Host: Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey

Guest: Dr. Frank Wildman

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Broadcast and podcast starting: April 26, 2010 on webtalkradio.net. After 5-3-10 the podcast is also on the links below (to download, right click download and select “save target as.”)

Moshe Feldenkrais, who died in 1984, created a very unique movement therapy system based on a systems understanding of the mind and body, a developmental approach to movement, and increasing awareness of movement. I have tried to read Feldenkrais books and had about ten individual Feldenkrais sessions. The books were daunting. The particular instructor I had while brilliant was so nondirective it was very frustrating.

I was delighted when I found Frank Wildman’s Change Your Age. First, I was thrilled with the concept of “movement age” being another way to measure aging. The developmental psychology and optimistic approach fit well with my developmental psychology background and unsinkable optimism. To my delight his book and approach is very practical, readable, and as directive as Feldenkrais can get. Not only does Frank break exercises into five-minute explorations instead of one-hour lessons, he even gives his private practice patients homework “prescriptions.” 

To review key concepts in the interview, the change your age concept is that we develop habits and our habits become rigid, causing us to move like “old people.” To add to the problem, popular approaches to exercise tend to only move certain muscles in certain ways and leave us unprepared for lateral moves and dealing with varied situations. Taking some time to become more aware of our bodies and do movements we don’t normally do can undo movement aging and rigidity.

The payoff is moving with grace, integration, and coordination, moving more adaptively, reducing pain and tension, reducing the risk of accidents and fractures, and reducing wear and tear on our bodies. A bonus is these short exercises can be done at home, with no special equipment or special clothing and you don’t even break a sweat. For me one of the take aways doesn’t even require a five minute exercise. I am now encouraging myself to squirm and move around a lot when I sit in a chair or car seat.  

Dr. Frank Wildman was a dancer and choreographer before studying with Moshe Feldenkrais for ten years. He was Feldenkrais’ first North American student and became his chief promoter in North America. During that time, he also acquired degrees in physical education, biology, and somatic psychology.  His most recent (2010) book is Change Your Age: Using Your Body and Brain to Feel Younger, Stronger, and More Fit. He also is author of Feldenkrais: The Busy Person’s Guide to Easier Movement, Fibromyalgia: Relief From Chronic Muscle Pain and many CDs and DVDs.

His websites are  www.changeyourage.net and www.FeldenkraisInstitute.org. He is Educational Director of the Feldenkrais Movement Institute and has a private practice in Berkley California. Dr. Brickey’s other websites are www.DrBrickey.com and www.Anti-Aging-Speaker.com.

Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey

Broadcast and podcast starting: September 28, 2009 on webtalkradio.net. After 10-5-09 the podcast is also on the links below

 

 What’s Good About Aging [23:49m]: Play NowDownload

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Remember the first time a birthday made you feel old? the jokes? the doubts? the fears your best days were behind you? Maybe you imagined someday wasting away in a nursing home. That’s when you got sucked into the script for thinking and feeling old. Our youth-obsessed culture promotes the idea that aging is all downhill. But I’m here to tell you that for most of us, life gets better as we age. Today I will depart from my usual format of interviewing an anti-aging expert and share with you my Top Ten Social Perks for Being Over 50.So let me get right to my top ten list.

The Top Ten Social Perks of Being Over Sixty©

by Michael Brickey, Ph.D., ABPP

1. Research finds that older people are happier

Research finds that older people report being happier than younger people. The percentages of Americans who said they were very happy were: 28% at ages 18-27, 31% at 28-37, 32% at 38-47, 33% at 48-57, 36% at 58-67, and 38% at 68-77. It drops to 34% for ages 78-89. Still, the 78-89 year old Americans are happier than people under 60. Why? Older people are more comfortable and secure with who they are, what their values are, and what they want to do with their lives. Research finds they focus more on positive events and less on negative events.

