Aging Gratefully

Aging Gratefully

By David Debin and Dr. Peter BrillRelationshipsPersonal Journals
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Aging Gratefully episodes

  • Surviving Male Menopause with Jed Diamond
    Has your wife been getting on your nerves lately & and you don't really know why?
    When you ask your husband to clean the yard and he suddenly throws a fit totally inappropriate to your request, is it possible he's experiencing something other than laziness or irritability? Could he be going through something called male menopause? Or is "male menopause" just an excuse some men use to explain their irritability?
    We'll get the answers to these and other unanswered questions about men from our guest, Jed Diamond. Mr. Diamond has been a licensed psychotherapist for nearly 40 years and is the author of seven books including The Irritable Male Syndrome and his international bestseller, Male Menopause, that has thus far been translated into more than 16 languages - proving that male menopause is not just an American excuse for not cleaning the yard. Mr. Diamond describes the symptoms of male menopause such as irritability, lack of energy, heightened stress levels and changes in sexuality. He explains why the condition is not just due to a loss of testosterone but a state akin to puberty, when new hormones come on line and change everything. Is there anything you can do about it? Yes, says Jed Diamond, the condition is totally treatable. Listen to this podcast and you'll find out what to do about that "crazy" man of yours.
    37 min
  • Menopause with Science and Soul with Dr. Judith Boice
    Menopause. What images does it bring to mind? Hot flashes, periods of anger or depression, loss of fertility, a change of life? Few woman look forward to it and many fear it. For many others they endure it but it is much worse that it needs to be. Did you know that in some cultures woman don't have menopausal symptoms? Why is that? What can be done to make this time important, spiritually fulfilling and as mild as possible?
    Our guest today, Dr. Judith Boice, author of Menopause with Science and Soul: A Guidebook for Navigating the Journey, will answer our questions and guide us to a safe passage. Dr. Boice is a naturopathic physician, acupuncturist, author and international teacher, and she has a special passion for working with wellness and women's health. She conducts trainings and public lectures on women's health, menopause, and osteoporosis. She's also the author of several books, including Menopause with Science and Soul: A Guide For Navigating the Journey. She describes menopause as a "journey" and shares with us how she came to that understanding. Her book includes interviews with women from several different spiritual traditions, and describes women's experience of menopause in other cultures. (In many cultures, women have no menopausal symptoms, while about 80% of women in our culture have hot flashes.); Dr. Boice says this is because of their similar spiritual traditions - these cultures honor each part of the life cycle: puberty, adolescence, menopause and becoming an elder. She gives examples of how you can celebrate each of these times in your own life.
    43 min
  • Alzheimer’s, How To Diagnose It and What To Do About It with Dr. Loretta Redd
    Someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease every 72 seconds. How scary is the thought of getting this disease to you? What is Alzheimer’s? What causes it? What can be done to prevent it? Can it be treated, and how? By the age 85, 50% of Americans will develop Alzheimer’s. The emotional and financial costs are astronomical – today it averages $200,000 per year to care for an Alzheimer’s patient. Our guest today, Dr. Loretta Redd, Executive Director of the Alzheimer's Association, California Central Coast Chapter, helps us face our fears and answer our questions about this dread disease. Dr. Redd describes for us the terms “dementia,” “senility” and “Alzheimer’s,” and draws the distinctions between them. In diagnosing Alzheimer’s she says, “Look for loss of words and loss of orientation – it’s one thing to forget where your keys are but another to forget what they are for.” She talks about the ways to prevent or stave off Alzheimer’s and about the treatments and drugs that have proven of use in combating it. She tells us what hope is on the horizon and where to go for assistance.
    37 min
  • Living With Passion in the Third Age: Medicine, Opera and Art
    We all have had the experience of passion. Being passionate about something makes you feel alive, full of energy and emotion and you can’t wait for the day to start. Passion is vital to the Third Age because it keeps us feeling fully alive. And yet, many people have trouble discovering what their passion is. On our show today, we have three people who have discovered their passion. Each one is different and each took a different route to get there, but all three share the energy and excitement that can fill this time of life. Listen to their stories and be encouraged to find your passion in life.
