Better Brain, Better You

Addiction treatment is failing worldwide because it deals with the effects of addiction which is addictive behaviour, rather than the actual the cause of the addiction which is childhood trauma. I discuss why addiction is an attempt to deal with the pain of childhood trauma and the path to recovery starts with reconnection with your true self. By restoring the connections with your body and the emotions you lost as a child you can start the process of recovery.

Your brain is shrinking, costing you memories and mental sharpness. Brain shrinkage is closely related to symptoms of ageing, including mental decline, cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, and even poor sleep habits. You may be able to prevent brain shrinkage by adopting healthy lifestyle habits that boost your brain’s vulnerabilities. For example, lowering blood pressure, lowering your blood sugar, improving sleep can help to stop brain shrinkage and improve your chances for a long, mentally fit life.

Swimming is an excellent cardiovascular exercise that strengthens your heart and circulatory system. But it also really benefits your brain and mental health. It encourages the brain to release brain chemicals that elevate your mood and repairs damage to brain cells and grows new ones to improve your memory. Cold water swimming triggers the release of a ‘cold-shock’ protein that slows down the onset of dementia. So swimming in water builds and repairs your brain while your worries drift away.

Experiences from decades ago still affect how you think, feel and behave today. Traumatic events and experiences that you endured early in life as a child or teen have a lasting effect on your emotional wellbeing as an adult. Childhood trauma takes many different forms, including abuse and neglect. And almost a third of young people in the UK experience trauma that doubles their risk of experiencing mental health challenges later in life. I discuss how childhood trauma filters through into adulthood to change the way you behave and impact your mental health in midlife. 

Emotional ups and downs are are a normal part of adolescence, making it difficult for parents to distinguish between normal teenage moodiness and mental health struggles. Teens might not always be able to articulate what they’re going through, and they might not want to talk to parents about it. So how can parents support a teenager’s mental well-being? I share how parents can make themselves available and what they should say to teens to support difficult feelings and mental illness.

Download our FREE “Parent’s Guide To Teenage Depression” HERE: https://www.ologyonlinecourses.com/depressionguide

Wet towels left in their wake, a sea of strewn clothes where there once was carpet, plates of food festering under the bed…why are teenagers so messy? A teen’s untidiness is a real bugbear for many parents and can be the source of ongoing conflict in many families. I explain why a messy bedroom is an easy, safe way for a teenager to declare their independence. And the protracted process of rewiring their brain during adolescence means that they won’t notice the mess for most of the time they're living with you. Arguing with them won't change that, but setting a few simple family rules can make things a little easier.

When a child experiences neglect or abuse early in their life, it has a devastating impact on their physical, mental and emotional development. I discuss how trauma during early childhood changes the brain and why the teenage years are an ideal window of opportunity to rewire a traumatised brain by providing a child with the experiences and opportunities that they missed out on earlier in life.

The Mediterranean diet is perfectly suited to women’s health. Partly due to the beneficial effects on the heart, it’s also good for a woman's brain. Women who follow the Mediterranean diet have younger looking brains but, unlike women who eat a western diet, show no early brain signs of Alzheimer’s disease, and experience fewer and milder menopausal symptoms. I share a simple step-by-step diet plan with the right intake of nutrients to help women keep their brain young, reduce menopause symptoms and protect them against dementia.

Get our FREE GUIDE “12 Brain Foods To Boost your Memory, Mood and Thinking" HERE: https://www.ologyonlinecourses.com/brainfoods

What happened to the sweet little girl who you’ve loved and nurtured for more than decade? Who is this irrational, untidy and moody young women living in your house, who seems to find everything about you so embarrassing?

I have a really interesting and wide ranging discussion with parenting columnist, Lorraine Candy, about how to survive the challenges of parenting teenage girls. We cover topics ranging from why teenage girls are so mean to mums, how to connect with teens, dealing with their untidy bedroom, picking your battles, managing screen time, to being a mother during menopause.

Lorraine's new book, ‘Mum, What’s Wrong With You?': 101 Things Only Mothers of Teenage Girls Know, is available to buy from 10th June, 2021. 

podcast website: https://www.ologyonlinecourses.com/podcast; follow us @ologyonline on facebook, twitter and instagram

The menopause opens a new chapter in a woman’s life that can take her on roller coaster ride of foreign feelings, lasting easily a decade or more. From hot flushes to low mood to insomnia to forgetfulness, menopause can be deeply distressing for many women. I look at the impact of fluctuating hormones on a woman’s brain health and how to manage well-being during menopause.