[Reserach based on Mroczek, Daniel, & Kolarz, Christian.  The effect of age on positive and negative affect: A developmental perspective on happiness, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1998, 75, 1333-1348.]

2. Less peer pressure

For most teens, especially girls, fitting in, being liked, and being popular are paramount issues. While seeing themselves as rebellious, teen culture is actually very conformist. Teens spend many hours worrying about the right clothes, the right music, and being hip. Age brings a clearer sense of identity and less importance on peer pressure. Employment requires being concerned about pleasing the boss, coworkers, and customers. When employment is no longer required for income, there is a new freedom from peer pressure.

3. More wisdom

Age brings experience and knowledge and learning from mistakes-our own mistakes and others’ mistakes. Living longer doesn’t guarantee wisdom, but it is a prerequisite.

4. More time

Rearing children takes a lot of time and energy. When they eventually leave home, it is eerie how quiet it becomes and how much more time there is. Retirement (or no longer having to work for the money) brings more discretionary time. It can be a time to pursue passions. It can be more time for friends and family. It can be more time to slow down, enjoy life more, think more, and smell the roses.

5. Better control of emotions

Research shows that age brings better skills at managing emotions and dealing with problems. Experience dealing with a lot of conflicts brings skills. In marital or long-term relationships, couples learn what to fight and what to accept. In short, age brings a larger, more tested repertoire for dealing with problems.

6. Better story tellers

Researchers had people listen to stories told by older people and younger people. They rated older peoples’ stories as more interesting, more informative, and of higher quality. This comes at a time in life when seniors are stepping up to being the family matriarchs and patriarchs and passing on family

traditions, values, and stories. People tune out lectures. Stories, however, hypnotize listeners and slide in the message.

7. Sexuality doesn’t complicate relationships as much

Many seniors have a rich sex life and sexuality is important in their lives. Sexuality, however, becomes less about proving manhood or validating being desirable and loved, and more about warmth, caring, and sharing. Age brings fewer worries about political correctness and whether a hug or compliment will be considered a pass or sexual harassment. For couples, there is less fear of children overhearing or interrupting intimate moments and less fear of an unwanted pregnancy. Older men often become more emotionally involved in sex as they need more physical stimulation.

8. Better quality friendships

Youth is a time to experiment and try new things. It is a time to make friends with a wide variety of people. Experience teaches which friendships are likely to be rewarding and which friendships are likely to be superficial. With age, some friendships last for decades. Such friendships are indeed treasures. Research finds that older people have fewer causal acquaintances. They place more emphasis on family and close friends, are more satisfied with their relationships than younger people, and feel strong bonds to close friends. Many “prune” their friendships and make remarks like, “I don’t have time for those people.” There is a shift from novelty to quality, from popularity to meaning.

9. Pride in age again

Children proudly hold up fingers to tell their age and can’t wait until their next birthday. Each birthday is a landmark event. Adults in their thirties, forties, fifties, and sixties see age as eroding vitality and attractiveness and try to hide and deny their age. After sixty, age starts becoming something to be proud of and gives a sense of accomplishment and achievement. By ninety or 100 there are serious bragging rights.

10. Understanding the circle of life

The story of Peter Pan begins, “All of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again.” Age bears witness to cycles of birth, marriage, children and death; of hard times and easy times; of war and peace. Age brings an understanding of life’s rhythms and cycles. A great sense of satisfaction comes with this glimpse into the secrets of the universe.

Certainly a person can have sixty years of experience or one year of experience sixty times. Of course, not everyone over sixty experiences these perks. The perks cite generalities. Nevertheless, if you are a person who continues to grow with age, you are likely to experience these perks.

Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey

Broadcast and podcast starting: August 31, 2009 on webtalkradio.net. After 9-7-09 the podcast is also on the links below

 

 A Tour of Longevity Research [40:27m]: Play NowDownload

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Research is vital to separating opinions and myths from beliefs that have support. Rather than just talk about longevity research, we are going to take two tours. The first tour looks at centenarian research including Dr. Belle Boone Beard, Dr. Thomas Perls, the Delaney sisters, Waldo McBurney, George Dawson, Lynn Peters Adler, and Amy Gorman.

