt. Siani hospital in New Work City. He is author of the New York Times Best Selling book: Survival of the Sickest: A Medical Maverick Discovers Why We Need Disease. In the first part of the show we will focus on how diseases help us adapt. In the second part of the show we’ll focus on how these insights can help us stay healthier and live longer.

Host: Anti-Aging Psychologist
Dr. Michael Brickey

Expert Guest: Cardiologist Dr. Richard Schneider

Broadcast: 4-8-08 on webtalkradio.net

 

 

We expect our doctors to always put our interests first. In his interview with Ageless Lifestyles Radio host Dr. Michael Brickey, distinguished cardiologist Dr. Richard Schneider, says because the healthcare system rewards quantity rather than quality of care many doctors follow the money by ordering unnecessary tests and surgeries and cutting corners. Further, a good old boys atmosphere often discourages doctors from examining their mistakes. Dr. Schneider’s book, The Cost of Courage, describes how he successfully practiced compassionate, ethical medicine and was often punished for doing it.

 

In the first part of the program he will offer advice on how you can make sure you are getting appropriate, effective services from your cardiologist and other physicians. In the second part of the show he will share his surprising doable solutions for fixing our healthcare system and saving 30% of our nation’s healthcare costs. His website is www.RichardRSchneider.com.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Host: Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey

Expert Guest: Amy Gorman

Broadcast: 4-1-08 on webtalkradio.net where the latest shows are broadcast and posted as podcasts

Art keeps us young by lifting our spirits, challenging our minds, and giving us perspective. Today’s guest, Amy Gorman became fascinated with artists in their nineties and hundreds. That inspired her to profile twelve artists in her book, Aging Artfully and the documentary film about the artists titled Still Kicking. She is a sculptress, an historian, and a storyteller. Her career has spanned all age groups from developing and being Executive Director of Kidshows for eighteen years to being a medical social worker with dementia patients. In the first part of the show, we’ll learn about artists she has studied. In the second part of the show, we’ll focus on how you can pursue art to help keep you youthful and fulfilled. Her website is http://www.agingartfully.com/

TRANSCRIPT ©Michael Brickey–excerpts permitted with attribution

MB: This is Dr. Michael Brickey with Ageless Lifestyles Radio, cutting-edge thinking for being youthful at every age. On each show I interview experts on what it takes to live longer, healthier, and happier. Our program takes a holistic approach in addressing anti-aging psychology, medicine, alternative medicine, fitness, nutrition, and wellness. Our emphasis is on innovative thinking and practices that have solid data and results.Perhaps Ponce DeLeon never found the fountain of youth because he was looking for magic water. Judging from how many people in their hundreds are artists, the fountain of youth may well be art. Art in its many forms lifts our spirits, challenges our minds, and gives us perspective.Today’s guest, Amy Gorman, became fascinated with artists in their nineties and hundreds. That inspired her to profile twelve artists in her book, Aging Artfully, and the documentary film about the artists titled Still Kicking. Amy Gorman’s career has spanned all ages. She developed and for eighteen years was the executive director of Kidshows, a nonprofit organization that introduces children to the arts. She’s been a medical social worker with dementia patients. She’s a sculptress, a historian, and a storyteller. In the first part of the show, we’ll learn about the artists she studied. And in the second part of the show, we’ll focus on how you can pursue art to help keep you youthful, creative, and fulfilled. Amy, how did you get from working with children to working with seniors?

MB: When you say “stuck,” you mean you hit an artistic block?

AG: Yes, I kept thinking I was on a plateau. That’s something, I think, that all artists go through.

MB: So did the older artists get you unstuck?

AG: They certainly got me thinking and doing something different creatively. And yes, that absolutely got me unstuck. At first I went off on the other tangent, interviewing and writing about them. And all the while, I was doing my sculpture.

MB: So how has your sculpting changed as a result of working with them?

AG: Oh, I suppose I’m just happier with it. I’m happier with the process. I think that’s it more than anything. The process doesn’t get me so upset anymore.

MB: So some of it maybe was, “If they can do it, I can do it?”

AG: Well, I think - yeah, maybe so. Maybe that’s it. Or maybe I had this creative burst with the writing of the book and working with the film. So I saw that creativity comes when you least expect it. And of course, I was in my sixties, and it’s never too late to start something new. It was a whole new experience for me.

MB: Well, sixties is just a kid.

AG: Yeah, exactly, exactly. It certainly felt like that, talking to nineties and hundreds.

MB: So how did you find these women?

AG: That’s a very curious question. It’s really word of mouth. I woke up one morning - I say this in the book - I work up one morning and age was on my mind. And that’s exactly what happened. So the whole thing was very organic. I mentioned my interest to a friend who was a composer and a pianist. And she asked me if I knew Lily Hearst. Lily was over 100 and playing the piano every day at the senior center in Berkeley, California, where I live. So I said, “I don’t know Lily but I’d love to meet her,” because when I talk about art, I’m talking about all the arts, not just the visual arts.

MB: Right.

AG: So we went to meet Lily and it was her 105^th birthday. And truly, Michael, I just fell in love with her. She was completely with us in the room and you could have a conversation with her about anything. She was just wonderful. Of course, it was hard getting a meeting with her. She was busy. And I said, “I need more Lilys in my life.” I wanted more Lilys in my life. I wanted to surround myself with Lilys - very, very active, wonderful people in their hundreds. There she was. We had just listened to her play the piano. She played every day before the lunch hour. It was wonderful. And then I started mentioning it to other people, and they said, “Oh, do you know so-and-so? She’s over 90 and she’s a writer.” Or, “Do you know Frances? She’s a painter and she’s in her nineties.” And so on, and on and on. People - when they heard this, they thought of somebody and said, “Go speak with her,” “Go see her,” “Go see her.” It just unfolded that way.

MB: And the word of mouth probably contributed to getting such a wide variety of artists, I mean different types of art.

AG: Exactly. And once I realized that this was something I wanted to write, I wanted to bring it out to the world, I started making sure and rounding out the people whom I was seeing - I wanted a variety of art forms, I wanted a variety of personalities, and all kinds of diversity.

MB: Did you see anything in common with the artists that you studied?

AG: Yeah, I like that question. I did. I think one of the important factors in the women I interviewed is that they do not think about the negative very long. As it is said in some of the literature, they can shed stress. They don’t focus on the negative. They move on. They’re very busy - that’s another factor. They’re busy all day. They’re living right here, in the here and now, and they want to live that way. They don’t ruminate about past ambivalences or conflicts. They’ve passed that. And they’re really content to explore the here and now. And it is great to be in their presence. So that’s another common trait. They’ve also got a sense of humor, every one of them, and want to do their art every day. They have schedules. They’re quite disciplined people in their own way. They have schedules. They have a lot to do. And their art is part of their lives - very, very definitely. The people I interviewed all wanted to work at their particular art form. And it’s part of their regular schedule.

MB: The characteristics you’re talking about are common in vital centenarians, whether they’re artists or not.

AG: Exactly.

MB: I wonder if there’s a chicken and egg thing that the art helps them live longer, or does taking up art do that for people?

AG: Well, it is - we don’t know, do we? It is a kind of chicken and egg question. But we can only speculate that the art certainly helps give a purpose - I think purpose is very important in one’s life in general, all kinds of purpose. It does not have to be art. But with these women, it was art as one of their purposes. They had - they were interested in many different things. Many of them were writing letters to their congress people.

MB: What do they want from the congress people?

AG: Oh, various things. It would range from putting elevators in the metro, in the BART stations in the San Francisco Bay area. You know, political candidates that they were supporting, the war - we started this right around the time of the Iraq War, so they had their opinions, one way or the other. They’re busy.

MB: And some of them were on one side of the war and some of them on the other, or…?

AG: No, I would say that they were all on one side of the war, at least the ones that talked about it. One of the women in the book, Dorothy Toy, has a fascinating history. She’s still teaching dance. I went to her 90^th party a few months ago. And she has students coming to her house, so she keeps busy that way. Another of the women who was a dance teacher and still had a dance studio but was in a wheelchair, and so she started teaching piano in her nineties. And she had - when I was interviewing her, she had seven students plus another teacher in the studio in back of her house taking care of all the dance students, but Ann was teaching piano, so that’s part of her routine.

MB: Are there ways in which they were different?
AG: Oh, I think, like any sample of people, you’ll see their personalities, of course, are all very different. And their history - they’d all had tremendous suffering in their lives of one sort or another. They are not women who had easy lives.

MB: Yeah, a lot of people have the assumption that people are living longer because we’re just lucky and had it easy, and it’s often quite to the contrary - they’re very tested people.

