Losing Ourselves | Alzheimers & Dementia

Welcome back to Heart Led Soul Fed. This is season 4. I'm super excited. Thank you for joining me once again, and I hope you enjoyed your summer. Let's go. This is a live show and podcast all about love, light, intuition, and your soul's purpose. Season 4, Episode 210 is all about Alzheimer's and dementia. Now, I know there's probably someone listening to this that knows someone who has it, or is a caretaker or someone who's affected by it. 6.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's. We're going to talk about that and more. Depression and anxiety are a side effect of not living your life intuitively Not trusting your gut, the lost connections with yourself and others. My first book, Intuition Saved My Life, is a guide for empaths, lightworkers, and sensitives, and it's available on Amazon now. Unleash Your Soul's Purpose Community Mentorship and Soul Healers Club opens September 16th. Join us in community. A shout out to our Soul Healers community: Gitte, Catherine, Robert, Lillian, and Faith. Replays can be found anywhere you watch your favorite videos or listen to your favorite podcast. Please like, subscribe, and follow, and join us live every Wednesday, 3:00 PM Mountain. Oh, hello everyone, come on in. Yes, we are live. Uh, of course we are in the throes of Mercury retrograde. Uh, in regards to times, I had a few people reaching out saying they had different times, they didn't know what time it was. Doesn't matter, everything is divinely timed and you're at the right place and time. And yes, I am Christine J Gold. I'm a spiritual medium, uh, intuitive energy coach, old soul healer— gosh, podcaster, YouTuber, author, course creator, summit facilitator, um, so many things. Uh, but really what I love to do is share information, and, uh, today, um, is something that is near and dear to my heart, something I never thought— of course, we all think that it's never going to happen to me, right? Until it happens. Whether it's a loss of any kind, uh, you know, whether it's death or a job or relationship or, you know, finances. This is about Alzheimer's and dementia, and I wanted to do something for each month So October, November, December, you know, for the next year, uh, each month I want to feature a health-related topic. So I'm asking you, so if you'd like to send me a message wherever you're listening or watching, uh, your favorite, uh, podcast show, of course, uh, what would you like to see on future shows for a topic, a monthly topic? Think about October. I know I had written down quite a few. There was heart disease, Of course, there's depression, diabetes, maybe, you know, just a whole food plant-based. I mean, we talked about that last year as well, but I, you know, I'm bringing in more holistic things in regards to taking care of ourselves. And as we get older, you know, we need to— we need help. I mean, I was on hold today and the song was Help. I Need Somebody Help by the Beatles. So it's just a reminder that usually whatever you're struggling with, you know, there's somebody else out there struggling. And the more that we can bridge and connect, the better. All right, so yeah, this is episode 210, so let's just get right into it. Um, yeah, my father was diagnosed with early Alzheimer's. I seen him a few weeks ago And I had only seen him, what, 9 months ago before I left for my life-changing trip to South America, um, and we were playing tennis together. But I was over— I was already noticing some subtle signs, subtle signs. And what do I mean by subtle signs? Meaning, um, he being more forgetful, um, there were— there was some paranoia in there, uh, confusion, uh, definitely irritability And probably the biggest one, which I found out what the term was— sundowning. What does that mean? After 3 o'clock, his mood changes. He needed that glass of wine. He needed, you know, steak and vegetables and potato for dinner. Very adamant about his routine, uh, very adamant about what he wanted after 3 o'clock, and very irritable. So honestly, I want to say This is how I truly feel from my experiences, um, and I've worked with seniors who had dementia or Alzheimer's as well, so I do have quite a bit of experience with this. I just didn't think it would come full circle, um, is they become children again. They become toddlers, much more so than just a regular senior aging. Okay, so, and I, I wanted to, um, you know, go over some stats. So if you have any questions, if you are a caregiver and need support, comment below as well. Share with us, even if you're on the replay. We're not going to leave you hanging. And, um, I was doing, you know, I like to do a little bit of a deep dive. So what is the difference between Alzheimer's and dementia, because I think that was my first question, you know, I'm like, I don't really know the difference. Is there a difference? Well, dementia is a general term for symptoms like a decline in your memory, decline in reasoning, and other thinking skills, whereas Alzheimer's is a specific brain disease that accounts for 60 to 80% of dementia cases. And I feel that's the biggest piece, is dementia is the early, is the precursor to Alzheimer's. And an Alzheimer's diagnosis, you know, because it's a brain disease and unfortunately there is no cure for it, some people have said, pardon the expression, it's a death sentence. Now, of course, I work with a lot of holistic, um, products, non-GMO, all of that, liver detoxes, parasite detoxes, uh, mold-free coffee, ashwagandha, you know, all of that. So I'm really diving deep into this because, um, I guess what I'm saying is that as with anything, the ancestral healing that we've been doing, we know better, so we're going to do better, and because we're learning and we're teaching and we're sharing and we're co-creating and we're collaborating and cross-pollinating. And that's what, you know, this Age of Aquarius is. Now, you may think that's too woo-woo, but come on, you know, if you think that, then you think too much. You're living in ego. And the reason I bring this up is, um, when I was researching this, I stumbled across the Surviving Alzheimer's podcast, and I put it in the comments. I'll put it in the show