The second tour is of aging research. It starts in Copenhagen with the twins studies finding only 25% of longevity it genetic, the Copenhagen Heart Study finding graying hair, balding, and or wrinkles don’t affect longevity. In Boston we look at Dr. George Vaillant and the Harvard Study of Adult Development-longitudinal research that has been following a cadre of Harvard students since 1939. Also at Harvard is Dr. Becca Levy whose longitudinal research found that whether people had positive or negative views of aging affected their longevity decades later. On the other side of Boston is Zone Diet creator Dr. Barry Sears, who in addition to a balanced Mediterranean diet is emphasizing inflammation as the common denominator of chronic diseases and fish oil as vital to restoring healthy Omega 3: Omega 6 balances.

The tour then goes to the University of Pennsylvania (in Philadelphia) where Dr. Martin Seligman showed how people can learn to be more optimistic. He also developed the field of positive psychology and promoted in when he was president of the American Psychological Association. It’s just an hour drive to the plastic surgery practice of Vincent Giampapa in Montclair NJ. I included this stop as he is a good example of the clinical services cutting edge of anti-aging medicine. Dr. Giampapa’ practice will study your genes and health issues and prescribe supplements to (hopefully) turn on helpful genes and turn off unhelpful ones. He also will harvest stem cells and freeze them for later needs. Finally he has a new procedure of injecting fat cells (which are more likely to have stem cells) into facial skin to rejuvenate the skin without surgery.

Next we fly to the Life Extension Foundation at Ft. Lauderdale Florida to meet with Joe Faloon the editor of the Life Extension magazine. The Life Extension Foundation has been ten years ahead of physicians with heart disease (e.g., CoQ-10 with statins, fish oil, bioidentical hormones and inflammation and endothelial aspects of heart disease. The Foundation has fearless fought the pharmaceutical industry and the FDA. It is funded by vitamin and supplement sales and donations. It conducts and funds a lot of cutting edge research.

Next we go to Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland Ohio) to meet with Professor Stephen Post. He is the dean of altruism research and cites numerous research studies that find altruistic people live longer. Then we drive along the lake fronts to Chicago to meet with Dr. Ronald Klatz, founder of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (AAAAM). It board certifies physicians in anti-aging medicine and is a clearing house for anti-aging research. It also sponsors a lot of conferences. Then we to Minneapolis, MN to the School Sister of Notre Dame. This is where Professor David Snowden did longitudinal research with nuns, including autopsies of the brains when the died.

If you really want to see what is new in anti-aging medicine, the place to go is the AAAAM annual conference in Las Vegas. This is the trade show for showing off all the new technologies and products.

Then we fly to San Francisco where Stanford University professor Laura Carstensen developed socioemotional selectivity theory. The theory says that as we age we place more value on emotional experience (and on close friendships). A similar effect happens when people are facing major illness, disasters, and war. While in San Francisco, we can visit cardiologist Dr. Dean Ornish. Way ahead of his time, he developed a low fat diet that dramatically improved the health of heart patients. But it wasn’t just the diet, it also was his emphasis on stress management and exercise.

The we drive down costal highway 101 to Los Angeles and take in the breathtaking views of the ocean. We visit psychiatrist Daniel Amen. His approach is to study brain scans and prescribe diet and lifestyle changes to help patients develop healthier brains. The proof is in the follow up brain scans. While in Los Angeles, we can visit Suzanne Summers in Malibu. Yes this is the same Suzanne Summers that was on Three’s Company and hawked the thing master. She is a major advocate for bioidentical hormone replacement. Her most recent books primarily consist of in-depth interviews with leading hormone experts.

Finally we want to visit professor Sonja Lyubomirsky, the dean of happiness research. She says that 50% of our happiness is a genetically determined set point. Ten percent is circumstances. The remaining 40% is in our control and she outlines how to work with that part to increase happiness.

