Identifying Cognitive Impairments

“We can not solve our problems with the same thinking that created them.”
Albert Einstein

I am not a Doctor.  I am an expert in me…an expert of my body.  If I learned anything from the journey of losing and then regaining my cognitive abilities and memories, it is this…
My body is wiser than my words are available.
When I struggled to string together words to form coherent sentences, my body continued to communicate information through the five natural senses and what is identified as the Sixth sense.  It was through this communication with and through my body that I understood my mind was not working properly and eventually, what I needed to do in order to return to a healthy state.  I believe this wisdom is available to everyone, in and through their own body.  I recognized this wisdom as God, ever present and guiding me through the darkest days. While I knew, without a shadow of a doubt that I was not alone, I did not always feel that way. As a result, I decided to raise awareness and educate others on the issues surrounding brain health.

According to information provided by the CDC in “Cognitive Impairment: A Call to Action, Now!” There are now more than 10 million family members providing unpaid care to a person with cognitive impairment, a memory problem or a disorder like Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia. As I type this, the numbers are growing and possibly includes you or someone you love. Nearly 16 million Americans are living with cognitive impairment.

What is cognitive impairment?
Cognitive impairment is when a person has trouble remembering, learning new things, concentrating, or making decisions that affect their everyday
life. Cognitive impairment ranges from mild to severe. With mild impairment, people may begin to notice changes in cognitive functions, but still be able to do their everyday activities. Severe levels of impairment can lead to losing the ability to understand the meaning or importance of something and the ability to talk or write, resulting in the inability to live independently

What causes cognitive impairment?
Cognitive impairment is not caused by any one disease or condition, nor is it limited to a specific age group. Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias in addition to conditions such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, and developmental disabilities, can cause cognitive impairment.

What are some common signs of cognitive impairment?
• Memory loss.
• Frequently asking the same question or
repeating the same story over and over.
• Not recognizing familiar people and places.
• Having trouble exercising judgment, such as
knowing what to do in an emergency.
• Changes in mood or behavior.
• Vision problems.
• Difficulty planning and carrying out tasks,
such as following a recipe or keeping track of monthly bills

Alzheimers, dementia, PTSD, and strokes are just a few neurological diseases and disorders that can affect cognition and memory. Some causes are well known, well funded and actively researched. Others may not be. Lesser known disorders or side effects from medications may not receive much attention and therefore struggle to gain awareness. Thus education may seem limited leading to the perception that treatment and prevention are all but impossible.

I hope to shift thinking.

If you or someone you know is suffering from any of the above symptoms, please contact a medical professional and know that you are not alone.

Bilateral Planning

The brain. We all have one and use it every day. But how often do you actually think about the thing that helps you think?  Aside from an occasional headache, deja vu or perhaps a dizzy spell, you may not give it a second thought.  Instead, allowing your brain to operate and orchestrate the myriad of bodily functions it is in control of. Breathing is the first activity that comes to mind and is an important (dare I say THE most important) function that affects every other aspect of your life.

I admit I didn’t give a lot of attention to my brain health before 2013.  All of that changed in what seems like an instant to me but actually spans the course of approximately 10 years.  I say approximately because I don’t know.  I can not actually recall, in order, many of my life events from 2008 to 2016.  That’s not to say that I don’t remember anything.  I do, actually, and I am remembering more and more as time goes on.

While I have been in the pursuit, along with medical professionals, to determine the cause of the cognitive malfunctions and memory loss resulting from severe headaches (for lack of a better word), I embarked on a brain improvement journey near the end of 2016.

This journey, or science experiment as I like to refer to it, lead me to try many new things as brain exercises during the past year.  After much researching, I discovered I was actually giving my brain the best chance at recovery by aiding in its plasticity.

Enter OneBookJuly2017 and my dive down the rabbit hole of all things planner related, paper organization and habit tracking. Over the course of July, and the ensuing months of 2017, I learned what would work best for me.  While planning and organizing thoughts are unique to individuals, I discovered something about myself and noticed a pattern emerge within the planning community.