notes later as well. But listening to Ken, um, he actually kept a journal about what it was like from early Alzheimer's to moderate Alzheimer's. He's a full-time caregiver, um, for, you know, for his wife, and he's talking about, you know, the overview, um, the typical signs at the moderate stage, you know, very, very, um, touching and heart-wrenching all at the same time. And a lot of things I can, you know, resonate with, um, a lot of things that I saw in my dad. And I fought tooth and nail to get someone to see him, but the way the laws are in Canada— and I know they're changing— but we need to reach out to, you know, the government and tell them this isn't right, this needs to change, what you guys are doing is not working. The whole system needs to be, you know, torn down, and everybody needs to come together and have as much support and sharing as possible. I, I feel, you know, that's— and really, um, his most important lesson out of all of this is he learned the art of letting go, because really, every day You are letting go piece by piece, bit by bit, with each conversation. He also let go of his anger, his ego, his need to control, and his need to fix everything. And I'm like, wow, um, talk about brave. Talk about, you know, walking the walk, talking the talk. Um, and he also said, I'm the one who needs to change. I'm like, absolutely right. Because when I was in, in it with my dad, I'm like, Okay, I'm not losing my mind. I'm noticing all these things and I feel crazy. I mean, I was picking up on all of that. So could you, could you imagine how he felt in his mind? Because his reasoning, his critical thinking, the paranoia, the delusions, all of that, you know, he was fighting that too. I couldn't, I, you know, now being on the other side because then I thought, oh my God, I, I just need someone to help me, and nobody wanted to help. Um, uh, so now I guess really why I'm doing this is I feel like I need to do something about this and change the laws and have more support for people who need it. I mean, I was in a group earlier today, a networking group on Alignable, And, uh, you know, they were talking about the sandwich generation, and it's true. I mean, I don't— my dad's in a care facility, I don't have that, but there's people that do. They're taking care of their aging parents, whatever they're dealing with, plus their children and/or teenagers. Can you imagine? That's a lot to unpack. That's like a blended family times 100. Um, so my— I, you know, compassion, empathy, um, but also joy in them being able to share that with everybody and then us receiving it. Because we also talked about love languages, um, because some are struggling with their teenagers, meaning they want to give them a hug and a teenager's like, no, no, no, you know, because that's the time where they need their space. So we were talking about everybody has a different love language, whether it's acts of service, which is mine, uh, you know, compliments, gifts, whatever it happens to be. And you can— there are tests online that you can go and take to find out what your love language is. But it's all about boundaries. So let's talk mid-stage Alzheimer's. And really, I think this goes to even dementia or early, is Increased memory loss and confusion, inability to learn new things, struggling to reteach things that we knew, like putting— getting dressed, you know, the simplest of things that you think, well, I can do it, why can't you? That's not true. Um, we have to remember they're forgetting everything, everything they have learned. They are losing themselves. Bit by bit, piece by piece, uh, as Gitae would say, gray cells, whatever cells you want to talk about. I mean, you know, as soon as we're born, we're, we're aging. As much as we want to, you know, turn back the clock and, um, have, uh, you know, face yoga and all this other stuff that we're, we're trying to just stay young, and it's all about the outside and It's really the inside. We need to focus more on the inside. We need to focus on spirituality. We need to focus on healing. We need to focus on love. We need to focus on forgiveness. That's what we need to focus on. And the other things, um, language, reading, writing, numbers— lots of confusion there. Can't follow directions. Yeah, don't give them more than one task, and even then, sometimes the task is too much. Um, rarely speaks in complete sentences, and I think it was a shock for my sister to see him, uh, when we went to visit a month ago already. That's crazy. Um, he, he— one or two words. And even when I was with him last year, it was hard to get full conversations out of him. Um, very non- Absolutely at the end is nonverbal. I mean, you might get stuff behind the eyes and the body language, but, um, and you're going to have to finish their sentences because they're going to forget what that thing or that this and that, um, how to organize their thoughts. They have short attention spans and no desire to do anything. No desires. Uh, you know, multi— like I said, multi-step, like too many tasks. Don't do it. Um, forgetting friends. I mean, he remembered me, but my sister, he was still kind of— you could tell he was like, the, the wheels were, you know, were going. Um, impulsive behavior, no filter, just like toddlers, like kids. They'll say, you're fat, you're ugly, you're whatever, right? They— it's true. And the swearing. Sometimes they'll take their clothes off. Lewd behavior. I remember playing tennis with my father and he was staring at a girl that probably looked around 16, and I'm like, Dad, what are you looking at? He's like, oh well, you know, yeah, she's, she's pretty cute. And I was, I was mortified. I'm like, Dad, she is your granddaughter's age, and it was not registering, and it gave me the creeps. But now I know the other side. That, that was not him. I mean, that the whole idea of Alzheimer's and dementia is really we are losing, losing our minds. We have checked out. We have damaged brain cells. And it comes from so many things. I mean, we could go and do another show about why. I mean, you know, our food our lifestyle, EMF radiation, um, you know, uh, the, the— gosh, chemicals. And then our lifestyle, everything at a 360-degree