AG: Exactly. You learn to cope with - in fact, one of the women said - I’m remembering now - she said once you’ve had a serious tragedy really in your life and you’ve gone through it, you can manage with anything, because you learn coping skills.

MB: Can you describe some of the women? Maybe some of your favorites?

AG: Oh, sure. I couldn’t pick favorites, but I’ll mention a couple who actually were not in the film. In the film, all the women are between 90 to 106, the film Still Kicking. One of them who is not in the film has a great quote. This is Isabelle Ferguson, who was a painter and an illustrator, and at the age of 86 had always wanted to be an actor. There is a senior theater company, Stagebridge, in Oakland, California, fortunately, for people over 55. And these theater companies are spreading around the company, so if you’re interested in theater, anybody in the audience listening, you probably can find something in your community. But Isabelle, at the age of 86, had decided she wanted - she had always wanted to be an actress, so she joined. And she just had the best time. She’s a very funny person - I mean, humorous. She comes up with jokes all the time. She says, “Old age is hot right now. They don’t know what to do with us.” So she understands what all the talk is about and what you and I are interested in. She was fortunate to be part of this theater company when - they actually went to Las Vegas in her first show she was in, was called to Las Vegas. There was a convention of senior theater companies from around the country. So she just had a great time.

MB: Now you’ve got me really curious about these theater groups. What kind of repertoire do they do?

AG: You know, it will depend, from what I know. I mean, there’ll be scripts - the directors of the companies will find scripts, and oftentimes - in this theater company - people write their own stories, which is very therapeutic, and people love to hear about them. In this particular group, they go out to the schools and tell their stories to school kids. So it’s not a real theater company where you’re doing serious drama and people come. They may be doing children’s theater, for example, children’s plays, and they’ll mix the older - the seniors with some kids, so you have a family audience coming. There is a whole variety. I think it would depend on the bent of the director and what the director wants to do and what the people want to do who are taking the classes or joining the company.

MB: I’m delighted to hear that they’re creating their own things and telling their stories, as opposed to trying to do “12 Angry Men” and having people say, “Well, that’s not bad for somebody in their nineties but it’s not quite as good as if Tom Cruise had done it.”

AG: Exactly. I think the goals are very different - at least in this local theater company. I love the idea of seniors telling their own stories, especially to school kids. And then, you know, they have a lot of fun with costumes, because that is so much a part of theater. And some people are interested in making the sets, so they work behind the scenes.

MB: Well, there are a lot of shy seniors, sure.

AG: Yeah, yeah, to want to a join a theater company, you have to feel that you want to be in front of an audience - that’s often a stumbling block to a lot of seniors.

MB: Well, at any age.

AG: Yeah, exactly.

MB: How do the school children respond to these stories?

AG: Oh, I think the numbers of kids, at least in this area, who have heard the stories is vast - I mean, thousands. They do dozens, hundreds of shows in schools. They’re marvelous. They love it. I mean, you know, you’re not going to get every kid loving every performance, and each of the seniors has a different story to tell. But there are some classes that want them back, and there are some classes that have a kind of grandparent - they pair up the school kids with the seniors; that’s another idea. They’ve done many shows with kids, where they rehearse together and they perform together. Isabelle did that and she absolutely loved it, especially that her picture got in the local paper.

MB: So this led to a number of ongoing relationships between the seniors and the school children.

AG: Exactly, exactly.

MB: Wow.

AG: Yeah, and sometimes year after year.

MB: One of the people you studied was a storyteller, which people don’t usually think of as the arts. Can you tell us about storytelling?

AG: There are many professional storytellers, and there are these great storytelling conventions. You get marvelous storytellers. Remember, of course, Native Americans - we have a long tradition of storytelling and oral history being passed down. And many of the storytellers I have met over the years are very sad about the loss of that oral tradition. So one of their goals is to reinvigorate it. And you can imagine - just picture sitting in the library, even on, you know, Halloween, when you get the scary stories, and the kids are just mesmerized. And it’s starting out with library story time when you have librarians, and then this tradition has grown and blossomed. You have some really amazing storytellers who are actors truly or they’re - you know, which comes first, the actor or the storyteller? And often music is involved. You can have an accompanist with a drum, very quietly, or a flute - I’ve heard that, too. I just happened to meet a storyteller who used to run a local radio program, and she used to read stories to the kids and tell the stories, as well. And she had the kids on the radio - it was absolutely marvelous. And she died at 90, but up until the day she died, she was going to the schools, telling stories.

MB: Wow.

AG: She was not a performance artist. There are many storytellers who are truly performance artists, and they’re marvelous - if you ever have a chance to see one or if something comes to your neck of the woods. There are two storytellers in the book, out of the twelve women. And the other storyteller, she does go to festivals. And she’s a real character, eccentric person who talks to people in the street and tells them stories - short stories - from her stack of wise stories.

MB: You know, there was some fascinating research where they had listeners here - young adults telling stories and seniors telling stories, and they couldn’t tell which was which, but they rated the seniors as better storytellers because they had more emotion, more passion, they told more interesting stories. And I think that comes at a time in life where you step up to being the patriarch or the matriarch of the family to pass on the family stories and traditions.

AG: That’s right. That’s very well said. I think that goes along with telling your own life story and the life of you, which is such an important part of living and such an opportunity we all have to go through our life review. And so you integrate different parts of your life psychologically - it’s so healthy, and why I think it’s encouraged now, certainly in assisted living and nursing homes. We can do that before - we don’t have to wait until we’re 80 or 90 or 100.

MB: Well, it should be a lifelong process.

AG: Exactly. That’s true, too. That’s right. We certainly start in school, writing the stories about me - you know, when you’re three or six years old, “My Story,” and then we lose that somehow as we get into upper grades in college, it’s not so much personal-

MB: We lose it when we start calling it a resume.

AG: There you go.

MB: Tell me about some of the other women that you worked with?

AG: Faith Patrick is a folk singer. She’s still jetsetting at 92 now. She’s going across the country. She sings at folk festivals. She’s the only person I communicate with by email. The others don’t do email. But Faith writes a column every two weeks, I believe, for one of the national folk song magazines, Sing Out. And she’s very well-known within the folk community, and she’s a wonderful character. She lives in a great old San Francisco Victorian house. Currently her granddaughter is living with her, but otherwise she’s been living there alone, and they still meet on Friday nights and sing - the whole community sings, plays instruments. Oh, many marriages have come out of that house, apparently - people meeting each other at the folks sings.

MB: See, she should’ve been a minister, too, and could’ve earned some extra money that way.

AG: Yeah, well, that’s true. That’s an idea. Maybe she’ll start that now, Michael.

MB: There you go. Does she have a special role in the community?

AG: Oh, she has. Oh, yes. She certainly does in her folk singing community. She started a San Francisco folk club. And oh, you know, there are just hundreds of people who have gone through that, because this is many decades back. And importantly, Faith - as many of the people I wrote about - did not start until retirement. That’s an important message that I’d like to get across: It’s never too late. She started singing and touring really after she retired. Frances Catlett started painting after she retired; Frances will be 100 this July. In fact, you’ll see a photo, if you get AARP Magazine, in the March-April issue, page 75.

MB: Okay.

AG: And it mentions the Still Kicking film.

MB: Oh, wonderful.

AG: So there’s a photo of Frances.

MB: Well, that’s only going to publicize it to, what, about 20 million people? Or is it a lot more than that?

AG: Oh, it’s tiny, you know, it’s an inch square, whatever. But there’s a big retrospective of her paintings now in the city and they’re going to have a big gala, 100, for her. And I guess that’s why AARP - but it isn’t because she’s going to be 100. And she bowls twice a week. She drives to her bowling. So she also fits in with the remarkable centenarians, except - well, she’s one of the 6% of the centenarians who have had cancer. She survived cancer 20 years ago - stomach cancer, I believe.

MB: Oh, wow. Who else did you interview?

AG: Did we talk enough about Lily? Lily, who broke both legs at 88 as a skier. Lily was the 106-year-old pianist.

MB: Oh, geez.

AG: But Lily was - well, she was a mountaineer. She was the first woman, with her sister, to wear pants like the men. All the women then were wearing skirts when she skied. She’s Austrian. She escaped when the Germans came in, in 1938. She was very fortunate to escape. Lily was a Viennese Jew, when she came in 1938, and spent the rest of her time in this country. And well, really, a marvelous skier, mountaineer, hiker. But when she broke both her legs at 88, she turned to hiking because she could no longer ski. She broke them in a car accident. But she played - until three weeks before she died, she played the piano. She was a remarkable role model. Dorothy Toy I mentioned earlier, had a fabulous career as a tap dancer. She was born Japanese, and because of the war, passed as Chinese with the Toy. As she says, it was shorter and fit on the marquee. But she and her Chinese partner toured the world, and during the war had to stay away from California because of the Japanese internment. So she had quite a history. And she is still teaching dance, ballet - mostly ballet and modern. And she teaches the Chinese - she’s had two Chinese husbands, which is very unusual. And she did speak Japanese - her mother lived with her for a while. And she’s just a small person, beautiful, trim, a pleasure to be with.

