The Midlife Cocktails Sips and Tips: Recent Episodes
Dwayne
The “NOT Knowing” burns within all of us especially when we reach a certain milestone known as midlife. Much time is consumed by reflection of the past as well as how to manage the future. Lots of people will talk about careers and fitness, staying fashionable and making money and prepping for retirement. However, few talk about the true commonalities and truths of midlife and how it impacts us as emotionally, physically, spiritually as individuals and as couples. Learn how we manage true midlife issues through personal knowledge and years of experience as health care providers talking with midlifer's and senior citizens as we deal with our changes in physical and emotional wellness. Midlife Cocktails Sips and Tips is a real life walk through the joys and common struggles we face with getting OLD---ER. Your opportunity to connect with people going through the same stages as you will be one level of support as you continue your life's mission.
In a world of google search and infomercials, how is one to accurately decipher fact from bullcrap. The latest fad tells us what to wear, what to eat and how to look. No one knows you better than you. So why do we listen to people who have little to no vested interest in us other than our wallet? Toni Horton and Drew Manning will likely never knock on your door and offer to cook you a meal and ask to know more about you. You are your best advocate. You have been down this road before and ultimately will come to the right conclusion. What you learned from the very beginning is what you need to continue doing now. Eat a healthy balanced diet, and get off your ass. Its what has and always will work...and guess what....no membership required!
As always, the new year inspires so many to hop on the fitness bandwagon. How will you be successful this year? What will you change? Is a personal trainer in your future? Our thoughts and experiences could be just what you needed to hear. As you ponder your decision, maybe these quotes can inspire you.
1. “Love yourself enough to live a healthy lifestyle.”
2. “When I lost all of my excuses I found my results.”
3. “Good things come to those who sweat.”
4. “The body achieves what the mind believes.”
5. “Making excuses burns zero calories per hour.”
6. “Nothing truly great ever came from a comfort zone.”
7. “Someone busier than you is working out right now.”
8. “Don’t limit your challenges, challenge your limits.”
Have you ever been wronged? Have you ever wronged someone else and wish you could take it back? There is so much power in forgiveness and asking for forgiveness. Taking back what was taken from you is one of the first steps in overall internal wellness. You have the power. They say it's a new year. It should be a new you. How do you choose to start this year? We choose forgiveness!
What have you learned from 2022? What sticks most with you and how will you decide to move forward living your time on earth as a complete person. We all have our New Years resolutions. Our battle cries! We have so much more to give each other than we realize. We owe it to ourselves to reflect and discover who we are meant to be in 2023!
STAND BY ME! The last 3 words I was fortunate enough to hear come out of my mothers mouth at my wedding. Nearly 6 years prior to her passing. Episode 3 focuses on the decisions of the informal caregiver and the impact this disease will inevitably have on you. Use your time wisely to discuss with your family member their wishes. Dig deep into your soul and acknowledge what you can and can not do. Be realistic in your expectations of others and know what your own limits are.
Alzheimer’s Communication – AHCA/NCAL Gero Nurse Prep
Receiving a diagnosis of dementia will never be easy. Nor will the days ahead. However, there are ways to ease the burden or maintaining a loved one's independence, dignity and quality of life. The steps you take upon receiving the diagnosis play an intricate roll in your success and that of the individual being diagnosed. Understanding the roll of social work services, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Speech Language Pathology can aid in easing the stressors associated with receiving this diagnosis. It is the first step in maintaining quality of life and ensuring your family member can continue to age in place gracefully and with the dignity and safety they deserve.
We live our lives in hopes of making memories. We watch our children grow. Find love. Explore careers. We hope to age gracefully, meeting each obstacle head on in order to maintain our sense of wellbeing, independence and dignity to the very end. Sadly, not all of us will be that lucky. Infact a large percentage of us will experience a terrible disease known as dementia. Wiping away our memories that have become intricate in our identity. In episode 1 of the series, we discuss the various types of dementia in hopes of giving you a foundation to build from in order to prepare yourself for what may one day enter yours or a loved ones life. Through every step, we are with you. You are not alone in this!
Just when we think things can't get crazier......they do! We live in a world of confusion, fear and doubt on our future. Time for us to seek advice.
Ever wonder how some people do it? I mean really. How do they manage to get along with their spouse, and sustain a happy relationship? Midlife can be a crazy time for anyone. Especially couples dealing with being the sandwich generation and balancing the lives of being parents and possibly care providers for their own parents. Our solution? LAUGH>>>>LAUGH>>>>LAUGH>>>>and when your done, pull your pants up to the crack of your ass and LAUGH SOME MORE!
Episode 2 with Todd Norseman from Viking fitness. We've come a long ways over the past 6 weeks. The growth Lori and I have experienced may shock you. However, the growth we have acquired may not be exactly what you think. Whether you are a midlife couple, midlife single male or female, this is one you really need to listen to. Learning to know how to advocate for your own health can be worth its weight in gold. Overcoming insecurities and fears as a means for growth can be life altering. Knowing when its time to do your own research and choose a path that is right for you is what this journey has been about. We can not be more pleased with the road we are on and where it is going.
To say the world is a crazy place is a true understatement. To acknowledge how today's world impacts you emotionally is a true sign of strength. To just "suck it up and drive on," is an accident waiting to happen with the pedal to the medal going full throttle into a brick wall. Once you acknowledge the issue, its time to put your plan in place. Quality of life and balance is what you need to be seeking at midlife. We are with you on this journey. Our commonality is simply being human!
