Answers For Elders Radio Network

This segment focuses on is resentment: betrayal, perceived feelings kept sometimes since childhood. Lori Hutson joins Suzanne on behalf of Vitality Revolution podcast series gold sponsor Humana, talking about physical and emotional wellness. Lori, owner of L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC in Washington, talks about the wellness mindset promoted by Humana.

Being in an angered state leads to increased stress, muscle tightness, chronic pain, sleep disturbances, emotional eating, digestive issues, increased blood pressure, and cardiovascular issues. Emotionally it can lead to self-isolation. Getting professional help can make a positive change in your life. First, work toward recognizing that you're doing it.

Lori and Suzanne have discussed the topic of forgiveness extensively in the podcasts How to Forgive, Part 1 and How to Forgive, Part 2.

You can contact Lori through her website at L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC. Hear more of Lori's podcasts on Answers for Elders. Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series and find more episodes about Physical Wellness and Emotional Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today the topic is forgiveness: betrayal, perceived feelings kept sometimes since childhood. Learning to open up and talk about it is important, recognizing that you're feeling it and why. Lori Hutson joins Suzanne on behalf of Vitality Revolution podcast series gold sponsor Humana, talking about physical and emotional wellness. Lori, owner of L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC in Washington, talks about the wellness mindset promoted by Humana.

As mentioned in this episode, Lori and Suzanne previously discussed forgiveness extensively in the podcasts How to Forgive, Part 1 and How to Forgive, Part 2.

You can contact Lori through her website at L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC. Hear more of Lori's podcasts on Answers for Elders. Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series and find more episodes about Physical Wellness and Emotional Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Keeping things in order is critical, so that in an emergency, or if you pass away, your loved ones or executors can find critical documents, particularly to know your wishes for what you want done. Lori Hutson joins Suzanne on behalf of Vitality Revolution podcast series gold sponsor Humana, to talk about this aspect of emotional wellness.

This causes so much stress for family if mom is in the hospital, and they need to find power of attorney documents, or passwords to get into her phone if she's passed away. Having an up to date "life book," as Lori calls it, avoids these sorts of hassles. It may not help with your own personal emotional wellness, but it will certainly help your family's.

Examples

For example, does mom have a life insurance policy? How would her children know that? A lot of people have a will, but a life book can serve as a precursor. Choose a format: paper or digital. Make categories of your personal information, doctor contact information, medical information in case you're in the hospital, financial records, legal documents including a will, important emergency contact information. It can be a three-ring binder with sections. You'd want to tell certain people what's in there, such as people who would serve as your power of attorney or executor of your will.

List your valuables. List items you want to bequeath to people, similar to what's in your will — but updating your will is expensive, whereas you can update this whenever you like. Put a personal message in there for your family after you're gone.

List your valuables. List personal inventory to help your family members know about. Lori's mom gave away a painting from her mom she later found out was worth $7,000. Also list items you want to bequeath to people, similar to what's in your will — but updating your will is expensive, whereas you can update this whenever you like. Take an opportunity to include a personal message for your family after you're gone.

You can contact Lori through her website at L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC. Hear more of Lori's podcasts on Answers for Elders. Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series and find more episodes about Physical Wellness and Emotional Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Having a positive attitude makes a difference to our own healing and physical health. Lori Hutson joins Suzanne on behalf of Vitality Revolution podcast series gold sponsor Humana talking about physical and emotional wellness.

Techniques include prayer, meditation, self-awareness, acceptance, self compassion, defining and setting clear goals and expectations, visualizing that you want health and wellness, healing, feeling good, and affirmations. Give ourselves grace. Find the things we have to be grateful for. Look for the diamonds in our lives. We have an opportunity to look for the things to be thankful for. We have choices in how we behave and how we feel, and we can find the positives. Laughter is important – laughter is healing, find things to laugh about, get yourself in that mindset. Bring joy and laughter to your life.

Treat yourself the way we treat others – many times you'd never say something to someone else that you're saying to yourself.

You can contact Lori through her website at L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC. Hear more of Lori's podcasts on Answers for Elders. Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series and find more episodes about Physical Wellness and Emotional Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do we identify resentments and work toward releasing them? Lori Hutson joins Suzanne on behalf of Vitality Revolution podcast series gold sponsor Humana to talk about physical and emotional wellness. This segment continues from Part 1, in which Suzanne and Lori described resentments they held onto for decades that influenced their lives. Today they talk about how they were able to let go of those grudges and forgive.

Just realizing you're holding onto resentments helps — sometimes people don't even realize they're doing it. An outside person asking some questions can bring it out, and recognizing it is the first step. 

Lori suggests one way to adjust is to try looking at events from a different perspective, with empathy: have you thought about how the other person thinks? In Suzanne's case, she wasn't ready to deal with it when she went through counseling. It wasn't until she "got" it, realizing that the more she told the story, the only person it was hurting was her.

