Happy & Healthy with Amy

What emotions can you recognize in your body while they are happening?

For many of us, the list is limited to happy, sad, and angry. But trying to understand your emotional experience with only three words is like trying to draw a sunset with three crayons. You might capture the general idea, but you will miss important shades, details, and information.

In Part 2 of the Name It to Navigate It series, Amy helps you expand your emotional vocabulary so you can identify what you are actually feeling—not just the broad category it falls into.

You will learn how to use the Wheel of Emotions as a practical tool, why feelings such as envy and jealousy require different responses, and how accurately naming an emotion can help you understand what you need.

Because when you can name what is happening more precisely, you are better able to pause, examine the story you are telling yourself, and choose a response that supports your brain health, well-being, and values.

This episode builds on Part 1, where Amy introduced affect labeling—the practice of putting feelings into words—and explained how naming an emotion may help quiet the brain’s alarm system and bring your thinking brain back online.

WHAT TO LISTEN FOR:

• 00:00 — Why three emotion words are not enough
• 02:15 — The difference between an emotion and a feeling
• 04:45 — Why emotional awareness gives you useful information
• 06:30 — How emotional vocabulary works like a map
• 08:20 — How to use the Wheel of Emotions
• 11:40 — What emotions may be trying to tell you
• 13:50 — Envy versus jealousy
• 15:40 — Stress versus overwhelm and guilt versus shame
• 18:10 — Fear, powerlessness, and Alzheimer’s risk
• 21:15 — A journaling practice for naming what you feel

The more accurately you can name what you feel, the more clearly you can understand the need beneath it. That clarity creates a pause between the feeling and the action, giving you the opportunity to respond in a way that aligns with your wants, needs, values, and long-term brain-health goals.

Listen to Part 2 now, subscribe to Happy & Healthy with Amy, and come back for Part 3, where Amy explores why an urge can feel like a command—and how to deal with them when they undermine your long-term goals.

RECOMMENDED EPISODES:

• The One About TLC
• Notice and Name It: The Brain Science of Putting Feelings Into Words
• After an Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: A Family Checklist
• Alzheimer’s Drugs: Why Amyloid Removal May Not Be Enough

RESOURCES:

• Take the Quiz: Is It Just Brain Fog? 
• Download After Mom’s Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: The First 8 Things to Know and learn how to support her with more calm, clarity, and confidence.
• Download the RESTORED Protocol: Eight Essential Protective Factors to Build an Alzheimer's-Resistant Brain
• Download the FREE Excerpt of Thoughts Are Habits Too
• Schedule your Breakthrough Roadmap session with Amy
• Follow Amy on Instagram @amylangcoaching  and on Facebook @amylangcoaching
• Subscribe to Amy's YouTube channel @happyandhealthywithamy

Have you ever eaten a bag of chips or a bowl of ice cream even though you want to lose some weight and you weren't physically hungry? Or skipped the walk you planned to take? Or stayed up late scrolling on your phone even though you promised yourself you would go to bed earlier that night?

So why did you give in to the urge and what can you do about it?

In Part 1 of the three-part Name It to Navigate It series, Amy introduces affect labeling—the skill and practice of putting feelings into words. Research suggests that when you name your emotions, activity in the amygdala (your brain’s alarm system) may decrease while your prefrontal cortex and specifically areas involved in language and self-control become more active.

That shift can create something incredibly valuable: a pause between what you feel and what you do next.

Why Naming Emotions Supports Better Health Habits

You may already know that sleep, movement, nutrition, hydration, social connection, and stress management support long-term brain health.

But knowing what to do is not the same as consistently doing it.

An unnamed emotion can drive late-night eating, doomscrolling, sleep procrastination, skipped workouts, social withdrawal, or anxious symptom-checking. 

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• 00:00 — Why you reach for food, skip movement, or scroll late at night
• 01:15 — The gap between knowing and doing
• 03:00 — The unnamed emotions behind common unwanted behaviors
• 05:10 — Why “What’s wrong with me?” is the wrong question
• 06:00 — What affect labeling actually means
• 08:20 — The brain science behind naming emotions
• 10:30 — How two words can create a pause before action
• 13:20 — What to do when a memory lapse triggers Alzheimer’s fear
• 16:00 — Why family history and genetics are not the whole story
• 18:10 — How emotional awareness connects to healthy habits
• 21:00 — Your next step and what’s coming in Part 2

Listen now and learn how to stop reacting, start responding, and make your brain-health habits more intentional.