MB: Does she still dance herself?

AG: She doesn’t perform. She choreographs for groups. She does fundraisers for local community groups, for the church, or for some local groups supporting seniors, who are helping seniors. And they do fundraisers and she choreographs their shows. That’s how she likes to spend her time.

MB: So she’s up on her feet showing a dance step and-

AG: Yeah, oh definitely, because she’s got these students coming to her house, both adults and young adults.

MB: Why did you choose to focus just on women?

AG: Oh, Michael, I suppose I was looking for role models. That’s the truth. I can’t tell you how many men asked me to write a book like this about men. I was speaking recently and this very poignant moment - most of the audience was female but there were a handful of men. And one of them really said, “You know, women have an easier time talking about aging. You’ve got to do this for men. Men have got to talk about this.” And another man said, at another presentation, afterwards said, you know, he was so moved by the movie and the talk, he said, “I’ll never look at an old woman the same way again. You never know what’s behind that face!”

MB: So you’re creating more romance again.

AG: Yeah, that’s true. A lot of close-ups in the film, so you see the women up close. We don’t get a lot of positive images of aging.

MB: Right.

AG: You know, the old adage, women are invisible after they’re at 55 or so.

MB: Well, they used to be. They’re not standing for it anymore.

AG: You’re absolutely right. Well, the Boomers are speaking out and giving the older folks a little bit of space, a little bit of show, like they don’t see too many really older people in the movies or on TV, except when we look at disease, we look at the downside of aging. And it’s real - I don’t want to deny it. It’s very real.

MB: There have been a number of movies - Driving Miss Daisy and Cocoon and the Art Carney movie and so we’re starting to see more of them with the seniors taking a role that has some meat to it and some message to it.

AG: Yes, and notice that we can count them on one hand or maybe two, so we can remember them because they’re outstanding and we notice that, “Oh, here’s one with older people,” and it’s so unusual. I agree, it is happening more and more.

MB: Now, if I wanted to see Still Kicking, where would I find it?

AG: You can find it on Amazon. You can find it on - Greg Young is the filmmaker and his website is GoldenBearCasting.com, GoldenBearCasting.com.

MB: And how did you get hooked up with a movie?

AG: Oh, that’s a great story. Orunamamu, which is the Nigerian name for Mary Beth Washington - I was interviewing her and she invited me to a screening of the film - Greg Young had just completed a film of her. He followed her around for two years, watching her every move and trying to clear out her house, which is overcrowded, shall we say, overstuffed, and she wanted to make it into a storytelling museum. Anyway, she invited me to the screening along with Frances Kandl, the composer, and there was Greg. He was ready for his next project. And he asked me if he could be the fly on the wall and come to my interviews. So I said, “Sure.” We didn’t know it was going to be a film at the time. We didn’t know it was going to be a book. But Greg got excited about filming the women that I was interviewing. Frances Kandl was completely inspired after meeting Lily, the pianist, and went home and wrote a song about her life. And then she wrote songs about many of the women. And there’s a CD in the back of my book, “Seven Songs of Women’s Lives.” The songs are stories about the lives. And the purpose is simply to celebrate our elders. It’s been a wonderful project. See, her music is also part of the film, and we had many concerts - you will see some of that in the film - honoring the women and singing their songs, singing their lives in song. So it’s been a lot of fun.

MB: Sounds like it.

AG: Yeah. And Frances - oh, I guess she was about 70 when she wrote the music so she has another, what, 30 or 40 years to go.

MB: Great.

AG: A lot more music.

MB: We’re talking with Amy Gorman, author of the award-winning book, Aging Artfully, and subject of the documentary film Still Kicking. Her website is - not surprisingly - http://www.agingartfully.com/. It has pictures and excerpts from the book and more about Amy in the film. Amy lives in Berkeley, California, and speaks and gives presentations on her work. If you’re interested in anti-aging psychology, sign up for my free Defy Aging Newsletter at NotAging.com. If your company or association would like to cure grumpy old men syndrome in the workplace and have more optimistic, upbeat, youthful employees who are more productive and need less sick leave and less health insurance benefits. Information on that is at Anti-Aging-Speaker.com. Amy, for all the Boomers and seniors who say, “Oh, this is great stuff but I don’t have any talent, so it doesn’t really apply to me,” what would you say?

AG: The good news, Michael, is that as age, we seem to lose the negative piece in our life, the negative emotions, and the little voice that says, “You can’t do it.” That seems to disappear, and the positive emotion remains. There is a lot of research now that Roberto Cabeso, I believe, at Duke University, has been doing research that talks about the two sides of the brain. We think about the intuitive right side and the literal left side, the analytical left side. But as we age, they come together and they work together. So it actually makes creativity easier as we age, which is a fascinating concept. When you’ve got the intuitive and the analytic working together, they don’t have to struggle or fight each other so much. It’s more natural. And that, coupled with the fact that we maintain our positive emotions more easily as we age and the negative ones seem to disappear, you can try anything, because it becomes easier. You’re not so hard on yourself. I think that’s really what a lot of people have said, apart from the neurological research. So I would say, “Try it. You never know what’s going to happen.” And the classes are increasing, because there’s research coming out now indicating that people are truly healthier when they’re involved in creative activities. They visit doctors less frequently, they take less medications - it’s not surprising.

MB: So one of the easiest ways to get started is to just take a class.

AG: Yes, take a class, socialize with other people, go to the senior center. I mean, this is for seniors. There are other ways to do it when you’re younger. But when you’re a senior and you’re looking for things to do, the best resources usually are the senior centers or the recreation centers in your community. Often the libraries have a lot of good ideas. I love libraries. Depending on your community - you know, there may be an art center. Or dance - dance is wonderful when you’re older. You’ve got to do the movements as well as using your brain and you get exercise. There are all kinds of wonderful dance programs. Guess which one, Michael - guess which form of dance is supposed to be the best for your health?

MB: I have no idea.

AG: Well, there’s even research on that, and it’s the tango.

MB: Oh!

AG: Yeah, because it requires a lot of thought, a lot of movement, and involves different parts of your being. Not everybody’s going to start to tango, but it’s something fun to think about.

MB: And for the men, if they’re willing to dance, they’ve got the choice of the women.

AG: There you go, there you go, right. In any form of dance, isn’t that true?

MB: With your art background, if somebody, say, 65 years old, said, “Well, I’ve retired. I want to try this art thing.” How do I decide whether to take a class, maybe at the university or a community program or to go to the senior center? Are there certain personalities or styles that would fit better with different programs?

AG: Try one and see if you like it. Usually when people think about what it is they want to do, they say, “Oh, I don’t want to do that, don’t want to do that, but maybe I’ll try that.” You know, maybe you’re interested in photography, maybe you want to get your hands in clay, maybe you want to learn a new instrument. Many people, if they have played an instrument in the past, they may pick it up again in retirement and join a local community orchestra. There are wonderful extended learning programs now in almost every community, where - some people like to work alone, let’s not forget that, or with a group of friends at home. I mean, look at the old quilting bees.

MB: It’s probably a matter of what are you most comfortable with and who do you most enjoy being with, and how large of a group do you enjoy being with?

AG: I think those are good questions. Cost often enters into it, as well, and scheduling - if you like to work in the morning or if you prefer going out in the evening - all of those factor into it. I like to look at community bulletins and see really what’s available when I’m ready to do something. And I hope that your listeners take this to heart and nudge each other to get out there and try something new. So much of the research these days indicates that challenging yourself to do something new is one of the secrets to good health and longevity. It’s got to be new. The old stuff is not going to challenge us enough.

MB: You’ve organized a lot of things. Any tips for people who want to get something going in their community, not sure where to start?

AG: They certainly can email me and I’ll try to help.

MB: Oh, how nice.

AG: Yeah. See, I love to help people do that. But there’s a wonderful organization, the National Center for Creative Aging, NCCA.org, if you use a computer. National Center for Creative Aging just moved to Washington, DC from New York. They have satellite groups around the country and they are expanding. That’s one place to start if you want information about where there may be programs, art programs.

MB: So if their community has one of these satellite programs, what would happen if they went to a meeting?

