Book Launch: Living Longer IS the New Normal

Posted by

presspass on June 3, 2020

0

Health & Wellness

Book Launch: Living Longer IS the New Normal

Joseph M. Casciani, PhD

My New Book

For nearly 40 years, I have worked as a psychologist with older adults, their families, and staff. And now, in line with my continued focus on aging, I have a new book out, published on Amazon: Living Longer IS the New Normal.

In the book, I attempt to bring my experience and observations to steps that older adults can take to define themselves as strong and resilient, and capable of seeing a positive future. I like to think that it offers inspiration about aging and brings perspectives to the reader that help with living a long, healthy life, and knowing how to take control of our future regardless of health status.

As you may have seen in my writings or heard on my weekly internet radio show, the Living to 100 Club is open to anyone on this journey. Whether healthy or not so healthy, young or old, living alone or with family, the members of the Club keep a positive mindset. Living Longer IS the New Normal is another vehicle for me to encourage others to commit to moving forward no matter how many bumps encountered. We are turning aging on its head!

Not Always a Smooth Road

In my career, I can certainly attest to the bumps and obstacles to be encountered along the way. Always maintaining a positive energy and influence with frail, often depressed or angry nursing home patients was challenging. Managing the practices of mental health professionals working in these same nursing homes was rewarding but also wearing on the spirit. Then, when I sold my companies the first time in 2014, I encountered some bad actors, and experienced some serious setbacks that took a heavy toll. But finally recovering from that led me to create the Living to 100 Club, start the radio show on Voice America, and work with a legitimate buyer for my companies, all of which got me back onto a smooth paved highway.

It was easy to write this book. I wrote it for the layperson, the consumer. It Is not meant for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, so there may be criticism from my colleagues. But, in fact, I very much liked the freedom to share my thoughts in a more popular version. I could recall the direction I took with my patients over the years, helping them to be unburdened by their negative thinking and outlook. This is why I would often encourage those who could, to get up and be out in activities, in the lobby, or just in the hallway with others; When you’re in your bed, you’re in your head was a favorite line I used. It was clear that one small change in behavior would often snowball. And the best part of writing this was knowing that I was targeting seniors as my audience. A favorite line by Jean Cocteau, the French poet, works here: I may swing from branch to branch, but always in the same tree.

If You Like It, Please Share It

The book is available as a paperback and as a Kindle e-Book. I think it can be a good read for both professionals and patients. I would respectfully ask that, if you get a chance to read it and like it, to share it with your organization, facilities, and colleagues.

One last thought: the Living to 100 Club website is undergoing major revisions and will soon include more content about the behavioral elements of specific medical and psychological conditions, largely re-purposing what I had written or taught over the years. The audience for the website remains the older adult and their caregivers. Please be sure to visit.

Thank you.

The Gift to Ourselves

Posted by

presspass on February 12, 2020

0

Health & Wellness

The Gift to Ourselves

A recent article in the New York Times highlighted the notion of self-care: Be good to yourself first, and then to others. The article was written about a Buddhist monk by the name of Haemin Sunim, who has just published his latest book, Love for Imperfect Things. Sunim is a popular Buddhist teacher and spiritual guide, espousing the subjects of managing stress and overcoming the challenges of everyday life, especially through the power of self-care. He says we should not forget that we have a responsibility to be good to our self, first.

In the Living to 100 Club, we talk a lot about healthy lifestyles and the road to living longer, and about managing setbacks that inevitably occur with advancing age. In one of our recent live Radio shows on Voice America, Better Habits, Better Health we talked with Dr. Michael Howard, a health educator. He summarized those lifestyle steps that contribute to the longest, happiest, and healthiest lives: maintaining our weight, adding more plant-based foods to our diet, regular exercise, no smoking, and alcohol in moderation.