    Jim Kwako M.D. is a family physician, but with special interests and expertise in alternative-holistic medicine. He is a past Trustee of the American Holistic Medical Association and past medical director of Cottage Hospital, Meadowlark Retreat Center and the Shealy Pain and Health Rehab Center.
    Gene Tyburn was a trained actor for 25 years, had a fortuitous career change to becoming a certified arborist (tree surgeon). Finally, he heard his true calling and found his passion in opera. Gene’s operas have been performed in various venues around the country.
    Betsy Gallery's adventurous life took her to West Africaas aPeace Corps teacherin the 60's,to Spain when she married a Spaniard,andto Costa Rica where she ranan eco-tourism lodge in the rainforest. Along the way she accrued two Masters Degrees, two wonderful bicultural children and a love of making art in the form of mosaics and gardening. After a fourth career as a Marriage and Family Therapist, she retired to devote herself to making mosaics full-time and gardening part-time.
    40 min
  • Asking For Help in Times of Need with Nora Klaver
    Most of us are perfectly willing to offer our help and advice to friends and loved ones -- but few of us are willing to ask for it. Why is that? Is it just that we think we’ll be seen as weak or unworthy? Or, that we’re pitiful because we can’t do it all ourselves? Yet endless studies have documented we all need the medical and psychological benefits of receiving help from others. Deep relationships are built on people helping each other. Our guest today,Nora Klaver, author of Mayday! Asking for Help in Times of Need, will help us fill the gap between what we know and what we do. Nora Klaver is a Master Life Coach and works with people to reveal the answers – that they already know – to the tough questions in life.
    What is it that makes it so difficult for us to ask for what we need? Why is it especially difficult for Americans? Why should we ask? What’s in it for us if we take the risk? Nora Klaver answers these questions and more. She tells her own story of how she learned to ask for help and how it changed her life, and she outlines the key emotional steps involved in the process: 1) Having self-compassion; 2) Having faith that things will work out and we’ll get the help we need; and, 3) Feeling grateful.
    50 min
  • America’s Dream Coach, Marcia Wieder
    Do you want an ordinary life? Do you just want to be comfortable and kind of numb where one day feels like the next? Or do you want to find something that gets your juices going and makes you feel that your life is special and that you matter? It all starts with finding and living your dreams. Often people in the Third Age feel it’s too late to dream or they can’t afford their dreams. Rather, it’s the time to find new dreams and live them to the fullest. Our guest today, Marcia Weider, American’s Dream Coach, is going to tell us how to find our dream and bring them into fruition. Don’t dream of missing this show.
    What is the difference between a dream, a goal and a fantasy? What is the process of identifying and fulfilling a dream? How does this differ from positive thinking? Marcia Wieder is CEO and Founder of Dream University® and is leading a Dream Movement. With over twenty years coaching, training and speaking experience, her inspiring message, style and wit has touched audiences from 50-5000 at companies such as AT&T, The Gap and American Express. She has spoken internationally, been on Oprah, written several books and even met with three former presidents. Additional questions we discuss are:
    How can I rekindle passion when I feel drained and empty?
    How do I allow myself to put my passions and dreams first, and not be sidetracked by everything and everyone else?
    How do I break through limiting beliefs about time & money??? Where do I start and how do I make a habit of my new beliefs?
    How do I get out of my own way -- that critical voice -- to make the visions and dreams come true?
    42 min
  • The Bitch, The Crone and The Harlot with Susan Schachterle
    Many are the paths of life. Many are the challenges, and along the way we make choices about how we can be happy, esteemed by others and get what we want. Each path and each choice has rewards and costs. As we get into the Third age we begin to understand so much more about life that the accumulated costs begin to haunt and hinder us. Our author today, Susan Schachterle is Director of the Ahimsa Group. The word "Ahimsa" denotes an attitude, a way of life that brings with it the intention to leave a situation in a better state than before. The individual who moves through life in a state of Ahimsa has developed an awareness and clarity that facilitate the effective combination of power, correct action, and compassion. She has spent over two decades assisting individuals and organizations find and implement their inherent power, wisdom and joy. She has given her book about women’s paths through life a title that may scare you or put you off. It’s called The Bitch, the Crone and the Harlot. It’s full of great wisdom about how the choices women made earlier in their lives need to be remade in the Third Age.