level. Um, we feel that the digital age is all the rage, but it's not. It's actually— it's disconnecting us from our innermost being. And yes, I'm online, I get it. However, I have set boundaries for myself. I feel that's really important, um, and, and, you know, walking away from people, places, and things because they're going to pull and drag you down, whatever that is— mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually, financially, and in relationships. Um, and really, we are going to— like I said, we— it stops with us. We are the chain breakers because we know better, we're doing better. We are all trying to live our best life, and that is joyfully, and that is soulfully, and that is purposely. And it takes intentionality to do so, meaning you choose what you want to eat, you choose who you want to interact with, you choose how you want to take care of yourself, you choose who you want to have in your vibrational field. And yes, we're all here to serve, but I am not anyone's slave, I guess would be the word, or welcome mat, or whatever that happens to be. So we talked about all the symptoms, and caregivers or even family— cry, let go, laugh. And he also talked about how exercise was the most important thing, and I agree. Anytime I can, you know, shake it off with yoga, qigong, any type of wellness activity, massage, acupuncture, nature, grounding, forest bathing, healing frequencies. There's so many things that we can do to shake all that stuff off because it does— it will— like, you start absorbing it. And I feel like this is, you know, part of our ancestral learning and healing and, and rising is that we will no longer abide by the old rules. All right, so, and it's also really good— my dad, he loved tennis. I know he still misses tennis, but to get them out every day walking or something and socializing as much as possible. And I know as the Alzheimer's progresses, they walk less. Like when we took our— my dad out to the pier in Victoria he could only walk a little bit, and I could tell he was tired. And I'm like, you need to sit down. Yep. And we, we maybe went a quarter of a kilometer, not even. Um, so don't be frustrated by that. Um, sometimes it's going to take, um, he, you know, Ken also talked about his wife and how she was really mad at him for a while, and he didn't try and fix or control or get angry or frustrated or blame or whatever. He kept walking away and come back every couple, you know, 15 minutes, and he kept checking in. And then eventually she, she shifted. So I guess that's the most important thing is for life in general. If something is frustrating, you're angry, you're whatever, you're too, you're too connected, attached to it. It's time to practice non-attachment and just say, okay, I'm going to take a break, you take a break, and we'll circle around. And him journaling or writing or singing or dancing or some type of creative expression— but I think the journaling was important piece to it because you forget, like, am I losing my mind? Oh no, I'm going to go back and read the— oh, that's right, they did this before. Or you know, they're progressing, or maybe they're, they're getting better. Whatever it happens to be, you have to share and, and celebrate your wins. And even if it's a loss, I feel that, um, we have to gracefully, um, learn to let go, because really we are losing ourselves piece by piece and bit by bit. I also feel, you know, the next episode or the next month, I really want to focus on detox. We're doing a 3-day liver detox, so if you're interested in that, reach out to me. I'd love, love to help as much as I can, right? And of course, we want to know what future topics would you like to see on future shows. So you can leave a message, you can share, leave a review. That would very much help others find, you know, this information, because really it's about sharing information. It's not about who's the most popular and who has, you know, the most downloads. It's really just— it's about quality, not quantity. So, all right, a few things I want to share with all of you. Coming up October 2nd, I have a dream recall workshop. It's all about unlocking the power of your dreams and dream interpretation. So if you're curious about your dreams or other people's dreams, or how you can solve the mysteries of your dreams, or how to remember your dreams, uh, there's going to be interactive games. There will be some dream interpretation, uh, from myself. Uh, the link is in the comments and in the description. So looking forward to that. The The new moon in Libra is coming up. Of course, we do new moon and full moon events. Stay tuned for that. The Magical and Mystical Summit is coming up October 23rd, 10 AM to 2 PM Mountain Standard. Uh, it is free, uh, for a limited time, up to 72 hours to watch. So join us live and don't miss anything. Yeah, and of course our September energy update is already out. Soul Healers Club is open. Of course, you know where you can get courses, um, our Patreon group as well. And you know, if you are looking to level up in all areas of your life, we are doing a group mentorship in the next month as well. There are very limited one-on-one spots available. Reach out to me. But if anything, um, Please take care of yourself. Um, please share, please like, you know, please connect, um, please reach out. And I'm sending you all so much love, so much light. And let us be the soft landing for you. Take care of yourselves. Do you feel stuck? Are you in pain? Are you looking to create your soul's purpose but you don't know where to start? Unleash Your Soul's Purpose Mentorship. Hi, my name is Christine J Gold and I'm the founder of 24 Karat Healing. The highly experimental mentorship will help you discover your gifts, free them, and shine your inner light to spread unconditional love. Unleashing your magic and your gifts and ultimately your purpose. You will experience phenomenal breakthroughs, aha moments, epiphanies, energy healing, clearings, inner child work, higher intuition, vivid dream recall. All training slides, PDFs, and audio meditations are recorded and and available for you to watch at any time. You can take them with you wherever you go. I hope to see you soon.