ELEMENTS OF SELF-CARE

Haemin Sunim, however, adds five elements of self-care to this list that involve taking time for our self and focusing on our own needs, and cautions us to do so without feeling selfish:

Breathe – start by taking a deep breath, being mindful of our breathing, and observe how it becomes deeper the more we focus on it, which in turn helps us feel more centered and calm. Just focusing and paying attention to it a few minutes a day helps with being more centered.
Accept – our self, and our many imperfections. As Sunim says, “the path to self-care starts with acceptance, especially of our struggles”. When we accept these struggles and stop trying to overcome them, the mind stops struggling and grows quiet. Trying to change or control difficult emotions works against our self-care, just as striving for perfection does.
Write – put to pen and paper those things that are weighing on us and the things we need to do, while unloading them from our head and heart. Once on paper, and after a night’s rest, whatever steps we need to take are more obvious and more manageable.
Talk – As any psychologist will tell you, speaking with a non-judgmental friend or relative about our frustrations or difficult feelings will lighten the burden we’re carrying. But, more importantly, the answers that we already had inside are now more obvious when talking, and are more objective.
Walk – Just walking helps to distract the mind and “create space between the mind and whatever is causing distress”. Instead of sitting and dwelling on what is burdening us, the changes in our physical energy that come from walking allow us to get out of our head and observe what is around us, thereby releasing the stresses within. This step certainly fits with another book by Sunim’s, The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down.

We do consider it important to be good to others, but it may be helpful at this time of year to not forget a gift to ourselves.

Thank you for your interest in the Living to 100 Club. We look forward to a healthy and prosperous year ahead.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

VIEW THE LIVINGTO100.CLUB WEBSITE

The Living to 100 Club website focuses on sharing useful information with our Club Members and visitors. Our goal is to provide useful content, through our Live Radio Show, Show Recordings and Transcripts, The Club Blog, Member Handbook (in revision), and Premium Membership. Be sure to subscribe to our weekly Newsletter / Blog as well as Announcements about upcoming guests of our Radio show.

UPGRADED PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP

The Premium Annual Membership offers the Blog and Announcements, PLUS exclusive content — a copy of the new DVD of the movie Lives Well Lived by Sky Bergman, a copy of the book, The Blue Zones Solution by Dan Buettner, Radio show recordings, transcripts, and soon-to-be released Knowledge Base on living to 100 strategies. Sign up to receive the Newsletter / Blog and Radio Show Announcements, or become a Premium Member today.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

Visit the Club Store for a collection of books (including those authored by guests on our Radio show) and the Club’s I’m Positive collection.

PHONE CONSULTATION

Schedule a 30-minute phone call with the Living to 100 Club proprietor, Joseph M. Casciani, to explore your journey or your organization’s journey on the road to successful aging. Calls are scheduled via Skype (audio only) to joseph.casciani. Please use the scheduling calendar for appointments.

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENT

Chief Curator of the Living to 100 Club, Dr. Joe Casciani, gave a presentation on Fresh and Inspiring Perspectives on Living to 100 at the 10th annual Successful Aging Expo in San Diego last month. If you are interested in this presentation for your group or organization, please send an email to jc@Livingto100.Club for more information.

WEEKLY INTERNET RADIO SHOW

The Living to 100 Club is all about staying positive as we age. Our blog articles and our weekly live Radio Show emphasize longevity, successful aging, risk management, and handling setbacks whenever they occur. We are pleased to announce that the Show has had over 11,000 listeners of the live episodes or on-demand recordings. Be sure to tune in to our weekly Radio Talk Show on VoiceAmericaHealth, every Friday at 2pm Pacific, with your Host, Dr. Joe Casciani.

Missed the live event? Recordings of all episodes can be accessed on the Club website. Scroll down on the audio player and select “Episode Listing” to display the selections. And now, you can see the schedule of upcoming guests – take a look. We have more exciting guests lined up, and hope you will continue to join us.

Better Habits, Better Health: Top Takeaways from Radio Show with Dr. Michael Howard

Posted by

presspass on February 12, 2020

0

Health & Wellness

BETTER HABITS, BETTER HEALTH

A recent guest on the Living to 100 Club Radio Show was Dr. Michael Howard, health educator, neuropsychologist, and researcher on aging and longevity. The discussion focused on the role that our behavior and lifestyle play in developing chronic illness and disease, and alternatively, can also ensure successful aging and living longer. Here are the top ten takeaways from the Show:

TOP 10 TAKEAWAYS

* Where you’re born and where you live on this planet and the lifestyle choices you make in that environment, drastically impact life expectancy. The lifestyle choices you make in life, the decisions you make, markedly affect how long you’ll live.

