Answers For Elders Radio Network

Denise Medved at Ageless Grace shares three of her 21 simple exercises to do each day to fortify your brain. Denise says, "Breaking out of your normal patterns of movement is important to firing new neurons and creating new neural pathways. Most people don't do new things. They do what they already know how to do, and they repeat it. Breaking out of that pattern is really important, to find new neurons, and create new neural pathways. Obviously, the best thing to do is actually physically do them with me, but I can describe a few that will help you be able to get started and see a difference in your own brain. You do these sitting down." 1. Gentle Geometry. Denise says, "It uses the shapes of a triangle, a circle and a line, either vertical or horizontal. We'll start making a circle, for example, with your right hand. And after you get that going, then start to draw a triangle in the air with your left foot, your opposite foot. Try to do them both at once. And then, depending on the group — many people cannot do this at all, and that's the point of it. Everybody laughs, everybody's laughing. But you want to keep trying — the minute you stop, that means your neurons stop firing. You're making the circle with one hand, so you don't want to stop and say, I can't do this. I give up, you wanna say 'I'm gonna keep trying so I can fire neurons,' and then I might add a third thing, and say, 'with the other hand make a horizontal line.' So you might be doing a circle with one hand, with the opposite foot, and then a horizontal line with the opposite hand. And you keep doing this to a song, something that you like. You put on some music, and when the song is about halfway through, you switch and you mirror it, so that you're switching sides of the brain that you're working. So now the other hand is making the circle, the other foot is making the triangle and the other hand is doing that." 2. Spelling B. "B stands for body, and it means you're spelling using your body parts. You could spell lots of different words. You could do it in cursive, you could do it in Japanese, you could do it in Spanish, whatever you like. But just to make it simple, to explain it, I might say: In lowercase cursive, write the word health in the air with your nose. So you would move your and write, go back and cross the T, and you might do that three or four times. And then you might write health with your right elbow two or three times, write it with your left elbow. And getting into some of the humor, write the word health in case cursive with your belly button. Look how much of your body it's used: your whole abdominal wall, rib cage, spine. And then you might write health in the air with your foot two or three times, and then with the other foot, or with your back against the wall. So you use all kinds of body parts. And again, we could have written several different words. It doesn't matter, as long as you're switching up and using words, and you're writing them with your body parts, because your brain right away is stimulating those functions of the brain. It stimulates all five of them simultaneously." 3. Pretend swimming. "Another quick one, that's very easy, is the idea of swimming. So you might lean back in your chair, and obviously to put your feet up in front of you in order to paddle, because you're seated. So right away, your brain is saying, well, how would I swim in a chair? Feet in front? And then you do as many different strokes as you can think of. A crawl, an Australian crawl, a breast stroke, a butterfly. That also stimulates the brain as well as moves the body." Learn more about:* Denise Medved: https://agelessgrace.com/denise-medved/* Ageless Grace: https://agelessgrace.com/about/* <a...

Denise Medved joins Suzanne to talk about the Ageless Grace brain fitness program, 21 simple exercises to do each day to maintain brain health. Ideally, these are preventative measures, but if the signs of cognitive decline are beginning to appear, the Ageless Grace program can improve symptoms. Because Ageless Grace is performed in a chair to engage the brain, almost anyone can participate. Denise describes her inspiration for the program. "I saw my parents aging completely differently, even though they had the same food, they lived in the same house, they did everything together for 47 years. My mother, who was a brainiac, who studied, who took courses, who taught courses, who played the piano, who learned new pieces every week, who read books avidly, who did the New York Times and London Times crossword puzzle, but hated exercise or movement of any kind. She was actually diagnosed with Alzheimer's. And at that time when that happened, in the early 2000, they were saying, oh, if you do crossword puzzles and word games, you will be cognitively fit the rest of your life. My dad, who spoke English as a second language, was very physical. He was a gymnast, he was a weightlifter, he was a body builder. And I saw my dad staying sharp and fit and in control of himself and cognitively sharp all the time. And I said, well, that's interesting. You'd think my dad, who never studies, never reads, doesn't teach courses or take courses because it was difficult with him with English as a second language, is cognitively fit. "I took a graduate program in gerontology, graduating from the Neuroscience Academy in Sydney, Australia. And at the same time there was research being done. They discovered that the primary function of the brain is to control movement of the body. So when we do some kind of movement, especially movement that's new or unique to us, or a little out-of-the-box, out of the ordinary, or when we're learning some new physical skill, those things stimulate the firing of neurons, which are brain cells.That's what we need to do to stimulate the cognitive function of our brain, so that we can change our brain and make it more resilient and stronger all the time, for a better quality of life." Why aren't crosswords and jigsaw puzzles enough for neuroplasticity? Denise says, "I talked a little earlier about the five primary functions of the brain. Each of those different word games, or crosswords, number games, they affect a certain part of the brain, or a certain function of the brain, maybe two functions, but not all of them. I like to compare it to brushing your teeth. If you brushed your teeth every day, just in the front and noplace else, you'd be doing a great job with your front teeth, but everything else would decline and you would have tooth decay. So if you only work one or two functions of the brain all the time, they will be sharp, but the other functions will be failing." Learn more about:* Denise Medved: https://agelessgrace.com/denise-medved/* Ageless Grace: https://agelessgrace.com/about/* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/* Humana: https://www.humana.com/* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/ Answers for Elders is part of the <a...

Denise Medved, founder and CEO of Ageless Grace, joins Suzanne to talk about the brain fitness program taught in 50 states and more than 30 countries. Brain fitness is an aspect of intellectual wellness, one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, a topic of this month's portion of The Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. More than 3,600 educators have been certified to teach the program. It consists of 21 simple exercise tools, based on everyday movements that are natural and organic, and focus on the healthy longevity of the body and brain. Denise explains, "There are five primary functions of the brain. I'm not talking about regions or sections of the brain; that's anatomy. I'm talking about what does the brain do. All five functions must be activated on a daily basis, and strengthened because, if only one or two functions are strong, that doesn't mean the entire brain is healthy — all of those functions must be healthy. "First, the brain does strategic planning, and it is based on physical movement, because the primary purpose of the brain is to control movement of the body. By strategic planning, I mean, how do you physically get from point A to B to C? How do you navigate across the room? How do you navigate to get in and out of your car? "The next one is called memory and recall. As it relates to the purpose of the brain, it's controlling movement of the body, remembering a physical experience that you had. And a lot of people don't realize this, but any memory is actually remembering a physical experience, whether you realize it or not. Try to remember a fact learned in geography, and right away, you probably go to a picture of your classroom in your brain, or a picture of your teacher or where you sat when you were learning this thing. It is a physical memory experience that you are stimulating, and recall is slightly different than memory because recall could mean that you might be recalling what you know about something and the physical experience you had learning about that even though you don't do it yourself. So an example would be if I said, pretend you're playing the trombone. Well, you may never have even touched a trombone, but immediately you're gonna recall what you know, that it has a slide, that it has a mountain, and that is a form of memory. The third function of the brain is analytical thinking. And again, it has not anything to do with analyzing numbers particularly, or words, it has to do with understanding all the parts or components that make up an activity of your daily life. What are all the parts and steps that make up the idea of playing baseball? What are the parts and steps that make up the idea of I'm gonna get in my car and drive to the gym and I'm gonna have a workout? That's analytical thinking as it pertains to the brain. The next one is called creativity and imagination. And we are all creative. It's one of the functions of the brain. And what that really means is being moving or acting in some way that's a little new to you, or different, or a little out of the box. It can be as simple as brushing your teeth — with the other hand instead of the one that you always use. That is a form of creativity. Dr Norman Doidge discovered that imagination and physical activity light up the same parts of the brain in an MRI. I can imagine that I'm playing a trombone, or I could really play a trombone, and my brain would light up the same way. It's fascinating. And then the last function of the brain is kinesthetic learning. And that means we learn through our brain body first, and later on our brain kicks in, and advises our body on how to make it more...