AG: That would depend on what the program is. It may be bringing dance to dementia patients. It may be working in a senior center with a painting class. They really vary across the country in the different programs. It depends on the teacher, it depends on the personnel in that city.

MB: You brought up dementia. Have you seen art help people with dementia?

AG: Definitely, definitely. People have done amazing things with dementia and art, with dementia and music, and with dementia and dance. There are people around the country who are creating these programs. As soon as we get more research really pulling together the value of creativity and arts activities with health, more and more programs can be funded. That’s the goal of many professionals working in the arts and aging area, trying to get more and more programs funded because they see that people are healthier when they are engaged in these activities. So starting when you’re healthy, before you hit dementia - you know, it’s amazing how many people do have dementia over 85, it’s about half - that’s a big statistic. But many won’t. And even with dementia, the art programs have brought amazing results. First of all, it makes people happier doing the art, whether they have dementia or not. That increases morale, generally, and overall health.

MB: I have to admit a bias. I’m so turned off by things like Bingo. And I love the idea of art, really using your mind rather than babysitting people.

AG: Uh-huh, uh-huh. Well, you know, Bingo does use the mind in ways - I mean, you have to think about the numbers. But there are so many other things to introduce. And of course, it’s a job training professionals to teach these programs. You know, you have to be willing to bring in professionals who can bring these programs to people in the senior centers as well as in places where dementia patients are located, or adult daycare centers. Senior centers and recreation programs - many, many communities have programs that are just wonderful. So definitely I would encourage people - and write to me, check my website and write to me at AgingArtfully.com. I’ll see if I can help if you need some help.

MB: That’s wonderful of you. Thank you. I’m also interested in the storytelling. I think that’s such a wonderful art form. How do you get started in that?

AG: Again, some people, some professionals are teaching oral history methods. They’re gathering people in groups. And I think finding the resources is not as easy as for visual arts. I don’t think there are storytellers in every community as there are visual artists. But of course, one has to just try and be ingenious with resources. If somebody wants to work on their own, they can just start reading books out loud and develop their own style of storytelling. Now that we have recorders easily accessible and easily usable, that’s good practice. I would also say, encourage anybody to go to the library and ask the librarian.

MB: Yeah, they’re usually very up on it. It would make your librarian very happy.

AG: That’s true. The librarian might want to start a group if there’s enough interest. Lots of librarians love to do storytelling.

MB: I’m also a big Toastmasters fan, and Toastmasters usually focuses on giving speeches, but there’s no reason that people can’t use it for storytelling.

AG: That’s true. Yeah, that’s something - you can join a Toastmasters Club and say you want to do storytelling and everybody bring in a story next week or next month.

MB: Anything else you’d like to share with us?

AG: I think we’ve covered the gamut. I’d like to encourage people to take care of themselves, get involved in some art form, do something new. Look at my website, look at the book, and get inspired.

MB: Amy, I think you’re doing just wonderful, wonderful work. I thank you so much for being with us.

AG: Thank you very much.

MB: We’ve been talking with Amy Gorman, author of the award-winning book, Aging Artfully. The women she interviewed were also subjects of a documentary film, Still Kicking, which is at many film festivals. Amy lives in Berkeley, California, and speaks and gives presentations on her work. She also does personal oral histories. If you’re interested in anti-aging psychology, sign up for my free Defy Aging Newsletter at NotAging.com. I also love working with companies and associations to cure grumpy old men syndrome, working with workshops and consulting to help employees feel more youthful and upbeat, more productive, and the employers love it because they need less sick leave and use fewer health insurance benefits. We’ve been talking with Amy Gorman, author of Aging Artfully, which profiles women artists in their nineties and hundreds. It’s also the subject of a film, Still Kicking, which is available on DVD on her website, http://www.agingartfully.com/. If you’d like for your fellow employees to overcome grumpy old men syndrome, I can help. I love giving keynotes, workshops, and doing consulting with businesses on how to help employees think, feel, look, and be more youthful. When that happens, they’re more productive, turnover rates drop, and the employers are delighted to see less need for sick leave and less utilization of healthcare insurance benefits. Information on my speaking services is at Anti-Aging-Speaker.com. If you’d like information on anti-aging psychology, subscribe to my free email newsletter, the Defy Aging Newsletter, at NotAging.com. I’d like to leave listeners with a baby step for how to live longer, healthier, and happier. Amy has shared with us role models for how people in their nineties and hundreds are nourished by art and how it helps them. She shared how it’s never too late to get started, and how to get started. When we were kids, we had heroes - Superman, cowboys, and sports heroes and Nancy Drew. As adults, we need heroes just as much as children. What I’d like you to do as a baby step is, whether you are very involved in arts or not involved in arts at all, is to think about a way that you could become a little more involved. What aspect of art could you become more involved in? Visual arts? Would it be music? Storytelling? Maybe even studying architecture, getting involved in the theater. Would it be directly producing the arts or maybe behind the scenes? Would it be taking a course in art appreciation or music appreciation, or maybe trying opera for the first time? Whatever it is, see yourself doing that some time in the future and notice what you see yourself doing, what you hear, and especially notice how that makes you feel, how that lifts your spirits, how that gives you energy, how that adds to your sense of purpose and fulfillment. See yourself at 100 years old, a snap in your step, a glint in your eye, still involved in the arts, and how it lifts your spirits and how it gives you more of a sense of purpose. Perhaps you’ll want to take a step that direction today or tomorrow, or perhaps you’ll want to have it as a dream, waiting for the opportunity to present itself.

This is Dr. Michael Brickey with Ageless Lifestyles Radio on Webtalkradio.net.  I’d love to get your feedback and comments. Just sent them to radio@drbrickey.com. Information on anti-aging psychology and the Defy Aging Newsletter, which is free, is at DrBrickey.com. Thank you for listening on our quest to live longer, healthier, happier lives. 

 

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Host: Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey

Expert Guest:  Sharon Cutler

Broadcast: 3-17-08 on webtalkradio.net where the latest shows are broadcast and posted as podcasts

There is no shortage of information for Boomers and seniors. The problem is wading through the sea of information to find answers and solutions. Often the starting point is figuring out what questions to ask or how to get a good assessment of problems and needs. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a go to person? My go to person is Sharon Cutler, who is Editor of MatureResources.com and Founder of The Positive Aging Network. On today’s show Sharon shares how she goes about finding information.Her website is http://www.matureresources.com/  

TRANSCRIPT ©Michael Brickey–excerpts permitted with attribution MB: This is Dr. Michael Brickey with Ageless Lifestyles Radio, cutting-edge thinking for being youthful at every age. On each show I interview experts on what it takes to live longer, healthier, and happier. Our program takes a holistic approach in addressing anti-aging psychology, medicine, alternative medicine, fitness, nutrition, and wellness. Our emphasis is on innovative thinking and practices that have solid data and results.

Well, there’s no shortage of information; the problem is wading through all the information to find the answers and the solutions. Sometimes the internet can give us information in seconds while we’re still in our pajamas, and sometimes it offers us nothing but ads. It often gives us lists and credentials, but little feel for what the services are really like. For example, if you’re trying to find a new family doctor with Marcus Welby qualities, it’s a daunting task. And we know what a family doctor is and we know what we want in a family doctor. When it comes to services for seniors, the tasks is often more daunting. The starting point is often finding out what questions to ask and how to get a good assessment. And it’s even more daunting when the senior is in another city.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you had a go-to person? I do. My go-to person is Sharon Cutler. She’s a long-time advocate for Boomers and seniors and she’s editor of MatureResources.org, a cornucopia of information on seniors and on Boomers. She’s also founder of The Positive Aging Network, and I have the pleasure of being a columnist for MatureResources.org. Sharon, I know you’ve been advocating for seniors and Boomers for many years. What inspired you to start MatureResources.org?

MB: Well, you are!

SC: Yes. But I too have to look for resources. Anyway, when I started my career, it was in childcare, and people would need help, and so I started an agency myself. And in addition to needing like housekeepers and companions for the elderly and things like that, inevitably the family member would say, “I would like to find a good lawyer or a good doctor,” and it set my mind to think that people had difficulty accessing the right resources, and even know the starting point. So I decided to make Mature Resources, which is almost a brand now - we’ve had the name Mature Resources now since about 1987, 1988.

MB: Wow.

SC: Mature Resources really means that anyone over 40 or 50, hopefully through one of the venues that we’ve had - now it’s a website - hopefully we will provide many of the answers, or at least a starting point.

MB: I’m going to really put you to the task. Let’s imagine that - well, first of all, I know you recently moved from Florida to Chicago. Let’s imagine that your parents were in California and you were just starting to get hints that they were having health problems and maybe even some senility. And let’s say that you couldn’t leave home to go to California. How would you go about assessing the problem and getting services for them?

