The Brain's Way of Healing

October 28th, 2016

Yesterday was a low point for me, dealing with the pain in my brain despite receiving a healing treatment less than two weeks prior. This morning, I received a gift. I saw a post on Facebook about the author of two books on brain health, The Brain that Changes Itself and The Brain's Way of Healing, Norman Doidge. Dr. Doidge and his revolutionary discoveries were the focus of this week's episode of The Nature of Things with David Suzuki.

I was able to watch the episode online and I am still floored by what I have witnessed. The basic message is that our brains are not fixed and permanent the way we've been told. People are diagnosed with illnesses like Parkinson and Autism or they acquire a Traumatic Brain Injury and they spend the rest of their lives a compilation of symptoms. Dr Doidge shows us a different perspective.

Our brains are sophisticated and they respond to stimulation. Neuroplasticity is the concept that our brains change throughout our life and that we can alter our brains via stimulation. In this episode, we explore techniques that are used to help heal the brains of people who thought there was no hope for them.

We meet a gentleman going out for a walk and learn that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson yet his movements seem fluid. He is practising Conscious Walking. His Basal Ganglia are no longer automatically making his movements flow so he has to focus on what he is doing and use his prefrontal cortex to direct every minute aspect of his movement (micro-movements). He walks for 75 minutes every other day. He also is conscious of blinking his eyes and swallowing. The exercise gives him energy and, reduces his symptoms.

Next up are two women who experienced a traumatic brain injury. They decided to explore pottery as a therapeutic activity and called themselves the "Cracked Potters". Each of them survived their accident but were living with many symptoms which greatly reduced their quality of life. We are told that following a brain trauma, some neutrons die and others provide noisy signals therefore the brain is not working properly. A clinic has individuals exercising while they hold a PONS in their mouth. The PONS speaks to the brain through electrical stimulation. The tongue is situated directly in front of the brainstem and is covered with receptors. By stimulating the tongue with the PONS during exercise, the body is able to speak to the brain through our senses. This helps re-synch the brain, awaken dormant circuits and allow the brainstem to communicate normally with the rest of the body. They call this neuro-modulating the noisy brain.

We then get to witness the transformation of children on the Autism Spectrum through sound. We have this ability called the auditory zoom. It helps us cancel out noises and focusing on what we want to hear. When this is impaired, we go into emergency mode and shut down social contact. By introducing sound through the mother's voice, then with Mozart, the children or teenagers are able to learn to focus on sounds which are a precursor to speech. They change the rhythm, frequency and which ear is receiving stimulation. What we see is a boy progressing from tantrums and sensitivity to sound to a regular boy who is socializing. One of the older boys has developed social skills and thought his speech is stunted, he can speak flawlessly when he is imitating someone else. Blew me away!!!

A lady recovering from a brain tumour underwent surgery which saved her life but damaged her brain. She was exposed to light therapy through a low intensity laser. The photons go into the brain and into the body, powering up mitochondria, unblocking inflammation. There was an indication that this might work for people with PTSD as well.

Lastly, a young girl was born with an intellectual deficiency. Using the Feldenkrais Method, she learned to differentiate between movements. She went from having no movement to crawling, walking and ultimately dancing on her wedding day. This technique develops mental awareness of movement and uses touch as well to stimulate the brain.

If this sounds awesome but you think you'll have to move to California, I have good news, many of the cases in this episode were based out of Toronto. I am going to be looking into this. I urge you to do the same.

Anne Walsh
www.artnsoul.org

Know your heart

March 15th, 2016

Do you know a woman who has suffered a stroke or heart attack? I don't. I do know many women who have battled breast cancer. I guess that's why it comes as a shocker to learn that heart disease is the number one killer among women. For many of us, heart attacks are what happen to older men. Most of the research has used men and the results reflect this. You have an expectation of what heart attacks look like, based on this gender-biased research: sudden chest pain and difficulty breathing. The thing is, for women, a heart attack can feel more like indigestion, a pain in the back or arm, discomfort in the jaw, flu-like symptoms or fatigue. For some women, there are no symptoms other than the persistent fatigue. They consult their doctor and discover they have had a heart attack.

I only know half my family history so it's a little unsettling for me to not know if this runs in that part of my family, especially since I once read that african-americans were more at risk of cardio-vasculaire disease than caucasians. I do not smoke, I am not diabetic and my blood pressure is low but I am not consistently physically active, my cholesterol levels are high and I have gained weight, mostly in my midsection.

So, what can I do to reduce my risk? Exercise and eat healthy food. The goal is not a short-term diet but sustainable, healthy food habits. I can work on reducing my stress levels and floss my teeth. Letting plaque accumulate in your gums contributes to the presence of plaque in your blood stream. I can also make time for friends. Feeling loved and supported reduces stress levels, so does playing with the dog or having fun with my kids.

Another unfortunate factor that contributes to the death of women due to heart disease is that we ignore the symptoms, we deny that we are having a heart attack because we don't have time to deal with it, it's just not a good time. Check out the video by Elizabeth Banks on www.goredforwomen.org. I could relate to Elizabeth as she plays a mom with children and work responsibilities who is trying to get everything done, multi-tasking and gulping coffee. When symptoms occur, she ignores them and just pushes through. Her son and husband notice something is wrong but she denies it. It's a great way to raise awareness about the need to take care of ourselves, not just our loved ones.

There's more information about the symptoms of stroke out there. I have witnessed a lady having a TIA (transient ischemic attack) when I worked in long term care.  When you are having a stroke, you may notice half of your body losing its muscle tone, your face looks like it's drooping, your arm goes loose and you are unable to pull it back up, your leg loses the ability to stand so you fall, your vision could become blurry, you may be unable to speak or what you say makes no sense. It is really important to call 911 immediately if someone has these symptoms. The TIA is a smaller scale episode that is often a precursor to strokes. Residents who had TIAs were more likely to recover quickly and not have long term impairments. The same habits that increase your risk of heart disease also increase your risk of stroke.

I don't know about you but I am motivated to eat right, exercise, drink water and manage my stress. How about you?

Anne Walsh
www.artnsoul.org