Who Should Read This?
I’ve worked in the field of psychology and specialized in aging and brain functioning for almost 20 years (not counting the 11 years of undergraduate, graduate, internship, and postdoctoral training to get to the point of being able to work independently with such sensitive and important data affecting people’s lives).
What can I do with the information that feels sucked into the very marrow of my bones? Simply put, help people. But that doesn’t answer my question of WHO I can help, and who would benefit from reading these blogs and watching my YouTube videos. So here are some thoughts, not only to educate others on how I can be helpful, but to ideally clarify for myself who I’m trying to reach and how to best connect with them.
1) People who are aging (all of us) and who care about having better brain health for themselves.
YouTube is often seen as a venue for young adults – the college crowd, endlessly surfing the web for tidbits of fluff to brighten up their days or provide an escape from the challenges of real life. It’s also sometimes seen as a format for figuring out how to do things – how do I get those drill bits out of the holder? (I actually used YouTube for this last summer when I bought my first electric drill and made a planter box from scratch – yes, laughable, but also very helpful to learn!).
I am hoping that there is a segment of people in YouTube land filled with people who care (and may be a bit worried) about brain health, and are searching for scientifically-backed ways to improve it. I’m not sure this exists! I DO think that there are people out there in that boat, but since there aren’t a lot of brain-based resources on YouTube, it might not occur to them to look in that venue. I MAY need to educate people to use YouTube as a resource for this and to share it with everyone who could benefit, as the natural traffic of YouTube may not see the importance.
2) People who care about a loved one who is experiencing cognitive decline. (Caregiver Corner)
I love family, and I adore caregivers. They generally ooze caring and a desire to help and make a loved one’s life better. They are also often highly stressed in this role, as it isn’t a job they’ve been trained for (caregiving for a parent, spouse, or other loved one isn’t a major at school that I’ve ever seen). It’s generally brand-new territory, and a sense of struggling in a way that underscores a loved one’s demise. I have often felt like a fluent ninja warrior, swoosh-kick-chopping away to educate, inform, and fill caregivers with hope. Consultations with caregivers are empathetic, supportive, and inspiring for next steps and making progress. With YouTube, I can “consult” with millions of caregivers at once, allowing everyone to benefit from these ideas without having to wait months for an appointment.
3) People who are experiencing some decline and want to roll with it. (Flourishing With Impairment)
We are all screwed up. Here’s my flavor … what’s yours? This is a favorite saying of mine, because we ARE all screwed up in one way or another, and when we acknowledge it we can feel closer in our screwed-up-edness. We are all experiencing “normal aging,” so that tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon that starts in our thirties and slowly gets worse is REAL. But what if you’re having more problems than normal aging? Is it time to throw in the towel and hide? I’m hoping that there is a group of people who say HELL NO to that idea. Let’s use lessons from research and clinical practice to help all of us work around our weaknesses, and capitalize on our strengths.
4) People who don’t want to do it alone.
Life can feel hard. Knowing what we SHOULD do and actually DOING it are two dramatically different things. Instead of beating ourselves up for not being good/strong/smart/capable enough to get things done, let’s band together to take one small step! The common wisdom of small steps leading to large gains is true … and small steps are something we can get behind any time! It also helps to not be the only one making mistakes, and I’m itching to quit trying to look like I know what I’m doing so that “behind the scenes” becomes “what you see is what you get.”