Reverend Doctor Kathianne Lewis joins Suzanne to talk about forgiving ourselves as part of Spiritual Wellnss, one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness featured this month as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Rev Kathianne says, "Get off our case earlier — we'll have less baggage, so that we can enjoy the last quarter or third or half of our lives. To be bogged down with self-judgment is really hard on the soul." To subscribe to "Thoughts to Sleep On," send your name and number to [email protected], and get a free daily evening call from Reverend Doctor Kathianne Lewis. Learn more about:* Kathianne Lewis: https://www.spiritualliving.org/people/kathianne-lewis-dd/* Center for Spiritual Living: https://www.spiritualliving.org/* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/* Humana: https://www.humana.com/* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/ Hear more:* Podcasts with Kathianne Lewis at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/kathianne-lewis/* Articles and podcasts about Spiritual Wellnss: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/spiritual-wellness/* Rev. Kathianne's Mid-Week "Faith Lift": https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWilu0kYmiP5i12ylBNob0RIX4JnWOEt8 Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/ SR FeaturedSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reverend Doctor Kathianne Lewis joins Suzanne to talk about how to see that there are miracles in everyday life, an aspect of Spiritual Wellnss, one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness featured this month as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Rev Kathianne says, "I'm really a miracle junkie. I think we've all had miracles. Most people have had something out of the ordinary that they couldn't even imagine happening, but it did. Then we live off of that. I used to do that myself. I want what I would say from the Old Testament is mana. I want my own mana every day, a miracle every day. I want to see God, have evidence of God every day of my life. It can be a small thing, like 'I can't find this' and there it is. Everything can be a miracle. There's a beautiful song that people can listen to, which is 'Everything Is a Miracle Now.' Then there's 'A Million Little Miracles.' Both of them are probably on YouTube. If we start assuming that spirit works are alive, we will start seeing all this synchronicity that happens, and we'll feel that connection. It'll be real." Learn more about:* Kathianne Lewis: https://www.spiritualliving.org/people/kathianne-lewis-dd/* Center for Spiritual Living: https://www.spiritualliving.org/* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/* Humana: https://www.humana.com/* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/ Hear more:* Podcasts with Kathianne Lewis at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/kathianne-lewis/* Articles and podcasts about Spiritual Wellnss: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/spiritual-wellness/* Rev. Kathianne's Mid-Week "Faith Lift": https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWilu0kYmiP5i12ylBNob0RIX4JnWOEt8 Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reverend Doctor Kathianne Lewis joins Suzanne to talk about finding and reflecting our personal values in our lives as part of Spiritual Wellnss, one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness featured this month as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Rev. Kathianne is Spiritual Director and Senior Minister at the Center for Spiritual Living in Seattle. Rev. Kathianne says, "The next step in recognizing our spirituality is understanding what's really good about us." "When I was younger, I wasn't anxious, but I certainly wanted to fit in and just, you know, so what do people think of me? And uh how do I look? I think that when we get older, we shift. And when we pursue a spiritual path, or wanting to connect with something greater, what we really want to do is find out what's true about us and let that shine. So we're not shining forth our anxiety or our hesitancy or our unwillingness to speak up or whatever we're really shining forth. What's true about us. We're being really clear with our values and our internal gifts because we all have internal gifts. We're all born with different gifts. "This is what shifted me forever. I went to my grandmother's funeral. I was in my forties, and all of my cousins and everybody that knew my grandmother said, 'oh, she was so sweet. She's so sweet.' Everybody said she was so sweet. I would have said she was so sweet. But you know what? No one would ever say that about me. Sweet was not a word that I was ever described as, but I decided that if my grandmother was going to die and leave us on this physical plane, the best thing I could do was to keep her legacy. So I said, you know what, I want to take on granny's sweetness. And so sometimes I will actually be surprised when someone will say, 'well, that's so sweet.'" Learn more about:* Kathianne Lewis: https://www.spiritualliving.org/people/kathianne-lewis-dd/* Center for Spiritual Living: https://www.spiritualliving.org/* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/* Humana: https://www.humana.com/* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/ Hear more:* Podcasts with Kathianne Lewis at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/kathianne-lewis/* Articles and podcasts about Spiritual Wellnss: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/spiritual-wellness/* Rev. Kathianne's Mid-Week "Faith Lift": https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWilu0kYmiP5i12ylBNob0RIX4JnWOEt8 Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast <a...

Reverend Doctor Kathianne Lewis joins Suzanne to talk about Spiritual Wellnss, one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness featured this month as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Rev. Kathianne is Spiritual Director and Senior Minister at the Center for Spiritual Living in Seattle. Rev. Dr. Kathianne Lewis has inspired and served countless numbers of people—whose lives, she hopes, have been changed for the better by practicing spiritual principles. Rev Kathianne says, "To bless and be thankful in the face of adversity does two things I think. First of all, it does teach you, you learn from it, you grow from this adversity, bless it. The other thing is is that by blessing your adversity, you call for the good that is seeded within that adversity, just like for you, by blessing your adversity. I think that a lot of people listening to this will look at the adversities that they had in their life. And a lot of those adversities, those troubles, those trials, those obstacles gave birth to something greater, right? Sometimes it's inner wisdom, sometimes it's inner strength, and sometimes it's just a miracle. A bigger life than they could have ever even imagined." She adds, "I think it was Emerson who said, 'that which is within you is greater than that which is outside of you.' So when they can reconnect with their own sustaining spiritual force, they will get ideas that will help them work stuff out. There's no real problem, there's only an idea problem. There are no money problems, relationship problems, no anything problem in and of itself — it's always an idea problem. And when we can be inspired within, to have new ideas, we will have the inspiration to handle what the issue is." Learn more about:* Kathianne Lewis: https://www.spiritualliving.org/people/kathianne-lewis-dd/* Center for Spiritual Living: https://www.spiritualliving.org/* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/* Humana: https://www.humana.com/* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/ Hear more:* Podcasts with Kathianne Lewis at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/kathianne-lewis/* Articles and podcasts about Spiritual Wellnss: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/spiritual-wellness/* Rev. Kathianne's Mid-Week "Faith Lift": https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWilu0kYmiP5i12ylBNob0RIX4JnWOEt8 Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks:...

Director of Capital Projects Kristina Chalfant joins Suzanne to talk about the environmental factors/design considerations that enhance resident quality of life at Era Living. Kristina says, "I'm responsible for a team of project managers and a project coordinator, facilities team, and a procurement coordinator. Our team is responsible for doing renovation projects, keeping the communities fresh and safe and clean, and for taking care of emergency repairs, like if the roof is leaking, or if there's a pipe burst, or something like that, if the boilers stop working. We've got painters that go and keep the paints touched up and fresh-looking in the communities." When somebody new moves in, Kristina says, "The maintenance team does inspections to make sure everything's working properly, and they should be introducing themselves. And get to know the new residents, welcome them on board, and let them know that if anything comes up during their stay in our communities, they're going to be there to provide support, whether it's replacing batteries or light bulbs, but also the bigger picture things, making sure the resident feels confident that they don't have to worry about. You know, maybe the siding needs to be repaired in a few years, or maybe the roof is gonna need to be replaced or, you know, we're making sure that the gutters and down spouts are cleaned, making sure the landscaping is maintained. There are a lot of things that are taken care of that hopefully are invisible to the residents." Kristina adds, "We try to keep accessibility in mind, and make everyone feel included. We want to make sure there's room for everyone at the table. And if you're in a meeting room, that you can hear — so there might be some sort of hearing assistant devices that we put in." Hear more podcasts from Era Living at Answers for Elders, including conversations with other residents, at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/era-living/ Learn more about:Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/.Era Living at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/era-living/Era Living's website: https://www.eraliving.com/ Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Susan Vahlkamp, Executive Director of Era Living's University House Issaquah, joins Suzanne to talk about the company's executive director in training program, which offers employees an opportunity for advancement to become strong, knowledgeable leaders. Susan says, "It's something that happens periodically in the company. Just two are selected at a time to go through that training program. They announce that they are accepting applications. It is only open to internal employees, and then you have to apply, get the blessing from your supervisor, the executive director at your community where you're working, and then it's an intensive interview process." She adds, "A lot of it is really learning more about each and every role in the community that isn't the executive director. That is the part that's really unique. It's not sitting with an executive director for a year and watching what they do. You take turns being assigned with a department director in one of our communities. I started with housekeeping, and I spent two full weeks with one of our amazing housekeeping directors at one of our communities, and learned their job as well as spent a full day with a housekeeper, cleaning apartments, a full day with the custodian, doing all the common areas and special projects, a full day in the laundry room. So really during those two weeks, I was really deep-diving into housekeeping. "And then from there, I moved on to a different department at a different community. So I would spend a few weeks to maybe a whole month, depending on the department, at our different communities with some people that were identified to be really great at their jobs and really see how a well-functioning department would run. And there were also modules where I wasn't in a community, but it was working on leadership development, and interviewing, and understanding the financial portion that you're responsible for as an executive director, through the budget for a community for the year. And so it had a lot of different aspects to it. And then the at the end, you get assigned to one community as an associate executive director to work more hands-on under an executive director for a portion of time as part of the program as well." Susan says, "I really think it helps as an executive director to have actually worked in every single position in the community. So, you know more of what it's really like for that person in that role, and when they're asking you for more staff, or they want different resources, you better understand what they're talking about. And make a better informed decision or can be more proactive in a lot of ways as well. I think you're just more relatable — I can really talk to the servers about what their job is like, and understand their struggles. And the person that is working overnight as a caregiver — to really have seen what they, their job is really like is very, very helpful." Hear more podcasts from Era Living at Answers for Elders, including conversations with other residents, at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/era-living/ Learn more about:Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/.Era Living at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/era-living/Era Living's website: https://www.eraliving.com/University House Issaquah, located at 22975 SE Black Nugget Rd, Issaquah, WA 98029-6997: http://www.eraliving.com/communities/issaquah/ <a...

If you’re considering senior living, it’s important to hear from residents who’ve gone through the process of transiting to a senior living community. Jeanne lives with her golden retriever/labrador retriever Joyce at Era Living's Aljoya Mercer Island retirement community. Jeanne says, "I decided that I didn't want to live in my own home. I loved my house, and loved my neighbors, and my family. But any time I didn't feel well, I got really anxious. So I wanted to go someplace that had a health service. And I looked at 12 places, I didn't go into all of them. My criteria was that they would take a big dog — most places don't — and that we could walk out the door and go for a walk. Aljoya Mercer Island ... is the only one that met those criteria, and I was happy to move. I've been happy since the day I walked in the door. And they found the perfect apartment for me. I wanted a one bedroom den, where I could get out to the outside without going through the building." Jeanne adds, "I think the biggest surprise to me was that I have more friends than I've had since I was in college. It's not like living in a condo, where you walk out and you don't know anybody. You walk out and somebody is there, you may not even know them, but you talk to them and, and it's very friendly." “I would say one other thing — because I've been on the music committee and had to find musical activities, and had to advertise them, I have found a creative side to myself that I never thought of. I mean, I can sew and I can knit and I can do crown and cross stitch and that, but I just never had the opportunity to be in charge of something where I really didn't have to report to anybody. And have funds for things. I think that's been one of the most rewarding things of being here." Hear more podcasts from Era Living at Answers for Elders, including conversations with other residents, at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/era-living/ Learn more about:Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/.Era Living at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/era-living/Era Living's website: https://www.eraliving.com/Aljoya Mercer Island, located at 2430 76th Ave SE, Mercer Island, WA 98040-2807: http://www.eraliving.com/communities/mercer-island/ Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The book "Spirit Calling: Listening to God Within You" is a daily devotional book centered on a Bible passage for each day. Michael Wuehler wrote it as if the holy spirit is responding to the reader through the passage, in first person. Retired United Methodist minister Michael Wuehler joins Suzanne to talk about spiritual wellness, featured this month as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Michael says, "I'm all over the internet. You can buy the book in paper format, but I also have "Spirit Calling" in different formats on YouTube as a video, and also something called "Chicken Soup for the Spirit" [on TikTok] which is a short prayer that I do in English and then translate into Spanish. And then I have a Daily Bible Quiz and an inspirational Daily Bible Verse [on TikTok], and a podcast that you can get at any place you download podcasts, Apple iTunes or whatever. So I realize not all people are going to sit down and read, not all people are gonna watch a video. Some people like to have their devotionals through their headphones while they're walking jogging, or whatever. So I try to reach people in every format that I could conceivably bring up." He adds, "The driving force behind all of this is connecting to people. That's why I went into ministry. I loved preaching, I loved small groups, Bible studies, whatever. I always made sure that I had some way to connect to the community. So I always had groups, and helping people in those — Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts — just some way of helping people grow. And it's not all religious based, but it's helping people find themselves and in finding themselves, they will find that spirit. "Luckily, God hid our spirits in plain sight. They're not hard to find, but God gives us some aha moments that help us out. You know, we step into situations in life when we realize that all of our life experience, our education, our physical abilities, aren't enough to interpret that. That we need of a larger sense of self and divine being within us." Learn more about:* Spirit Calling: Listening to God Within You at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Calling-Listening-God-Within/dp/1489733477* Michael Wuehler: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B08W9F8HZD/about* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/* Humana: https://www.humana.com/* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/ Hear more:* Podcasts with Michael Wuehler at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/michael-wuehler/* Michael Wuehler’s Hearing Spirit Calling podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hearing-spirit-calling/id1663406008* Articles and podcasts about Spiritual Wellnss: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/spiritual-wellness/ Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast <a...