Resources Mentioned

• Download the Practice TLC worksheet:
  https://moxie-club.com/tlc
• Learn more about Amy and download brain-health resources:
  https://amylangcoaching.com
• Order Thoughts Are Habits Too and read a free preview:
  https://thoughtsarehabitstoo.com
• Subscribe on YouTube:
  https://www.youtube.com/@happyandhealthywithamy
• Follow Amy on Instagram:
  https://www.instagram.com/amylangcoaching
• Follow Amy on Facebook:
  https://www.facebook.com/amylangcoaching

RESOURCES:

• Take the Quiz: Is It Just Brain Fog? 
• Download After Mom’s Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: The First 8 Things to Know and learn how to support her with more calm, clarity, and confidence.
• Download the RESTORED Protocol: Eight Essential Protective Factors to Build an Alzheimer's-Resistant Brain
• Download the FREE Excerpt of Thoughts Are Habits Too
• Schedule your Breakthrough Roadmap session with Amy
• Follow Amy on Instagram @amylangcoaching  and on Facebook @amylangcoaching
• Subscribe to Amy's YouTube channel @happyandhealthywithamy

Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “I’m just not disciplined enough,” “I have no willpower,” or “Why can’t I figure this out?”

In the moment, these thoughts can feel like facts. But they may actually be limiting beliefs your brain has accepted without considering all the evidence.

In this episode, I’m sharing one simple question that can help you challenge a limiting belief in about 10 seconds. You’ll learn how to practice strength spotting, find evidence of the abilities you already possess, and use those strengths to make healthy habits easier.

You don’t need more shame, willpower, or a personality transplant. You may simply need to notice what is already working.

What To Listen For

• [01:06] Why strength-based coaching feels different
• [01:51] How to develop the skill of strength spotting 
• [02:59] A 5-minute exercise for identifying your strengths
• [04:50] What to write when negative self-talk leaves you feeling stuck
• [06:12] The question to that can dismantle a limiting belief like “I’m not disciplined enough”
• [08:21] How strength spotting works
• [10:02] Why “I have no discipline” may not be true
• [12:42] How to use strength spotting to deal with stress eating
• [14:44] How to build healthy habits from by leveraging your strengths

The next time you hear yourself say, this one question can move you away from a disempowering story and toward a practical plan based on strengths you already possess.

Listen to the full episode and subscribe to Happy & Healthy with Amy for more compassionate, practical tools to help you master your triggers and create healthy habits that stick. You can also grab a free excerpt of Thoughts Are Habits Too to learn how to let go of thoughts that no longer serve you and make changes from a place of self-trust.

RESOURCES:

• Take the Quiz: Is It Just Brain Fog? 
• Download After Mom’s Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: The First 8 Things to Know and learn how to support her with more calm, clarity, and confidence.
• Download the RESTORED Protocol: Eight Essential Protective Factors to Build an Alzheimer's-Resistant Brain
• Download the FREE Excerpt of Thoughts Are Habits Too
• Schedule your Breakthrough Roadmap session with Amy
• Follow Amy on Instagram @amylangcoaching  and on Facebook @amylangcoaching
• Subscribe to Amy's YouTube channel @happyandhealthywithamy

After an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, the conversations are only part of the work.

The next step is making sure the right plans, documents, passwords, wishes, and decision-makers are in place — before a crisis forces your family to guess.

In Part 3 of this three-part series, Amy and end-of-life doula Sandra Newsome talk about the practical details families need to consider, including healthcare proxy, advance directives, Five Wishes, dementia-specific directives, legal documents, subscriptions, pets, death care plans, and legacy wishes.

