Brain Helpers, Part 2b

Besides everything listed in Brain Helpers Part 1, science has found a number of other ways we can repair, protect, and grow our brains. I’ve collected some of them and divided them into Physical and Mental for posting purposes. Here are the Mental ones. (And here are the Physical ones.)

Mental ways to repair, protect, and grow your brain

Reduce stress. Too much stress kills neurons, alters brain structures, impairs memory, and leaves us more susceptible to mental illness. In bipolarites, it triggers episodes. The conversation around reducing stress won’t fit here. For now, this Harvard Health article and this NAMI list cover a lot of ground.

Do puzzles. This isn’t a global fix for brain health, but it has been shown to help with attention, reasoning, and memory.

Be happy. I know, I know, but happy brains are better at memory and learning, and they kick ass at neuroplasticity. There is a huge (like 30%) global increase in function in happy brains. All of this means a big increase in our mental reserve/resilience. “Be happy” isn’t a realistic goal for all of us, but we can try to build a positive foundation by working on self-acceptance and self-nurturing habits.

Don’t multitask. Shifting between tasks that require focus causes frontal lobe fatigue which decreases cognitive efficiency and performance. Chronic multitasking has been linked to increased impulsivity, distraction, and lower executive function control. If you’re looking for efficient processing, do one thing at a time.

(More! Brain Helpers, Part 1 and Brain Helpers, Part 2)

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Hand Flapping

Sometimes, when I’m hypomanic, I flap my hands. I can usually make it stop if I try, but it feels better to do it. Sometimes I pace, fast. I try not to let anyone see me do these things. I’ve heard people refer to these actions as stims, a term borrowed from the autism lexicon meaning calming repetitive motions. These are not stims. This is psychomotor agitation. This is Brad Pitt in 12 Monkeys . It’s restless energy that needs to escape. There’s no treatment for it in particular (besides treatment for bipolar as a whole). It’s just another symptom, a sign for me to pay attention. A disappointment when you thought things were going well. Psychomotor agitation is embarrassing to me. There are a lot of symptoms of bipolar that no one can see from the outside, so I can pretend I have things under control, at least in front of some people. But hand flapping gives it away.

Welcome to Blobfish-a-Go-Go!

Welcome to BLOBFISH-A-GO-GO, a blog about living with rapid cycling bipolar 2. My name is Amy Vaughn. I’m an on-again-off-again teacher, writer, and editor. My intentions for this blog are twofold: (1) to help me process what is proving to be a new phase of living with bipolar and (2) to maybe help some people better understand their own or their loved one’s experience. I intend to limit each post to give or take 200 words. One idea in a one minute read. My mascot, the blobfish, is a public domain drawing I found on Wikimedia Commons. Here are his details: By Gb89.2 - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=103236660 I have another website all about my writing, which I steadfastly neglect. But if you’re interested, it’s amymvaughn.com .

Brain Helpers, Part 2a

Besides the categories of eat, sleep, move, use it, and be social (covered in Part 1 ), science has found other ways we can repair, protect, and grow our brains. Here are some of them. I've divided these suggestions into physical and mental to keep posts small. Physical things we can do to repair, protect, and grow our brains Keep hydrated to clear out waste and increase communication speeds. Dehydration leads to drop offs in short term memory, numerical ability, and attention as well as causing generally slower cognitive functioning and confusion. Get enough sunlight . Lack of sunlight brings on neurotransmitter imbalances and cognitive impairment. Floss. Gum inflammation has been linked to brain inflammation. Also, keeping our teeth (1) in our mouths and (2) pain-free means we’re able to chew healthy foods. Reduce physical stress to reduce mental stress . Practice the relaxation response (engaging the peripheral nervous system) through meditation, yoga, tai chi, pr

blobfish-a-go-go

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