SC: That’s a very good question because many millions of people - I think between seven and ten million estimated people - are children of people who need help, that they need any level of care or they need to have options. So if I was going to have a parent in California, one of the first things would be to use the internet - I certainly encourage people to use the internet - and I would go to the California state government and then the local agencies on aging. You can find them just by putting in “aging agencies” or “senior organizations,” and then picking and choosing the appropriate departments, agencies, community services, and start to make a list and pick what you feel is appropriate to go to the next step, which is finding out what they can do to help you.

MB: Once you have your list of agencies, then what? How do you assess what’s really going on with Mom and Dad?

SC: Well, there’s various things. And I think the world of senior care is quite, quite confusing. Most of the - it truly is. Most of the occupational titles that narrows this did not exist 20-25 years ago, for even some people like senior move managers, daily money managers, who are helping this, but most people in fact have not heard of them. Well, there has to be a starting point. You need somebody there to assess the situation. One of the people that I might call is a community outreach for seniors. Sometimes they send somebody out. I’d see if that was available in that particular town or county. And then there’s also geriatric care managers who are fee for service professionals, usually social workers, who send out a nurse or a social worker. They do an assessment and they help you to determine how Mom or Dad is and what Mom or Dad needs in the future, and then they follow up for as long as your contract with them is.

MB: Before you retain these, what kind of questions would you ask to find out if they were the right people for the job?

SC: I would look up their information online, first of all. I would find out if they were licensed, what their backgrounds are, if they have insurance - you know, especially like a homecare agency, because you want to make sure that theirs is the proper licensure. I would ask them how many years in business. I would probably ask for a few references, and be careful when you call up that they’re not their best friend. Often I think longevity helps. And also if you could find somebody out there who perhaps knows an agency that has worked with them. Sometimes you can even call a library and you’ll find out - or call a doctor’s office. It’s often hit and miss. But when people come to me with a background of many, many years, actually meeting with different kinds of professionals and locating things for my own website and for my own - I just created the 50-Plus Expo in New York. I always wanted to bring people and products and services together. So it’s a - it’s not a treasure hunt, but it is a mission that you have to have tenacity, you have to have patience, and you have to be resilient and know that it’s going to take time.

MB: It sounds like Columbo to me. I picture him going into the library, “Excuse me, ma’am, I’ve got one more question to ask you.” Just nagging a lot of agencies and organizations until you get the answers you need.

SC: Right. You would be very, very lucky if, on the first shot, at the end of the first phone call, you got the answers. I was reading this article that was in Kiplinger’s and it told a story about a couple who wanted to have dream retirement, and they were very logical and knew that they had to both plan for themselves and plan for how long they’ve be caring for her mother. Anyway, when they finished writing their list, it had 4,000 items on it. So I couldn’t fathom what 4,000 things to do would be. A lot of those had to do with their financial situation, stocks and bonds and insurance and stuff, consolidating, picking where they would live and what they would do after retirement, which sometimes in retirement, it’s recreated and goes back to a different kind of career. But 4,000 items - think of that. When most of us, if we have a couple of things to do, it’s overwhelming.

MB: Well, you just knew that was probably 4,000 things right there.

SC: Right.

MB: So you get your care manager lined up - you pick somebody that you trust - and they say, “Well, we need to get some medical exams.” Do you just trust who they refer you to, or do you do more homework then?

SC: There’s always homework to be done, whoever you go to, whether it’s a geriatric care manager, whether you feel that a person needs homecare - whoever you call is going to tell you that “I’m the right solution.” You know, “My company is the right solution. We’ve been in business this long and…” But you might find that someone needs adult daycare, which is a relatively new whole category of care, where people go to a center for the day and they have all kinds of activities, and then they return in the evening, you know, by bus or car, and that might be a solution for someone who needs some care for the person in the daytime. So there’s all kinds of ways that you can approach it. One thing that I tell people is Rome didn’t happen in a day, and you really have to look at all the choices. And you probably still won’t know the choices, all the choices.

MB: Using adult daycare as an example, I’ve seen some that are just marvelous programs and very stimulating, and some that are just kind of adult babysitting. Long-distance, how would you tell the difference?

SC: Well, if you have telltale signs that something is amiss with your parents, I certainly would take a flight there and see. As a matter of fact, this often during the holidays that Mom or Dad says, you know, “Everything is okay, I’m terrific,” and you happen to go there for the holiday, you know, just check in and have some fun, and all of the sudden you realize that Mom has had the stove on all day and that she’s not remembering certain things, and you realize that things have changed and they’re not admitting to it because they’re scared, and that’s happened to many people that I know. So I think that seeing it directly and then, of course, if you’re in that community, it makes it that much easier to look things up. But you know, you can do it on the internet. I just think that you need some kind of personal intervention.

MB: So let’s say you do go to their home. You’re Columbo, again, and you’re gathering this information. Are you writing it all down? And do you have some kind of checklist that you know what to look for?

SC: One of the processes that I have, we have a long checklist. I couldn’t find it for you now because I’ve moved and I everything in boxes right now. But yes, you should be taking notes about the person, about what’s going on mentally, what you see physically, what you get the feeling of emotionally - because many times older people get depressed - and write it down and go from there. And I think that being a questioner, being a sleuth, as you said, enables you to a position of power where you ask the questions, and if you don’t get the right answers from somebody who you think might be able to help, then you go to the next step. For instance, in Florida, there’s 211, which is a crisis and information and resource hotline. Here it’s 311 in Chicago. And 911 we know is for emergency and 411 is for information, so they all end in ones. You have to get to know what’s available in that community. And oftentimes it means bringing Mom or Dad back closer to you at home - they’re at home or in a senior living environment.

MB: The checklist you use, is that something that’s proprietary or that other people might access? Or are there other good checklists?

SC: There are checklists all over. There are articles. If you look up “caregiving” on the internet or “caregivers,” I’m sure you’ll get over a million - as a matter of fact, I’m sitting here and I’m going to look it up right while we speak, because I just saw 16,600,000 Google entries for research and information, how to find research and information, just basically. And then I did it for “elder care” and I got over a million entries. It’s a process. And unfortunately, as we get older, most of us haven’t planned for it and sometimes it’s an emergency, and decisions have to be made very, very quickly - all of the sudden Mom or Dad needs hospitalization or needs some kind of care. So either you have to go out there and start doing the investigating, or you hire someone - and it should be a social worker, geriatric care manager, or call the local government agencies and find out who they would recommend. So when it’s immediate, that’s when it’s the worst.

MB: So let’s say Mom has to go to the hospital. Do you just, again, go with what the doctor recommends, or do you research the hospital?

SC: I don’t know how extreme you can get. If Mom or Dad has to go to the hospital, it’s probably pretty serious. It’s enough to keep them under observation and testing and things like that. And then, of course, with the new rules on Medicaid and Medicare and the insurance issues, Mom or Dad can be in the hospital for one day and their insurance only pays for that one day, and they really need to be there and under supervision for several days. So it’s a tough. I had a situation a couple of years ago. I never thought I would be a caregiver, and my husband was checked for something during an ordinary examination and it was only through a very astute urologist that took a CAT scan of him. He didn’t seem to have any problems that were detectable, but the doctor was more cautious, and he found out that my husband had non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Oh, actually he didn’t, and even the surgeon who took out the tumor didn’t know. He said, “You have some kind of lymphoma and I don’t know the first thing about it.” So the surgeon sent us no place. I mean, he just like stopped dead in his tracks. And if we didn’t have a local organization - in Florida, at the time - that worked with the Sylvester Cancer Center, and they do a lot of clinical trials. My husband probably would’ve been one of those people who all the sudden you hear, you know, “My husband has terminal cancer,” and they just detect it at the end. So I think half of it is luck. But I believe in planning ahead if you can.

MB: Plan your luck.

SC: I believe in putting your ducks in order. And in answer to the question about checklists, we have different forms and different adder-on questions, depending on - we give a free consultation through the Positive Aging Network. We give a ten-minute free conversation so you feel comfortable with us. And then if we want to proceed, we tell you how we work. And then what’s different about what we do is that we will research and we just won’t say, you know, “You need a homecare agency” or “You need assisted living.” We’ll do different options based on what you say or if you send us doctor’s notes and stuff, and we’ll give several choices based on not having relationships with those people, but on research that we do, checking up people through the government, the licensing departments, different ways.

MB: So a number of organizations have favorite providers that maybe even get referral fees or something, and you’re very independent and research-oriented.