We may have resentments towards siblings, parents, or others. Releasing of expectations is a solution. We're often expecting others to behave the same way we would, and that's not always the case. We have to let go of that. It can manifest itself in physical ways, so it's important to let these go. If you have these resentments, it often triggers other behavior, or contact with a person triggers those feelings. Lori adds, "If you have that resentment, and there's something that triggers it, maybe a place or whatever it is, to maybe work towards either — or maybe it's a person, there's a person that you interact with that is triggering those resentments — limit your contact with that person or just don't go to that place if there's a certain place that triggers that. Maybe work towards avoiding that as much as possible."

Suzanne adds, "I wish for each and every one of you that are listening today to think about how you can release your attachment to things that have hurt you. I would love if you'd share that on social media, and think about ways that you can forgive. I know I'm gonna definitely share this one on my personal Facebook page. I think it's important that we all look at how we can have a better life moving forward and certainly forgiveness is a huge piece of it."

You can contact Lori through her website at L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC. Hear more of Lori's podcasts on Answers for Elders. Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series and find more episodes about Physical Wellness and Emotional Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

These two segments focus on forgiveness, which doesn't right a wrong, but it does disconnect us from being a slave to the experience. The forgiveness is really for ourselves. Lori Hutson joins Suzanne on behalf of Vitality Revolution podcast series gold sponsor Humana, talking about physical and emotional wellness. If you're wondering to stay active and vibrant in the second half of your life, we hope you'll join us through this series. Lori, owner of L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC in Washington, talks about the wellness mindset promoted by Humana. In this segment, Suzanne and Lori describe resentments they held onto for decades that affected their lives. In part 2, they talk about how they were able to let go of those grudges and forgive.

Suzanne shares a deeply personal experience that she doesn't normally talk about. When she was 22, a 14 year old skateboarder collided with her car while she was driving down a country road, and he died on impact. The sheriff sent her home, saying it wasn't her fault, but she was nonetheless distraught. Her mother was out of town, and when Suzanne called her on the phone and asked her to come home to help her deal with what had happened, she refused. Suzanne ended up harboring hurt, betrayal, anger, and resentment toward her mother for decades. Those feelings affected her life's outlook, in particular preventing her from being willing to trust and rely on others.

It's a relief to learn how to let go of the expectations we have on others. Learning to communicate not only with others, but get in touch with your own stories that you tell yourself about your life.

Lori shared a personal experience as well. “I'll share a story that I don't share very often, in even my close circle, about my kids' father. I had my kids really young. I really had a lot of things going on, and I really wanted this family, and I jumped into a relationship in my teens. I had my kids really young, and then he turned out to be a major drug addict. And so when my kids were 14 and 16, he tried to force them to do drugs with him. And of course I didn't know any of this was going on, and people that are on drugs, they can snow-job you. I thought he was clean. He was spending time with the kids, and come to find out he was pretty much forcing them into doing drugs or persuading them. My older son was 16 and he was at the point in his life where he could turn his back and say no. My younger son was 14, and he got into it, and that started a very long, eight-year battle for him. And he's doing fantastic now. 

"But it was a challenge every day. I wanted to hang their dad — I wanted to hang him up by his toenails. And I was just so angry, hurt, resentment and blame, and it was really easy for me to shift all the things that I needed to take responsibility for, and put those on him. So all my kids problems were his fault. And so it was a long process for me to go through that. And I think one of the things for me is acknowledging, I had to just acknowledge where I was, forgive myself, because I did the best I could, I didn't have a lot to work with, because of my childhood. So I had to forgive myself and then accept responsibility for the things that I did that were not.”

Suzanne adds, " I think we hear things, like you can't change anybody else, you can only change yourself. The other thing I always think about is, life is nothing but a mirror of our consistent thoughts. And I truly believe this, we're gonna attract that type of energy towards us what we're putting out and, and in order to to have a fuller life, it's like banging the drum in your head, it doesn't make you attract the kind of people you wanna be around, number one. But even more importantly, it damages yourself, it damages your self esteem, it damages your own health, because of the resentments that you're you're churning in your head.

"One of the things that we want to talk about in our next segment is about how to let go of those resentments and how to move through it."

You can contact Lori through her website at L.J. Hudson Insurance LLC. Hear more of Lori's podcasts on Answers for Elders. Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series and find more episodes about Physical Wellness and Emotional Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alzheimer's Speaks podcast host Lori La Bey joins Suzanne to talk about her new book ''Betty the Bald Chicken: Lessons in How to Care," which addresses the caregiver's journey, part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana focusing this month on Emotional Wellness. The book was written for kids as a children's book, as a way for parents and grandparents to teach kids how to return empathy and learn how to better connect with people.

Do we as a society have empathy for people who don't think the same way we do? How do we learn to forgive and move forward. Lori talks about CARE as the "Conscious Awakening of RElationships." Sometimes it's harder to accept care than to give care, yet we know how good it feels to help others. It makes us feel purposeful.