What To Listen For

• [00:15] Continuing the Conversation After an Alzheimer’s Diagnosis
• [01:39] What to Have in Place: The High-Priority Documents
• [3:00] Why a Healthcare Proxy Matters
• [3:44] Knowing and Communicating Your Wishes
• [10:33] Using “The Five Wishes” as a Guide
• [12:51] Dementia-Specific Advance Directives
• [15:00] Asking: “What If We Did Nothing?”
• [20:24] Planning for Death Care and End-of-Life Preferences
• [22:20] Legacy Projects: Letters, Books, and Videos
• [26:13] Keeping Documents Updated Over Time
• [29:12] Why These Conversations Matter Now
• [33:01] Living Fully While Preparing for the End
• [34:05] Closing Quote on hope, dreams, and the future

An Alzheimer’s diagnosis can bring so much uncertainty, but planning ahead can reduce the guessing, guilt, conflict, and chaos your family may otherwise face. These conversations and documents are actually about agency, dignity, and love in action.

Listen to this episode, choose one next step, and make sure the people who may one day speak for you know what you want and where to find what they need.

Mentioned in the Episode

• Five Wishes: https://www.fivewishes.org/
• Aging with Dignity / Five Wishes: https://agingwithdignity.org/five-wishes/
• The Conversation Project: https://theconversationproject.org/
• Dementia-specific advance directive: https://theconversationproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/DementiaGuide.pdf
• Atul Gawande / Being Mortal YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQhI3Jb7vMg&t=1s
• Being Mortal by Atul Gawande: https://atulgawande.com/book/being-mortal/
• Amy’s First Steps Guide — After Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: https://www.amylangcoaching.com/firststeps

RESOURCES:

• Take the Quiz: Is It Just Brain Fog? 
• Download After Mom’s Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: The First 8 Things to Know and learn how to support her with more calm, clarity, and confidence.
• Download the RESTORED Protocol: Eight Essential Protective Factors to Build an Alzheimer's-Resistant Brain
• Download the FREE Excerpt of Thoughts Are Habits Too
• Schedule your Breakthrough Roadmap session with Amy
• Follow Amy on Instagram @amylangcoaching  and on Facebook @amylangcoaching
• Subscribe to Amy's YouTube channel @happyandhealthywithamy

The conversations that follow an Alzheimer’s diagnosis can feel tender, awkward, and overwhelming.

But avoiding them does not make them easier.

In this episode, Amy and end-of-life doula Sandra Newsome walk through a practical conversation starter guide that can help you begin with more calm, clarity, and compassion.

What to Listen For

• [00:47] The tender place many families start from. 
• [01:40] The conversation guide Sandra recommends. 
• [02:20] The deceptively simple question that can reveal what your loved one values most. 
• [03:08] The concept of compressed morbidity. 
• [04:08] Why how you live today can affect how you live through the end of life. 
• [06:52] The question that helps identify who and what supports you during difficult times. 
• [07:40] Why “what matters to me through the end of my life” is not a question to rush. 
• [10:09] What steps Sandra recommends before asking your parent. 
• [12:14] The reason timing matters so much. 
• [15:28] The family conversation that may need to happen if your parent does not want details, but you do. 
• [17:10] Who should know what — and how family dynamics can affect what gets shared. 
• [18:32] Why the right timing and setting can make this conversation feel more possible. 
• [19:30] The sentence Sandra uses to explain why these conversations cannot wait forever. 
• [21:00] How planning ahead can become a gift to the very people you are trying to protect. 
• [22:54] Why role-playing the conversation can help you. 

An Alzheimer’s diagnosis can make the future feel uncertain, but these conversations help bring some steadiness back. Start with one question, give yourself time to sit with the answers, and remember: this is not about getting everything perfect.

Listen to this episode to learn how to start the conversation, then continue with Part 3 where Amy and Sandra talk about the documents, decisions, and plans families need to have in place.

Resources Mentioned

• The Conversation Project: https://theconversationproject.org/
• Amy’s First Steps Guide: https://www.amylangcoaching.com/firststeps
• Being Mortal by Atul Gawande: https://atulgawande.com/book/being-mortal/
• How We Live Is How We Die by Pema Chödrön: https://pemachodronfoundation.org/product/how-we-live-is-how-we-die-book/

Recommended Episodes

1. Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: The Conversation to Start Early with Sandra Newsome (Part 1 of 3)
2. Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: What to Put in Place Now - Coming Soon!
3. After an Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: A Family Checklist
4. How to Build an Alzheimer’s Care Team
5. My Mom Was Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Am I Next?