SC: Right, right. There are companies - and I’m trying to remember the name of the type of thing they are. Some of them are very, very good. They’re professionals who can get you or someone you love into the best assisted living facility, let’s say, or the best nursing home. And they work on contract with many, many, many of those facilities or types of communities. So while it’s free to you, which is great, they have a vested interested in a placement in one of their contractual places. That’s not to say that they don’t do a good job, because many of them are quite successful and have very good reputations. But they’re not neutral, they’re not unbiased. And the thing that I was always told, even when I had a homecare agency, is that the government always gives out three choices. Let’s say they work with homecare agencies, they have a list and they’ll give you three, perhaps based on - there’s a list, whatever. And that’s what we do. But I think we’re the first people to call ourselves senior information professionals, because we do research - and as a matter of fact, somebody wanted some information and - well, out of it was things that you wouldn’t even think about. This woman wanted to help her mother with things to do during the day, and she wanted to know how she could get to bridge and where were bridge lessons or sessions and stuff like that. So it can be anything from pleasure, you know, things that you want to do, and things that you need to do.

MB: Bridge lessons or a bridge group may sound like a minor thing, but to a senior who that’s the most exciting thing in their social life, that’s real important and can really keep somebody cognitively sharp.

SC: Right. Absolutely, absolutely. Because one of the one worse things to make someone depressed is aloneness, loneliness, and not having anyone to share thoughts with. I recently went to one of a chain of adult daycare centers and I was so impressed with it because they had more activities - it was like a country club. You know, sometimes when I go into an assisted living facility - and a lot of them are really gorgeous - I say, “Wouldn’t this be nice?” But I don’t want to be in it yet, but yet I see all the activity and I see they’re designing the menus and I see how they stimulate you mentally, and the swimming pool and this and that, and it gives you a nice feeling. But oftentimes the assisted living and continuing care communities are quite expensive monthly, so finances will always come into play, as well.

MB: Yeah, I recently had to find assisted living for my mother, and so my brother and sister and I visited quite a few facilities, and we wanted to taste the food - because I think that’s one of the most important things, since it’s the highlight of the day three times a day - and really get a feel for the atmosphere there and how friendly the staff were. And there’s no substitute for actually going there and experiencing it.

SC: Absolutely. And looking over things very, very carefully. I saw the same thing - well, rehabilitation centers are quite different because they’re shorter term and, you know, you’re there to get well. And the whole atmosphere and everything about it - it’s amazing, people don’t have a clue. When I first started in 1985 with my companion and nanny service, they were building the first assisted living facility on Long Island. And we all looked around and we actually went to a meeting at this place - it was locally, one of my friends was admission. And I said, “I don’t know.” And the common thought among those of us who were seeing it as professionals, “I don’t know if these things are going to really work out, assisted living.” And it’s every place. It’s every place, you don’t really have a choice. And there’s all these guidebooks you have.

MB: What do you mean by guidebooks?

SC: For instance, I moved to Chicago so I picked up in one of the drugstore chains, a senior resource guide-

MB: Oh, okay.

SC: Yeah, they can be helpful and they can be very confusing, because there’s all these different areas. There’s help at home, health services, health and wellness, professional services, elder law, life insurance, moving consultants. So it’s a start. I think one of the best things is to have a team, like you did with you mom - to have several people in the family all involved, so that the stress level isn’t just on one person. A lot of people are living long, long lives. And I know you’re very aware of it. I think it’s about 78 years old or something that’s the average lifespan. And people 85 and up are the fastest-growing population. I just heard about someone who is 101 and is a painter, paints pictures and lives by themselves. How great that is.

MB: You’re listening to Ageless Lifestyles Radio on Webtalkradio.net, and we’re talking with the information concierge of aging, Sharon Cutler. She’s the editor of MatureResources.org - make sure you type “.org” - a site that’s full of columns and resources for Boomers and seniors. She’s also founder of the Positive Aging Network that she was talking about, a concierge-style services organization for just about everything legal related to seniors. Information on the Positive Aging Network is on the MatureResources.org website. Information on anti-aging psychology and my books Defy Aging and 52 Baby Steps to Grow Young, and my free Defy Aging Newsletters are at NotAging.com. Sharon, you’re gathering so much information, how do you keep it all organized?

SC: Well, they’re in boxes right now.

MB: How did you get them organized?

SC: Well, I have different topics, because I also write, I write what I preach. As a matter of fact, I’m a columnist also for another website called http://www.longisland.com/. Infuriates my better half, my husband, because I do have so many files on care giving, on healthcare, on recommended websites - it’s overwhelming the amount of information. And of course, I can just go - I’m pretty well aware of where to go on the internet when I need further information. But I have plenty of files, plenty of paper.

MB: I’m going to take you back to California-

SC: Okay.

MB: And you realize, oh my goodness, I don’t have any power of attorney or do not resuscitate, or any of these documents. Is that something you would do yourself, or would you get an attorney?

SC: I would use an attorney, call the local law association and get a list, or if the community has an elder law attorney association. And I’m just looking here in Chicago. A lot of things to do is the state planning, asset protection, wills and trust, power of attorney, guardianship issues - it goes on and on.

MB: How would a person do their homework before they go to the attorney so they know what to ask for?

SC: Basically, they have to start the research, or call someone like myself, or call a geriatric care manager - except that they would want to come in and see Mom or Dad - which is a great idea, because they can also tell you what is needed. If you know specifically that you need an advance directive or wills and trust, I would certainly care the local bar association, the elder care division, and then go on the individual websites that they will recommend. And I think that if they lost their license or something happened to them as a lawyer, they would be removed from that list.

MB: Say Mom had to go to the hospital. How you handle Medicare can make a big difference in how big the bill is. Any tips on how to make sure that you’re handling Medicare right?

SC: Well, a lot of times there are social workers in the hospital who actually work with the patients and the family. My husband’s going through that now with Medicare - just turned 65 - and he spent quite a few hours trying to figure out Medicare and Medicare supplements, who should I use, what’s missing, especially since he has a prior existing condition now. And you just hope after all your investigations that you did the right thing, but I certainly would go on to Medicare.gov or SocialSecurity.gov, or just type “Medicare,” type in on your computer “Social Security.” I’m doing the same thing with everything now - you know, it’s not elder care related, but it’s living related - to find out about how I get a new license plate. Everything has to be done. And it’s not easy. I have a lot of books on simplifying your life. And I have to read them, of course. It would be sweet if everything was perfect. I love people when you say, “How are you?” and they say, “Oh, I’m terrific!” And no one knows what really exists. And we all have our good times and we have our times when we need assistance. You know, help is just a phone call, or many phone calls. It’s getting on to the Yellow Pages. It’s calling up professional associations. It really requires a lot of time.

MB: With things like Medicare, there are rules, for example, that if you’re there, I think it’s four days or longer, and you step down to a nursing home, then Medicare covers the nursing home for, I think, 100 days. But if you’re there for three days, too bad - you would have to pay for nursing home completely out of pocket. And if you disagree with the decision the hospital has made, you can appeal it, and that often results in you staying there long enough to qualify for the nursing home step-down.

SC: Right, right. But most people don’t know, you know, initially, especially when you go into the hospital and it’s not planned for. You know a lot - I mean, you’re an expert in this field also and I’m sure you help a lot of people.

MB: Yeah. So let’s say that your mother or your husband was in the hospital and it was one of those situations where the staff just wasn’t doing its job and talking to them didn’t seem to work. How would you go about advocating to get it done right?

SC: I would probably call up the local age *26:29. Yeah, they have *26:32 to check on different places. And if they’re doing the proper thing, then they’re going to want to release them anyway. Yeah, it’s a very sticky situation. I think you have to find professional help or speak to a social worker there, who’s supposed to be nonbiased, and just explain the situation and see what they would suggest. It is a real concern. But hopefully a lot of the people just need minor tune-ups in terms of getting their financial planning done, getting their retirement or their money issues, insurance. I have friends who are consumed with their parents, both on a local and a long-distance basis.

MB: Oh, yes.

SC: One of my best friends, her mother just demands that she come over at least once a week and she writes the - checks her checkbooks and the checks and balances and pays her bills and takes her to the doctor. And fortunately, she has a good employer - that’s not always the case - and she makes up her hours, but certainly she’s away from her office a lot of the time.

MB: Yeah, it can be a difficult balance. For people who need them, there are support groups that can do a lot of good.

SC: Right.

MB: Back in the hospital and nursing home visits, I’m a big believer that you not only want to go there to visit and to hopefully cheer the person up and see what they need, and often since the food is so atrocious, bring them some fresh food-

SC: Back to food.

