By Shae Hadden | Bio
Friends
and family have been stressing the importance of taking vacations with
me for years. I have somewhat deliberately avoided the conversation as
much as possible until now. End result: a lifetime of little travel,
lots of work and limited 'fun'. All work and no play makes for a dull
life. I've been beginning to wonder if perhaps I am afraid of taking
vacations...for every time I think about it, my concerns about all the
things that are remaining 'undone' while I'm away 'at play' loom larger
and larger. Yet I watch people around me taking time off throughout the
year (anywhere from a few days to several weeks to months at a time) to
go on pilgrimages, to make sandcastles at the beach, to idle away time
doing nothing in particular, and they don't seem to be suffering at
all. In fact, they seem to prosper for taking time off to rejuvenate.
So
I'm going to break my mule-like habit of grinding on through the summer
and take next week off. That means idle time away with no work-oriented
mindset. I've scheduled a couple of posts to go live on this blog
during the week...and will return in September. My intention: to follow
all that good advice and rejuvenate myself before summer disappears. © 2009 Shae Hadden. All rights reserved. [ Read More]
Written by eldering at Health
Tagged with:
health
travel
vacation
By Shae Hadden | Bio
I
was talking with a friend recently about our parents, about what we're
observing in their health as they grow older and what we think is
possible for them in terms of living arrangements. I think a lot of
Boomers are in this same conversation these days. A few things we
discussed got me wondering about how 'true' any of our thinking about
health issues in later life really is for our parents. I began
to ask myself whether we are fully present and mindful about this.. [ Read More]
Written by eldering at Health
Tagged with:
aging_parents
health
living_arrangements
 By Shae Hadden | Bio
In
2008, the theme of the World Health Day was on protecting health from
the adverse affects of climate change. For me, the year was about
protecting my health from the adverse affects of stress, chronic
illness and my workaholic tendencies. Being ill has been the most
complete learning experience I could have asked for—a life-changing
blessing in disguise. Not only have I discovered (and removed) the
source of a chronic infection, but I have also created my relationship
to life anew. [ Read More]
Written by eldering at Health
Tagged with:
chronic_illness
exercise
health
stress
workaholic
 By Shae Hadden | Bio
I
got a rude awakening today while visiting my family doctor. As I was
being guided to the examination room, the medical assistant handed me a
brochure explaining that the clinic I go to was now going to offer
extended healthcare ‘packages’ to their ‘clients’. The brochure
outlined numerous different options to access ‘enhanced’ healthcare
services and diagnostics, all for varying annual fees depending upon
the complexity and estimated amount of ‘contact’ I could have with
medical professionals. What bothered me more than this evidence of the
two-tiered nature of the Canadian universal healthcare system was that[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Health
Tagged with:
alternative_healthcare
clinical_trials
complementary_healthcare
By Shae Hadden | Bio
How often do we relate to our health as we
grow older as something ‘less than’ what it was in the past? I am
reminded of a dear friend in her 20s who has lived with polio all her
life. For her, the baseline of health is so very different than mine,
and yet, as she grows older, she too is caught up in the ‘less than’
comparison. Over the past few months, I have been discovering another
way of relating to my health—both present and future. I have been
discovering that I am not my health or any story I may have about what
was possible in the past or what’s possible in the future for my body.
I am learning how to be a patient patient, a middle-aged woman
committed to my healing process.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Health
Tagged with:
balance
commitment
health
patience
By Shae Hadden | Bio
It's
Thanksgiving in Canada, and I've just enjoyed a full weekend of
personal and work commitments. But the highlight of the weekend was a
chance to reconnect with the power of the 'nap'. Research in the past few years has found that the human body requires
as much sleep as the brain will allow it and that the brain needs a
rest every now and then. [ Read More]
Written by eldering at Health
Tagged with:
creativity
nap
sleep
By Shae Hadden | Bio
An
overwhelming concern with mental fitness seems obvious from the
plethora of "brain games" geared to ‘older’ people. This fascination
with keeping our minds and our memories intact is admirable considering
that we will probably need our faculties for a lot longer than any
previous generation. From sudoku to crosswords, challenging video games
to virtual realities, we have many options to choose from. Each offers
different challenges for our key brain functions: concentration,
language, memory, logic/reasoning, and visual/spatial skills. Two
assumptions underlie much of the research and development in the area
of online brain games for older adults: [ Read More]
Written by eldering at Health
Tagged with:
brain
dementia
game
leisure
video_games
By Shae Hadden | Bio
While Americans
debate the need for universal healthcare in their country, Canadians
are wondering about the need for stringent controls on the
classification, labeling and distribution of therapeutic drugs, foods
and medical devices. The federal government has proposed Bill C-51,
touted as a ‘consumer safety and security’ measure, clamps down on the
healthcare industry and poses a potential threat to the country’s
citizens by limiting the options available to consumers. We now have
pharmaceutical drugs and natural health products: the bill, if passed,
will merge both into one category called “therapeutic products”.