RESOURCES:

• Take the Quiz: Is It Just Brain Fog? 
• Download After Mom’s Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: The First 8 Things to Know and learn how to support her with more calm, clarity, and confidence.
• Download the RESTORED Protocol: Eight Essential Protective Factors to Build an Alzheimer's-Resistant Brain
• Download the FREE Excerpt of Thoughts Are Habits Too
• Schedule your Breakthrough Roadmap session with Amy
• Follow Amy on Instagram @amylangcoaching  and on Facebook @amylangcoaching
• Subscribe to Amy's YouTube channel @happyandhealthywithamy

When a parent receives an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, it can feel like everything becomes urgent overnight.

What do we do first?
What conversations need to happen now?
And how do we talk about end-of-life wishes without making it feel like we’re rushing things?

In Part 1 of this three-part series, Amy talks with Sandra Newsome, an end-of-life doula, about why timing matters, why families avoid talking about death, and how getting more comfortable with these conversations can reduce fear, guilt, and overwhelm later.

WHAT TO LISTEN FOR:

• [0:00] The Alzheimer’s conversation most families avoid and need to normalize
•  [00:42] What is a death cafe?
•  [01:40] Why talking about death feels harder after diagnosis
•  [03:38] What actually happens at a death cafe
•  [05:30] How to make hard conversations easier
•  [06:15] The document mistake families don’t realize they’re making
•  [06:56] Swedish death cleaning and “the stuff” we leave behind
•  [09:23] What an End-of-Life Doula actually does
•  [11:02] Why crisis is the worst time to plan
•  [12:43] Why Alzheimer’s changes the timeline
•  [14:40] How to find a death cafe near you
•  [15:42] The book that helped Amy think differently about end of life
•  [17:26] What happens when families never talk about wishes
•  [20:41] The hospital scenario that can derail decisions
•  [21:10] The power of knowing “this is what Mom wanted”
•  [21:41] Coming next: how to start the conversation

Early conversations are about thoughtful planning, honoring your loved one’s wishes, and giving your family the gift of clarity and peace.

Listen to this episode to understand why these conversations matter. 

RESOURCES:

• Take the Quiz: Is It Just Brain Fog? 
• Download After Mom’s Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: The First 8 Things to Know and learn how to support her with more calm, clarity, and confidence.
• Download the RESTORED Protocol: Eight Essential Protective Factors to Build an Alzheimer's-Resistant Brain
• Download the FREE Excerpt of Thoughts Are Habits Too
• Schedule your Breakthrough Roadmap session with Amy
• Follow Amy on Instagram @amylangcoaching  and on Facebook @amylangcoaching
• Subscribe to Amy's YouTube channel @happyandhealthywithamy

What if protecting your brain could start with your very next meal?

In this episode of Happy & Healthy with Amy, Amy explains why the MIND diet may be one of the most powerful tools you have for supporting brain health and reducing your risk of cognitive decline. Rather than focusing on one “magic” brain food, Amy walks you through how this eating pattern helps create a healthier internal environment for your one and only brain. 

Using Dr. Dean Sherzai’s “Four Horsemen of Alzheimer’s” framework, Amy breaks down four core drivers of Alzheimer’s progression: glucose dysregulation, lipid dysregulation, oxidative stress, and chronic inflammation. Then she connects each one to her wildfire metaphor so you can understand why your food choices matter and how the MIND diet helps calm the conditions that make the brain more vulnerable. 

This is education, not medical advice. Please work with a qualified healthcare provider for decisions about your health or a loved one’s care.