Well, enough travel, I’m headed back to the Ageless Lifestyles® Institute where we focus on the mind game of living longer, healthier, and happier or what I call the Anti-Aging ABCs® (Attitudes, Beliefs, and Coping Skills). Her we also provide personal coaching and keynote and seminar services.

Dr. Brickey’s other websites are www.DrBrickey.com and www.Anti-Aging-Speaker.com.

Host: Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey

Guest: Dr. Matt Narrett, Chief Medical Officer for Erickson Living®

Broadcast and podcast starting: August 20, 2009 on webtalkradio.net. After 8-31-09 the podcast is also on the links below

 

 What Erickson Living® Can Teach Us About Aging [60:49m]: Play NowDownload

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To me, Erickson Living® is the Google of services for seniors. Its twenty communities are amazing, it’s medical services are the medical services we all wish we had, Erickson’s Retirement Living Television is only national TV network for seniors, the Erickson Tribune has a circulation of three million, and the Erickson School of Aging, Management and Policy at the University of Maryland and the Erickson Foundation conduct and support a lot of research on aging.

Last year I had the pleasure of interviewing John Erickson, a true visionary. He recently retired. When I learned that Erickson’s new COO and Erickson’s Medical Director, wrote a new book Old is the New Young: Erickson’s Secrets to Healthy Living, I knew it would be good and arranged to get Dr. Narrett on Ageless Lifestyles®.

I talk about John Erickson being a visionary because he doesn’t just see what people want and provide it. He envisions what we should want and makes it happen. Thus, Erickson Living®  has well-paid primary care doctors spending half an hour per patient visit, using electronic records networked with hospitals, and practicing holistic medicine and preventive medicine-all on a Medicare budget. If he had just created Erickson Living® it would be impressive. But to also create the Retirement Living TV, the Erickson Tribune, and the philanthropic and educational programs he has created, is stunning.

Happily, Erickson Living® isn’t the only visionary in senior healthcare. Bill Thomas, creator of the Eden Alternative and the Greenhouse Movement and Paul and Terry Klaasen of Sunrise Assisted Living also have visionary leadership. There are many more people making an impact on a smaller scale. I mention these people because of the size of their impact. It is an innovative time for seniors.

On the surface Old is the New Young isn’t a profound or visionary book. Much of the advice is advice commonly found in news reports and magazine articles. What is unique is that instead of piecemeal advice, the book weaves together a holistic picture of what seniors need, with an emphasis on having a life with purpose. The holistic picture is quite unique. Thus instead of advice like use your mind, do crossword puzzles; we are told crosswords are OK if you like them but what really matters is curiosity and interactive learning–and a reasonably good diet and reasonable amount of exercise to stay healthy mentally and physically.

Of course you never know where that curiosity and a little chutzpah will lead. After Erickson Living® community at Greenspring women in their 70s, 80s, and 90s  made the pin-up calendar, The Ladies of Greenspring Calendar, the men at Greenspring countered with The Hunks of Greenspring Calendar.

Erickson Living®’s website is www.Erickson.com. Dr. Brickey’s other websites are www.DrBrickey.com and www.Anti-Aging-Speaker.com.

Host: Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey

Guest: Natural Health Nutritionist Dr. Gary Null

Broadcast and podcast starting: June 8, 2009 on webtalkradio.net. After 6-15-09 the podcast is also on the links below

 

 Alternative Health Approaches to Better Health [56:08m]: Play NowDownload

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There is a rich literature on natural cures for headaches, digestive problems, allergies, and other health problems. But how do you tell help from hype? Is it safe and does it work? Natural Health Nutritionist Dr. Gary Null is the author of 70 books on health including his most recent book, Be a Healthy Woman, has been studying and advising millions on alternative health and natural healing for three decades. Today he shares his knowledge with us.

