Mind Matters — Strategies for Power: Brain Power, That Is

Posted by Dr. Kayta Gajdos on January 18, 2012

Bracketing
the deeper issues of our day, I give you a review of a book on the brain. If
you’re getting old (we’re all getting older, if not old), “Brain Power: Improve Your Mind as You Age” by Michael Gelb and
Kelly Howell is of special interest.

It
appears to be a well-researched read and gives credit to where credit is due:
so instead of working through various journals, research articles, and the
internet, this winter, sit by the fire with a glass of resveratrol (red wine)
and enjoy the fruits of Gelb’s and Howell’s integrative labors.

While
I am not a positive psychology adherent who eschews encounters with the dark
emotions of sadness, depression, grief, I do see the value in attending to
healthy antidotes to such feelings once the feelings themselves are honored and
accepted as part of life. As a psychologist, I perceive that we must own all
our feelings as authentic human experiences not to be dismissed or avoided.

Sometimes
pop culture, self-help books seem to demean or diminish the shadow side of life
that is so difficult to face. I facilitate a grief group for survivors of
accident and murder. The last thing these mourners want from society is to be
told, “get over it,” “what’s taking you so long?” They also don’t want their
feelings to be dismissed with a flick of the wrist to the wonders of optimism.

Optimism
is overrated. It is shallow and superficial when not understood as the other
side of the coin of the reality of suffering.

With
the caveat of “take optimism with a grain of salt,” I do recommend “Brain Power” and its optimistic
findings. There is hope for the aging brain, the authors note, because mental
abilities can improve throughout life. Neuroplasticity is the game changer. And
to boot, although some brain cells die with age, new cells can be generated.

Gelb
and Howell note that what helps keep the brain healthy is GFH: Gratitude,
Forgiveness, and Humor. To find something each day to be grateful for; to
forgive and let go of bitterness (The authors note that Oscar Wilde “quipped
that you should always forgive your enemies because that annoys them more.”);
to meet the day with humor (I recall another quote of Oscar Wilde: “Life is too
important to take seriously.”)

Beyond
GFH, Gelb and Howell recommend new learning (novelty of experience); the usual
(exercise and healthy eating); and the beautiful (nature and a stimulus-rich
environment).

So
perhaps this book can help us cope with all those daily news events without
denial after all.

For
more information see www.brainsync.com or www.michaelgelb.com.

* Kayta Curzie Gajdos
holds a doctorate in counseling psychology and is in private practice in Chadds
Ford, Pennsylvania. She welcomes comments at MindMatters@DrGajdos.com
or (610)388-2888.
Past columns are posted to http://www.drgajdos.com.

About Kayta Gajdos

Dr. Kathleen Curzie Gajdos ("Kayta") is a licensed psychologist (Pennsylvania and Delaware) who has worked with individuals, couples, and families with a spectrum of problems. She has experience and training in the fields of alcohol and drug addictions, hypnosis, family therapy, Jungian theory, Gestalt therapy, EMDR, and bereavement. Dr. Gajdos developed a private practice in the Pittsburgh area, and was affiliated with the Family Therapy Institute of Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, having written numerous articles for the Family Therapy Newsletter there. She has published in the American Psychological Association Bulletin, the Family Psychologist, and in the Swedenborgian publications, Chrysalis and The Messenger. Dr. Gajdos has taught at the college level, most recently for West Chester University and Wilmington College, and has served as field faculty for Vermont College of Norwich University the Union Institute's Center for Distance Learning, Cincinnati, Ohio. She has also served as consulting psychologist to the Irene Stacy Community MH/MR Center in Western Pennsylvania where she supervised psychologists in training. Currently active in disaster relief, Dr. Gajdos serves with the American Red Cross and participated in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts as a member of teams from the Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Now living in Chadds Ford, in the Brandywine Valley of eastern Pennsylvania, Dr. Gajdos combines her private practice working with individuals, couples and families, with leading workshops on such topics as grief and healing, the impact of multigenerational grief and trauma shame, the shadow and self, Women Who Run with the Wolves, motherless daughters, and mediation and relaxation. Each year at Temenos Retreat Center in West Chester, PA she leads a griefs of birthing ritual for those who have suffered losses of procreation (abortions, miscarriages, infertility, etc.); she also holds yearly A Day of Re-Collection at Temenos.Dr. Gajdos holds Master's degrees in both philosophy and clinical psychology and received her Ph.D. in counseling at the University of Pittsburgh. Among her professional affiliations, she includes having been a founding member and board member of the C.G. Jung Educational Center of Pittsburgh, as well as being listed in Who's Who of American Women. Currently, she is a member of the American Psychological Association, The Pennsylvania Psychological Association, the Delaware Psychological Association, the American Family Therapy Academy, The Association for Death Education and Counseling, and the Delaware County Mental Health and Mental Retardation Board. Woven into her professional career are Dr. Gajdos' pursuits of dancing, singing, and writing poetry.