Neuro Note #4

For my fourth neuro note, I watched a TED Talk by Alanna Shaikh titled How I’m Preparing to get Alzheimer’s. In her speech, Alanna Shaikh tells the story of her father, a very bright college professor who is now affected by Alzheimer’s Disease. Alzheimer’s affects 35 million individuals globally and is set to reach 70 million people by the year 2030. Shaikh describes the two typical responses to the disease: denial or prevention. We, as humans, either think “this won’t happen to me” or we believe that we can prevent it, thinking “this disease won’t catch me because I’m going to ward it off.” Shaikh offers a third reaction – preparing to get Alzheimer’s Disease. She recognizes that nothing (not eating right, exercising nor increasing mind activity) is proven to completely prevent the condition.

Alanna Shaikh explained her three tactics in preparing to get Alzheimer’s: changing what she does for fun, increasing her physical strength and balance, and becoming a better person. In changing what she does for fun, Shaikh is creating a habit out of familiar, open-ended, hands-on leisurely activities. For example, painting, origami, and knitting. This way, she will be able to maintain her leisurely habits should she get Alzheimer’s. She is training her hands how to do these activities so that she will have more fun activities to do if/when she develops Alzheimer’s and her brain is unable to entertain her.

Shaikh’s second method in preparation to get Alzheimer’s is to increase her physical strength and balance. She explains that many individuals with Alzheimer’s become afraid to more in fear of falling and becoming injured. Shaikh’s thought process is that if she has more strength and balance, gained through weight bearing exercise done in the present, she can feel confident longer in her mobility.

Shaikh’s third method is becoming a better person. She explained that when he became affected with Alzheimer’s Disease, her father lost his intellect, his sense of humor, and his ability to communicate verbally. Even without these aspects of his personality, the love he has for those around him made caregivers enjoy time with him. As Shaikh said, “his naked heart still shines.”  Shaikh strives to have this same quality, so that if/when she becomes dependent on caregivers, she, too, can be a ray of light for those around her.

I chose this topic because Alzheimer’s Disease affects so many individuals and that number is rapidly growing. The worst part is, as Alanna Shaikh mentioned, is that we cannot do anything to prevent it or ward it off. I think it is extremely adaptive and “OT-ish” of her to change her habits and ways of living so that she can be happier if/when she gets Alzheimer’s. I believe that if more individuals looked at progressive diseases like Shaikh does, the diseases would become less of a looming doom and more of an obstacle that can be worked around. Life can still be enjoyed, even with a neurological condition. And that is a very important message. Much of dealing with neurological conditions, for both the person affected as well as the family and caregivers, is the mindset. A positive outlook of the situation can cause a big difference.

In addition to benefiting her life in the future, Shaikh’s tactics will mostly likely benefit her current life. Physical exercise has countless benefits and we all can stand to be a bit of a better person. While changing what she does for fun might not directly improve her current life, it is an opportunity to learn a new task and bond with others over it, which has many cognitive and social benefits. While I do not currently worry about my chances of getting Alzheimer’s Disease, Shaikh’s method and thought process are inspiring and transferable to all walks of life.

References:

Shaikh, A. (2012, June). Alanna Shaikh: How I’m Preparing to get Alzheimer’s. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/