Dr. Null has never shared his real secret to health and longevity. With more than 70 books, more than 20 films, competing in marathons, counseling thousands, and bridging  nutrition, self-development, politics, and even pet care. I’m convinced that he has figured out how to clone himself. Dr. Null’s is a renaissance man who has an extraordinarily holistic view of health and wellness including physical, mental, and spiritual. He is into mindfulness and is a wonderful story teller.

His books excoriate  caffeine, alcohol, and meat. At a more controversial level, he advocates removing mercury fillings from teeth, chelation, magnet therapy, and questions the safety of vaccines. The sources he typically cites are experts he has interviewed. If you are looking for traditional research that footnotes lots of references, you will be frustrated. If you are looking for new ideas to consider or try, you are at a feast.

A note on his references to some people living well into Mediterranean, Eastern European, and Eastern countries living extremely long lives are controversial: The oldest well documented centenarian was Jeanne Calment, a Frenchwoman who lived to 122. There are many claims of people living much longer but researchers as skeptical as documentation is poor and their cultures revere living long which gives an incentive to exaggerate.

The concept that that the biggest factor in health and longevity is being happy is profound. Also profound is his epiphany that getting healthier starts with beliefs and values. I was also impressed with how Gary generally supported a Mediterranean diet but emphasized how you eat is as important as what you eat. Thus, slow leisurely meals with family do wonders for your health.

Dr. Null’s website is www.GaryNull.com. Dr. Brickey’s other websites are www.DrBrickey.com and www.Anti-Aging-Speaker.com.

Host: Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey

Guest: Preventive Health Researcher Dr. Duke Johnson

Broadcast and podcast starting: May 11, 2009 on webtalkradio.net. After 5-18-09 the podcast is also on the links below

 

 How to Prevent Heart Disease, Cancer, and Other Chronic Diseases [54:19m]: Play NowDownload

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When health study results are announced, the news feeds us sketchy, piecemeal results with little attention to the quality or limitations of the study. Radio and TV thrives on the diet of the week and sensationalism.  No wonder Americans are confused about what to do to be healthier. Research is becoming increasingly clear, however, that there is a common denominator to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and other chronic diseases. Dr. Duke Johnson, author of The Optimal Health Revolution, shares with us what that commonality is and how it can guide us in preventing chronic diseases.

Most health and wellness gurus and authors emphasize their niche or try to be comprehensive and cover diet and exercise. Dr. Johnson or Dr. Duke as he is often called, presents a very holistic approach with avoiding inflammation as a key integrating concept. In interviews, I try to focus on what is most unique about the expert and their area of greatest expertise. Consequently, time did not permit going into all of the issues and recommendations Optimal Health covers.

To recap Dr. Johnson’s big picture, a century ago, most Americans died from acute illnesses. Today modern medicine can prevent or cure most acute illnesses. We also are better educated, more informed, and have money to take care of ourselves. Consequently it is the chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes that kills most Americans. In the last decade, researchers are increasingly converging on inflammation as the common denominator of most chronic diseases. We also are seeing a convergence on the Mediterranean diet. Thus, Dr. Johnson’s comments on how few people in Mediterranean countries are following that diet anymore is an important heads up. We need to be following the principles and not the current practices.

Of course we are also seeing a convergence on the importance of exercise-both cardiovascular and strength (and I might add flexibility and balance). Most researchers also give a passing nod to the importance of stress. I really like way Dr. Johnson not only underscores stress, but also ties it to a sense of purpose and whether how you use your time fits with your values and purpose.

Some take aways are to, at least once, include a C-reactive protein test in your next physical, avoid high fructose corn syrup, and choose whole grain rather than multi-grain. I also note that in his book Dr. Johnson recommended investing in a whole house water filter. I heartily agree. Including the plumbing bill you should be able to do this for about $600 and about $15 a month in filters and charcoal material.

Dr. Johnson’s website is www.DrDukeJohnson.com. Dr. Brickey’s other websites are www.DrBrickey.com and www.Anti-Aging-Speaker.com.