    Susan says, “I wanted to use these words differently – there are gifts inherent in each word. Bitch equals power and the possibility a woman can make things happen, create change. An archetypal Bitch can make it happen without a self-serving agenda. A garden variety bitch doesn’t use her gifts well.” In her book, a Crone uses her wisdom and insight and a Harlot her passion and awareness. Filled with fascinating stories, this is a must-read book and must-hear interview for women (and men as well).
    42 min
  • A Native American Prophecy – “Hollow Bones” by Dr. Stephen Paul
    Stephen Paul earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Missouri and then taught, researched, counseled, and consulted at the University of Utah. Stephen and artist Gary Collins collaborated to publish 3 Vision books: Illuminations: Visions for Change, Growth, and Self-Acceptance; Inneractions: Visions to Bring Your Inner and Outer Worlds into Harmony; and In Love: Visions for Growth and Harmony in Relationships. He currently writes and speaks about a process for releasing attachments and how to ride the inevitable waves of change by living more simply, harmoniously, and respectfully--more in line with Spirit.
    On that note, his new book is Hollow Bones, a novel that springs from an actual event: on November 23, 1993, a Native American prophecy was fulfilled when a delegation representing the North American indigenous peoples addressed a gathering at the United Nations. The Native American Elders delivered the prophecy of their spiritual leaders, warning that a long-predicted time of purification was already under way. The prophecy said that unless we return to living simply and harmoniously there will be climate change, poverty and war. The book takes place in the not-too-distant future and tells the story of Mathew, Hope and Lily, who discover they have returned to fulfill the prophecy. Dr. Paul speaks eloquently of the urgent need for simplicity and spirit in our lives.
    40 min
  • Aging With Dignity: Paul Malley
    Something is terribly wrong: The majority of Americans want to die at home surrounded by family and friends, but most end up dying in the hospital or nursing home, cared for by strangers. Half of Americans die in pain that could have been treated. Sick people have come to fear losing their dignity or burdening their families more than they fear death. And this is all happening in a country that is meant to prize the rights of individuals and champion respect for personal wishes. What can be done?
    Paul Malley is President of Aging with Dignity, a national non-profit organization based in Tallahassee, Florida. More than eight million Americans have used Aging with Dignity’s “Five Wishes” document to plan in advance of a serious illness. Today “Five Wishes” is distributed by 10,000 organizations – including physicians, attorneys, hospitals, hospices, employers, and places of worship. Paul Malley and the work of Aging with Dignity have been featured in national media including the CBS, NBC, and ABC evening news, CNN, MSNBC, NBC Today Show, Good Morning America, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times,Newsweek, Time and Consumer Reports.
    The Five Wishes document helps you express how you want to be treated if you are seriously ill and unable to speak for yourself. It is unique among all other living will and health agent forms because it looks to all of a person's needs: medical, personal, emotional and spiritual. Five Wishes also encourages discussing your wishes with your family and physician.
    Five Wishes lets your family and doctors know:
    Which person you want to make health care decisions for you when you can't make them.
    . The kind of medical treatment you want or don't want.
    How comfortable you want to be.
    How you want people to treat you.
    What you want your loved ones to know.
    43 min
  • Aging and the Kaballah: Rabbi Gershon Winkler
    The Third Age is a spiritual age. The search for passion, purpose and joy ride along with the fear and fact of illness and death. Perhaps this calls for a hardy wisdom. To quote today’s guest, Rabbi Gershon Winkler, ancient life was lived with “dark times and situations that would make our paradigm seem like Disneyland.” What can we learn from this mystical religion and time? Find out what the ancient Kabala has to say about preparing yourself for the modernThird Age.
    41 min

About Aging Gratefully

From the publisher's feed

In your 50's? 60's? What are you going to do with the rest of your life to make it TWICE as fun? Are you looking for a dream? Have a dream but not the motivation to pursue it? Crave more meaning and fulfillment in your life? Or are you having a great time moving into the third age of your life and want to connect with others like yourself? If the answer to some of these questions is yes, you need to tune in to the experts on "Aging Gratefully," co-hosts Dr. Peter Brill and David Debin, the heartfelt duo that wants to be with you every step of the way in creating and informing the life you want today and going forward.