Taking part in studies can cause stress

A friend of mine had a stroke about a year ago, and as a result of the stroke, he has some problems remembering things. His best friend told me that L had huge gaps in his long-term memory. When they talked about things they had done in school, My friend could not recall any of the events. He could recall other events. So, because he was concerned about his memory He registered for a study for stroke victims at UBC. He goes off twice a week to take part in the study and spends about, from what I understand, 10 hours a week going through tests and interviews. UBC is about an hour and a half drive one way from where he lives. He is spending about 16 hours a week, including travel time on this study.

He is very worried that he is getting Dementia and his interpretation of his results lead him to think the worst. Last week he was telling us that he had been interviewed for an hour and a half and had been asked a lot of questions, like count back from 100 by 7’s. The questions asked were from a test called MMSE. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is a tool that can be used to systematically and thoroughly assess mental status. It is an 11-question measure that tests five areas of cognitive function: orientation, registration, attention and calculation, recall, and language. The maximum score is 30.

This is a test where the doctor asks several questions and your answers are scored to give an estimate of your cognitive fitness. Some MMSE questions:

1. I would like you to count backward from 100 by sevens. (93, 86, 79, 72, 65, ...) Stop after five answers

2. The examiner names three unrelated objects clearly and slowly, then asks the patient to name all three of them. The examiner repeats them until the patient learns all of them, if possible. Number of trials: _______

3. Spell WORLD backwards.” (D-L-R-O-W)

4. “Earlier I told you the names of three things. Can you tell me what those were?”

5. Show the patient two simple objects, such as a wristwatch and a pencil, and ask the patient to name them.

6. “Repeat the phrase: ‘No ifs, ands, or buts.’”

7. “Take the paper in your right hand, fold it in half, and put it on the floor.” (The examiner gives the patient a piece of blank paper.)

8. “Please read this and do what it says.” (Written instruction is “Close your eyes.”)

9. “Make up and write a sentence about anything.” (This sentence must contain a noun and a verb.)

When looked at across time Scores in this test range from zero to 30, with a score of 26 and higher generally considered normal. The range of scores for healthy people is about 27.4, compared with 22.1 in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 16.2 in people with Alzheimer's disease.

The problem is that he has not been given a score and the researcher suggested to him that he should have an MRI scan of his brain. The researchers at UBC had done one already, but, as he explained, they could not share his results with him or it would skew the results.

These scans may also be used to check for evidence of other possible problems that could explain a person's symptoms, such as a stroke or a brain tumour. I suspect they did an MRI scan to:

·   see if he actually has dementia or what else may have caused his stroke

·   provide detailed information about any damage that he may have suffered as a result of his stroke

The researcher also told him that he did well on the test, but of course, he only heard part of the discussion and focused on the wrong part.

My concern is that L, who is prone to worry, will stress more than he needs to. His memory losses are not as severe as he thinks they are. He still has good concentration and a good attention span, his language skills and communications skills have not deteriorated and he has a good grasp of time and place.

L has to keep in mind that he is part of a study and he will undergo tests which will involve a series of pen-and-paper tests and questions. These tests will assess a number of different mental abilities, including:

·       short- and long-term memory

·       concentration and attention span

·       language and communication skills

·       awareness of time and place (orientation)

I admire him for taking part in the study, but I hope he will decide not to self-assess his results on the tests because he, like many of us, will underestimate how well he is doing and this may cause him stress.

Generalization huts time management

Time management is not hard, it is, in fact, simple. Since we are all different, we should learn which skills work best for us. Simplicity is a state of mind we want to cultivate to manage our time wisely. 

Many of us use the KISS formula, but some say this is Keep It Simple Stupid, while I like the Keep It Simple Smart approach. Keeping things simple is the process of thinking smart. Simple is more of a humble attitude that holds a modest position in life.

This is one definition, but others define simple as lacking in knowledge and expertise or not socially or culturally sophisticated. So, to understand the fine line then between simple smart and simple stupid is opening a door to success. 

Avoid generalizing, as this is a sign of keeping it simple stupid. Generalizing is a form of making irrational decisions based on one or more statistics. Keeping it simple helps us to stay alert of our situation. Keeping an open mind when it comes to planning and organizing can help us to achieve steps to our long-term goals. 

Simplicity makes a difference when a bad situation arises. If your mind is stressed, then you might or might not make a wise decision to resolving the problems. Therefore, when a problem develops, rather than stress about it, analyze the problem carefully to find a solution of resolve. Most problems are not as complicated as they may appear, so we can think sufficiently if we feel confident, knowing the issue is addressable. 

If we over generalize, our mind is blocked from seeing the main points that can terminate the problem. Do not put the cart before the horse in other words. When we train our minds to stay alert, and cultivate good traits that enforce our course in life, we are on a well-rounded road to success and our time is managed accordingly. 

If you have a problem with remembering your tasks, don’t be ashamed to post notes wherever you will see them daily. Even if your spouse believes you are a slob, forget their illusional state of mind, and focus on what works best for you by keeping it simple and adhering to an open mind.  

Thoughts on Time Management

Why do you need to learn time management when you are retired. The myth is that you will have all the time in the world, to do what you want, when you want. Talk to friends and others who have been retired for a while, and you will find that we do not have any time and for most of us we are juggling so many activities it is hard to keep them straight. That is why learning time management is important and not as difficult as many believe.

One of the first steps in managing time is to understand your individuality and what you can handle. What are you currently doing with your time, and what is important to you, need to be examined before starting to manage our time. We can break time management down according to your individual needs, but for the most part managing time is the process of handling tasks so that we can complete the tasks we have undertaken. 

One trait that comes in handy when we start to manage our time, is flexibility. We may need the ability to alter our plans, since people, places, things, and businesses change. We need a direct order of skills to make a plan work and need the ability to comply with those plans. We need to learn to accept changes as they come and learn social skills and conditioning in order to manage our time. 

When we are balanced and learning our time is spent wisely, which contributes to time management. Another great tool to have when starting to manage your time is motivation. Motivation is achieved in many ways, and some things in life can affect how we feel or think. Some of the things that affect our motivation levels are smoking, caffeine, lack of exercise, overeating, lack of dieting, and having the ability to cope with changes. To cultivate motivation then we need to treat our minds and body well. 

Learning time management is essential for all the things we do in life. From the first day, you came into the world up until the time you went to school you were learning time managing skills. If we do not understand who we are as an individual, we are not learning what it takes to manage time wisely.

Retirement throughout the ages in graphics