Lori La Bey has partnered with Answers for Elders and joins Suzanne this hour to address the caregiver's journey. Lori's podcast has been recognized by the National Institute for Dementia Education 2020, Oprah as “Health Hero” for 2018, Recognized by AARP MN as a 2018 “Disruptor and an Inspiring & Accomplished Leader,” by Maria Shriver as an “Architect of Change” in 2016 and by Dr. Oz and Sharecare as the “#1 Influencer Online for Alzheimer’s” in 2012.

Learn more about Lori La Bey, Alzheimer's Speaks, hear Alzheimer's Speaks podcasts, and hear more AFE podcasts with Lori La Bey. Get "Betty the Bald Chicken: Lessons in How to Care" on Amazon.

Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana and listen to more episodes about Physical Wellness and Emotional Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever felt frustrated like the character Betty in "Betty the Bald Chicken: Lessons in How to Care?" How do you care for others when you feel down? Alzheimer's Speaks podcast host Lori La Bey joins Suzanne this hour to address the caregiver's journey, as part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana focusing this month on Emotional Wellness.

Lori uses a breathing exercise, and on the inhale asks her higher power to provide what she needs in that moment, and on the exhale asks for all of the toxins in her mind, body, and soul to release. She says this re-centers your body, calms you, and helps.

When feeling frustrated, suggests asking yourself, "what's the lesson wrapped inside this frustration that needs to be learned?" The answer might take minutes or days, but that answer helps calm and re-center yourself..

Lori La Bey has partnered with Answers for Elders and joins Suzanne this hour to address the caregiver's journey. Lori's podcast has been recognized by the National Institute for Dementia Education 2020, Oprah as “Health Hero” for 2018, Recognized by AARP MN as a 2018 “Disruptor and an Inspiring & Accomplished Leader,” by Maria Shriver as an “Architect of Change” in 2016 and by Dr. Oz and Sharecare as the “#1 Influencer Online for Alzheimer’s” in 2012.

Learn more about Lori La Bey, Alzheimer's Speaks, hear Alzheimer's Speaks podcasts, and hear more AFE podcasts with Lori La Bey. Get "Betty the Bald Chicken: Lessons in How to Care" on Amazon.

Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana and listen to more episodes about Physical Wellness and Emotional Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alzheimer's Speaks podcast host Lori La Bey joins Suzanne to talk about how her book ''Betty the Bald Chicken: Lessons in How to Care" allows us to view the journey of a senior caregiver through the eyes of a struggling chicken. When we talk about emotional wellness, everyone could do better in validating caregivers. It really isn't taught, and we only learn the skill by example.

Lori La Bey has partnered with Answers for Elders and joins Suzanne this hour to address the caregiver's journey. Lori's podcast has been recognized by the National Institute for Dementia Education 2020, Oprah as “Health Hero” for 2018, Recognized by AARP MN as a 2018 “Disruptor and an Inspiring & Accomplished Leader,” by Maria Shriver as an “Architect of Change” in 2016 and by Dr. Oz and Sharecare as the “#1 Influencer Online for Alzheimer’s” in 2012.

Learn more about Lori La Bey, Alzheimer's Speaks, hear Alzheimer's Speaks podcasts, and hear more AFE podcasts with Lori La Bey. Get "Betty the Bald Chicken: Lessons in How to Care" on Amazon.

Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana and listen to more episodes about Physical Wellness and Emotional Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you're caring for a senior loved one, you might feel alone, with the weight of her care being on your shoulders. A lot of us caring for loved ones get burned out and overwhelmed, laying awake at night worrying if we made the right choices that day. Sometimes we just want instant answers. Alzheimer's Speaks podcast host Lori La Bey has partnered with Answers for Elders and joins Suzanne this hour to address the caregiver's journey, part of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana focusing this month on Emotional Wellness.

In this segment, Lori joins Suzanne to talk about co-authoring her new book ''Betty the Bald Chicken: Lessons in How to Care." Betty was inspired by Lori’s journey caring for her mother, who lived thirty years with Alzheimer’s disease, but Betty’s story applies to most every human situation, from illness, bullying, addictions, divorce, and death, to everyday struggles of not feeling like we fit in or we are not understood.

Lori La Bey has partnered with Answers for Elders and joins Suzanne this hour to address the caregiver's journey. Lori's podcast has been recognized by the National Institute for Dementia Education 2020, Oprah as “Health Hero” for 2018, Recognized by AARP MN as a 2018 “Disruptor and an Inspiring & Accomplished Leader,” by Maria Shriver as an “Architect of Change” in 2016 and by Dr. Oz and Sharecare as the “#1 Influencer Online for Alzheimer’s” in 2012.

Learn more about Lori La Bey, Alzheimer's Speaks, hear Alzheimer's Speaks podcasts, and hear more AFE podcasts with Lori La Bey. Get "Betty the Bald Chicken: Lessons in How to Care" on Amazon.

Learn more about the overall Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana and listen to more episodes about Physical Wellness and Emotional Wellness. Learn more about Answers for Elders, the North Star in Navigating Senior Care.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.