Hello Again.
Yes, it has been some time since we last spoke. And lots has changed.
For those that are new here, my name is Michael. I’m a 20-something year old dementia survivor.
Of course, not actually. But you know what I mean…
I have a bit of an obsession with brain health. I’m sure a lot of you can relate if you have seen the effects of Alzheimer’s or dementia first hand.
Once you’ve seen it, you would do just about anything to not go through the disease yourself. I’m no exception.
My grandma lived with us when her dementia got bad. We were lucky, though, because her personality never changed. She was her funny self, still commanded a living room when she spoke, and we got to enjoy three years with her in our home.
But still…
It’d have been much better if her mind was healthy.
Having seen the effects of dementia firsthand I did what so many of you have done. I spent hours on Google, researched if dementia was curable, genetic, or preventable. You name it I’ve searched it.
And that’s when the epiphany came.
Through my research, I found that 1 in 3 cases of dementia are preventable.
Did you hear me??? 1 in 3!
I’ll take those odds any day for a disease that plagues 6.5 MILLION Americans.
Of course, prevention comes with a little bit of effort. And our American lifestyles aren’t exactly suited for said prevention.
And that’s why I started writing this newsletter. I have found that anyone that has seen a loved one suffering from dementia instantly has a deep connection with others in a similar situation. There’s an inherent sense of community amongst caretakers.
I have been building this community to make those prevention statistics as simple as possible for us.
What you can expect
This go around is going to be a little more structured. Let’s call it “Season 2” of Dementia Survivors.
For the next 12 weeks I will be covering different topics related to dementia prevention. These will come out every Monday morning as a way to boost motivation and start our weeks off right.
This time of the year is perfect for reshaping my health goals. Summer is winding down, schedules flow back into a routine, and the holidays are still just a distant thought in the future.
I’m not saying that these next three months can change your life, but I’m not saying they can’t either…
It’s all up to you.
Get Caught Up
Again, if you’re new here, you have some homework to do before next Monday. A lot of my writing is centered around these 6 pillars of brain health.
Diet
Exercise
Sleep
Stress Management
Brain Activity
Social Connectedness
Feel free to dive into the archive of past posts to get up to speed. It’ll be full throttle for the next 12 weeks.
Finally, if you have someone that you’re thinking about while reading this, send this newsletter their way. We all know family members that are caretakers or have been caretakers for someone that has had dementia.
It is isolating and overwhelming.
Surely, a newsletter does not fix everything, but it can certainly make it a little less lonely so feel free to respond or comment on any post. I read them all.
Coming Next Week… What I Learned from 2 Weeks in Europe
Disclaimer: This is not medical advice to replace your primary care physician. My goal is simply to share what I am doing to follow the research in the dementia literature.