Tag Archives: Holly Tiret

The benefits of crying

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By Holly Tiret, Michigan State University Extension

When was the last time you had a good cry? It is a natural human reaction to many emotions, beyond sadness. We cry in reaction to stress, frustration, grief and yes, even joy. Scientists have studied the content of our tears and have categorized them into three different types:

  1. Basal — or the protein/antibacterial fluid that gets released when you blink
  2. Reflex — the fluid that gets released in response to irritants like smoke
  3. Emotional — this one in particular contains higher levels of cortisol and adrenaline, both stress hormones

Many people don’t like to cry for a variety of reasons. One is that people believe themselves to be ugly criers. They complain that their faces swell and turn shades of red, along with their eyes. It may seem to take forever to recover from crying also. This is a normal, physical reaction to crying. Additionally, people don’t like to cry because crying often means anger, and in the moment, individuals don’t want to come across as a weak person and not a warrior prince or princess they try to portray. The final reason people don’t like to cry is that it seems like literal flood gates open. Tears are not something that are easily turned on or off.


According to Marleen Becht, Department of Clinical Health Psychology at Tilburg University, Netherlands (2002) women cry more often to men, an average of 3.5 times per month for women as compared to 1.9 times per month for men. Considering our societies cultural norms, men are not encouraged or supported to cry. That is just a crying shame.


A Crying Proneness Scale (Denckla, 2013) helps mental health professionals measure how often people cry and looks at contributing triggers. Frequent crying may be a sign of something serious such as depression or other mental health issues. If a person is experiencing frequent crying and may be showing other signs of depression, they should talk to their doctor. 


All humans can benefit from crying. Over the years, studies have shown that crying can help relieve stress and improve your mood. Tears help your eyes fight bacteria and irritants. In addition, tears trigger empathy and compassion in others and softens anger (Trimble 2013).


Have you ever laughed so hard that you cried? That is because the emotional and physical responses are quite similar. We cry in response to intense emotions of sadness, joy and laughter. Surprise, tear content is the same! Cortisol and adrenaline are released which help ease stress.


Michigan State University Extension has many classes that help people develop healthy social and emotional skills to build resiliency. Learning to express emotions in a healthy way, including crying, can benefit you and the people around you. If you are curious, please consider signing up for one of our many programs by visiting our website. There you will find descriptions of programs such as RELAX: Alternatives to Anger, Stress Less with Mindfulness and Powerful Tools for Caregivers.


So, the next time you find yourself crying, think of it as a beneficial and healthy activity!


This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

Caregiving family meetings

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By Holly Tiret, Michigan State University Extension


With the aging of baby boomers, chances are there will also be an increase in the number of informal caregivers. Michigan State University Extension recognizes that caring for an aging parent may seem like a natural progression of life; however, many are ill prepared to deal with the social, emotional, physical and financial decisions that will arise. If you’re caring for a loved one, a family caregiver meeting can help you navigate the many decisions that need to be made.


If you are making these decisions on your own (for example, if you are an only child), then your scope of consulting would mostly fall between you and your parent. It may be helpful to include a social worker, your care receiver’s medical care providers and perhaps their religious advisor. The final decisions, however, are up to you and your parent.


If you have siblings, your decision-making circle is much larger and has the potential to be highly emotional. It may include a variety of opinions and be loaded with family relationship baggage. Siblings can be a major source of support and a major source of stress. Not everyone thinks alike or has the same amount of time or talent to devote to caregiving. For these reasons, you may want to consider having a family caregiver meeting. A family caregiver meeting can help you work on specific problems, give people a chance to share thoughts, make a list the needs of your loved one and opens discussion about who can best fill those needs and how.


Whom you invite depends on your own family dynamics. You may want to consider being more inclusive rather than being exclusive. You may assume someone is not interested or involved enough; however, that person may end up being someone who really has the time and would love to pitch in. More hands tend to make less work. If possible, be sure to include your loved one, as they are the expert on their thoughts, wishes and needs. If relationships with your siblings are typically contentious, you may want to invite a social worker or religious leader to help mediate.


A caregiver family meeting should not be much different from staff meetings at work to address tough issues or lawyers meeting to discuss a plea bargain. Both situations have the potential to be emotionally charged. However, the difference is in the planning. Imagine a lawyer going into a plea bargain meeting unprepared, with no notes, no facts, and just relying on raw emotion. You could be almost sure their client would not be getting the best representation that they need or deserve. A lawyer or a boss goes into a meeting at a set date, time, place with certain people invited. There is an agenda, rules of communication to follow, there is productive discussion, notes are taken, decisions are made, and subsequent meetings may be scheduled. Caregiver family meetings can be run the same way.