* The food industry has created hyper-palatable foods that incorporate sweet, fatty, and salty tastes, foods that provide high brain pleasure, are high in calories, and contribute to growing rates of obesity. These foods never existed on our planet before they were processed and marketed this way, and you cannot find a natural food that is sweet, salty, and fatty at the same time.

* The top 10 causes of death are largely brought about by our own behaviors. They’re not highly genetic disorders. These are heart disease, cancer, COPD, accidental deaths, stroke, conditions related to Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, kidney disease, infections, and suicide.

* There are 100-year-old people out there taking Metformin and they’re taking antihypertensives, statins and other drugs, too. Medical science has helped us manage these conditions significantly with medications. What it hasn’t done is really made a huge effort to prevent these conditions largely brought about by our own behaviors.

* Death is rarely attributable to Alzheimer’s disease, but rather these individuals die of pneumonia, heart attack or stroke, malnutrition, or sepsis. Though you die with Alzheimer’s disease, you don’t really die from it.

* A chronic condition is defined as lasting three months or more, and is more difficult to treat or cure, while acute conditions are more treatable, especially with better diagnostic tests and screening exams that can identify early signs of conditions that can become chronic.

* Our behavior falls into identifiable patterns right around late teens or early adulthood. We call that pattern of behavior our personality, characterized by a set of beliefs that we form over time, based on these beliefs and powerful memories. And they become behavior patterns that stay with us. And some of these personality styles can be very unhealthy and others can be healthy.

* Lifestyle can be improved by choices that we make but it’s also necessary to change the environment, so there are competing choices that are healthier. This would include alternative food aisles in the grocery store, and healthy fast food restaurants.

* If you want to add anywhere from 15 to 18 healthy years to your life, there are five simple things in life that largely predict that: keep your weight in the normal range; eat healthy, mostly plant-based diets; do regular and moderate exercise; don’t smoke; and do not drink alcohol to excess.

* To change behaviors, set goals that impact one, two, or three things that you want to change in your life. Make the goals you want and start short term, and then shoot for long term goals. Get your motivation to do it, understand why you want to do it, and don’t compare yourself to others because everybody is different, with different motivations and what’s important to them may not be important to you.

Dr. Howard has been a guest on our Radio show twice, imparting valuable advice for our listeners about healthy lifestyles and living longer. You can access the recording and transcript at this link on our website. A new membership category, Premium Members, can access all show recordings, transcripts, AND a “precis” or top 10 takeaways from each episode. Visit the membership page for more details.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

VIEW THE LIVINGTO100.CLUB WEBSITE

The Living to 100 Club website focuses on sharing useful information with our Club Members and visitors. Our goal is to provide useful content, through our Live Radio Show, Show Recordings and Transcripts, The Club Blog, Member Handbook, and Premium Membership. Be sure to subscribe to our weekly Newsletter / Blog as well as Announcements about upcoming guests of our Radio show.

UPGRADED PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP

The Premium Membership has been expanded and now offers the Blog and Announcements, PLUS exclusive content — a copy of the new DVD of the movie Lives Well Lived by Sky Bergman; a copy of the book, The Blue Zones Solution by Dan Buettner; Radio show recordings, transcripts, and top takeaways; revised Club Member Handbook; learning and retirement opportunities; senior websites; tips and recommendations; and promotional discounts from Amazon. This is content gleaned from an array of sources, updated monthly, only for our members and with a low monthly subscription. Sign up to become a Premium Member today.

CURATED ARTICLES

Look for the tab Curated Articles on the Living to 100 Club website for a series of current, actionable articles on baby boomers, successful aging, positive thinking, and overcoming obstacles.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

Visit the Club Store for a collection of books (including those authored by guests on our Radio show) and the Club’s I’m Positive collection.