What to Listen For

• [00:00] Why food is one of the most powerful levers for preventing cognitive decline 
• [01:00] How this episode builds on episode 256 about the MIND diet 
• [02:00] Amy’s wildfire metaphor for Alzheimer’s progression 
• [04:00] The Four Horsemen of Alzheimer’s: glucose, lipids, inflammation, and oxidative stress 
• [05:30] What MIND stands for and why it is not a weight-loss diet 
• [07:00] What the original MIND diet studies found about Alzheimer’s risk 
• [09:00] Why glucose dysregulation is like “low humidity” in the brain 
• [13:00] How lipid dysregulation becomes the “dry brush” that affects blood flow 
• [17:00] Why oxidative stress is like biological heat and cellular wear and tear 
• [21:00] How chronic inflammation acts like strong winds that spread the fire 
• [25:00] Why the MIND diet is about changing internal conditions, not perfection 
• [28:00] How to get the printable wallet-sized MIND diet guide

The MIND diet isn't about eating perfectly. It's about consistently creating better conditions for your brain.

As Amy explains, nutrition is not a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, and it is not a replacement for medical care. But it is one of the most powerful tools in your prevention toolkit.

RESOURCES:

• Take the Quiz: Is It Just Brain Fog? 
• Download After Mom’s Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: The First 8 Things to Know and learn how to support her with more calm, clarity, and confidence.
• Download the RESTORED Protocol: Eight Essential Protective Factors to Build an Alzheimer's-Resistant Brain
• Download the FREE Excerpt of Thoughts Are Habits Too
• Schedule your Breakthrough Roadmap session with Amy
• Follow Amy on Instagram @amylangcoaching  and on Facebook @amylangcoaching
• Subscribe to Amy's YouTube channel @happyandhealthywithamy

If your mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, you may already be wondering, “Am I next?” But if your dad, husband, brother, or partner is the one you’re worried about, this episode is for you too.

Amy breaks down the differences in Alzheimer’s risk in women and men, including why women carry more modifiable risk factors, why certain risk factors may hit women’s cognition harder, and why Alzheimer’s may show up in men in ways that can blindside you.

What to Listen For

• [00:00] Why this episode is for women and the men they love 
• [02:00] Why “early is everything” in Alzheimer’s prevention 
• [05:00] Why women’s Alzheimer’s risk is not just about longevity 
• [07:00] The UC San Diego study findings that surprised researchers 
• [10:00] The 13 modifiable dementia risk factors studied 
• [12:00] Who carries more risk factors versus who is more affected by them
• [15:00] How BMI affects cognitive performance differently in women vs men 
• [18:00] What you need to know about the effects of cholesterol management 
• [22:00] How heart health affects Alzheimer’s risk in men
• [27:00] What behavioral symptoms show up more often in men with Alzheimer’s

Over 7.2 million adults in the U.S. have clinical Alzheimer's, and 2 out of 3 are women. But men are not immune, and there are significant differences. Knowing what they are and which modifiable risk factors to pay attention to means more effective prevention as well as treatment. Listen to the full episode, subscribe to Happy and Healthy with Amy, and download Amy’s free RESTORED Protocol guide so you can start building an Alzheimer’s-resistant brain—one habit at a time.

RESOURCES:

• Take the Quiz: Is It Just Brain Fog? 
• Download After Mom’s Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: The First 8 Things to Know and learn how to support her with more calm, clarity, and confidence.
• Download the RESTORED Protocol: Eight Essential Protective Factors to Build an Alzheimer's-Resistant Brain
• Download the FREE Excerpt of Thoughts Are Habits Too
• Schedule your Breakthrough Roadmap session with Amy
• Follow Amy on Instagram @amylangcoaching  and on Facebook @amylangcoaching
• Subscribe to Amy's YouTube channel @happyandhealthywithamy

What if amyloid is only the match, tau is the brush fire, and neuroinflammation is the wildfire that causes the most damage in Alzheimer’s disease?

In this episode of Happy & Healthy with Amy, Amy explains why researchers are paying closer attention to neuroinflammation, what may be keeping the brain’s immune system stuck in the “on” position, and why midlife is such an important window for protecting your brain.

You’ll learn how sleep, blood sugar, chronic stress, infections, oral health, and social connection may all influence the conditions that make the brain more—or less—flammable.