Neutraceuticals, derived from foods essential to life, would become
subject to drug testing routines and prescription requirements.
Currently, only pharmaceutical drugs are considered toxic until proven
they have therapeutic benefit.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Health
Tagged with:
bill_c-51
control
neutraceuticals
pharmaceuticals
By Shae Hadden | Bio
There
are times when losing one’s ‘zip’ could spell disaster—at the end of a
race or the beginning of a romantic evening, for instance. And there
are other times when losing it could be advantageous—as when one has
pushed too far for too long and when a much-needed rest is in order.
For me, the latter is the case.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Health
Tagged with:
health
 When it comes to snacks, just about anything would be better than
potato chips. If you're looking for something healthy to munch on,
walnuts can't be beat. Here's the lowdown on why you'll feel better
eating these nuts.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Health
Tagged with:
antioxidants
cholesterol
snack
walnuts
By Shae HaddenBio
I’ve had some further insights since my last post about Balance. No matter what the extent of my commitments, I see ‘balance’ as my
ability to be ‘grounded’ and ‘present’. In each moment, I’m doing what
I’m doing…and just that. Nothing else. The whole idea of ‘balancing
work and life’, as if they are polar opposites, makes no sense to me.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Health
Tagged with:
balance
choice
commitment
life
play
work
By Shae Hadden
Bio
Finding balance in life has been a concern of mine for a long time.
From the number of times it comes up in conversation, it appears to be
a major concern for many others as well. My struggle for balance came
to a head recently with a series of inexplicable dizzy spells.
Admittedly, I’ve been running non-stop since my mother passed away
suddenly two years ago—abandoning a work situation where I felt
inspired but unappreciated, leaving a 20-year relationship with my
husband to find out who I was and to find opportunities to grow,
abandoning my self-care practices to commit myself fully to my career,
taking no ‘time out’ to rest or recoup. I left behind my sense of
security and let go of my connections to the past—even changing my
name. The race I’ve been running and the choices I’ve made have often
left me feeling ‘unbalanced’ and disoriented.
[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Health
Tagged with:
balance
choice
commitment
life
play
work
By Shae HaddenBio
Summer has finally arrived here in the Pacific Northwest, and with it
the seasonal display of beachwear trends. No matter what the
fashionistas may be sporting on the runways, the beaches are where the
reality of the North American body is exposed for all to see. Most of
us attempt to do what’s possible, given our lifestyles during the
winter. We’re not there just for the sun and surf. We’re trying to look
the best we possibly can with the bodies we have so we can attract
attention, whether for purposes of relationship or just plain
admiration. I
had always hoped there’s more going on here at the beach than just the
mating, dating and gawking games. But watching where everyone focuses
their attention in the throng of volleyball-playing, swimming,
strolling and picnicking crowds seems to prove me wrong. The natural
attraction seems to be to the trim, fit, energized bodies being
displayed in all their glory. Few look at bodies exposing belly fat,
pale flesh and flab. As I grow older, perhaps I’m becoming more jaded,
but it seems to me there are more and more of those spare tires and
fewer lean, strong bodies. Is this trend part of our aging population’s
destiny or is it a choice we’re (consciously or unconsciously) making?[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Health
Tagged with:
body
commitment
emotion
exercise
feeling
obesity
By Shae Hadden
Bio
My very first job was as a nursing assistant in a chronic care
hospital. At the tender age of 14, I donned my starched nurse’s cap and
white uniform to spend several hours each day tending to those who
could not care for themselves. Natural processes critical to the body’s
survival—eating, drinking, defecating, urinating, moving, breathing—had
become a moment-by-moment challenge for many of the people we cared
for. Most had lived in this state for innumerable years—there were few
new faces in the wards and even fewer visitors during the two summers I
worked there. [ Read More]
Written by eldering at Health
Tagged with:
care
chronic
communicating
loss
of
singing
speaking
voice
By Shae Hadden
Bio
It’s the battle cry of couch potatoes everywhere: “I’m too tired to do anything but watch TV.”
The secret language of couples that says so much more: “Not now, honey, I’m too tired…”
Parent’s pat excuse for eating fast food: “Let’s order take-out tonight. I’m too tired to cook…”
Employees incessant murmur: “I wish I could retire…I am so tired of this bullshit….”
[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Health
Tagged with:
choice
insomnia
tiredness
|
RSS Feeds