Is it pain? Is it discomfort? Is there a difference? HELL YES. Understanding the difference is one of the most important things you can do as you venture into the world of health and wellness following an injury. As clinicians, we have an array of strategies we test and implement to help our clients meet their goals and have a sustainable quality of life. What is our game plan? Listen in and hopefully walk away with a couple new ideas of your own to keep moving and enjoying your midlife!
Have you ever wondered what motivates people to be healthy? Seriously! Ever question what your life will be like if you continue down the path you are one? Everyone's motivation is different. For us, its to live long healthy and enjoyable lives. Why do people stop moving? Why do they seem to quit when life is just starting to open up for them? All questions we need to be asking ourselves as we enter our midlife years. Pain can often set us back. Even bury us in a dark corner where we choose to live out our days. It doesn't have to. You just have to take charge!
Midlife health and fitness often take a backseat with today's sandwich generation as we attempt to balance the lives of our children and aging parents. Today we sit down with Todd Norseman from Viking Fitness to discuss his approach to health and wellness as a midlife personal trainer. Listen in on his views on some of the new "trends." His approach to personal training and some insights into finding the right personal trainer for you. Never used a personal trainer before? Guess what? Neither have we! However, that's about to change. Listen in as Lori and I start a 90 day journey of transformation. Not only body but mindset as well. One of the many steps we will take together on this midlife journey. This is only the tip of the iceberg folks. Challenge accepted!
Reach Todd Norseman at WWW.Vikingfitnessnh.com, or https://www.instagram.com/viking_fitness_nh
This is the final part of our 4 part midlife game plan series. If it becomes necessary to move a loved one into a long term care facility, know the right questions to ask are crucial to your financial and emotional health. Do you know what is and what is not covered by the facility? Do you know what is covered by your insurance and what is not? Have you done your homework for this life changing transition? A must listen to podcast that will hopefully decrease the panic but begin the conversation on being prepared for what life may throw your way.
We all, at one time, will face the struggles of taking care of a loved one. Understanding the verbal commitment you made and what is realistic can weigh heavily on our hearts. If life becomes too difficult for you to manage your loved ones care, what will you do? When is enough, enough? What is the right plan for us? All questions that require an answer and a solid plan in order to face the realities of life. Decisions that may make you go back on your word. However, with the right plan, you may be able to keep your loved one home as you promised until their time on this earth has ended.
Episode 2 of mini-series:
The conversation continues on how to first accept the inevitable and then devise a plan on lessening the burden for those you will leave behind. What do you want when you pass? What is important to you? Who do you want to speak on your behalf? What life saving measures are important to you? All very very difficult questions to answer but must be answered in legal fashion. Listen in as we continue this series in helping you initiate and follow through with the conversation on your final wishes.
Part 1 of our mini-series:
As life begins, so does the process of death. The commonality of man which most of us don't want to talk about. Is facing our mortality a bad thing? Is talking to our loved ones about death a topic to avoid? The answer to both is NO! We share our experiences with you today in hopes of enlightening you on an extremely important conversation topic that most people avoid. When it's too late to have the conversation, the pain, anxiety and confusion begins. Listen is to this mini-series as we hope to bring to light, another important topic you should not avoid any longer especially as a midlifer.
Life’s uncertainty can easily lead to fear which leads us to increased anxiety of that which we do not know. Today's topic is all about the Fear Factor and the importance of overcoming, or at least facing, those fears during midlife. Listen in as we discuss some of our fears that need to be addressed and how Lori and I compromise on facing certain fears together. What does Lori fear? What does Dwayne fear? Well you have to listen in to find out.
"You'll shoot your eye out kid!" One of the most iconic and recognized lines in television. Referring to a young boy who may be too young and immature to handle a BB gun. What makes us too young for something, may, at times be viewed as what makes us too old to do something as well. Or at least, that may be what people are telling us. Today's episode initiates an extended conversation we must have regarding maintaining independence and quality of life by continuing what we enjoy doing while being safe. Getting OLD-ER is coming for all of us. One day we either have to stop doing what we want or find ways of modifying those tasks that have given us our identity. My thought is to never stop doing what I love to do. They say "there's more than one way to skin a cat." Well there's more than one way to do what you love to do.....just ask an OT!
You down with O.P.P…..Pee? In today's episode, we don’t make “light” of urinary incontinence and how it impacts men and women and their overall quality of life. An issue commonly associated with midlife and beyond. How do we manage the issues of urinary incontinence and the dangers associated with letting it go untreated or undiagnosed? Let's talk just a little and help determine ways to best combat the stigma of incontinence and ways to maintain a sound quality of life. Follow these links for further reference materials.
(653) Pelvic Floor Exercises For Seniors (For Women And Men) | Kegel Exercises For Seniors - YouTube
Downloadable Exercises For Your Pelvic Floor (nafc.org)
What is it like being a caregiver during a pandemic? Listen in as we discuss our own struggles as caregivers and how we must navigate our daily lives in order to maintain our midlife balance. This episode is dedicated to the caregivers world wide who have faced this pandemic head on. We pull at the heart strings and paint the picture on the importance of reclaiming normalcy as human beings.
Discover a little more about who we are. We share some intimate feelings on what it means for us to be in midlife. How we are trying to negotiate some craziness and what our plans are for conquering difficulties. Uncut and unedited discussion into the realities we will all face as we enter midlife. What is your plan on moving forward? Maybe we have a couple quick ideas that can help.
Intro to Midlife Cocktails Sips and Tips. Life continues to be an adventure. How do you keep it interesting? Worthwhile and inspiring? Let us take you on a journey through our own experiences as well as those we have been so fortunate to work with for the past 20 years. This can be a challenging time. We will talk about things some people avoid but should be discussing. Lets learn to tackle this crazy thing called midlife together. Shall we?