Working in hospice, United Methodist minister Michael Wuehler has helped with the grieving side of families in their spirituality, those coping with that end of life. Michael joins Suzanne to talk about spiritual wellness, featured this month as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Michael says, "Grieving takes the rest of our lives. Sometimes people ask, 'When will I be over it?' You won't. If you've spent your life loving somebody, and they pass away, it doesn't just stop. You gave your heart and soul to that person. Grief is that feeling that rushes in when love dies. It is a complex feeling. We have to know that grief is there for a reason, and we need deal with it openly and specifically as possible. Every quarter, I would offer a five session grief seminar for the families in different areas that we serve. And the number one focus is find someone to talk to. Grief is not something to be done alone. Grief or the bereavement process is dealing with your feelings, your emotions, your dreams that are lost, whatever with some other person or people in an open, honest and safe atmosphere." He adds, "For years, I did grief support for people that have gone through divorce and it's the same type of grieving except the person doesn't die. The person that you went through a divorce with may still be in the same community, may be sharing children together. But the grief is very similar and much the same. We specialize in working with Alzheimer's patients. "There are over 110 different types of Alzheimer's, but the reactions tend to be much the same. The loved one starts picking up the memories of the person with Alzheimer's. And then there comes a parallel point when the person with Alzheimer's has lost more memory and the person that doesn't have it, is surpassing them. And our memory loss tends to be from the newest to the oldest. I have had patients that couldn't keep a sentence, but we could sing hymns together, right? Because they were still there in the back of their heads." Learn more about:* Spirit Calling: Listening to God Within You at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Calling-Listening-God-Within/dp/1489733477* Michael Wuehler: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B08W9F8HZD/about* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/* Humana: https://www.humana.com/* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/ Hear more:* Podcasts with Michael Wuehler at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/michael-wuehler/* Michael Wuehler’s Hearing Spirit Calling podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hearing-spirit-calling/id1663406008* Articles and podcasts about Spiritual Wellnss: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/spiritual-wellness/ Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

We often forget to take the moments to connect with ourselves. Author and Retired United Methodist minister Michael Wuehler joins Suzanne to talk about spiritual wellness, featured this month as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Michael describes some tools — ways to connect with ourselves. He says, "We're human beings, not human doings, and we tend to do — we make humanity a verb rather than a noun. I practice yoga, which some Christians have some difficulty with, but yoga has no religion. Yoga is whatever you bring to it. And some of my instructors are very devout Christians in their practice. But yoga allows you to center on and feel and connect with that inner person. In my book, I open up one of the first devotionals with the word rûaħ, that's a Hebrew word. Rûaħ means breath or spirit. And in yoga, you learn to follow your breath, or your spirit, and your breath controls everything in the body. And without the breath, you don't have a body and without that, that life force that God breathes into us, we don't exist. So understanding that that breath, that life force in you, is the core of who you are. And then building upon that is essential. "We have breathing practices that we do where you follow your breath, you listen to your breath. There's a practice called the Ujjayi Breath, which means victory breath, where you hear your breath, and the focus is allowing other people in the room to hear that as well. It's like sharing your spiritual being, this is very practical and I used it quite a bit in helping hospice patients still feel that breath of life in them. Obviously, hospice patients are on their end of life, but that's a vital feeling that they can cope with." He adds, "There are three basic questions we all ask: Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? Who am I? — that's a spiritual question. Hopefully, you don't find a solitary answer, because I'm not just who I am. I am, who I am in relation to a greater being that I call God, and I am who I am in relation to that greater being, and my connection to other people. And part of my purpose in life is to connect with God and serve the people who God loves, which is you and everyone else on this Earth." Learn more about:* Spirit Calling: Listening to God Within You at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Calling-Listening-God-Within/dp/1489733477* Michael Wuehler: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B08W9F8HZD/about* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/* Humana: https://www.humana.com/* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/ Hear more:* Podcasts with Michael Wuehler at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/michael-wuehler/* Michael Wuehler’s Hearing Spirit Calling podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hearing-spirit-calling/id1663406008* Articles and podcasts about Spiritual Wellnss: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/spiritual-wellness/ Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks:...

Michael Wuehler joins Suzanne to talk about spiritual wellness, featured this month as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. The University of Colorado, when defining their 8 foundational principles of wellness, says spiritual wellness has to do with your own sense of well-being, commitment to your morals and ethics, and who you are as an individual. In other words, know thyself, and stand true to your values and principles. This can include your faith. Michael Wuehler is a retired United Methodist minister with 30 years of experience in the parish ministry, helping many families work through so life challenges and circumstances. He's the author of Spirit Calling: Listening to God Within You. Often we go about our day-to-day lives doing rather than being centered. Michael says, "Most people practice their spirituality for an hour, or 45 minutes, during a worship service, and that's about it. But there's so much more out there, and the local church is just the practice of spirituality, and one minor focus. Spirituality s who you are. We are mind, body, and spirit. We notice the body, we feel things, we touch things, we respond to physical things. We think a lot — most of us have monkey minds, and we think all over the place, and we think too much, that's an ongoing concern with the younger generation. They tend to overthink. But we also have a tendency to leave out the spiritual part, and it's all three portions together that make us who we are." Learn more about:* Spirit Calling: Listening to God Within You at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Calling-Listening-God-Within/dp/1489733477* Michael Wuehler: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B08W9F8HZD/about* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/* Humana: https://www.humana.com/* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/ Hear more:* Podcasts with Michael Wuehler at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/michael-wuehler/* Michael Wuehler’s Hearing Spirit Calling podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hearing-spirit-calling/id1663406008* Articles and podcasts about Spiritual Wellnss: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/spiritual-wellness/ Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Retirement coach Larry Jacobson joins Suzanne to talk about his process of helping people find their life purpose and meaning in retirement. Larry explains, "I take people through nine stages to find their purpose and meaning in retirement. I call it, "What is Your Encore?" What are you going to do next? When people retire, say at 65, well, we're living a lot longer than the previous generation. If you make it to 65 there's a good chance you're gonna make it to 85. That's 20 years. What are you gonna do with yourself? So I first take people through, well, what is your vision? What is it that you think you want to do? And if you don't know, then I take them through the passion quiz, and that asks lots of questions about what they like, what they don't like. "Once we come up with something, and even if you can't come up with something, I say, well, just come up with the idea that you're gonna wake up in the morning for something that you love, and let's just move on from there. So then we talk about what steps would you need to take in order to make that happen. So you take a big dream, and you break it down into smaller goals. We go through a SWOT analysis. Those from the corporate world will know that a SWOT analysis stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. That's how we analyze a product, or a company, or the competition, or our own company in the corporate world. I use it to analyze an individual. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What opportunities do you have? What threats do you have? So you might say something like, 'I don't know anything about investing money, but my cousin happens to be a financial advisor.' So that's an opportunity that we take advantage of." Larry adds, "And then a lot of people will say, well, what I'm thinking about doing is risky. It's too risky. I'm afraid to take the risk. We do a risk analysis. And then, an issue that comes up a lot in personal decision making, is that people can't decide what should I do, what direction should I go? And I'm of the theory that we make decisions based on our priorities. What are your priorities in life? And that will help make your decisions a lot easier and faster. So I teach that. "There's a whole segment about fear. It's my favorite topic. There is a lot of fear: fear of success, success of losing friendships or losing routines or fear of change. And then if someone decides, there's the fear of what if I go the wrong direction? What if it doesn't work out well? That's OK. We're gonna set it up so that you're gonna enjoy the path along the way, right? And what did you learn in the process? "I teach people to focus not on a problem, but on the solution. Then also it's perseverance, keeping a positive attitude, a commitment to what it is that you've decided you want to do, and tenacity. and fortitude. "Visualization is another thing that I use a lot. Now, that's lesson one. The first three lessons on visualization are free. And I'd love your listeners to go take the free lessons, and that's https://buoytraining.com/sail-into-retirement/." Hear more:Larry Jacobson podcasts on Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/larry-jacobson/Occupational Wellness podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/occupational-wellness/ Learn more:Larry's Sail Into Retirement training course: https://buoytraining.com/sail-into-retirement/ You can reach Larry Jacobson via his website at https://larryjacobson.com/ Answers for Elders is part...