MB: Some palatable food. But it’s a good time to check everything to check and see if they’re getting the right medications and they’re developing bedsores or pressure points and things like that, because most of the nurses and staff are overworked and often things get by.

SC: Right. And those are the things that you eventually read in the newspaper. I don’t know how you would check for certain things, you know, if the doctor - because there are usually on-call doctors associated with the nursing home. I guess you could call in your own physician to do a second opinion and to just check. But basically, it’s whoever they provide.

MB: Well, a lot of times you have to do that through the nurses, get permission from your parent or whoever it is to ask for a copy of the medication list, and then make sure that you know what each medication is supposed to do and whether it makes to you.

SC: That’s right, because different medications - and even food - you shouldn’t eat certain foods with certain medications and-

MB: Oh, it’s absolutely amazing. I see people in nursing homes who have severe diabetes and I see things on their tray that are just horrible for diabetes. And I ask, “Well, aren’t you on a diabetic diet?” And they say, “Well, I don’t know.” So I ask the nutrition staff and they say, “Our instructions our just to give them smaller portions. We don’t do special diabetic diets anymore.” And then they cited HIPAA privacy regulations, that other patients would know that somebody was diabetic.

SC: Right.

MB: I mean, it’s far more important that people get the right food than whether their roommate figures out they have diabetes, you know?

SC: Oh, gosh. Yeah, again, with your professional expertise, you really see it firsthand all the time. I, on the other hand, have knowledge and resource and research. I try to find out as much information, but that’s when experts like yourself are called in.

MB: The network that you’re developing and I love your website. What other things do you think are going to be happening for services for Boomers and seniors?

SC: I kind of like products that isn’t the ordinary products, and I think that’s where we’re going to go. For instance, on your phone, let’s say you have a cell phone. I couldn’t read one of the phone numbers just now and it really got me frustrated because the numbers are so small. There are phones that have larger numbers. There are doorknobs and stuff that are easier to use. I believe that the wave of the future is going to be making things easier from young to old. Of course, in young children, you have to lock things up. But as we grow, as we age, different things happen at different times. You know, at 40, your eyes suddenly seem to be changing. It happened on my birthday. So I believe in getting as much as *30:54 and making things as simple as possible. And probably a lot of things haven’t been invented yet, and emergency systems that you can have in your home or in the assisted living, you know, which gives you some peace of mind. But again, those are choices. And any age can use it, and I just think that we’re coming up with more and more services that people should be aware of. I just used - when we moved, I must’ve been in la-la land because I thought we were all packed up, and I had someone from - my friend at the senior move management company come over. And she said, “You have about three days’ worth of work, with anywhere from three to five packers, and you’re leaving in four days.” I said, “What?” I had no conception. Your mind is dealing with a lot of different issues, and moving, of course, is extremely stressful, right up there with death, divorce, taxes, those things. But a few years ago, Senior Move Managers, people use their movers. I had things double and triple-wrapped. It’s amazing, the slightest thing had tissue paper and duct tape around it, and it could turn out to be a button. That was a little extreme at times, but nothing was broken. And I couldn’t have done it myself.

MB: It’s kind of analogous to what you do for seniors. It’s a very stressful time in people’s lives. The amount of things to do and information to learn is overwhelming. People can do it themselves, but if they can afford it or if they don’t have the time to learn it all themselves, hiring a professional just makes it so much easier.

SC: Exactly, exactly. You can’t do it all and you don’t now how to do it all. And there are so many choices, and hopefully if one choice doesn’t work out, another one will. But with people who have expertise or good research or value referrals that they have based on working with companies previously - you know, there is a lot of competition in every industry. There’s a lot of homecare agencies to choose from. As a matter of fact, I was speaking a homecare agency owner here in Chicago and found out that they can do things differently than ours did in Florida. In Florida, companion service or a nurse’s registry, they don’t do hands-on care. They’re not allowed to, you know, give you the medication or help you into the bathtub and outside of the bathtub - they’re not supposed to. Here, it’s hands-on. But here, the prices were almost double. I was astounded at some of the prices, but they’re used to it here, I guess. So I think planning, you know, like long-term care and so forth, but I think we have to be responsible for ourselves and then try to avoid having to either have your own issues, something that pops up that just changes your life or changes the lives of those you love. So like the Girl Scouts say, be prepared. I still remember that and that was a long time ago.

MB: That got burned in, along with the cookies, huh?

SC: Right.

MB: Sharon, I want to thank you for sharing your expertise with us. I think in your previous life you were probably a matchmaker and now you’re doing of the seniors and Boomers and the services that they need, and I think you’re just a delight.

SC: Oh, I appreciate that compliment. I will save it.

MB: Okay.

SC: And also, if anyone wants to write to me and to get free tips on caregiving, they can write to SharonCutler@gmail.com and request the free tips on caregiving. And you can write to my email if you have any special issues.

MB: Okay. And the website, again, is MatureResources.org. And information on anti-aging psychology is at NotAging.com. I’d like to share a baby step to help people live longer, healthier, and happier. I adopted a catch phrase a long time ago that you get what you expect and inspect. When it comes to little things like if somebody shortchanged you a dollar or you didn’t get that $5 rebate, it’s not worth my time. But when it comes to healthcare issues, when it comes to safety issues, you do have to not only have expectations of getting good quality services and getting what you need, but you do have to inspect it, because the mistakes are just too costly. And as I was talking about with Sharon, in a nursing home, you need to check the medications and make sure they’re right. You need to check the food and see whether it makes sense. You need to check and see whether Mom is getting turned often enough to prevent bed sores. So if you don’t already have the maxim, recommend adopting the maxim that when it comes to things that are important in life, expect and inspect. And if you’re not feeling well enough to do the inspecting yourself, then you need to find someone to do it for you. That’s what friends are for. And I’d love to get your feedback and comments. Just sent them to radio@drbrickey.com. Information on anti-aging psychology and the Defy Aging Newsletter, which is free, is at DrBrickey.com. This is Dr. Michael Brickey with

Ageless Lifestyles Radio on Webtalkradio.net. We’re talking with Sharon Cutler Editor of MatureResources.org. Information on anti-aging psychology is at DrBrickey.com. This is Dr. Michael Brickey with Ageless Lifestyles Radio on Webtalkradio.net. Thank you for listening on our quest to live longer, healthier, happier lives.

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Host: Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey

Expert Guest: Dr. Christiane Northrup

Broadcast: 3-1-08 on webtalkradio.net where the latest shows are broadcast and posted as podcasts

Dr. Christiane Northrup is one of America’s most trusted medical advisors. She sees menopause as a life affirming –if a woman listens to her body and the wisdom it offers. She is an OBGYN physician who takes a holistic, mind-body-spirit approach to menopause, PMS, and women’s health. Dr. Northrup founded the trailblazing Women to Women health care center. She is author of The Wisdom of Menopause and Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom. She has appeared on Oprah, The View, Good Morning America, Rachel Ray, and hosted six PBS specials. Her website is http://www.drnorthrup.com/

TRANSCRIPT ©Michael Brickey–excerpts permitted with attribution

First a caveat: Men, if you think today’s show is only for women, think again. The more you understand about menopause and women’s health, the better your relationships will be with the women in your life. And women, you might want to encourage your husbands or boyfriends to listen to the program, as well, because our guest today, Dr. Christiane Northrup, is one of America’s most trusted medical advisors. She has a very unique take on menopause as life-affirming, that is, if a woman listens to her body and the wisdom it offers. She is an OB/GYN physician who takes a holistic, mind-body-spirit approach to menopause, PMS, and women’s health.

Dr. Northrup founded the trailblazing Women to Women Health Care Center. She is the author of two books, The Wisdom of Menopause and Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom. She’s appeared on Oprah, The View, Good Morning America, Rachael Ray, and hosted six PBS specials. In the first part of the program I want to emphasize Dr. Northrup’s unique holistic approach to menopause, and then in the second we’ll look at more specific things about problems such as PMS symptoms and health problems. Dr. Northrup, when I started reading your book, The Wisdom of Menopause, I was expecting a rather dry tome or manual, and I was delighted and just got sucked into the gripping drama of “What happens to her next?” and “What happens to this patient?” Have you always been so tuned in to listening to your body and intuition, or was this a revelation in your life?

CN: No, I started out that way. My Dad was what we would call today a holistic dentist, and he used to say that the mouth was the center of the personality, and that’s why people didn’t want you messing around in there, and also why dentists had the second highest suicide rate, second to psychiatrists.

MB: Oh my goodness.

