Sunday, September 09, 2007

Viv's tips: This is my take on "THE BRAIN"

This is my take on the brain:

Your brain is a thinking organ that learns and grows by interacting with the world through perception and action. Mental stimulation improves brain function and actually protects against cognitive decline. Just like physical exercise affects us.

The human brain is able to continually adapt and rewire itself. While we grow older in age, the brain can grow new neurons. Severe mental decline is usually caused by disease, whereas most age-related losses in memory or motor skills simply result from inactivity. Also the lack of mental exercise and stimulation.

Here are some suggestions:

This is an exercise that can strengthen neural connections and even create new ones.

Switch the hand you are using to control the computer mouse. Use the hand you normally do NOT use.

What do you notice?

Is it harder to be precise and accurate with your motions?

Do you feel like you did when you were first learning to tie your shoelaces?

If you are feeling uncomfortable and awkward don’t worry, your brain is learning a new skill.

Try other neural building and strengthening exercises with everyday movements. Use your opposite hand to brush your teeth, dial the phone or operate the TV remote.

Also, it is important to challenge your brain to learn new and novel tasks, especially processes that you've never done before. Examples include checkers, chess, tai chi, yoga, or sculpture. I know our hands and fingers tend to hurt more times than often, but we should try even wiggling our fingers and toes.

Try playing bingo, it helps minimize memory loss and boost your hand-eye coordination.

Try to include 1 or more of your senses within everyday task:
--Try getting dressed with your eyes closed,
--Wash your hair with your eyes closed,
--Share a meal and use only visual cues to communicate. No talking.

Combine two senses:
--Listen to music and smell flowers,
--Tap your fingers with listening to the rain,
--Watch clouds and play with modeling clay at the same time

Break routines:
--Take a different route to the store, work, where ever you go,
--Try eating using the other hand (opposite of what you usually use),
--Try shopping at different stores, for instance, groceries stores, clothes, shoe shopping.

I suffer from brain fog and sometimes forget simple things like what a cup is named. I try not to let it get me down. I do get frustrated when I am trying to communicate and forget words or where I was going with the conversation. However, my family just tells me to not worry about it and stop being so hard on myself. So that helps me and I have to practice positive self-talk....reminding myself I am only human and that I am not the only one suffering from this. It is not the end of the world. Plus fatigue tends to affect our thought process along with certain medications.

Just keep on trucking baby....you gotta keep on trucking:)

I hope my suggestions help someone.

I pray and hope everyone has a pain and fatigue free day.

Fibro Viv

6 comments:

Bobby Revell said...

Hi Viv! Your blog seems to be very specific to your illness which I wish you didn't have to go through. Trying to make money with any blog is very difficult today. One thing I recommend to you is to build up your readership by offering other things to read about. When a blog is titled the way yours is, it is not very open to the general public and in order to make money it would need to be. I do think your articles are well written and there is the answer. I would join article marketer. There is a link on my page to it. I think their site is down for a redesign for a few days. If it is, just check back, it'll be up soon. When you join, take your time and read all the instructions. Read the tutorials and select a category that coincides with the subject matter of your blog as closely as possible. Refer to my post on getting explosive results with your blog. Write your 1st article like I describe. It will be a reworded version of one of your posts. They allow you to link to your post also. Don't get in a hurry, and maybe let me look it over before you submit your 1st. If done properly, you should get a massive in pouring of links. Then you will need to optimize the ads in your site to match what you blog about. It is complex but with practice and patience you can get there. One thing you do have is a niche. It is a very well defined niche and that will help you. In the mean time, make some new friends. On my site there are lots of links to other people who are very nice and have great blogs, go meet them. Tell them who you are and read some of their posts. In order to get more readers, you need to make more friends. Join Mybloglog, it's a great place to start doing that:)

Fibro Viv said...

Dear Bobby,

I am so grateful for your comments and help. I will definitely follow-up on each tip.

Have a great day!:)

Viv

MZHuny said...

Very interesting and excellent points you gave..thanks for this info.

Fibro Viv said...

Hello Mzhuny,

Thanks for the comment, I am going to read your blog too.

Have a great week-end and week!

Viv

Fossfor said...

hi Viv, this is good advice about trying to perk up the brain. I was really clumsy with my left hand,but a while back I taught myself to write and draw with my left hand after a bad stiff neck and right shoulder. it was hard but after a week I got quite good at it and it's encouraging to learn new things. I also like to juggle, I'm no good at it but it's fun :)

Fibro Viv said...

Hi Fossfor,

Thanks for the compliment. How did you hurt your neck and shoulder? Too much typing, drawing? Juggling is something I am sure I could not do! It is fun to watch people do it.

Take care and I plan on visiting your site again.

Viv