PHONE CONSULTATION

Schedule a 30-minute phone call with the Living to 100 Club proprietor, Joseph M. Casciani, to explore your journey or your organization’s journey on the road to successful aging. Calls are scheduled via Skype (audio only) to joseph.casciani. Please use the scheduling calendar for appointments.

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Chief Curator of the Living to 100 Club, Dr. Joe Casciani, has now presented his talk on Fresh and Inspiring Perspectives on Living to 100 for different groups. If you are interested in this presentation for your group or organization, please send an email to jc@Livingto100.Club for more information.

WEEKLY INTERNET RADIO SHOW

The Living to 100 Club is all about staying positive as we age. Our blog articles and our weekly live Radio Show emphasize longevity, successful aging, risk management, and handling setbacks whenever they occur. We are pleased to announce that the Show has had over 15,000 listeners of the live episodes or on-demand recordings. Be sure to tune in to our weekly Radio Talk Show on VoiceAmericaHealth, every Friday at 2pm Pacific, with your Host, Dr. Joe Casciani.

Missed the live event? Recordings of all episodes can be accessed on the Club website. Scroll down on the audio player and select “Episode Listing” to display the selections. And now, you can see the schedule of upcoming guests – take a look. We have more exciting guests lined up, and hope you will continue to join us.

A Paradigm Shift in Alzheimer’s Disease: the Top Takeaways from a Radio Show with Dr. Gary Rosenberg

Posted by

presspass on February 12, 2020

0

Health & Wellness

A Paradigm Shift in Alzheimer’s Disease: the Top Takeaways from a Radio Show with Dr. Gary Rosenberg

The Paradigm Shift in Alzheimer’s Disease

One of the leading U.S. researchers in vascular dementia was a guest on the Living to 100 Club Radio show last December, who discussed the latest findings on the assessment and treatment of dementia. Among other subjects, Dr. Gary Rosenberg from the University of New Mexico highlighted a growing interest among researchers on “mixed dementia, ” a combination of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. This appears to manifest as a more damaging and rapid type of cognitive decline but also one that may be subject to modifications in lifestyle.

HERE ARE THE TOP TAKEAWAYS FROM THE SHOW:

* Alzheimer’s disease is a slow accumulation of abnormal proteins in the brain, which finally leads to cell death. It begins with memory problems and then after a few years, begins to progress to disorientation. And toward the end, there can be changes in personality, aggressive behavior, agitation, and finally the motor system gets involved.

* Vascular dementia, formerly know as multi-infarct dementia, is usually related to vascular risk factors, hypertension being the main one, diabetes, sleep apnea, and high cholesterol. These end up damaging the blood vessels and generally, they make the brain less oxygenated, less blood flow is going to the brain, and that creates a hypoxic situation that turns on inflammation and slowly damages the deeper structures in the brain.

* Fronto-temporal dementia is similar to Alzheimer’s disease, but primarily involves the language centers and changes the personality. There’s also a Parkinson-related disease, called Lewy Body dementia where a certain protein damages cells. And there’s also Parkinson’s disease with dementia where people with this disease also begin to have cognitive problems. There are other variations in dementia that researchers are now finding pathologically, but they’re not easy to separate out clinically.

* “Mixed dementia” is where a person has both the Alzheimer’s type proteins, but also has a lot of vascular risk factors and vascular disease, and it’s actually of a more damaging type of process than either the Alzheimer’s or the vascular type because it accelerates the decline in thinking.

* Vascular disease is a disease of aging. So, a person who has high blood pressure when he or she is 40 and that can be 140/90, is at a greater risk of having vascular dementia by the time they’re 60.

* Diabetes is another major cause of vascular dementia, which is also at least controllable and related to obesity. We should be focused on lifestyle changes. Exercise, a proper diet, social contact; these are all things that will reduce the impact of vascular disease and slow the onset of dementia.

* The genetic types of Alzheimer’s disease are only present in about 5% of the patients, which means that there are 95% that are not genetic. For the families that have the genes, and the risk is raised if these abnormal proteins are present, it makes the onset earlier, though the progression is not necessarily faster. The onset can be even in the 40’s or 50’s, it is more likely to have one of these genetic defects which generally do run in families.