I found that part of the time I planned and benefitted from using a traditional, list based, heavily worded system.  The other part of the time, reading and writing words and therefore following the system was overwhelming or just plain difficult due to my struggles with recall and retention. As a result, I began looking for or creating stickers to create word-picture associations in my mind.

I quickly discovered the need to dual plan my time using two weekly spreads and began “Bilateral Planning”.  One weekly spread communicated the information in a language my creative right brain would understand using pictures when the left side was not connecting properly and reading words was difficult.  Another one communicated to my logical left brain, the events and tasks needing my focus when the nerves in my right brain would misfire, and looking at colors and pictures were distracting.

 

Both of these layouts communicate the same information for the week of October 30-November 5, 2017.

This “ah-ha” moment led me to research planning styles and I decided to incorporate both and identify it as “Bilateral Planning”.  For me, the repetition in planning aides in memory recall and improves my retention.

If you or someone you know struggles with completing tasks, whether it results from a memory issue like mine or some other challenge, I believe bilateral planning can help.

Sign up for my Newsletter and receive a FREE printable to start Bilateral Planning.

FACT: Being active is associated with a lower risk of brain issues.

Want to track your health and wellness to encourage and promote activities geared toward creating and maintaining a healthy brain?  Check out my Health and Wellness Tracker

 

 

 

One Book July 2017 – Review of Week 2

This week found me a tad bit busier than last week and not feeling 100% but I was able to stay on task, due to prior planning, and get the things done (in a timely manner) that needed to be accomplished.  I didn’t get many personal things checked off my to do list but that’s okay with me.  This week highlighted the importance of having a flexible planning system.

Observations and changes made this week:

The first and most recognizable change for me this week is the TN cover itself.  I have been struggling with the LOVELY TPS Floral TN since my initial set up.  While I love, love, love it, the 1.5″ spine is just a little too small for my needs right now.

I am using my One Book July to experiment with tracking all of the things that need to be done this month, both personal and professional.  As the festival and pageant are at the end of July and the first week of August, I have little to do and lots of time to do it…STRIKE THAT, reverse it!

The next change I have made is the addition of a dump book.  I have one dedicated to all the details that I need to stay on top of this month in preparation for the festival and pageant, however, I didn’t have something to capture all the other items.  So, I dedicated some of my self-care time to creating an insert and have already started collecting items to be organized after my Incompletion Trigger List review.

My weekly spread is where the “work” gets done in my One Book July.  I noticed that I didn’t consistently use my dailies but went back and filled in what I accomplished, instead of using it for pre-planning.  I used stickers to create “word pictures” to help with my memory and this resulted in aiding my recall.  Therefore, I have decided to pre-set up my dailies this week.  Let’s see how that works for me.  I have had a new memory and discovered a 20 year gap…this blank spaces do not mean I don’t remember anything for those 20 years, but rather all instances relating to a specific memory group (i.e. an annual picnic that I have no memories of or the location it has been held in, although I apparently have attended it numerous times).  This leads me to look for ways to re-associate people, places, and things in hopes of being able to access the memories eventually. So, I am attempting to use more stickers in my planning routine to create word pictures in my mind.  Well, see how this works.  This week will be the first time I include the sticker associations in the “guts” of my planning and I am hopeful I can report a success next week!

This Michael’s Recollection’s Hourly Vertical Planner sits on my desk and does double duty as my memory planner.

This is the weekly box spread in my One Book July and functions as a weekly overview of my events and appointments using pictures.

This is a printable from Ray Blake at My Life All In One Place and functions as the “guts” of my planning. I have not previously utilized stickers in this section as it houses tasks…this is where I take my “To Do’s” to “To Done” and document any changes to my planned schedule of events with actual events.

Finally, I have decided to set up my dailies for the week to see how I can better utilize them in the TN.  However, I typically use my hourly planner for itemizing the details of my white spaces.

How are you using your One Book July?  What have you learned so far?  I would love to know how has this “experiment” helped you stay on track to reach your goals.

See you next week!