Retirement coach Larry Jacobson joins Suzanne to talk about finding your life purpose. Larry says, "Most of the people who come to me are about to retire or will retire within a year, and they ask, 'Is this all there is? I thought there would be more, I thought it would be more fun. I'm bored. Help me, I'm gonna go crazy.' I start with, 'Let's talk about a vision that you have for your dream retirement. What did you always dream of doing in retirement?' Well, I don't know, is the answer I get a lot. It's OK if you don't know, because we have tools to help you get there. And one of them is a passion quiz. It's actually available for free on my website, LarryJacobson.com. You just put in your name and your email, and the passion quiz comes to you, and it's about 30 questions. The questions are easy. The answers are hard, because you really have to think, and I ask you questions like what were you doing the last time you had fun? What were you doing the last time you stayed up really, really late and didn't even realize what time it was? What makes you leap out of bed in the morning without a cup of coffee?' I recommend people have that. That's just one of the tools that's in the course, Sailing Into Retirement." He also coaches clients one-on-one through his training course. Larry adds, "That's really the best way. You buy the course for just 95 bucks, and then you get one free session. Well, we can only go so far in one session. So the most popular is that people buy the course with four sessions. You can also buy the course with nine sessions, and it gets progressively cheaper as you go. Some people buy the nine sessions because I'll be with them for almost a year to help them through these questions and I'm asking them lots of questions like, 'OK, now you've got a dream, you've got this big dream. How do we break that down into steps into goals?'" Hear more:Larry Jacobson podcasts on Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/larry-jacobson/Occupational Wellness podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/occupational-wellness/ Learn more:Larry's Sail Into Retirement training course: https://buoytraining.com/sail-into-retirement/ You can reach Larry Jacobson via his website at https://larryjacobson.com/ Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Retirement coach Larry Jacobson joins Suzanne to continue their conversation, expanding on the advantage of seeking purpose and fulfillment in your senior years, rather than just personal pleasures. Why not live a life of multiple pleasures? "Not everything you do has to have purpose. But you're going to be missing something in your life, that you have purpose in doing something. I've had a client say, 'I deserve to have pleasures now, I deserve to do fun things.' My reply is, 'Yeah, you do, so do that. But it's not going to satisfy you in the long term. You don't have join the Peace Corps. But there's a line somewhere in between just pure pleasure and joining the Peace Corps and helping starving people somewhere. Look for a balance in your life." Hear more:Larry Jacobson podcasts on Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/larry-jacobson/Occupational Wellness podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/occupational-wellness/ Learn more:Larry's Sail Into Retirement training course: https://buoytraining.com/sail-into-retirement/ You can reach Larry Jacobson via his website at https://larryjacobson.com/ Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Retirement coach Larry Jacobson joins Suzanne to talk about finding purpose and fulfillment in your senior years vs just seeking pleasure – how you find passions and opportunities after your career. Jacobson sold his business, bought a boat, and sailed around the world for six years. He felt fantastic, but when he got back, something was missing — what to do now? He was looking for self-actualization, the highest point on Maslow's hierarchy of needs: giving back to society, improving other peoples' lives. Larry says, "A lot of people confuse pleasure with purpose and fulfillment. Pleasures are what a lot of people seek in retirement – travel, sleep late, and play golf. Finding that purpose and fulfillment – I want to stress the importance of that. Even if you didn't like your job, what you did for your career, you still had some fulfillment from it. Even if you're screwing screws on the door in an auto assembly line, you still know that that door was made by you. I think that's robotic now, but you get the point. What's your legacy? Right now I'm working on three new books. One of them is about wisdom, things I've made up over the years, "Larry-isms." Why am I doing that? I don't want them to be forgotten. I want to pass that wisdom on to the next generation, giving back. "If I were to leave your listeners with one thing to remember, it would be that you're striving to become part of something larger than yourself. It's like if you're in the military, or helping out at your church, if you're teaching kids, elders, anything that you're providing for others, you're doing something larger than yourself." Seek to find fulfillment vs. pleasure. Hear more:Larry Jacobson podcasts on Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/larry-jacobson/Occupational Wellness podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/occupational-wellness/ Learn more:Larry's Sail Into Retirement training course: https://buoytraining.com/sail-into-retirement/ You can reach Larry Jacobson via his website at https://larryjacobson.com/ Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Abby Winter, a pharmacist and teaching professor at the University of Washington School of Pharmacy, joins Suzanne to talk about advantages that residents of Era Living retirement communities receive thanks to a partnership with the university. Abby says, "At Era Living, we will provide lectures about various topics, often ideas suggested by residents. Right now we're doing a campaign of health promotion days. So we've had a diabetes day, a brain health day, a heart health day, and provide things like blood sugar checks, and blood pressure checks, osteoporosis screenings, diabetes screenings. We pair that with a lecture as well, since people learn in different ways." What happens at one of these events? Abby says, "I'll use Bone Health Day as an example. So for a few hours in the morning, we'll have an informational booth up with a poster, some handouts and flyers to take with you. On Bone Health Day, we provided bone density screenings, so folks could come in and actually get a DEXA scan, which kind of helps them know if they need to talk to their doctor about their potential for osteoporosis. Folks can bring us their medication list, or ask simple questions about their medications. Depending on the community, we'll also offer staff education. "We also provide one-on-one consultations with the residents at Era Living. Just have an expert go through your medications to make sure everything gets along, or make sure that they're not having some side effect that they don't realize is a medication side effect. A lot of times we think of different symptoms, they might just be getting older, but that's not always the case. Maybe it's a medication causing that side effect. And pharmacists are really well-suited to find those possible interactions or side effects. And as we get older, medications work differently in our bodies. So sometimes something that worked well for you 10, 20 years ago that you've been completely fine on doesn't work so well anymore. Or now it causes you a side effect. So being kind of an expert in geriatrics helps me to better find those things. "As folks get older, one of the biggest things that pharmacists do is de-prescribe: try to find medicines that aren't warranted anymore. Additionally, there's a lot of lifestyle things that help medications work better, or maybe replace the need for some medications. I empower residents with knowledge so that they feel more comfortable talking to their providers about it. "A new service has developed. We're reviewing older adults' medications in their homes for expired products, or unused products, and helping them know how and where to dispose of them safely. Just to make sure that you don't take the wrong drug accidentally, or maybe you have something left over, or your dose changed and you kept the old dose with you, you don't want to take the wrong one. And to keep, in case grandkids or pets are around, keep them safe too. There's a lot of different opportunities for engagement and interaction with the pharmacist as a resident at Era Living." Abby talks about how the program got started. "The Plein Center is part of the Department of Pharmacy at the school. Where I serve as the assistant director for outreach, we work on research, education and outreach to optimize older adults' medication use in many ways by working directly with older adults, working with their caregivers, working with health care providers, and also kind of being at the forefront, working in research. Everything provided through our partnership is completely free to the residents at Era Living." Hear more podcasts about <a...

If you're thinking about senior living, wondering what the first steps should be, what to expect, what's the process like, questions can hold us back. Karla talks about the process of selecting the right community. It takes a lot of courage to pick up the phone or visit a community. Karla Clark is the Regional Director for Sales and Marketing at Era Living, and she talks about how a community relations team member can guide you through the process — finding the right fit based on your needs. What should you expect when you call a community? Karla says, "First of all, they should expect someone to be warm and welcoming, and help guide them, to be that trusted advisor. They're probably going to be connected with a community relations team member, and that person is going to be asking some questions of the family member, or maybe the person considering making a move themselves. And these questions are designed to get to know that person, because everybody has a specific unique journey, and our team members have helped hundreds, thousands, of family members go through this. But it's different for everybody, and we don't know what has happened at the other end of the line that has caused them to reach out to us. And so, by asking these questions, we can find out important things, like what's not working out so well right now, what are you hoping to gain by making a move to a retirement community, and what's gonna be most important to you, because that is going to mean something different for everybody. And so it's less about our story and what we can offer, and it's more about their story, and what we can help provide a solution for. And only by asking questions can we find out if we're going to be the right fit for them, right? We're not going to be the right fit for everybody. But by having that conversation and that dialogue and asking good questions, and building that relationship together, then we can perhaps invite them in for that next step, guide them through this journey or give them other recommendations that might meet their needs better. "They've been through this before, they have the insight of what has worked or hasn't worked for others, and by talking through certain topics and conversations, whether that has to do with finances, or their needs, their hobbies, and their interests, as our residents are so engaged, and we wanna see that liveliness and that engagement. And so that person is somebody that they can call on the phone, or come and talk to ask questions. And we always think it's best, if it's a good fit from that first conversation, is we're gonna invite them into the community, so they can see it, touch it, taste it, feel it, because there's nothing like actually just walking in the community and describing that feeling that you get. "That visit is going to be very personalized for what's important to them. And I can guarantee that they are going to meet some amazing people. It's so important to meet the community directors, the executive director, other team members. We're gonna make some introductions to some other residents. It's amazing how the connections that you find with people who go to the same church or the same organizations or retired from the same industries. And so we make those connections, because that's what's important, and then of course we'll show them some apartments. "We encourage people to come back and visit multiple times. Come back, and have a lunch or dinner. We really like to pair people with other residents. Or come back and participate in one of our events — if somebody likes to play bridge with the bridge group, or be in an exercise class, or yoga, or Tai Chi, or a happy hour. "We have a lot of different lectures and presentations that are specific to helping people make a good decision and guide them through the process. Some of our most popular ones are our...