* People who have higher cognitive reserve tend to get dementia later. This is a difficult thing to control, but probably through educating our children better, we can provide some protection. It won’t protect necessarily against the genetic factors, but certainly the lifestyle factors. There are also instances where we lose some memory and yet it does not have an impact on our daily life.

* There are several FDA approved treatments for Dementia, and can be effective in slowing the progression of memory loss: Donepezil – trade name is Aricept and Memantine – Namenda.

* Leukoaraiosis means in Latin “white matter change”. These are patients that have difficulty walking, they’re incontinent and they have small strokes. Though this white matter change is not a disease, the more common type occurs in someone who is beginning to have problems with their memory, yet does not have Alzheimer’s disease. It does become, though, a risk factor for Alzheimer’s.

We are fortunate to have guests like Dr. Rosenberg on our program. And we look forward to future programs to inform and entertain our listeners, and to help our audiences meet the challenges of aging with a positive spirit. As our readers know, the goal of the Club is to help members live longer, healthier, and happier lives, and if this isn’t in the cards, stay positive in the process.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

VIEW THE LIVINGTO100.CLUB WEBSITE

The Living to 100 Club website focuses on sharing useful information with our Club Members and visitors. Our goal is to provide useful content, through our Live Radio Show, Show Recordings and Transcripts, The Club Newsletter and Blog, Member Handbook, and Premium Membership. Be sure to subscribe to our weekly Newsletter / Blog as well as Announcements about upcoming guests of our Radio show.

UPGRADED PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP

The Premium Membership has been expanded and now offers the Blog and Announcements, PLUS exclusive content — a copy of the new DVD of the movie Lives Well Lived by Sky Bergman; a copy of the book, The Blue Zones Solution by Dan Buettner; Radio show recordings, transcripts, and top takeaways; revised Club Member Handbook; learning and retirement opportunities; senior websites; tips and recommendations; and promotional discounts from Amazon. This is content gleaned from an array of sources, updated monthly, only for our members and with a low monthly subscription. Sign up to become a Premium Member today.

CURATED ARTICLES

Look for the tab Curated Articles on the Living to 100 Club website for a series of current, actionable articles on baby boomers, successful aging, positive thinking, and overcoming obstacles. All articles can be downloaded, and focus on moving forward.

CLUB STORE

Visit our expanded Club Store for a collection of fun and inspirational products to help keep that positive outlook.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

You’ll also find in the Club Store a collection of books (including those authored by guests on our Radio show). We will be expanding our library to showcase books that have relevance to successful aging, managing setbacks, and staying informed about navigating the challenges ahead.

PHONE CONSULTATION

Schedule a 30-minute phone call with the Living to 100 Club proprietor, Joseph M. Casciani, to explore your journey or your organization’s journey on the road to successful aging. Calls are scheduled via Skype (audio only) to joseph.casciani. Please use the scheduling calendar for appointments.

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Chief Curator of the Living to 100 Club, Dr. Joe Casciani, has now presented his talk on Fresh and Inspiring Perspectives on Living to 100 for different groups. If you are interested in this presentation for your group or organization, please send a letter of interest to jc@Livingto100.Club for more information.

WEEKLY INTERNET RADIO SHOW

The Living to 100 Club is all about staying positive as we age. Our blog articles and our weekly live Radio Show emphasize longevity, successful aging, risk management, and handling setbacks whenever they occur. We are pleased to announce that the Show has had over 12,000 listeners of the live episodes or on-demand recordings. Be sure to tune in to our weekly Radio Talk Show on VoiceAmericaHealth, every Friday at 2pm Pacific, with your Host, Dr. Joe Casciani.

Missed the live event? Recordings of all episodes can be accessed on the Club website. Scroll down on the audio player and select “Episode Listing” to display the selections. And now, you can see the schedule of upcoming guests – take a look. We have more exciting guests lined up, and hope you will continue to join us.

PLEASE SHARE

If you enjoy this content and find some value in it, please take a minute to share these newsletters and blogs on your social media platforms. You’ll find share links below.

Tag Archives