Whether you have no siblings or many, a planned and organized caregiver family meeting can help you all make the best decisions possible for your loved one. For more information about caregiving, you may wish to consider signing up for a Powerful Tools for Caregiver class. During six lessons, groups of caregivers explore and share tools for focusing on self-care in order to be able to provide the best care possible to a loved one. To find a class near you visit www.msue.msu.edu and search for Powerful Tools for Caregivers. You can also call your local Michigan State University Extension Office to inquire about starting a class in your area.


This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

Mindfulness and our aging brain

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An aging brain has a higher tendency to remember positive aspects of past events, rather than negative. (Photo courtesy Michigan State University Extension)

By Holly Tiret, Michigan State University Extension

 

As we age, our cognitive control declines. In recent years, many programs have been developed and promoted to help stimulate our brains with the goal of delaying cognitive decline. However, the research on whether or not these brain-enhancing activities actually helps is not conclusive. These results are because a part of the brain that is affected by aging, has to do with our ability to focus on a task without getting distracted by internal and external stimulus.

 

At the same time, as we age, the emotion processing and regulation part of our brain is increasing. Therefore, our brains are a paradox — as we age, starting at about 30 years, our cognitive abilities decline and social-emotional abilities increase.

 

Another interesting aspect of our aging brain is that we tend to remember the positive aspects of past events, even if those events were overwhelmingly negative. Researchers Mather and Carsten (2005) call this the positivity effect. The tendency to focus on the positive, rather than the negative, may have to do with our realization that we have a limited lifetime. Our goals switch from future-oriented to emotional satisfaction and well-being.

 

Some researchers are now looking at the benefits of mindfulness as a way to tap into that increase in social-emotional abilities in order to enhance our brain functioning and overall well-being as we age. As defined by John Kabat-Zinn, mindfulness is paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, without judgement.

 

Mindfulness has shown to increase our capacity for sustained attention, a cognitive capability. By focusing on the present moment, in particular without judgement, we are tapping into our aging brains’ tendency to focus on our own emotional satisfaction and well-being, rather than plan for the future or dwell on negative past experiences.

 

There are many ways to learn about mindfulness and begin your own practice. You can look up resources online regarding mindfulness or visit your local library and check out some books. You may also consider contacting your local Michigan State University Extension and signing up for one of our Stress Less for Mindfulness classes. Any way you choose, expanding your knowledge and developing your own mindfulness practice could improve your cognitive, emotional processing and overall well-being as you age.

 

In conclusion, mindfulness may be a way to improve our cognitive control as we age by teaching us to improve our ability to focus our attention on a particular task, such as our breath, (in the moment) and reduce our attention (on purpose) to external and internal thoughts or events (without judgement).

 

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease warning signs

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Photo courtesy Michigan State University Extension

By Holly Tiret, Michigan State University Extension

 

Michigan State University Extension is committed to helping people improve their lives by extending research-based knowledge about a variety of topics. One issue of great concern is the increase of those living with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

 

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, dementia is not a specific disease, but is referred to as a group of symptoms which show up as a general decline in mental ability that interferes with daily life. Alzheimer’s disease is a common form of dementia and is considered a degenerative brain disease.

 

Data from the 2018 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report states that in the United States, as of 2018, over 5 million people of all ages are living with Alzheimer’s dementia. Due to people living longer because of better health interventions and the aging baby boomer generation, the number of people age 65 and older is expected to increase to 22 percent in 2050. The number of people who are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s will increase. In Michigan alone, the number of those aged 65 and older with Alzheimer’s is expected to increase from 180,000 in 2018, to 220,000 in 2025, with additional projections of 13.8 million in 2050.

 

Dementia can also be a symptom of other underlying health issues and your doctor has the tools to help sort that out. The following is a list of the ten early warning signs. Each one of these can be explored more by visiting the Alzheimer’s Association website at www.alz.org.

 

Ten Early Signs of Alzheimer’s:

  1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life.
  2. Challenges in planning or solving problems.
  3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, work or leisure.
  4. Confusion with time or place.
  5. Trouble with visual images and spatial relationships.
  6. New problems with words or writing.
  7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps.
  8. Decreased or poor judgement.
  9. Withdrawal from work or social activities.
  10. Change in mood or personality.

Early warning signs listed above are different from the normal age-related memory changes. Typically as we age, we all misplace things, search for the right word to use and even forget what day it is. One way to explain it is if I just can’t find my keys, I may be experiencing a typical age-related memory issue, but if I don’t know what keys are for or what they are called, I may be experiencing an early warning sign of Alzheimer’s or dementia.

 

Early diagnosis and treatment are critical. One thing you can do is to know the ten early warning signs. If you think they apply to you or a loved one, make an appointment with your doctor to discuss further testing.

 

If you are a caregiver of someone who is living with dementia or Alzheimer’s consider signing up for a Powerful Tools for Caregivers series through Michigan State University Extension.

 

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).