Catherine Arendt is the At Your Service Manager for Era Living retirement community at Aljoya Thornton Place. She hosts downsizing workshops, a helpful tool to help work through the things in our homes. When people choose an apartment at Aljoya Thornton Place in Seattle, Washington, she helps them figure out what they're going to bring to their new home. "I always tell them, I'm not a designer, I'm a space planner," she says. "I take pictures of what they'd like to bring, and when I get back to the office I can put it on a floor plan. Just to know that those items will fit, it's a great relief to them. "People do have all of those emotions about it. In fact, they often will delay their moves longer than maybe they really want to, simply because they're afraid. I just recently did a downsize workshop with someone from a moving company that we use all the time. After the event, one of the women came up and said that the person sitting next to her leaned over, and said to her before it started how afraid she was of this whole process. But that after we were done, she felt so much better. "So knowledge is really power. I'm really letting them know that they're not alone, and that I'm gonna walk with them through this whole process, and that everyone is out for making this an easy process for them. And they really truly do feel that. In the end, it's such a privilege to be able to walk this path with them. And it all really starts with downsizing." Hear more podcasts about Era Living at Answers for Elders, including conversations with residents, at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/era-living/ Learn more about:Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/.Era Living's website: https://www.eraliving.com/Aljoya Thornton Place, located at 450 NE 100th St. in Seattle, WA: http://www.eraliving.com/communities/north-seattle/ Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Said Hitti was born in Lebanon, studied economics in London and Oxford, and then moved to the United States in 1963 to work at the International Monetary Fund in Washington D.C. Said now lives at Ida Culver House Broadview, an Era Living retirement community. He says, "I'm quite happy here. There is a preponderance of highly educated people from academia, from the business world, from other areas, too. You meet a lot of people, and it's always pleasant to hear their life experiences." For those who are considering senior living, he says, "Do it only if it's necessary for you to do. A retirement community isn't a cruise for the rest of your life. You have to think in terms of doing small things in a paced way, not having expectations that you can resume life as it used to be before. It's a new phase in life. And I would encourage anybody — even if they don't feel they are writers — to write down their life experiences. If you train yourself to write your experiences, think of it this way: you'll be having the last word in whatever way you want to look at it." Ida Culver House Broadview is located at 12505 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133-8040. http://www.eraliving.com/communities/broadview/ Hear more podcasts about Era Living at Answers for Elders, including conversations with other residents, at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/era-living/ Learn more about:Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/.Era Living's website: https://www.eraliving.com/Aljoya Thornton Place, located at 450 NE 100th St. in Seattle, WA: http://www.eraliving.com/communities/north-seattle/ Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you're considering senior living, it's important to hear from residents who've gone through the process of transiting to a senior living community. Kathy Swanson is a retired junior high and high school teacher, the oldest of four children. She started looking when she was 74, and only looked at Aljoya Thornton Place. She brought friends and other family members to check out the community. She sold her home during COVID and moved in August 2020 to the Era Living retirement community. Kathy says, "The easiest thing about the move was being able to sell during COVID, to have the support of family, and to have the opportunity to come several times and visit, to get a feeling for the social atmosphere, to see the opportunities. One time I went to a play, I got my ticket ahead of time, and went in the van with other Aljoya people. That was lovely. I met some of the people there that I see regularly here. It was really easy to make that move, and having made the decision two years before. Moving during COVID was complicated. "Goodwill wouldn't come out with a truck, Habitat for Humanity, nobody. I had connections with World Relief and was able to give them some of my furniture." If people are looking into senior living, Kathy advises, "Really search your soul, make sure it's what you really want to do, because this is going to be your lifetime home. Visit, ask questions, talk to people, and think about things like, "What's their maintenance service like? What's the food like? What activities can I get involved in? What are the staff like? Is there mutual respect between the residents and the staff? "And I have to say, I couldn't have asked for more perfect relationships here. I've never heard any bickering here. They learn to know our names right away, and I don't know how because we were all wearing masks. Only within the last couple of months have we not worn masks, and I had to learn how to recognize people!" Learn more about:Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/.Era Living at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/era-living/Era Living's website: https://www.eraliving.com/Aljoya Thornton Place, located at 450 NE 100th St. in Seattle, WA: http://www.eraliving.com/communities/north-seattle/ Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michelle Cornelius, VP of Memory Care at Cogir Senior Living, joins Suzanne to talk about the social wellness of those with dementia in senior living communities. This segment focuses on how senior living communities have responded after having had to isolate seniors during the pandemic. Michelle says, "We really have seen effects from COVID starting with families not wanting to have a person move into memory care or assisted living, because you didn't know when you would see that again. And so people are moving in much later in the disease process than they used to, which makes adjustment harder sometimes. And then, when a person was in assisted living or memory care, we told them they had to isolate. And so we're sending people to their rooms and we're providing meals in the rooms and activities in the rooms and doing things one-on-one, instead of bringing them to groups. Dementia is use it or lose it. So if I tell you to go to your room for three months, and now I'm telling you it's OK to come out, you're not coming out. "We've had to start with a lot of small group involvement. We can still have our great activity calendar where the people who are ready to come out are participating. A lot of the staff have gotten involved, one or two people at a time encouraging people to come out for those one or two things that are most purposeful and meaningful for them. Increasing their volunteer portion of what the resident is doing in memory care: I am much more likely to come out if I'm leading the activity than if I'm just participating in the activity. And then getting the family involved. When the family visits, they say I'm coming over because they're having a party. Let's go to the party that they're having." The Vitality Revolution podcast series is sponsored by Humana. Hear more:Michelle Cornelius episodes on Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/michelle-cornelius/Social Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/social-wellness/Occupational Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/occupational-wellness/ Learn more:Cogir Senior Living: https://www.cogirseniorliving.com/Michelle Cornelius: https://cadencesl.com/cadence-living-hires-michelle-cornelius-as-vp-of-memory-care-engagement/The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/Humana: https://www.humana.com/Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/ You can reach Michelle Cornelius at [email protected]. Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michelle Cornelius, VP of Memory Care at Cogir Senior Living, joins Suzanne to talk about helping those with dementia adjust socially and find their fit in their senior living community. Michelle says, "Their nonverbal communication skills increase, and they do a really good job of picking up on how others around them feel. And so if they walk into a dining room and they feel like they're being ostracized, they're not very likely to want to come back to the dining room, because they know that they don't fit in. And so when we can join people together in pairs or groups or in areas where they can be themselves, it's much more comfortable. It's great to be in a group of folks who have early memory loss, even may not be living in memory care yet, but they all recognize that they have issues, and I've had people say to each other, 'I'm losing this, this is going, I don't remember it anymore. Have I told you this before?' And I know they've told the story before, but the other resident says they haven't heard it. It's great to be in that setting where you're accepted. "They may not know the other residents names, but you'll see ladies holding hands, walking down the hall, and they gravitate to the same person every time, even in early memory loss. If you feel comfortable with the person, this is who I'm going to find as my support. It also helps the environment feel safer, because now there's somebody else here that I'm gonna stick with, and somebody else with me when I'm feeling lost, or don't know where I am." Regarding what you as a loved one can do to help them adjust to living in memory care, Michelle says, "Participate in the life of the community. When you visit, don't go lock yourself behind a door in the person's apartment or their room. Join in the activities, join in the meals. And when you're going to leave, don't say goodbye. Consider when you walk in the door, the hug you give them when you walk in, that's your goodbye hug too. Leave them with a good feeling, and that means they're involved in an activity, they're involved in a meal, they're doing something that brings them joy. And now you're just going to go, and it can be a 10 minute visit. It doesn't have to be a two hour visit." The Vitality Revolution podcast series is sponsored by Humana. Hear more:Michelle Cornelius episodes on Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/michelle-cornelius/Social Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/social-wellness/Occupational Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/occupational-wellness/ Learn more:Cogir Senior Living: https://www.cogirseniorliving.com/Michelle Cornelius: https://cadencesl.com/cadence-living-hires-michelle-cornelius-as-vp-of-memory-care-engagement/The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/Humana: https://www.humana.com/Answers for Elders:...