Host: Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey

Guests: Elsa Hoffmann and Sharon Textor-Black

Broadcast and podcast starting: April 13, 2009 on webtalkradio.net. After 4-19-09 the podcast is also on the links below

 

 Living to 100 and Loving It [36:33m]: Play NowDownload

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***Click here for information on the 2009 Therapist Leadership Conference***

Only a third of Americans want to live to 100. Why? They imagine that living to 100 means being in a nursing home, crippled with arthritis, your mind destroyed by Alzheimer’s, and the highlight of your day-nursing home food. That is a possibility, but certainly not a necessity. Today we are going to talk with 101 year old Elsa Hoffman and her granddaughter/biographer Sharon Textor-Black on how living to 100 can be fabulous.

What makes Elsa such a vital person at 101? The genetic lottery probably accounts for about 25% of her success. Let me cite four other factors that contribute to her longevity:

1.     There are hundreds of studies that indicate optimists live longer, healthier, happier lives. Elsa is an absolute master at optimism. Sharon sees Elsa’s childhood as Prussian. Elsa sees her childhood as great lessons in discipline and attention to detail. While Elsa wanted to be a teacher, she sees her father’s insistence on business school having served her very well.

2.     One of the most difficult challenges in living a long life is dealing with the death of friends and family. Even the death of her son and her beloved husband didn’t throw her for very long. She has a view of death that it is a natural event and leads to an even better place. Further, for those who are suffering in pain, as her son did, it is a reprieve from suffering.

3.     She has a sense of purpose. Her purpose is to draw others out, help people connect, and help people feel better. For a couple of decades she and her husband ran a resort in Florida. It was a place where no one was a stranger and guests gathered around the piano for singing. Nothing makes her happier than to connect people. If that weren’t purpose enough, she has always done a lot of charitable and funding raising. I also note she has a wide variety of interests and activities-including travel, cards, baking, and reading. The variety helps keep the interests fresh and by having a variety, if one activity becomes unavailable, she has several others to keep life enjoyable.

4. She takes care of herself, with eating well, walking, getting good health care, and being prudent with money. There are two aspects of taking care of herself that are a matter of style rather than necessity. She finds dressing well and always looking good helps her feel good about herself and shows respect to others. She also doesn’t mind acknowledging that she has had a-one-facelift-because she wants to look her best. Their website is www.ElsasOwnBlueZone.com. Dr. Brickey’s other websites are www.DrBrickey.com and www.Anti-Aging-Speaker.com. ***********************

Special Edition: Stephen Ladd interviews  Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey

Broadcast and podcast starting: 11-10-08 on webtalkradio.net. After 11-17-08 the podcast is also on the links below

 

 How to Use Anti-Aging Psychology to Be More Youthful [51:21m]: Play NowDownload

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A big part of aging as little as possible is a mind game. Indeed only 30% of aging is genetic. The rest is how you think and the choices you make. How do you win the mind game? In this special edition of Ageless Lifestyles, Stephen Ladd interviews me on the how to use anti-aging psychology to think, feel, look, and be more youthful. The focus is on my Anti-Aging ABCs® (Attitudes, Beliefs, and Coping Skills) and practical beliefs shifts you can use instantly.

The special offer link for Ageless Lifestyles listeners is at the bottom of www.NotAging.com. Dr. Brickey’s other websites are www.DrBrickey.com and www.Anti-Aging-Speaker.com.

Host: Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey

Guest: Lynn Peters Adler

Broadcast and podcast starting: 8-18-08 on webtalkradio.net after 8-25-08 podcast availabe on the links below (to download, right click download and select “save target as.”)

Host: Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey

Guest: Lynette Padwa

Broadcast and podcast starting: 8-11-08 on webtalkradio.net after 8-18-08 podcast availabe on the links below

 

 The Facts of Life About Aging [54:19m]: Play NowDownload

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