CN: So there was a bit of mind-body integration going on in my childhood. And then when I got to medical school, I was completely enthralled with everything that modern medicine could do. And it wasn’t really until I got finished with my residency and met my cousin at a macrobiotic restaurant and she told me she was healing her fibroid tumors with a macrobiotic diet. Now, I had just finished a four-year surgical residency and my approach was surgery, so-

MB: Two different worlds.

CN: I began to meet with Michio Kushi of the macrobiotic community - he brought that to the United States back in the ‘50s - and I sat with him as he went over the diet and also the lifestyle of patients who had been given up on by standard medicine. And sitting there for months, looking at the medical records of people and seeing that they’d already been through everything I was trained to offer was a revelation, as I found many of them get better. And after that, I realized there was also a limitation to diet. And ultimately, when people understood the unity of their mind, their body, their emotions, particularly the influence of the subconscious, what they don’t know that they know, then you’ve got the keys to the ignition, your own ignition, and you can get somewhere. Otherwise, you’re at the whim of the culture which really believes that people are meant to disintegrate at the age of 50, that it’s all downhill from there, that your sex life goes away - all kinds of things that are simply beliefs and not grounded in fact or science at all.

MB: So you see menopause as a wake-up call. Can you tell us what you mean by that?

CN: Yes. It’s as though everything in your life converges to get your attention so that you will do what it takes to get healthy in the second half of your life, or you know, maybe - a friend of mine the other day, Gay Hendricks, said, “Why don’t we call it the second third of your life? Because maybe we can live to 150.” But what happens in a woman’s brain - and I know that this is happening in a man’s brain, as well, to some extent, is that as your ovaries are changing and not producing an egg every single month, you actually get an excess of estrogen relative to progesterone. Now, progesterone is a very calming hormone. It also increases heat and it’s very high during pregnancy, so women feel, usually, very calm during their pregnancies and unflappable. But when you don’t have as much progesterone and you have estrogen, that begins to work on certain areas of your brain, the amygdala and the basal forebrain, which is where old memories from childhood and so on are stored, and unfinished business from the past comes up. It’s as though the hormonal change uncovers things that have always been there. So in my experience, women at perimenopause, which is a six to thirteen year process, remember - menopause just means the final menstrual period - so perimenopause is when all the drama and the action takes place. You haven’t actually stopped your periods; you’ve just started the brain and body changes. So during that time, a woman may remember childhood abuse. She may have no tolerance for the kind of injustice that she’s put up with at her job or perhaps in her family. It may be as simple as saying, “I’m sick of being the one who always starts dinner. I’m surrounded by a houseful of teenagers, all of whom can boil water. I’ve had it!” And what that is, is it’s labor pains of birthing your true self. And the thing that’s so wonderful about midlife is you’ve been out in the workforce usually, you know how to drive a car, you know how to run a bank account, you have enough ego strength, you have enough skills finally to have created a container where your true self can finally thrive. You’re not proving to the world that you can do it. It’s not like being in school - although many women go back to school at this time and enjoy it more than they ever did. So I call it break down to break through. There is no question that the incidence of chronic degenerative diseases increases in the second half of life. This is not inevitable. It has to do with lifestyle choices. And what I believe happens is that, at this turning point, the body will not let you get away with the stuff you’ve been doing for the past 50 years that wasn’t a good idea in the first place.

MB: Before we elaborate on that, it’s only in the last couple of years I’ve heard much about estrogen dominance. How did we end up with this impression that everything was just a lack of estrogen?

CN: No kidding! Yeah, how did we? Well, you know, we could do a brief romp through the history of Premarin. Premarin was the first oral estrogen that was available and made from the urine of pregnant horses, back in 1949, 1950. Before that, estrogen was available only as an injectible. Now, when you have your ovaries removed with a hysterectomy, then you have the rug pulled out from under you in terms of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. And so clearly, we have needed a supplement to replace a woman’s missing hormones. And so we thought of the menopause actually, culturally, as a deficiency disease, you see - doctors were thinking about it as you were lacking something. And the truth is that you’re not lacking anything when the body is healthy, when the adrenals are healthy and the ovaries are healthy. But remember, one in three women has a hysterectomy in this country, and so she’s changed the blood supply to her ovaries. And in those women, clearly estrogen, which is considered the most important hormone, but progesterone is left out in the cold and testosterone has gotten short shrift, as well. So it’s all such an interesting thing because science takes place within the context of a culture, and so we look for what we expect to find. If we’re looking at menopause as a deficiency disease and if we have managed to create a pill from the urine of pregnant horses, then if the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

MB: And we got to pregnant horses so that we could have a patentable medicine that would profitable, as opposed to a generic that wouldn’t earn much money.

CN: Exactly. That’s the whole thing about the term “bioidentical” hormones. Bioidentical simply means hormones that match exactly what your body produces, and those can be made from wild Mexican yams or soybeans, and that gives you the basic hormonal moiety, and then you make changes in the lab, but you end up with a hormone that matches the molecular structure of your own hormones. And if you know the way hormones work in the body, it’s a lock and key, but it’s more than that, because the charges around the molecule of a hormone, the positive and negative charges, cause it to fold in a unique three-dimensional structure that your body recognizes because it has evolved over millions of years to recognize, for instance, 17-beta estradiol. It hasn’t evolved over millions of years to recognize the urine of a pregnant horse. But as you say-

MB: See, as you said, our bodies are smart.

CN: Yeah, and those things are not patentable. The delivery system, however, can be patentable, and that’s why we have some very good choices with the patches, the transdermal patches, Climara, Estraderm. Those are bioidentical hormones that match what is in your body. But it is the delivery system that the pharmaceutical company was able to patent, and therefore they can make money on them.

MB: You see menopause as a gift and a metaphor. What do you mean by that?

CN: The gift of menopause is that you are now your own person and you must source your life from your own spirit, your own higher power, who you really are uniquely. So I often say to women, “Remember what you liked at 11, when you were 11, before your hormones started in.” And the gift is you live from the inside out, instead of the outside in. What happens is women then, because they are operating from who they really are, not from who the world expects them to be, they often find themselves doing the best art they’ve ever done, having the best sex of their lives, being healthier than they’ve ever been, being happier than they’ve ever been. This is the big secret, that life gets better in your 50s and 60s. And this is a secret because our culture believes just the opposite. We are such a youth-focused culture that people who hit 30 suddenly begin to think something is wrong. Can you imagine anything that’s more death-affirming than that, that at 30 it’s all over? This is simply insane. And it creates a great deal of pain and suffering that is needless, because the truth is you’re really at your best starting at about 50. And I think that maybe 65 is when we hit our stride in a big way.

MB: And there’s wonderful research that shows as we get older, a higher and higher proportion of Americans say they’re very happy, and it goes from 28% in your 20s all the way up to 38% in your 70s.

CN: Isn’t that wonderful?

MB: You talk a lot about women being in a subservient role. Do you think there’s something about puberty that brings that on, at a hormonal level?

CN: I do. I absolutely do. I believe that what it is, is that females are the bodies in which new life is formed. And in order to nurture new life successfully, you need support. And therefore you will do whatever it takes to get that support. We are mammals, after all. And so I believe that the women’s movement had to happen, where women said, “Wait a minute. I’m not going to be subservient anymore. I can do this on my own.” So then what we’ve had, what the Baby Boomers have been the pioneers in, is women going out and having sperm donors, or just deciding to have a baby on their own. As you know, in the ‘50s, you would’ve been so ostracized. You couldn’t have done that and stayed healthy, given that we all need community and we need support and social support to stay healthy. So we’ve changed all the rules. The Baby Boom generation has changed all the rules. Now we’re at a point where we can have true partnerships with men, because when you understand your own strengths and you understand yourself as a woman, as the source of life itself, when you see how important that is to the planet and you begin to own your own gifts, you also understand - and this is really new information for me and my daughters in about the past three years, in a way that we live it - you understand that it is this life force that you know how to support, that you actually support men with. Men don’t do well without the support of either their inner feminine or a woman in their life. We know that from psychology studies. The men who are the happiest and healthiest are the ones who have women in their lives. And when you know this as a woman and you don’t see him as more than, you see yourself as equals, but you have specific gifts, and when you can uplift a man and reflect to him his heroic status, when it’s warranted, then you can improve all of life on earth. It has taken me so long to get it that men are much simpler than women. They don’t get complicated like women do. Haven’t you found this? I mean-

MB: Yes.

CN: Yeah.

MB: Very much so.

CN: You have no idea where women go in their minds. I mean, it is like some kind of a maze in there where we make things so complicated. We hold on to old baggage. A man will have forgotten that, whatever you’re bringing up - you know, the fact that he left you standing at the street corner and didn’t know you were going to be there. You’ll b