If you have a loved one experiencing some Alzheimer's or dementia, and you're wondering how to help them find purpose and meaning each day, this show focuses on ways to help. Michelle Cornelius, VP of Memory Care at Cogir Senior Living, joins Suzanne from Phoenix to talk about providing a sense of purpose, accomplishment, and motivation for getting up each day for those with dementia. Michelle says, "Our calendars change every month, and they're really individualized by the community and the culture of each community, because what we do in Phoenix is very different than what we do in some of our Mid Atlantic properties or our California properties. Some of it is just weather related — I can do things in the winter in Phoenix that you can't do elsewhere. Some of it's based off the culture of the location. Even the foods we serve vary depending on where you are. Folks in the Phoenix area are used to a little spice in their food, but in other areas, they don't want that. "And then we have to vary the amounts of support that people need as well. People in the early stage of dementia, we want to make sure we're incorporating a lot of reminiscing and a lot of things that trigger their memory. And it's a different type of support than for folks who are in the later stages, where we need to give a lot more time. We need to use a lot more sensory integration. So we might have trivia. and trivia is gonna look very different for people in the early stage than in the late stage. Our exercise groups will look very different depending on what stage a person is in their disease process. and the amount of support they need to be successful." The Vitality Revolution podcast series is sponsored by Humana. Hear more:Michelle Cornelius episodes on Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/michelle-cornelius/Social Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/social-wellness/Occupational Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/occupational-wellness/ Learn more:Cogir Senior Living: https://www.cogirseniorliving.com/Michelle Cornelius: https://cadencesl.com/cadence-living-hires-michelle-cornelius-as-vp-of-memory-care-engagement/The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/Humana: https://www.humana.com/Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/ You can reach Michelle Cornelius at [email protected]. Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michelle Cornelius joins Suzanne from Phoenix to talk about occupational and social wellness for those with dementia. Michelle is VP of Memory Care at Cogir Senior Living. Michelle talks about ways that occupational wellness — having a sense of purpose, accomplishment, and reason for getting up each day — can be incorporated in the social calendars of people with dementia at senior living communities. "For example, we had one guy with dementia who used to teach line dancing classes. We scheduled him on the calendar to teach line dancing. He didn't remember what he had taught the previous week, the residents didn't remember what he'd taught them the previous week, he's taught the same two measures of the song in the course every week, and the residents loved it. It didn't matter that they were relearning something that they had already done. "I had another woman who did that with crocheting. She was the head, and it had her name on it, so it was Crocheting with the resident's name on the calendar. She didn't know how to turn her rows any more, so she would do that initial row, and when she'd get to the end, she'd stop, and we'd say that's our time for the week, and next week we're going to turn and start over, and we just did it every week. She taught us the same thing. And the residents were learning." The Vitality Revolution podcast series is sponsored by Humana. Hear more:Michelle Cornelius episodes on Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/michelle-cornelius/Social Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/social-wellness/Occupational Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/occupational-wellness/ Learn more:Cogir Senior Living: https://www.cogirseniorliving.com/Michelle Cornelius: https://cadencesl.com/cadence-living-hires-michelle-cornelius-as-vp-of-memory-care-engagement/The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/Humana: https://www.humana.com/Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/ You can reach Michelle Cornelius at [email protected]. Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lori Hutson joins Suzanne to talk about writing memoirs, an intriguing aspect of finding purpose and connection. Lori says, "we all have it in us, in some way or another. The first step is reflecting on our lives, just thinking about as journaling. But also, coming up with a theme to help you focus: what do you want to accomplish with it? I think about my family members — I would have loved it if my dad had written some of these things down." Lori Hutson joins Suzanne on behalf of Vitality Revolution podcast series gold sponsor Humana. Lori and Suzanne are discussing how to achieve social wellness, one of the eight fundamental principles of wellness. Lori, owner of L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC in Washington, talks about the wellness mindset promoted by Humana. Hear more:Lori Hutson episodes on Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/lori-hutson/Social Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/social-wellness/Occupational Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/occupational-wellness/ Learn more about:Lori Hutson: https://www.hutsoninsurancesolutions.com/.The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/Humana: https://www.humana.com/Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/ Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lori Hutson joins Suzanne on behalf of Vitality Revolution podcast series gold sponsor Humana. Lori talks about seniors traveling and relocating to places like Mexico, Costa Rica, and Portugal, which have a lower cost of living and nice climates. Lower health care costs are an important consideration. The choice to live abroad is affected by health care options, access to providers, affordable plans, availability of ambulance services, and others. Lori and Suzanne are discussing how to achieve social wellness, one of the eight fundamental principles of wellness. Lori, owner of L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC in Washington, talks about the wellness mindset promoted by Humana. Hear more:Lori Hutson episodes on Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/lori-hutson/Social Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/social-wellness/Occupational Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/occupational-wellness/ Learn more about:Lori Hutson: https://www.hutsoninsurancesolutions.com/.The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/Humana: https://www.humana.com/Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/ Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many baby boomers are starting new careers, redefining retirement, doing things they always wanted to do. Flexibility is important to many baby boomers, whether they are looking for a new job or to launch their own business in order to make a difference. Lori discusses getting over barriers to move forward. During caregiving downtime, while you're not able to leave the house, you could to take online courses. You could connect with support groups and network. Think about transferable skills you've gained while caregiving, such as organization, leadership, communication skills, adaptability, and problem solving. Starbucks' CEO Howard Schultz said, "Nobody every accomplished anything by listening to naysayers." Think positive. People who say you can't do something are the people who are standing around watching as you do it. Lori Hutson joins Suzanne on behalf of Vitality Revolution podcast series gold sponsor Humana talking about occupational wellness (having a sense of purpose) and social wellness (connecting with community and culture), two of the foundational principles of wellness. Lori, owner of L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC in Washington, talks about the wellness mindset promoted by Humana. Hear more:Lori Hutson episodes on Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/lori-hutson/Social Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/social-wellness/Occupational Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/occupational-wellness/ Learn more about:Lori Hutson: https://www.hutsoninsurancesolutions.com/.The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/Humana: https://www.humana.com/Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/ Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Family caregivers, caring for a spouse or a senior loved one, are often floundering in the world. A study said 40% of family caregivers leave or lose their jobs due to caregiving. They spend 70% more time on social media than non-family caregivers. Having left careers behind in their late 40s to mid-50s, they lose pensions and long-term-care benefits. This segment focuses on how to redefine our lives even in the midst of caregiving. Sometimes we discount the skills gained while caregiving. Think about the things that give you passion or joy: hobbies, connecting with others, or eventually potential new careers. Keep an open mind. For Lori, having been in office management, the aftermath of caregiving launched her into a sales career, then now what she's doing with Medicare. Perhaps it's a time to consider correspondence courses. Suzanne had always wanted to plant roses, so during her caregiving downtime she researched and planted a rose garden. Perhaps you always wanted to take a dance class. While caregiving, make time to explore these ideas. Lori Hutson joins Suzanne on behalf of Vitality Revolution podcast series gold sponsor Humana talking about occupational wellness (having a sense of purpose) and social wellness (connecting with community and culture), two of the foundational principles of wellness. Lori, owner of L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC in Washington, talks about the wellness mindset promoted by Humana. Hear more:Lori Hutson episodes on Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/lori-hutson/Social Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/social-wellness/Occupational Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/occupational-wellness/ Learn more about:Lori Hutson: https://www.hutsoninsurancesolutions.com/.The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/Humana: https://www.humana.com/Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/ Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Courtesy of Era Living, Julia Goldie shares success stories as new residents settle into their new circumstances. Julia and Suzanne are discussing Social and Occupational Wellness, part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Seth is a social wellness expert, a licensed mental health. Julia Goldie is Life Enrichment Director at Era Living's Aljoya Thornton Place in Seattle, Washington. Julia says, "I have one resident, she was a little bit on the younger side, and was kind of hesitant to move in at first, and has her own group of friends, and she was an introvert. But once she moved in, she found that she had a whole new new community of peers that she really just immersed herself with. And the change that I saw over the course of a month, where she thought she were going to stay kind of private, but now attends most dinners with the other residents, and goes on tons of outings. One of my favorite outings with her was to the Reptile Museum. You could pay $3 extra — and a whole bunch of our residents did it — and I look over, and there's this snake crawling on her arm. And she says, 'I'm taking pictures so we can send it to all of our friends.' "We have a great community of artists here. We have a lot of people who dabble in it as interests or hobbies, and then there's the people who don't. And one of our newest residents said, "I'm not an artist. No, I don't do anything having to do with art." Well, a couple of the residents convinced her to come to one of the group art sessions. They are made for all groups, all skill levels, and she came in and she's like, "what do I do?" I said, 'It's gonna be really easy.' I explained the steps, and it was guided step by step. Draw a pattern, draw this. She left there with the biggest smile on her face. She says, 'I'm gonna come to every single one of these. I had an artist locked in me.'" Hear more:Social Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/social-wellness/Occupational Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/occupational-wellness/Era Living episodes: https://answersforelders.com/era-living/ Learn more about:Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/Humana: https://www.humana.com/Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/.Era Living at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/era-living/Era Living's website: https://www.eraliving.com/Aljoya Thornton Place: http://www.eraliving.com/communities/north-seattle/ Answers for Elders is part of the <a...

Courtesy of Era Living, Julia Goldie and Seth Hutchins join Suzanne to talk about Social and Occupational Wellness, part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Seth is a social wellness expert, a licensed mental health therapist in the state of Washington, and Julia is Life Enrichment Director at Era Living's Aljoya Thornton Place in Seattle. In this segment, Julia and Seth address concerns for helping isolated or depressed seniors adapt as they transition to a senior living environment. Every situation is different, but often it's common that they're moving during a major life transition in overwhelming circumstances. Seth says, "We try to be very aware of that, and very sensitive to that. I think that residents are impressed when they find that there is a staff member onsite who is a licensed social worker or therapist. It's a really unique characteristic of Era Living. Obviously they really value mental health; it's important." Julia adds, "We sit down with every single resident when they first move in. We do an interest portfolio on them. We ask about their background: where they lived, what their hobbies are, what they did for volunteer work, you name it. And if they were married, if they have children, things like that. We do it in a very casual conversational way, so that we get to know them, and then we also give them the opportunity to know us. We look at what their interests are and then we literally go through our activities and find out what points of interest they have. And we explain that more, and we explain which people they can find in those activities. They might have already started establishing some friendships. It's like, hey, there's a bridge game. You love to pray a bridge, and we need a fourth person. All of a sudden you feel that connection. "And from there, we are able to kind of take a look and create an individualized kind of plan for them moving forward, and let them know that we're here for them. If they have questions as they get more situated, but it is very individualized. It has to be. And that is where we find the most success in that one-on-one relationship early on." Hear more:Social Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/social-wellness/Occupational Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/occupational-wellness/Era Living episodes: https://answersforelders.com/era-living/ Learn more about:Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/Humana: https://www.humana.com/Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/.Era Living at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/era-living/Era Living's website: https://www.eraliving.com/<a...

Courtesy of Era Living, Julia Goldie joins Suzanne to talk about Social and Occupational Wellness, part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Julia Goldie is Life Enrichment Director at Era Living's Aljoya Thornton Place in Seattle, Washington. Julia helps new residents find purpose and passions by crafting an exciting calendar of activities. Julia says, "90% of what we offer here is based on what residents interests are, what their passions are, what they want to learn about, where they wanna go, things that they want to see. And I think that's why we see such success with our participation. We offer a lot of variation. You're never gonna see three museum outings in one day. You're gonna see anywhere from 8 to 12 activities a day, every variation of groups sizewise, and you're gonna see things that are focused on art, with lifelong learning. Maybe a couple of times a week, you're going to see music, you're gonna see the resident-led group. Everything from Bridge to book club to the library committee, a little bit of everything each day, that there's one reason why every resident is going to want to get out of their apartment and join something. "I pay particular attention when planning the calendar to make sure that there's options for people with different disabilities. For example, up in our conference center, we have a hearing loop. So people with hearing loss know that they can attend a lecture up there and still be able to enjoy it because their hearing aid will just go right up into the hearing loop. We have small group discussions where we are very mindful of who signed up for it, because maybe they need a different handout, or maybe we don't use handouts because somebody with vision loss is there. I make sure that there's outings that are accessible to people in wheelchairs, ones for people who are using a walker. I write a very clear description — is there going to be a step? Is there gonna be uneven terrain? Just making sure that it's very, very accessible to everybody. "We pay super close attention to feedback. Our residents are not shy. We had a wonderful lecturer that comes here that talks about music history, and we had him as a one off. But the interest was so huge that now he comes every single month and packs the room, 85 people, maximum capacity." Hear more:Social Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/social-wellness/Occupational Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/occupational-wellness/Era Living episodes: https://answersforelders.com/era-living/ Learn more about:Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/Humana: https://www.humana.com/Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/.Era Living at Answers for Elders:...

