Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Getting Stupider and Stupider....

Well, I've only been "Dying" for 5 years, but I can feel where many of you come from -- it's easy for me to get into modes of thought where I judge my mental state.

The constant judging, and measuring up of memory, attention span, etc. usually just makes things worse, because i'm thinking and trying to "prove" to myself I don't forget things, or can focus whenever I want, or make easy connections.

For me, it's a lot about mindset. I'm an introverted person, and simple meditation techniques help my mental self-confidence improve greatly. Putting aside a half-hour a day of "me time" is where it all starts there for me.

Nutrition and self-reflection are keys to my mental health, and I've only been really serious about them the past two years, since being out of college.

I've had a few friends who kept themselves so incredibly busy, they never had time to think. And if they did start thinking (maybe in a closed room with their eyes closed), they'd get overwhelmed with the thought of tasks they needed to do -- rather than reflecting peacefully. I helped one friend set aside stress when thinking. It actually opened a whole new mental world to him, which was perfectly normal to me.

With the way the world/internet/life/job is so fast-paced now, it's so easy to lose time. Everything grabs it, so giving it away can just get normal. With the internet now, (referencing the "Google is making you stupid" article) and my developing curiosity, it's extremely overwhelming going through the learning process of a topic online. There's hundreds of bits of information linked to almost any researchable topic, and there are so many instant-click rabbit holes -- at times it's very hard for me to focus sitting at a computer without delving into several tasks at once.

Edit: The edit button was calling my attention.

Mark,
You gave a fairly accurate description of me. I will be 53 in May. I have 'sorta' joked with my wife about the onset of Alzheimers. She insists that is not it. I find that lack of sleep makes it worse - like if I only get 5 1/2 hours - which happens more than I care to admit. Exercise makes it better as does abstaining from alcohol - which I do less than I care to admit. I struggle with names more than I used to. On the flip side (or woodshop side), when I am birding, I can concentrate for hours and the time slides by without notice. So...Drink less, Sleep More and take the time for down time. I heard an interesting program on PBS Sunday about the need for sleep. Over the past 50 years, the average amount of time spent sleeping has decreased significantly, almost 2 hours according to the program.

Then again, it could be lack of sleep for me, too...

Guys relax!

I'm just hoping to have a bowel movement today, this time I hope it actually goes in the toilet.

Dana

Thanks for simplifying. That does take precendent.

And you did it in a single sentence. You rock, Dana!

I have visions of "Top Gun".....3/4 of a foot to go....Dana, Call the Ball....Easy - Easy - YOU ARE BELOW THE GLIDE SLOPE!!!! PULL UP....PULL UP....

If it makes anyone feel better:

I live in a sea of post-its. By the 3rd day, regardless of the flourescent colors, the newest among them have become wallpaper and, therefore, ignored.

I leave 'em on the bathroom mirror. Gotta see that one right away in the a.m., right? Not by day 3.

Whatever I need to take with me when I leave in the morning is no longer on a list. I'd misplace it. What I need is piled blocking the door so I can't get out without it. Really? To open the door, I've had to move stuff first. Then, left for the day without it, 'cause it was behind the same f'n door.

If I go up a flight of stairs for 3 things and come back with only one----ten minutes later---then it must be sunny outside.

Stuff's written on the calendar in color codes (medical, social, professional, etc). If I didn't write it there 5 minutes ago, I won't remember to even look at the calendar as those dates approach.

I made plans to have lunch on Friday with Chris, even though I've been going on here about the electrician on FRIDAY for two days.

I think it's all because I have far more important things on my mind, though I'll be damned if I know what they are. That's the problem! I have too many things ON my mind and too few IN it!!

Isn't someone here in charge of checking ID's?

This was always my favorite learning chess book. I didn't realize it's going on the extinct list until today. I don't know if I have one around home or not. I haven't seen it in a while. I know I've bought this book at least twice before.

Good point.


To clarify, what Bob means by MD = primary care doctor, e.g. someone in family medicine or internal medicine. He is telling you to instead go to one of the medic8r clan. As a psychiatrist, I am an MD also, but had four years of residency to study just psychiatry, whereas the primary care doctors had three years of residency to learn, well, everything. So, as a result, they know a little about everything but not a lot about psychiatry. The good ones know their limits and when to refer out to the specialists.


Too true. If "get a grip" therapy worked, then I'd be in another line of work.

My 2¢ will echo much of the "Take good care of yourself" advice already mentioned by others here. It really is the best way to set yourself up for maximum function. We've all heard these things before, but not all of us actually heed the advice. Do these things and you'd be at the, what, Bob, 90th percentile?

• Get enough sleep
• Drink plenty of water
• Exercise regularly
• Go easy on caffeine
• Go easy on sugar
• Smaller dinner portions
• Eat a good breakfast
• Get me some Red Sox tickets

I had a professor who swore by a daily regimen to preserve cognitive function. It included

• 3 whole walnuts,
• 2 tsp flax seed (ground into powder, put in food or liquid, e.g. oatmeal or OJ), and
• 400 IU of vitamin E - especially the d-alpha-tocopherol form of it, which is the most biologically active.

Now, this was ten years ago, and I think there's more recent evidence that all 8 subvariants of vitamin E are good, so a blend would be OK, even if the alpha-tocopherol is the most active.

Good luck! (on the tickets.)