What to Listen For

• [00:00] Why amyloid may be the match—but neuroinflammation is the wildfire. 
• [02:30] What the Cochrane review found about anti-amyloid drugs. 
• [04:30] Why timing matters in Alzheimer’s disease. 
• [07:00] Is neuroinflammation a side effect—or a driver? 
• [09:00] Why inflammation itself is not the villain. 
• [11:00] Meet microglia: the brain’s immune cells. 
• [14:00] Why gum disease matters for Alzheimer’s risk.
• [18:00] The shingles vaccine and dementia risk. 
• [22:00] Blood sugar, insulin resistance, stress, and sleep. 
• [29:00] How to make your brain less “flammable.” 

Neuroinflammation may be one of the most important pieces of the Alzheimer’s prevention puzzle because it connects so many things we often treat separately: sleep, stress, blood sugar, oral health, infections, diet, and connection.

Listen to the full episode to understand what may be making your brain more “flammable,” then download the free RESTORED Protocol so you can choose one simple, evidence-based next step for protecting your brain.

Mentioned in The Episode

• Download the RESTORED Protocol
• Download The First Steps Guide for supporting a parent after Alzheimer’s diagnosis

Related Episodes

• Alzheimer’s Prevention: What the Cochrane Review Means
• Alzheimer’s Drugs: Why Amyloid Removal May Not Be Enough
• Gum Disease, Menopause & Your Alzheimer's Risk

Sources

RESOURCES:

• Take the Quiz: Is It Just Brain Fog? 
• Download After Mom’s Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: The First 8 Things to Know and learn how to support her with more calm, clarity, and confidence.
• Download the RESTORED Protocol: Eight Essential Protective Factors to Build an Alzheimer's-Resistant Brain
• Download the FREE Excerpt of Thoughts Are Habits Too
• Schedule your Breakthrough Roadmap session with Amy
• Follow Amy on Instagram @amylangcoaching  and on Facebook @amylangcoaching
• Subscribe to Amy's YouTube channel @happyandhealthywithamy

If your parent was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, you may have heard about the latest Alzheimer’s treatments - Kisunla and Lequembi - being described as breakthrough "disease-modifying" drugs.

And yes, the science is promising in some ways.

But here’s the part most families are not told clearly: a drug may successfully remove amyloid from the brain and still not create a meaningful improvement in memory, thinking, reasoning, or day-to-day function.

In this episode, Amy explains why.

This is not medical advice. It is education designed to help you ask better questions, advocate more clearly, and make decisions with your eyes wide open.

You’ll learn what happens in the brain long before symptoms appear, why amyloid is only one part of the Alzheimer’s disease process, and why tau, neuroinflammation, and neurodegeneration matter so much when you’re trying to make informed decisions for someone you love.

What to Listen For

• [00:00] Why amyloid removal may not translate into meaningful improvement. 
• [02:00] What the Cochrane review found about anti-amyloid drugs. 
• [04:30] Why memory problems are not the beginning of Alzheimer’s. 
• [07:00] The Alzheimer’s disease timeline. 
• [10:00] Why treating amyloid after symptoms appear may be too late. 
• [12:30] What tau does in healthy brain cells. 
• [14:00] What tracks closely with cognitive decline. 
• [16:30] What ARIA is and why it matters. 
• [18:00] The role of neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s.
• [22:00] Questions to ask the neurologist before deciding. 

Mentioned in the Episode

• Alzheimer’s Prevention: What the Cochrane Review Means
• Cochrane Review: Anti-amyloid Alzheimer’s drugs show no clinically meaningful effect

Listen now, subscribe to Happy & Healthy with Amy, and share this episode with someone who is trying to make sense of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis in their family.

RESOURCES:

• Take the Quiz: Is It Just Brain Fog? 
• Download After Mom’s Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: The First 8 Things to Know and learn how to support her with more calm, clarity, and confidence.
• Download the RESTORED Protocol: Eight Essential Protective Factors to Build an Alzheimer's-Resistant Brain
• Download the FREE Excerpt of Thoughts Are Habits Too
• Schedule your Breakthrough Roadmap session with Amy
• Follow Amy on Instagram @amylangcoaching  and on Facebook @amylangcoaching
• Subscribe to Amy's YouTube channel @happyandhealthywithamy