Courtesy of Era Living, Seth Hutchins joins Suzanne to talk about Social Wellness, part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Seth is a social wellness expert, a licensed mental health therapist in the state of Washington working in community mental health, private practice, and senior residents at Era Living retirement communities. Seth defines social wellness holistically. "Every person might define social wellness differently. Some people are more geared toward being more extroverted, being out in the community and participating, while others may not be wired that particular way. To define what it means for a person, you really have to talk to them, define what it is for them that makes them feel included and supported, and ultimately what makes them thrive." Most residents moving into senior living are experiencing massive upheavals in their lives, perhaps selling homes that they've lived in for decades. You're having to make a lot of changes in your life as well as taking in a lot of new information, getting settled in, unpacking, meeting residents and staff. Seth guides them, meeting them when they first move in, talk about where they are, talk about his role as a counselor and reassure them they're not alone in this process. Era Living embraces new residents with ambassadors in their communities, a resident-led welcoming committee. Seth says, "Having residents reach out can provide that special touch, and make them feel more included, provides a hand-on approach." Hear more:Social Wellness episodes: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/social-wellness/. Era Living episodes: https://answersforelders.com/era-living/ Learn more about:Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/Humana: https://www.humana.com/Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/.Era Living at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/era-living/Era Living's website: https://www.eraliving.com/ Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Get the inside scoop with senior living communities. In this segment, resident Lynn Coulibaly joins Suzanne. She is a retired nurse administrator who resides at Era Living's Aljoya Thornton Place community. She worked at the general hospital in Everett, Washington, and took early retirement when two hospitals merged. For people considering senior living, Lynn advises, "I imagine that most people have something that they're looking for, so you think about that. Do you need something in the health care side? Most people are given meals to come in and check out the place, and I highly recommend that. But not just to see what kind of food they serve, which is important, but it's the environment where you're served the food, what the dining room is like, because we spend a lot of time in the dining room. That's where you have groups of friends every night, lots of good stories. Certainly the health care side is important, where you check out to see as I age, what's my plan. Most seniors these days have a plan in mind." Lynn has lived at Aljoia for ten years. "When I started looking [at senior living communities], a friend of mine said she was starting to look, and we were both looking for the future. We thought we were too young to move into a retirement community. And we said, well, let's go look together for the future. We decided to do it together, and Aljoia Thornton Place happened to be the last one. And when we walked in, I guess it was meant to be. This was just for the future, but we had such a good time. They were having an art show and there was a gala and the residents were there, and we felt we were very smart, because we recognized that we needed to find the people with name tags that identified them as not other guests but residents. There was a gentleman sitting on the couch in our library area and we spotted his name tag. So we said, ah, you're a resident. And he said, 'Oh, yes, but I have a girlfriend.' He thought we were hitting on him. That means a lot. "And then we were browsing through the art show and having nice, lovely glasses of wine with different residents. And they were all very interesting. Suddenly somebody collapsed behind me. And immediately I thought, 'I'm a nurse, they're probably gonna need help.' But it turned out that one of the residents here was a very revered physician. And when I turned around, he was kneeling beside the person who collapsed, and everybody gave them space, and everybody went back to chatting and drinking their wine. The medics came, took him away, and everybody wished him luck and cheered him on. And I thought that's really nice – when I have something happen to me, that's what I want to have happen to me, needed by friends. "The energy here was so palpable, the good energy, so when we left the building, we said, this is it, this is where we'll move." Learn more about Aljoya Thornton Place, located at 450 NE 100th St. in Seattle, WA. There's more about Era Living at Answers for Elders and at eraliving.com. http://www.eraliving.com/communities/north-seattle/ https://answersforelders.com/era-living/ https://www.eraliving.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Connie Olstad, a resident of Era Living's Aljoya Thornton Place in Seattle, Washington, joins Suzanne to provide a resident's perspective of what a typical day is like at an Era Living retirement community. Connie's lived there for ten years. "It's not an easy move. I tell people don't wait till you're ready, because you're never ready to do it. It's difficult. I asked my husband what he missed most, what was the hardest part, and we'd moved into a house with no garden, and he'd built a Japanese garden, and so it was hard for him to leave. We lived in our house for nearly 50 years. '"But I keep telling friends, don't wait. Move while you can make your own choices. We did a lot of our own moving because we lived five or ten miles away, and we could move a lot of our own things, and we could make the decisions. We didn't have children saying, 'Are you sure you want to take this?' We moved here while we were still young enough to enjoy being here." Learn more about Aljoya Thornton Place, located at 450 NE 100th St. in Seattle, WA. There's more about Era Living at Answers for Elders and at eraliving.com. http://www.eraliving.com/communities/north-seattle/ https://answersforelders.com/era-living/ https://www.eraliving.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Caroline Conklin, a resident of Era Living's Aljoya Thornton Place in Seattle, Washington, joins Suzanne to provide a resident's perspective on living at an Era Living retirement community. It's rare to get the inside scoop from people who actually live in senior living communities. When she and her husband moved in, COVID had just shut down everything. They didn't meet their next door neighbors Marge and Bill for quite a while. Their friendship grew slowly, but as Caroline describes, "we just got along. We had lots of things in common: a sense of humor, and love of music, children. Marge had eye issues, and couldn't see me very well. "She told me that she had terminal cancer, and as we talked over the months, we didn't do a lot together except eat together and talk. We didn't get out that much. And her disease progressed until she went into hospice. She went into hospice here, in the building, and so I was still able to visit her and we talked a lot. I wished we'd talked more now, but we talked a lot. Her decline was a big loss. "She got moved to a different facility for the last couple of weeks of her life. He husband came out of her apartment one day, and I asked if I'd be able to see her and he said she passed away last night. That was hard." Regarding advice for people looking into senior living, Caroline says, "Friendships, that's the thing that is the best part of it for me. I advise to listen more than you talk, and be sure to listen hard and hear what they're actually saying. Not to worry too much about the image you present, about who this is that you're talking to, because there are amazing people here, with wonderful backgrounds, futures, and families. It's wonderful." Aljoya Thornton Place is located at 450 NE 100th St. in Seattle, WA. http://www.eraliving.com/communities/north-seattle/ Hear more podcasts about Era Living at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/era-living/ Learn more at Era Living's website: https://www.eraliving.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Life coach Laurie Hardie talks about two podcasts that she hosts. One is called "Enough with Coach Laurie," a coaching podcast, with lots of short coaching tips. The other is a new one called "Interrupted: Act 2 Reinventing Your Legacy," which is focused on recreating and reinventing yourself after having a life challenge. Laurie says, "It's been so fun to see people who have had the carpet ripped out from under them, whether it's COVID, divorce, death, and then look at how they made a decision to reinvent, recreate, and maybe their whole life they didn't do the thing that they love, and now they say, 'I'm going to go out strong doing what I love.'" In this hour, Laurie talks about: Why caregiving should be part of your life, but not your whole life How to pick up the pieces and find ways to reinvent yourself What thing you have learning in the process of caregiving that creates a new you Resources to discover new passions and opportunities How to reinvent yourself to create a legacy Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana and listen to more episodes Occupational Wellness and Social Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care. Coach Laurie, Coach Laurie's website, and Coach Laurie on Facebook Listen to the podcast Interrupted: Act 2 Reinventing Your Legacy Listen to the podcast Enough with Coach Laurie See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Life coach Laurie Hardie says of seniors who are lonely, "If you offer them a drink of water, read a chapter of a book, offer them a game of cards, that is so huge to somebody who is shut in, that we can really make a difference. If we open our hearts, and listen to their stories, they can make a difference in our lives. These are simple things that take 15 minutes or less." Suzanne adds, "Knowing that you're an integral part of a community, there's things to volunteer for, there's things to do, whatever you're called to, it's about connection, building relationships." Laurie says, "I ask people to pay attention to their self-talk. Often it goes back to their childhood, something that a parent or a caregiver said, whether it was meant ill-intentionally or not. Recognize what it is... Alex Elle said, 'It is an act of community service when we do self-healing.' If we live in bad messages, we're not helping anyone. But if we take the time to heal ourself, and change those messages, it's going to be better for everyone around us." The conversation centers around social wellness, part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. In this hour, Laurie talks about: Why caregiving should be part of your life, but not your whole life How to pick up the pieces and find ways to reinvent yourself What thing you have learning in the process of caregiving that creates a new you Resources to discover new passions and opportunities How to reinvent yourself to create a legacy Laurie has two podcasts: "Enough," a coaching podcast, and "Interrupted: Act 2 Reinventing Your Legacy," which is focused on recreating and reinventing yourself after having a life challenge. Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana and listen to more episodes Occupational Wellness and Social Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care. Coach Laurie, Coach Laurie's website, and Coach Laurie on Facebook Listen to the podcast Interrupted: Act 2 Reinventing Your Legacy Listen to the podcast Enough with Coach Laurie See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Life coach Laurie Hardie talks about caregivers. "When they have to do it all themselves, then they do it badly and they do it resentfully, and it's not loving. I was a single mom, and I got people to help me because they had to, and it made me feel terrible, but I accepted the help because I needed it. "Then you have the caregiver who's willing to bring someone in to help, and the ill person says no, you do it or no one. And that puts them in a bind. That's where we lose having an outside life, having another purpose, and we get so wrapped up, and we get sick, and we can't be the caretaker." The conversation centers around occupational wellness, part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana. Laurie's first tip to create a new you is simple: "Find something. Give me a project and I have self-worth, and I can make it through to the next day." In this hour, Laurie talks about: ▪ Why caregiving should be part of your life, but not your whole life▪ How to pick up the pieces and find ways to reinvent yourself▪ What thing you have learning in the process of caregiving that creates a new you▪ Resources to discover new passions and opportunities▪ How to reinvent yourself to create a legacy Laurie has two podcasts: "Enough," a coaching podcast, and "Interrupted: Act 2 Reinventing Your Legacy," which is focused on recreating and reinventing yourself after having a life challenge. In this hour, Laurie talks about: Why caregiving should be part of your life, but not your whole life How to pick up the pieces and find ways to reinvent yourself What thing you have learning in the process of caregiving that creates a new you Resources to discover new passions and opportunities How to reinvent yourself to create a legacy Laurie has two podcasts: "Enough," a coaching podcast, and "Interrupted: Act 2 Reinventing Your Legacy," which is focused on recreating and reinventing yourself after having a life challenge. Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana and listen to more episodes Occupational Wellness and Social Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care. Coach Laurie, Coach Laurie's website, and Coach Laurie on Facebook Listen to the podcast Interrupted: Act 2 Reinventing Your Legacy Listen to the podcast Enough with Coach Laurie See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Personal success coacg, digital creator, and podcast host Laurie Hardie joins Suzanne as the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana introduces Occupational &amp; Social Wellness. Laurie Hardie is a genius at making something out of nothing. In her 20 years of coaching, she has learned a lot about what people think of themselves, their smoke screens, desires, roadblocks that get in their way. A noted identity coach, author, speaker, and broadcast personality, Laurie now resides in Everett, Washington. In this segment, Suzanne discusses self-talk, making sure that your communication with yourself is positive, and reviewing the stories that we tell ourselves. Laurie says, "When we take care of our loved one out of guilt, and we don't take care of ourselves, it's never good, it's not going to end well." Laurie adds, "We need to have another purpose besides care taking. When we're taking care of an elder, we're expecting them to be dying soon. But when taking care of a spouse, it seems that people expect to get back to normal, and that's not necessarily what's going to happen. There's a denial there." In this hour, Laurie talks about: Why caregiving should be part of your life, but not your whole life How to pick up the pieces and find ways to reinvent yourself What thing you have learning in the process of caregiving that creates a new you Resources to discover new passions and opportunities How to reinvent yourself to create a legacy Laurie has two podcasts: "Enough," a coaching podcast, and "Interrupted: Act 2 Reinventing Your Legacy," which is focused on recreating and reinventing yourself after having a life challenge. Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana and listen to more episodes Occupational Wellness and Social Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care. Coach Laurie, Coach Laurie's website, and Coach Laurie on Facebook Listen to the podcast Interrupted: Act 2 Reinventing Your Legacy Listen to the podcast Enough with Coach Laurie See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elaine Berman, a resident of Era Living's Aljoya Thornton Place in Seattle, Washington, joins Suzanne to provide a resident's perspective of what a typical day is like at an Era Living retirement community. Regarding her thoughts on senior living, Elaine says, "I had a big house in New York, and I said I want to stay here until I'm 100, I don't want to ever move. Don't ever put me in the retirement community. That was my advice to my son. And then when he decided to come out here and I was 84, I said, I think it's time to sell the house and move out. He said, what happened to 100? I said, well, I'm tired of worrying about the roof and worrying about the snow. And I said, it's time for someone else to take care of me. He said, I think it's a good idea if you go to retirement community, and I said, start looking for me. So I went online, that's where I started. And I filled out a whole questionnaire and you start with about maybe 35 choices and I found at least 20 that were not satisfactory. And I wanted to be somewhere that would be diverse and that would have good walking grounds because I love to walk and would be close to shopping, and so on. And so I really narrowed it down to about 10 places. And my son did a little looking before I came out to visit." For people considering senior living, she says, "Well, I think if you're an active person and have an active life, first of all, you should come into a retirement facility young enough to be able to enjoy everything. I see a few people moving in that are really beyond that point, they're too old, both mentally and physically, and so they're really paying for an experience that they're not getting. And I think, whether it's games or reading or book clubs or walking, whatever, if you like a lot of things come in at an early age and take advantage of as many things as you can, because that's the beauty of joy, and they have all kinds of interests for all kinds of people." Learn more about Aljoya Thornton Place, located at 450 NE 100th St. in Seattle, WA. There's more about Era Living at Answers for Elders and at eraliving.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cliff Warner is the Thrive Program Director at Era Living. The program was developed about seven years ago. Thrive is a comprehensive wellness program pioneered at Era Living designed to promote healthy aging. It is evidence-informed and based on research about activities that have been shown to produce optimal results for healthy aging. Developed in collaboration with the University of Washington Schools of Nursing and Social Work, it aims to unify focus on the mind, body, and spirit. Read more about the Thrive program. There's more about Era Living at Answers for Elders and at eraliving.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Internationally known Alzheimer’s disease and memory care expert David Troxel joins Suzanne. David coauthored The Best Friend's Approach to Dementia Care. David’s professional journey took a personal turn when he became a caregiver and best friend to his mother Dorothy, who passed away from Alzheimer’s in 2009. Through books, presentations, and consulting, David teaches family care partners and professional staff how to understand and fulfill this “Best Friends” role. Courtesy of Era Living. David has also coauthored A Dignified Life: The Best Friends Approach to Alzheimer's Care. Get it and The Best Friend's Approach to Dementia Care at Amazon. Learn more about David Troxel and his Best Friends Approach. There's more about Era Living at Answers for Elders and at eraliving.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lori Hutson joins Suzanne on behalf of Vitality Revolution podcast series gold sponsor Humana, talking about how to come together with your family in a non-confrontational way, a non-judgmental way. Lori, owner of L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC in Washington, talks about the wellness mindset promoted by Humana. They discussed forgiveness extensively in the podcasts How to Forgive, Part 1 and How to Forgive, Part 2. You can contact Lori through her website at L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC. Hear more of Lori's podcasts on Answers for Elders. Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series and find more episodes about Physical Wellness and Emotional Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This segment focuses on how we begin curing ourselves from harboring feelings of resentment or betrayal, sometimes for decades. Recognizing that we're holding onto these emotions is important, as is releasing our need to put our expectations onto other people are big things. Anger often comes from unmet expectations that build up and cause frustrations over time. Lori Hutson joins Suzanne on behalf of Vitality Revolution podcast series gold sponsor Humana, talking about physical and emotional wellness. Lori, owner of L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC in Washington, talks about the wellness mindset promoted by Humana. Ask yourself, what are our own expectations? Realizing that others don't necessarily feel and react the same way we do is helpful. The next step might be to investigate our inventory of feelings. Ways to do that include meditation, prayer, and journaling. When we start writing down your feelings and the history behind them, it can help spot patterns in your thinking, and is cathartic in and of itself. Lori and Suzanne have discussed the topic of forgiveness extensively in the podcasts How to Forgive, Part 1 and How to Forgive, Part 2. You can contact Lori through her website at L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC. Hear more of Lori's podcasts on Answers for Elders. Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series and find more episodes about Physical Wellness and Emotional Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This segment focuses on is resentment: betrayal, perceived feelings kept sometimes since childhood. Lori Hutson joins Suzanne on behalf of Vitality Revolution podcast series gold sponsor Humana, talking about physical and emotional wellness. Lori, owner of L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC in Washington, talks about the wellness mindset promoted by Humana. Being in an angered state leads to increased stress, muscle tightness, chronic pain, sleep disturbances, emotional eating, digestive issues, increased blood pressure, and cardiovascular issues. Emotionally it can lead to self-isolation. Getting professional help can make a positive change in your life. First, work toward recognizing that you're doing it. Lori and Suzanne have discussed the topic of forgiveness extensively in the podcasts How to Forgive, Part 1 and How to Forgive, Part 2. You can contact Lori through her website at L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC. Hear more of Lori's podcasts on Answers for Elders. Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series and find more episodes about Physical Wellness and Emotional Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today the topic is forgiveness: betrayal, perceived feelings kept sometimes since childhood. Learning to open up and talk about it is important, recognizing that you're feeling it and why. Lori Hutson joins Suzanne on behalf of Vitality Revolution podcast series gold sponsor Humana, talking about physical and emotional wellness. Lori, owner of L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC in Washington, talks about the wellness mindset promoted by Humana. As mentioned in this episode, Lori and Suzanne previously discussed forgiveness extensively in the podcasts How to Forgive, Part 1 and How to Forgive, Part 2. You can contact Lori through her website at L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC. Hear more of Lori's podcasts on Answers for Elders. Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series and find more episodes about Physical Wellness and Emotional Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Keeping things in order is critical, so that in an emergency, or if you pass away, your loved ones or executors can find critical documents, particularly to know your wishes for what you want done. Lori Hutson joins Suzanne on behalf of Vitality Revolution podcast series gold sponsor Humana, to talk about this aspect of emotional wellness. This causes so much stress for family if mom is in the hospital, and they need to find power of attorney documents, or passwords to get into her phone if she's passed away. Having an up to date "life book," as Lori calls it, avoids these sorts of hassles. It may not help with your own personal emotional wellness, but it will certainly help your family's. Examples For example, does mom have a life insurance policy? How would her children know that? A lot of people have a will, but a life book can serve as a precursor. Choose a format: paper or digital. Make categories of your personal information, doctor contact information, medical information in case you're in the hospital, financial records, legal documents including a will, important emergency contact information. It can be a three-ring binder with sections. You'd want to tell certain people what's in there, such as people who would serve as your power of attorney or executor of your will. List your valuables. List items you want to bequeath to people, similar to what's in your will — but updating your will is expensive, whereas you can update this whenever you like. Put a personal message in there for your family after you're gone. List your valuables. List personal inventory to help your family members know about. Lori's mom gave away a painting from her mom she later found out was worth $7,000. Also list items you want to bequeath to people, similar to what's in your will — but updating your will is expensive, whereas you can update this whenever you like. Take an opportunity to include a personal message for your family after you're gone. You can contact Lori through her website at L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC. Hear more of Lori's podcasts on Answers for Elders. Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series and find more episodes about Physical Wellness and Emotional Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.