Healthy Aging: Body, Mind & Spirit

New reviews for “Find Your Reason to Be Here”

“In 100 pages, with an intriguing bibliography, this is a quick but comprehensive overview of our generation at this moment in the 21st century.  Carter’s telling is at once realistic and optimistic—and her own story is living proof. 

‘Why did I write this book?’ she asks in her prologue, and then answers with a quote from Joan Baez:  ‘Action is the greatest antidote to despair.’ 

Carter never looks at our generation through rosy glasses.  Her even-handed reporting and clear and compassionate writing help me understand the challenges and opportunities we all face.  Thank you.”               – Carrie Tuhy

Find Your Reason to Be Here: The Search For Meaning in Midlife is where I share what I have learned from years of research into the psychological legacy of boomers, where the idea of ‘midlife’ came from, and how boomers can make the most of this unique new stage of emotional development. I feel it is the best I have ever produced.

Here I summarize most of what I have learned in studying the experience of midlife from the inside out.  I explain what happens to our hearts and minds in combination with being raised in the time of the boomers, and then show how to combat emotional challenges, and succeed in becoming your best self in spite of the many factors which may work against you.

Change your perspective, change your life!

Learn about the latest research on optimism and resilience!

If you are serious about losing weight…

you MUST watch this 50 minute video!

Just saw it last night: 10 Things You Need to Know to Lose Weight.

How to be OPTIMISTIC!

1. Be grateful for what you have.  Instead of focusing on what you don’t have, focus on what you do have.  This simple change in attitude can do wonders for your mental state, and expressing gratitude regularly has been linked to better health, well-being and progress toward your goals.  A simple way to get started is to jot down 10 things you love about your life every day.

2. Do something kind for someone. Studies show that doing five good deeds a day can make you happier, and volunteering has been linked to a heightened sense of well-being. If you need some motivation, watch someone else do something kind.  Just witnessing the act has been found to boost your mood and make you more likely to do nice things as well.

3. Communicate positively.  When you speak or write, always phrase things in a positive way.  For example, instead of saying to your spouse, “You’d better not be late for dinner,” try, “I’m really looking forward to having dinner with you at 7:00.”

4. Turn adversity into opportunity.  A failure or a hard time is only a bad thing if you let it be.  Realize that successful people fail, and have likely failed many times to get where they are. So when you do fail, embrace it. Turn the failure into a positive by figuring out what went wrong, then applying what you learned to your next endeavor.

5. Think only positive thoughts about yourself, your life and your value for others.  If negative thoughts enter your mind, allow yourself to feel good.  Focus on the positive actions and desired outcomes instead of listening to demoralizing, demeaning self-talk or negative chatter.

6. Laugh easily and smile often.  Engage in experiences that enable you to do this!  It’s proven to help you stay positive.

7. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones. Practice daily affirmations after you wake up, before bed or anytime during the day.  This can help you focus your thoughts only on the bright side.  When you feel stressed out, affirmations can also help you to relax.  Meditations and music can calm your mind, soothe your emotions and create a state of deep relaxation in your body.

8. Live in the present.  Dwelling in the past (either good or bad times), worrying about the future or even waiting until tomorrow to “get your life together” causes you unnecessary stress and hardship.  Let go of what you cannot control or change.  Focus instead on the present moment and what’s happening here and now that you can affect in positive ways.  You’ll find doing so creates a newfound sense of peace and well-being.

New help with midlife mental health!

My new book: “Find Your Reason to Be Here: The Search for Meaning in Midlife” is out!  This is the research project I have been working on for the past few years!  It contains life-changing information for those in their 40s and 50s.  Wondering what to expect at midlife? Perhaps you are the parent of a boomer and are seeking a better understanding of your child.  This book will explains all of this to you!

Learn what’s normal and to-be-expected, and how to make the MOST of your middle years. This book includes so much new research on what boomers share emotionally, how they compare to their parents, where the idea of “midlife” came from, and the exciting new rite of passage we are experiencing for the first time in human history!

Dogs can help with PTSD!

Here’s a GREAT story about how specially-trained dogs are helping returning soldiers with their PTSD symptoms!

New research on cannabis and pain

Cannabis makes pain more bearable rather than actually reducing it, a study from the University of Oxford suggests.

Using brain imaging, researchers found that the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis reduced activity in a part of the brain linked to emotional aspects of pain, but the effect on the pain experienced varied greatly.  The researchers’ findings are published in the journal Pain.

The Oxford researchers recruited 12 healthy men to take part in their small study.  Participants were given either a 15mg tablet of THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) – the ingredient that is responsible for the high – or a placebo.  The volunteers then had a cream rubbed into the skin of one leg to induce pain, which was either a dummy cream or a cream that contained chilli – which caused a burning and painful sensation.

Each participant had four MRI scans which revealed how their brain activity changed when their perception of the pain reduced.

Learn more about this study over at the BBC.

Amazing and encouraging story…

for those who have had a bad cancer diagnosis lately, or those who just fear the BIG C!

Here’s a GREAT article full of hope, inspiration and useful information!

Living with CFS

Learn what it is like to fall in love with, and then care for a husband with CFS.

This is my up-close-and-personal experience!

The holiday are the perfect time to SPEAK UP for hearing loss

Do you ever just stop and think about the many blessings in your life?

What would your life be like without your marvelous senses?  I have had a bad cold this past week, my nose is still plugged up, and I have really missed my sense of taste lately!  We’re talking some serious quality of life issues here.  I regularly feel gratitude for my ability to see and hear and communicate with the world in a healthy way.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association recently asked me to encourage everyone to break through the silence this holiday season, and openly discuss untreated hearing loss with your older family members. With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming right up, this is a perfect time to consider how well your parents and older friends are hearing you.

The ASHA has found that nearly 70% of respondents do seek treatment for a hearing problem if they were asked to do so by a loved one, and hearing loss is a problem for nearly half of all seniors.  Untreated hearing loss can easily lead to some very negative emotional impacts like feelings of isolation, depression and even dementia.  I remember how sad it was to watch my grandfather slowly recede from our lives, as his hearing got worse.  But he assisted it was normal and would do nothing about it.

Untreated hearing loss can make family gatherings more difficult and strain relationships as we age.  This is too bad because it does not need to be that way.  Today there are many different ways of treating hearing impairment and different types of hearing aids too!

Check out this marvelous online tool to help you easily find professional audiologists and speech-language pathologists near you.  If your loved one is beginning to wonder if their hearing is going, help them find a well-qualified professional who holds the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

Start them on their road towards a return to excellent hearing again, so you can all join in the holiday fun for years to come!

This blog post was written while participating in a campaign by BOOMboxNetwork.com on behalf of ASHA.org for which I received payment.  All opinions stated within are my own.